For
my next designer I wanted to choose Ray and Charles Eames but first we need to look
at some information about Alvar Aalto. He is the one who had started
experimenting with the bending of wood and was a font of inspiration for
artists like Marcel Breuer and the said Ray and Charles Eames.
Alvar
Aalto got married in the 1920s, and, together with his wife, started
experimenting in the bending of wood. These researches lead to Aalto’s
revolutionary designs in which he started bonding veneers together. This led to the creation of the Model No: 41
Chair. In 1931/32 he designed the Model No: 31 Chair.
These
works were of inspiration to Ray and Charles Eames thus they started their own
research and made new discoveries. These discoveries got them a commission from
the US Navy to develop plywood splints, stretchers and glider shells which were
moulded by heat and high pressure. Their revolutionary proposals were state-of-the-art
in manufacturing technique; firstly the moulding of plywood into complex curves
and also the use of cycle welding which enables metal and wood to be joined. At
this time there were a lot of advancements in technology which made these
techniques possible. Such example could be seen in:
Plywood
splints commissioned by US Navy
CTW
table and LCW plywood chair
Eames
had more than a decade filled with masterpieces even though it was a time of
war and financial crisis. This is reflected in their works, since it was during
and after World War II their designs had to be simple, highly functional,
without excessive material and can be mass produced. The industry follows
trends and events but war generates its own industry weather in the form of
weapons or support such as in the case of the leg splints.
In
turn Ray and Charles Eames were a source of inspiration for other artists such
as Karim Rashid and Frank Gehry. In their works one can see the influences they
still have on today’s designers.
Karim
Rashid and Frank Gehry respectively.
1931/32 Alvar Aalto
Model No 31
1941 Japanese attack pearl harbour
1943 Italy joins Allies
1943 Eames Leg
Splints
1944 D-Day
1945 End of World War II and massive reconstructive in
Germany and Japan / United Nations Founded / USA drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
1945 Plywood Elephant
1946 moulded plywood
coffee table
1948 La Chaise
1948-50 plastic shell
chairs with various bases
1951-53 Wire Mesh Chair
1956 Eames Lounge
(670) and Ottoman
HermanMiller. Products.
[online] Available at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/multi-use-guest-chairs/eames-molded-plywood-chairs.html
[Accessed on 5th January 2014]
About.com. Timeline of the 20th century: 1940s
Timeline [online] Available at: http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1940timeline.htm
[Accessed on 5th January 2014]
Vitra Design Museum. UN. Organic Armchair Charles Eames and
Eero Saarinen [online] Available at: http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpieces/detailseiten/organic-armchair-charles-eames-und-eero-saarinen.html
[Accessed on 5th January 2014]
Herman Miller. Design
Story. [online] Available at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/multi-use-guest-chairs/eames-molded-plywood-chairs.html
[Accessed on 5th January 2014]
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