Marvelous Modernists: Charles and Ray Eames

By Victoria Looseleaf

Who knew a chair could be revolutionary? Charles and Ray Eames did. And no, they weren’t brothers, but a wildly talented married couple who brought modernism to the masses. Their motto, “the best for the least for the most” may have been a utopian ideal of mass production, but postwar homes were filled with the pair’s creations, starting with the curved plywood chair.

Now comes Eames: The Architect and the Painter, directed by Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey. For Eames-o-philes and for those merely interested in learning about a fascinating duo that continues to impact society, the film chronicles the Eames’ rise…and rise, warts and all. And it’s even narrated by James Franco (is there anything this actor/writer/student/erstwhile Oscar host can’t do – oh, yes, the hosting bit – click here for our take on that).  As for the doc’s title, Charles was an architect who never practiced and Ray was a painter who, well, didn’t paint.

Put them together and their collaboration is unprecedented, with interview subjects attesting to the joy and whimsy they brought to a look that could frequently be stark and hard-edged. Beginning with a chair, Charles worked with architect Eero Saarinen to come up with a prototype in 1940. Having manufactured some 150,000 wooden splints during war-time (sounds odd, but it’s true, as design, you’ll learn from the film, is in absolutely everything), the moldable plywood seat was an instant hit.

Ray and Charles married in 1941, with their trajectory to golden couple including their Venice, CA workshop, which employees likened to an adult Disneyland. From making chairs and all manner of furniture, the couple also became known for their Case Study house perched on a Pacific Palisades’ hillside. It was there they gave dinner parties where a dessert might be precious, but not edible.

(To get another Eames fix, go immediately to LACMA and check out the current exhibition, California Design: 1930-1965. Running through June 3, 2012, the LACMA show is part of the gargantuan, Pacific Standard Time: Art In LA 1945-1980 city-wide exhibition. Among the 350 fabulous items at LACMA, including a 1936 Airstream trailer to die for, is a re-creation of the Eames’ 1949 steel-framed house. The coolest part? It’s filled with the actual contents of their living room, including books, geegaws, tapestries, rugs, tables, tchotchkes and, of course, a sofa and chairs. Btw: We really dug the clothes, especially the Rudi Gernreich bathing suit – alas, not the topless one – and red knit dress.)

But we digress: The doc also includes short films the couple made for the U.S. government, IBM and Polaroid. It may have been ideas the pair thrived on, but that they actually managed to execute thousands of them, including mounting an exposition on Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, a show that was text-driven and deemed a flop, is no less remarkable. Indeed, A.O. Scott of the New York Times draws parallels between the Eames’ design output and that of the late Steve Jobs (click here for the NYT review of the doc).

But, as was the case in the pre-feminist Mad Men-era, Charles received the design credits. And of course, he also had beaucoup de women on the side, marginalizing Ray even further. But they stayed together, with Charles dying in 1978 and Ray, ten years later to the day.

The filmmakers draw from a wonderful cache of archival material, including love letters, photos and artifacts produced in staggering numbers. There are also interviews with family members, including daughter Lucia and grandson Eames Demetrios, design historians, architects and notables such as filmmaker Paul Schrader (he wrote the Martin Scorsese-directed Taxi Driver), and TED founder Richard Saul Wurman. Staff members who worked with the couple during the über-creative 40-year epoch of the Eames Office also provide insight, with “charismatic” being one of the operative words for Charles. Finally, for anyone interested in design, its impact on society, and how we live with it, cherish it, rebuff it and connect with it in intriguing ways (shades of Jobs again and his Apple products), Eames: The Architect and the Painter, is a must-see.

The iconic Eames lounge chair and ottoman, which is de rigueur for every modernist. An original rosewood chair can be had for about $7,000., while the postage stamp, seen below, can be had for considerably less.