Description: ”The Big Idea in Herman Miller Furniture is in This Beautiful, Useful Skeleton” 1961 Herman Miller Furniture Company Advertising Off-Print Herman Miller Furniture Company, Art Kane [Photograher]: ”The Big Idea in Herman Miller Furniture is in This Beautiful, Useful Skeleton.”Zeeland, MI: The Herman Miller Furniture Company, [1961]. Original edition. 8.875 x 12.75-inch advertising off-print in four-color on recto only for an advertisement placed in the “New Yorker” and “Sunset” in March and April, 1961. Top two inches curled, otherwise a fine example. 8.875 x 12.75-inch advertising off-print in four-color on recto only for an advertisement showcasing the Eames Aluminum Group by Charles Eames. Unusual full-color Herman Miller ad reproducing an Art Kane photograph. In 1946, George Nelson became director of design at Herman Miller, a position he held until 1972. While there, Nelson recruited other seminal modern designers, including Charles Eames and Isamu Noguchi. He also developed his own designs, including the Marshmallow Sofa, the Nelson Platform Bench and the first L-shaped desk, a precursor to the present-day workstation. He also created a series of boldly graphic wall clocks and a series of bubble lamps made of self-webbing plastic. "The real asset of Herman Miller at that time," Nelson wrote, "were items one never found on a balance sheet: faith, a cheerful indifference to what the rest of the industry might be up to, lots of nerve, and a mysterious interaction that had everyone functioning at top capacity while always having a very good time." Nelson felt that designers must be “aware of the consequences of their actions on people and society and thus cultivate a broad base of knowledge and understanding.” He was an early environmentalist, one of the first designers to take an interest in new communications technology and a powerful writer and teacher. Perhaps influenced by his friend, Buckminster Fuller, Nelson’s ultimate goal as a designer was “to do much more with much less.” Charles (1907 – 1978) and Ray Eames (1912 – 1988) created more than a look with their bent plywood chairs or molded fiberglass seating. They had ideas about making a better world, one in which things were designed to fulfill the practical needs of ordinary people and bring greater simplicity and pleasure to our lives. The Eameses adventurously pursued new ideas and forms with a sense of serious fun. Yet, it was rigorous discipline that allowed them to achieve perfection of form and mastery over materials. As Charles noted about the molded plywood chair, “Yes, it was a flash of inspiration,” he said, “a kind of 30-year flash.” Combining imagination and thought, art and science, Charles and Ray Eames created some of the most influential expressions of 20th century design – furniture that remains stylish, fresh and functional today. And they didn't stop with furniture. The Eameses also created a highly innovative “case study” house in response to a magazine contest. They made films, including a seven-screen installation at the 1959 Moscow World's Fair, presented in a dome designed by Buckminster Fuller. They designed showrooms, invented toys and generally made the world a more interesting place to be. As the most important exponents of organic design, Charles and Ray Eames demonstrated how good design can improve quality of life and human understanding and knowledge. Please visit my Ebay store for an excellent and ever-changing selection of rare and out-of-print design books and periodicals covering all aspects of 20th-century visual culture. I offer shipping discounts for multiple purchases. Please contact me for details. Payment due within 3 days of purchase.
Price: 99.99 USD
Location: Shreveport, Louisiana
End Time: 2024-10-08T16:36:39.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted