charles & ray eames mini-chair replica & a mini-pug
replica of a "charles & ray eames" lounger+ottoman & a crazy JRT
(rare moment of "domestic pet placement"
hopefully i am not creating a monster.
one time deal for photo op purposes)
"On the flickering black-and-white screen, the lights dimmed to a grainy gray, and the camera focused unsteadily on a small stage. The curtain rose. There, revealed to the nation for the first time, stood … a lounge chair.
It's impossible to say what the viewers of
NBC's "Home" show thought on that morning in March, 1956, when host Arlene Francis unveiled the rosewood-and-leather lounger and matching ottoman, but if any piece of furniture has proved worthy of a network debut, it was the Eames lounge chair.
Created by the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, the chair has achieved classic status as a landmark of Midcentury Modern design in the 50 years since it was introduced, an accomplishment that is being celebrated with an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design here.
A combination of elegance and function, the Eames chair has found its way into executive offices and family rooms for 50 years, living beyond its midcentury label. A comfortable chair with a timeless sensibility, it is one of those icons of design that seems like it's always been with us.
As Ray said in a 1955 letter to Charles while the design was being perfected, the chair looks "trim, neat, un-designy, but cared for, rather than hunks or straps."
In other words, it may be an icon, but it's as cozy as an old chair...
Demetrios Eames recalls that when his grandmother, who died in 1988, talked about the evolution of the chair, she would cup her hands together.
"One hand fits in the other, the way the leather fits in the wood, and the way you fit in the chair," said Demetrios, 44, a filmmaker and writer. "They were very focused on the relationship between a host and guest. They felt this relationship existed in every culture, and they felt that the role of the designer is to be a good host. So right now, sitting in their lounge chair, you are Charles' and Ray's guest."
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