Charles Eames

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Charles Ormand Eames ( pronunciation : [ ˈiːmz ], born June 17, 1907 in St. Louis , Missouri ; † August 21, 1978 ibid) was an American designer and architect .

Together with his wife Ray Eames (1912–1988), he made a significant contribution to the development of American post-war design and continues to inspire designers to this day primarily through his functional furniture designs.

Life

Charles Eames studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis and opened his own architectural office in 1930. In 1938 he was awarded a scholarship from the Cranbrook Academy of Art , which was continued a year later as a lecturer in design. In 1940 he and Eero Saarinen won the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York . In the same year he became head of the industrial design department of the Cranbrook Academy of Art .

Charles Eames married Catherine Woermann in 1929, with whom he had a daughter Lucia in 1930. After the marriage ended in divorce in 1941, he married Ray Kaiser that same year.

The Eames House, Case Study House No. 8th

Together with his wife Ray, during the Second World War, on behalf of the US government and various aircraft manufacturers, he developed aircraft parts, greaves and stretchers from three-dimensionally shaped plywood panels, among other things . From the technique of bending laminated wood under steam, he derived various furniture designs (Plywood Group). He later designed furniture made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic and cast aluminum. The lounge chair is still regarded as an outstanding product today . The collaboration with Herman Miller encompassed not only the design of pieces of furniture, but also the conception of the complete product lines up to the hanging labels, which was an extremely unusual form of co-determination for the designers at the time. Charles Eames worked with his wife in various fields such as architecture, exhibition design, photography and multimedia presentations. Today his work is managed, maintained and marketed in the Eames Office - which is headed by his grandson Eames Demetrios - the Eames Foundation receives the Eames House.

In 1970 Eames was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1977 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Collaboration with Ray Eames

Since Charles Eames was mostly in the foreground in official statements and appearances, the influence of Ray is accordingly underestimated. Ray Eames' training as a visual artist suggests that Charles took on the more technical and Ray the more artistic part of the working relationship. The example of the greaves sculpture by Ray Eames gives an idea of ​​the creative part that Ray brought to the work of Charles.

At a celebratory event of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein on her 100th birthday in December 2012, it was said that the role of Ray Eames in the work of the duo Charles and Ray Eames had to be reassessed: “Ray knew what art was. And Charles knew that she knew ”. On this occasion, a street on the grounds of the Vitra AG architecture park Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein was named Ray-Eames-Strasse , which now crosses with Charles-Eames-Strasse .

architecture

  • 1935/1936: St. Mary's Church, Helena , Arkansas
  • 1936–1938: House Meyer, Huntleigh Village, Missouri
  • 1938–1940: Worked in the office of Eero Saarinen
  • 1941: Set construction for MGM Studios , Los Angeles, California
  • 1945–1949: Case Study House # 8 ( Eames House )
  • 1949: Case Study House # 9 ( Entenza House )

Furniture

Plywood Group

Plywood chair by Eames

As early as 1938/1939 Charles Eames tried to shape three-dimensional plywood veneers in Cranbrook together with Eero Saarinen; previously only simple turns in two dimensions were possible. One thought was the search for a form of furniture that was adapted to the human anatomy. The aim was to achieve lightness and material economy, that is, inexpensive industrial production in large numbers and at the same time a high level of seating comfort without expensive upholstery. In addition to cost reductions and aesthetic ideas, these furniture designs also reflect the changes in residential construction: open, less specific floor plans, increased interconnection of indoor and outdoor spaces. Light, easy-to-move furniture was necessary in order to be able to keep spatial situations flexible and, for example, to enable an inexpensive move to the terrace. With the designs for the "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Eames achieved the first award-winning results. The “ Organic Chair ”, however, was not produced in large numbers because it was technically impossible to manufacture a plywood seat shell from one piece. The Eames only achieved their final breakthrough after abandoning the idea of ​​the one-piece plywood shell and separating the seat and back. The molded shell parts were screwed to bases with rubber washers ("shockmounts"). This type of connection was subsequently also used for the plastic chairs and the lounge chair. The Plywood Group included a chair, a formally identical, low armchair with only different dimensions, each with a metal or wooden base, and several coffee tables. A wave-like room divider (folding screen) is also assigned to this product group. A Christmas tree made from chair legs was not intended for series production. In Europe, Vitra (then Fehlbaum or Contura) started production in the late 1950s.

Fiberglass Group

Plastic Armchair (Vitra, 1950/53)
Stacking chair from early US production, also produced by Vitra in Europe. The fibers of the shells are visible

When further optimizing the seat shells, Charles Eames came across glass fiber reinforced plastic through experiments with wire (wire chair), metal (one-piece seat shells punched from sheet metal and formed by deep drawing ) on the occasion of the competition participation in the "International Competition for Low Cost Furniture" . Unlike the metal that was too expensive, this material met the requirements of the competition. Eames, together with Zenith Plastics from Gardena (California), opened a new application for this material, which until then had only been used for radar screens. The liquid plastic was bonded to the glass fibers in positive-negative tools and cured in presses. The result was the first one-piece bucket seat whose surface was no longer upholstered. The connection between the shell and the base was again made with the "shockmounts". In 1950, Zenith began series production for Herman Miller , the collection comprised several shell and base variants. Until the mid-1980s, Herman Miller and Vitra produced large numbers of them. From the late 1990s, Vitra resumed production of some models, but with a polyamide shell and integrated "shock mounts". The original material appearance (visible glass fibers on the surface) was lost, however. Herman Miller, USA, brought the Eames Molded Fiberglass Chairs back onto the market in March 2014.

wire

Wire Chair, 1951

Still in search of the optimal three-dimensional shape of seat shells, parallel to the fiberglass developments, experiments with bent and welded wire shells took place. As with the fiberglass shell, the result was a one-piece shell for the seat and back. The wires were cleverly and stably connected to one another by means of contact welding. The same technique was subsequently used by Harry Bertoia (who worked in the Eames Office during the 1940s) for his collection of wire furniture for Knoll Associates (later the Diamond Chair ). Herman Miller produced the model in series from 1951 with different base variants.

Aluminum Group

Aluminum group conference chairs in the conference hall of the Federal Chancellery

The specification for the Aluminum Group was a chair that is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. At the same time, the use of material should be as low as possible and the volume should also be minimized. After a development time of three years, the first prototypes of the "Leisure Group" were created in 1958. The construction principle follows the formation of a load-bearing textile seat shell that is stretched between two aluminum profiles. Horizontal seams (now high frequency welded) stiffen the fabric and prevent the shell from "sagging". At the lower and upper end of the shell, the fabric is rolled up to create an elegant and at the same time comfortable edge and forms an attractive finish. The seat cover consists of five layers of different materials and ensures that a very high level of seating comfort is achieved despite the minimal upholstery thickness. The tension construction is visible through the use of so-called clips in the back and seat area and gives the chair an additional, optical lightness. Through the consistent application of the construction principle and the use of the same parts, different variants have emerged over time: office and conference chairs (EA 117, 119, 219, 108, 208), stools (EA 125, EA 225), lounge chairs (EA 124 , EA 224). Vinyl , fabric, leather and mesh (from 1984) were used as covers . The variant realized from 1969 with sewn-on, additional padded pockets is available under the name "Softpad", initially in fabric and leather variants, now only in leather.

Seating furniture from the Aluminum Group can be found, for example, in the plenary hall of the Hessian state parliament and in other state parliaments such as the Brandenburg state parliament or the Flemish parliament .

Lounge chair

Lounge chair with ottoman

The Eames developed the Lounge Chair , which they presented in 1956, as a modern interpretation of a club chair . The Lounge Chair is a plywood construction based on a star-shaped swivel base and equipped with leather cushions. The three wooden shells are flexibly connected by means of "shock mounts" so that they can spring up. A classic button element can be found on the leather upholstery. The so-called Ottoman can be used as foot extension or stool.

Eames developed the Lounge Chair for Herman Miller, who is still selling it in the USA. In production since 1956, the Lounge Chair has become an icon of furniture design over the years and is still manufactured by Herman Miller and Vitra to this day. The productions by Herman Miller and Vitra differ in a few details. Vitra produces the Lounge Chair & Ottoman with the “Contract Base”, while Herman Miller equips lounge chairs and ottoman with the originally designed frame with height-adjustable stainless steel glides. The fastenings and the quality of the seat cushions also differ.

Overview of the most important drafts

  • 1940: Organic Chair
  • 1943: Molded plywood leg splint (leg splint for the US Army)
  • 1945: Plywood chair / children's furniture
  • 1946: Plywood Group / Folding Screen / Case Goods
  • 1947: Folding Table
  • 1948: La Chaise (Ray Eames)
  • 1950: Fiberglas Chair / Eames Storage Unit (ESU) / Contract Tables
  • 1951: Wire Chair / Eliptical Table Rod Base (ETR) / Wire Sofa
  • 1953: Hang it All
  • 1954: Compact sofa
  • 1955: Fiberglass Stacking Chair
  • 1956: Lounge Chair
  • 1958: Aluminum Group
  • 1960: Lobby Chair / Stools
  • 1961: La Fonda Chair
  • 1962: Tandem Seating
  • 1964: Segmented Tables / 3473 sofa
  • 1968: Soft Pad Chaise / Intermediate Desk Chair
  • 1969: Soft Pad Group (padded version of the Aluminum Group)
  • 1970: Fiberglass Drafting Chair
  • 1971: Two-piece-Secretarial Chair / Two-piece-Plastic Chair / Loose Cushion Chair
  • 1984: Teak and Leather sofa

Most of the furniture is still produced today by Herman Miller in the USA and Vitra in Germany. Vitra produced from 1957 to 1983 as a licensee of Herman Miller and has had the manufacturing and distribution rights for Europe and the Middle East since 1984.

Films (excerpt)

  • 1954: S-73 (alternative title: Sofa Compact), 10 min 40 s, color
  • 1955: House: After Five Years of Living (OT), 10 min 40 s, color
  • 1956: Lounge Chair (OT), 2 min, b / w
  • 1957: Do-Nothing Machine (OT), 2 min 09 s, color, cut 1991
  • 1957: Tops (OT), 3 min, SW
  • 1959: Glimpses of the USA (OT), 12 min 15 s, color
  • 1961: IBM Mathematica Peep Shows (OT), five films, color
  • 1969: Tops (OT), 7 min 13 s, color
  • 1970: The Fiberglass Chairs: Something of How They Get the Way They Are (OT), 8 min 39 s, color
  • 1970: Soft Pad (OT), 4 min, color
  • 1972: Design Q&A (OT), 5 min 20 s, color
  • 1972: SX 70 (OT), 10 min 47 s, color
  • 1976: The World of Franklin and Jefferson (OT), 28 min 20 s, color
  • 1977: Powers of Ten (OT), 8 min 47 s, color

Exhibitions, concepts, collaboration

  • 1959: American National Exhibition, Moscow
  • 1961: Mathematica - A world of numbers and beyond ..., Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry in Exposition Park
  • 1964: documenta III , Kassel in the Industrial Design department
  • 1969: What is design?
  • 1975: The World of Franklin and Jefferson, traveling exhibition

literature

documentary

  • Ray and Charles Eames - The designer couple of the 20th century. (OT: Eames: The architect and the painter. ) Documentary, USA, 2011, 52 min., Script and direction: Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey, production: Quest Productions, Bread and Butter Films, German-language first broadcast: February 23, 2014 at SRF , series: Sternstunde Kunst , summary from SRF.

Web links

Commons : Charles and Ray Eames  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
literature
Exhibitions

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Members: Charles Eames. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ulrike Kunkel: Ray Eames - Design as a way of life . In: Britta Jürgs (Ed.): From salt shakers to automobiles: female designers. AvivA Verlag , Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-932338-16-2 , pp. 126-139.
  3. ↑ Jochen Eisenbrand: Ray Eames. In: Gerda Breuer, Julia Meer (Eds.): Women in Graphic Design. Jovis, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-86859-153-8 , pp. 152-163 and 437.
  4. ↑ Michael Baas: The artistic eye of the office. In: Badische Zeitung , December 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ "alb": keyword. In: Badische Zeitung , December 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Michael Baas: “The Eames were formative.” In: Badische Zeitung , December 15, 2012, interview with Rolf Fehlbaum , beginning of the article.
      Vitra opens Ray-Eames-Strasse ( Memento from February 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: vitra.com , December 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ Landtag Hessen. Wiesbaden ( Memento from November 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). In: vitra.com .
  8. ↑ Photos: vitra Reference. Brandenburg Parliament Potsdam. In: eduardoperez.de , accessed on January 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ Review of Eva Hepper: Catherine Ince: "The World of Charles and Ray Eames". Insight into a style-forming cosmos. In: Deutschlandradio Kultur , January 13, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Eames, Charles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eames, Charles Ormand (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American designer and architect
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1978
Place of death St. Louis , Missouri