Wednesday 17 January 2018

An Eames Celebration

For me, the working year has begun on the 8th of January. Both O.K. and I had the first week of this year off, and spent it together at his place.
On the Thursday, we drove a bit further South to the city of Weil am Rhein, where we visited the exhibition "An Eames Celebration". I had read about it months ago in my weekly paper.

Exhibition poster

The whole area of the Vitra Desgin Museum is worth seeing, even if you would not go into any exhibition - the architecture is unusual, quirky but functional at the same time, and in between the buildings along the connecting paths are sculptures and other works of art.

When we were there, though, we had limited time until the exhibition would close for the day, and the weather was not really in favour of a stroll across the area.

The exhibition was split into several parts, stretching across various buildings, the main part being about the life and work (actually inseperable) of Charles and Ray Eames.

So far, I had had the Eames' down mainly as designers of furniture. Everybody knows the famous Eames Lounge Chair, right? Also, most of their other chairs are well known and still very much in use all over the world.

I had had no idea, though, that the Eames' did so much more than design chairs: They built houses (for instance, their own house, which was very much a home filled with life, not a piece of architectural exhibition), made over a 100 films, designed toys, painted pictures and put together something called The Information Machine for IBM at the World Exhibition in New York in the 1960s. They worked with the government of India on educational projects and designed an exhibition about Nehru; they made covers of magazines and were good friends with Billy Wilder and his wife.


Ray and Charles Eames at home

In their approach to any of their many varied projects, they come across as open-minded, fun-loving and hard-working people; intensely interested in everything around them. I was truly impressed by the fullness of their lives and how much they foretook how we handle information nowadays, decades before the internet became reality.

Visiting the exhibition made me read up about the Eames', and I am definitely going to watch a few of their short films on youtube (the exhibition showed some, but we did not watch them all - not enough time!).

When I came across their "House of Cards" (a game designed for children and adults alike, with no winners and losers) in one of the rooms, I had a mini flashback; I am pretty sure that I saw those cards at some stage during my childhood. We probably did not have the game at home, but I might have seen it at someone else's home and maybe played with the cards there. Maybe my Mum knows? 



It was a mind-opening afternoon for me, and I am glad O.K. and I went there. You can read more about the exhibition(s) (in English) and see pictures here.

18 comments:

  1. I didn't know that it was an Eames Chair but I have seen them in the very expensive shops. It sounds very much the sort of exhibition I would enjoy.

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    1. They are indeed very expensive. At Vitra, you can not just look at all things Eames, you can also buy their furniture. Vitra is the official licensee for the Eames Office in Germany (or maybe all Europe?). The lounge chair starts at around 7,000 euros, depending on the customisation (colour and quality of the leather). Definitely NOT within my price range!

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  2. I think I might have done a post about the Eames chair, I will have to do a search to see! LOL!
    Lucky you to be able to visit a design museum, I would love to see one!

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    1. I have checked your blog, but nothing came up when I put "Eames" in the search box. I'd like to read your take on it!

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  3. I am envious...would love to see this museum

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    1. Hello Bettina, I think this is your first comment on my blog - welcome! From your name, I thought you were German; if you lived in Germany, you could visit this museum relatively easy. But I have just been to your blog and seen that you are in the US; that would mean a rather long trip...

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  4. Fascinating designers...I'm very tempted to buy this card game for my granddaughters. It's on amazon, but somewhat expensive.

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    1. Fascinating is the word, Kristi! Knowing a little bit about your granddaughters from your blog, I can imagine they would love this game. But yes, anything Eames is expensive.

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  5. Children is surprised to experience forming cards into a house. This is really imaginative.

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    1. It is, roughterrain crane. The Eames' were interested in so many things - actually, in everything - and let their imagination turn everything into something beautiful and/or useful at the same time.

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  6. Oh, lucky you! I'd love to have seen this. I saw a show about them on Netflix a while ago, and found it so interesting.

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    1. Yes, we were lucky in that we had the time and occasion to drive down there from O.K.'s. From my place, I would not have made the trip - it would have taken me at least 3 hours just one way.

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  7. Thanks for your kind words on my post. What kind of books do you like to read? I like novels and histories. Have a nice weekend with good friends and favorite books.

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    1. You are welcome! I like both fiction and non-fiction. You can get a good idea about what I read when you check the reviews on my blog; simply click on the label "book and film reviews" to find them.
      You too have a nice weekend!

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  8. Yes, I'm familiar with the Eames and their incredible designs. Never have owned anything by them as I'm not really into contemporary items - plus I could never afford the genuine item anyway!!!!

    Hope your weekend is lovely - still awaiting the snow melt here - sunny and warmer so may be able to get out and about today!

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    1. I do not own anything Eames-y either, but I do like design from the 1930s to the 1960s, and even some 70s stuff.
      No snow here, but yesterday was cold and wet. Today, we are invited to a winter BBQ in the woods, it was good fun last year when it was a dry and sunny day. Let's hope it will be dry today, too.

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  9. That's the sort of exhibition I would very much enjoy. How interesting that they had their fingers in so many different pies so to speak.

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    1. Yes, it was really surprising to me, especially the connection with India.

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