Charles - · PDF fileThe Eames "House Charles and Ray Eames designed and built their own house and studio in 1949, located in Los Angeles, California the house was built as part of

Charles !and !Ray !Eames

By: Melissa Rice

Biography   Charles Eames (1907-78), born in St. Louis, Missouri, grew up working

for engineers and manufacturers, anticipating his lifelong interest in mechanics and the complex knowledge of how things work.

  Ray Eames (1912-88), formally known as Ray Kaiser, born in Sacramento, California, demonstrated her interest with the abstract qualities or ordinary objects early on in life by taking part in New York’s modern arts movement with the first group of American-born abstract artists.

  Charles and Ray Eames gave shape to America’s 20th Century defining movements. They embraced the era’s concept of modern design and expanded it through furniture designs and other cultural pieces.

  They both recognized the needs for average consumer goods. They wanted to create high quality yet affordable furniture, which could serve a variety of uses.

  They most commonly used materials such as molded plywood, fiberglass reinforced plastics, bent and welded wire mesh, and cast aluminum. Their main concept was to create furniture where the seat and the back forms comfortably to the human body.

Most famous pieces of Furniture

• Organic Furniture (1940) • Molded Plywood(1941-1945) • Plywood Screen (1946) • La Chaise (1948) • Fiberglass Chairs (1950) • LTR Table (1950)

• Wire Chair (1950) • Eames Lounge Chair (1956) • Aluminum Group (1958) • Time Life Chair (1960) • Time Life Stool (1960) • 3473 Sofa (1964) • Chaise (1968) • Intermediate Desk Chair (1968) • Drafting Chair (1970) • Molded Plastic Chair (1971)

Eames Lounge Chair "and Ottoman

  Revealed to the public in 1946, and still in production today

  The Eames first luxury chair, which has always been an American icon

  The chair has a molded veneer seat and back shell, with a 6” thick foam cushions with leather upholstery, and polished aluminum trim with swivel mechanics

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SWL4gTQfTA

Plywood tends to splinter when bent at certain angles. To solve this problem, they

experimented with cutting slits and holes into the chair shells. Eventually, they choose to create two separate pieces for the back and

seat of the chairs.

Eames Plywood "Chair

  In 1946 the Eames established their long lasting relationship with Herman Miller with their original molded plywood chairs

  in the early 1940’s the Eames were experimenting with molded plywood which lead them to discover plywood splints and stretchers which would be later used in World War II

  These classic chairs are still being in production today

Eames Molded Plastic Chair

  Designed in 1948

  These were the first manufactured mass produced plastic chairs.

  Their clean, simple shape formed to the human body

  The Eames’ were interested in using plastic because it was a new material where they believed they could do more with less

Eames Wire Mesh Chair

  Introduced in 1951 for consumers who wanted quality design for a reasonable price

  The bent wire, welded base, is also called the “Eiffel Tower” base

  The form for the chairs were inspired by baskets and dress forms

  To achieve cost restraints, strength requirements, and an organic shape, the Eames made the rim of the chair a lighter gauge wire and doubled it for strength and stability. This advance won the Eames the first American mechanical patent for design.

The Eames "House   Charles and Ray Eames designed and built

their own house and studio in 1949, located in Los Angeles, California

  the house was built as part of the famous Case Study House program for the Arts & Architecture magazine

  Their design and innovative use of materials makes the Eames house a “mecca” for architects and designers from all over the world

  the house is built from semi-prefab products of light steel frame with panels

The Eames Short "Films   Between 1950 and 1982, Charles and Ray

Eames made over 100 short films ranging from 1 minute to 30 minutes in length

  Their most famous short film was the Power of Ten which demonstrated the idea of space and time in a simple way

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGAEru1AJb0

"What works is better than what looks good. The ‘looks good’ can change, but what works, works!" - Ray Eames

Group Conversation Questions

1. If Charles and Ray Eames are considered to be American

Icon’s, and the most well known 20th Century designers, what

are their biggest accomplishments that

established these levels of recognition?

2. Why were the techniques and procedures that Charles and Ray

Eames used, so remarkably innovative for this time period? How did they forever change the world of design in the furniture

business?

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Study Guide Questions

1. What materials did Charles and Ray Eames choose to use most commonly in their design pieces of furniture? Why?

2. Why did the Eames choose to create two separate pieces for the back and seat of the Eames Lounge Chair? What was causing

issues in the design?

3.With the Eames research with molded plywood, they found that plywood tends to splinter when bent at certain angles. What discovery did they make with their research which was used

later in the war?

4.What was the Eames main priority when designing furniture during the 20th century?

5. How did the Eames determine how they were going to build the house which was part of the famous Case Study House program

for the Arts & Architecture magazine?

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Bibliography   -Kirkham, Pat. Charles and Ray Eames: Designers of the Twentieth Century.

Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1995. Print.

  -Albrecht, Donald. The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: a Legacy of Invention. New York, 1997. Print.

  -Koenig, Gloria. Charles and Ray Eames, 1907-1978, 1912-1988: Pioneers of Mid-century Modernism. Los Angeles: Koln, 2005. Print.

Essay Charles and Ray Eames made a more than enormous impact on the 20th century world of design. These two were married in 1941, and over the course of their marriage they worked in many fields of art including industrial design, fine art, graphic design, film, modern architecture, and furniture.

Charles Eames, born in 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri, was the nephew of a well known architect in the area. Working around town growing up, he first discovered his first passion in life, the possibility of becoming an architect one day. Throughout his education years he met his first wife, which later on ended. He went through many heartbreaks before meeting his final wife, Ray Kaiser. Ray Kaiser who married Charles Eames, became Ray Eames, who was born in 1912 in Sacramento, California. At a young age, she moved to New York to study abstract painting to start off her design careeer. She met Charles immediately and got married the following year.

The team of Charles and Ray Eames created work in architecture and modern furniture design with materials such as molded plywood, fiberglass, plastic resin, and wire mesh. The office of Charles and Ray Eames functioned for more than four decades in Venice, California, and many famous designers worked for them. Along with many other famous pieces of furniture created in these offices, the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, the molded plywood Dining Chair, the metal Dining Chair with a plywood seat, the Eames Chaise, and the Aluminum Group furniture were all designed in these offices. Next to all of their furniture design successes, the Eames's also created several short films which all documented their joint interest in their collection of toys and their cultural artifacts from their travels.

Overall, anyone who cares to study the Eames's design works, would realize that without this couple, the 20th century in the world of design would not be the same.