A conversation with the incredible Maria Pergay, the Parisian designer whose stainless steel and brass furniture defined the ultimate in 1970's French chic.
From Nowness:
From a 17th-century perch on the re-glamorized Place des Vosges in Paris, hip-again furniture designer Maria Pergay briefs filmmaker Pamela Hanson on why her seductive 70s metal minimalism feels so at home on the parquet. Pergay, who occupies a rarefied niche between interiors and contemporary art, began as a window dresser for couturiers and has designed limited-edition furniture and commissioned decor since the 60s. Both her new and early pieces remain in demand, and she is being recognized this year with a Légion d’honneur. To celebrate the 55th anniversary of her career, Pergay co-organized a retrospective in the French capital with galleries Demisch Danant (New York) and JGM (Paris), where she arranged a sampling of work from the past five decades into one living environment. The sculptural cabinets, seats and side tables reveal the designer's ability to revitalize traditional boiserie with highly polished metalwork that folds back like the exquisite leaves of a “jardin sécret.” Turning her camera towards the decorative details of the showroom, Hanson flips us through a catalog of Pergay’s most recent collection, while the artist shares what inspires her with gallerist Suzanne Demisch.
Via Demisch Danant's facebook.
Watch: Maria Pergay: Place des Vosges
Icons/Creative Spaces: Irving Harper at Home: by Herman Miller
From Herman Miller's wonderful Why Design series, Irving Harper (formerly of George Nelson Associates) explains his passion for paper sculpting.
Bones Brigade's Rodney Mullen speaks at TED
Speaking on how context shapes creative content, Rodney Mullen has joined the illustrious ranks of TED presenters, which has included Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, educator Salman Khan, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners[5]. TED's current curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson.
From pedestrian:
Rodney Mullen, skater, human Inception token, stopped by the TED-xUSC event in Southern California last month to discuss how communities enrich the individual, skateboarding as a valid mode of expression, and why creative struggles can induce invention (in his case combining flatland with street skating). Then he attempts to explain what a darkslide is to guys who invent health algorithms. LOL. Generous, intelligent and very well articulated.
From an article by Andrew Sayer at Push:
It's crazy that an eccentric skateboarder can now stand amongst these elite minds and not seem out of place in the least. Rodney deserves the praise. "What do skateboarding and innovation have in common? More than you might think. A successful entrepreneur and innovator, Rodney Mullen is widely considered the most influential street skater in history, inventing most of the tricks used today. By the time he was 23, Mullen had already set new milestones for skateboarding winning 35 out of 36 freestyle competitions. He studied engineering at the University of Florida before co-founding World Industries, the largest skate company of the 90's, which was acquired for more than $20m. He continues to skate, innovate, and design some 30 years after he won his first world championship at the age of 11. Mullen spends his spare time thinking about open source communities, hacking the urban terrain, and transforming the mundane into something new. He'll be featured in the upcoming documentary, "The Bones Brigade: An Autobiography."
Classic Spaces: 1940: Franco Albini's Milan Apartment
Rare 1940 photos of Franco Albini's Milan home.
The one-off sailboat inspired bookshelf-prototype from 1938 acted as a space divider until it collapsed. It has now been meticously re-constructed and reproduced by the technicians of Cassina.
Via L'Esprit Nouveau.
Creative Spaces: Alexander Calder in his Workshop: 1952
From an article by Lucia Fontana:
Today we take you back to the year 1952 and offer a rare glimpse inside the Alexander Calder workshop in Roxbury, Connecticut (the property is still owned by the Calder family but not open to the public). Alexander Calder (or Uncle Sandy as he was often called), one of America's best-known and best-loved sculptors, famed for his kinetic abstract mobiles and huge grounded stabiles, was in many ways an artistic Renaissance man. In addition to his celebrated sculpture, he excelled at creating paintings, drawings, book illustrations, jewelry, tapestry, toys and stage sets. His effervescent personality infused all facets of his oeuvre with elegance, vigor — and fun. These beautifully fuchsia-discolored photographs show Alexander Calder at the top of his game working on one of his famous stabiles, mobiles, animal figurines and wire sculptures. Look a bit closer and you will notice that some of them even have a price card attached to them (where is a time machine when you need it). These photographs were taken by Gordon Parks who was a leading photojournalist for Vogue and Life magazine during the 1950s.
Via moderndesign.
Spaces: Momo Suzuki + Alexander Yamaguchi Residence: Los Angeles
Jenna Sohn visits jewelry and clothing designer Momo Suzuki in her Los Angeles home, which she shares with her husband, designer Alexander Yamaguchi. A great example of how a space both inviting and relaxed, with a few inspirational touches of classic modern design, can brew some powerful creativity. As Jenna so eloquently states: "simplicity makes a powerful statement".
Included in their collection is an iconic Serge Mouille 2-arm wall lamp, Charlotte Perriand leather and steel chairs, a Warren Platner side table, and an amazing Friso Kramer drafting table.
Read the full interview here, via the brick house.
Creative Spaces: The Desk
A fascinating look at the creative nest otherwise known as the desk. Via the hansen family.
Creative Spaces: Elizabeth Roberts: Greenwich Street, New York
Architect Elizabeth Roberts crafts her own brand of relaxed and casual modernism in her New York live/work loft space.
"The Greenwich Street loft is a 1,500 SF live / work space located in an old soap and wax factory in the West Village in New York City. The space was left as open as possible, minimal partitions for privacy and alternate layouts were created with simple curtains and sliding hospital track. Wherever possible original finishes were maintained in order to express the industrial history of the space.
The loft is entered through two separate entrances. The private entrance is through the living room and opens into the dining and guest sleeping loft. The client entrance is through the kitchen where clients are offered a beverage on their way to a meeting. The rear room is divided into a small bedroom and a more open office area by large, black-out curtains on hospital track mounted to the wood ceiling. The direction of the angled curtains draws clients into the office side of the space and creates a more acute, private corner for the bedroom. "
Complimenting the space are some nice pieces of vintage modernism, including a pair of Marcel Breuer Wassily Chairs, a Serge Mouille floor lamp, a Jielde industrial desk lamp, Dorothy Thorpe candle sticks, and Dutch side chairs in the style of Friso Kramer. Ms. Roberts herself is photographed on a 1970's Kinetics K700 stool designed by Canadians Philip Salmon and Hugh Hamilton.
More photos and details at sfgirlbyday and Elizabeth Roberts, via the brick house.
Daily Dose: A Cube in the Forest
A cube of steel, glass, and concrete, and home to a collection of classic modernist design by Eames, Volther, and Wegner. Designed for a filmmaker to work out ideas, this project was nicknamed The Brain.
See the full project at Olson Kundig Architects.
Spaces: Todd Selby visits George Lois: New York
Photographer Todd Selby visits the home of the legendary graphic communicator George Lois. Lois' New York apartment is home to an impressively curated collection of 20th Century design reflecting his love of form, ranging from Art Nouveau, to Bauhaus, to Mid-Century Modernism. Lyrical works by Loos, Wagner, and Guimard; sit alongside iconic molded plywood pieces by Eames and Aalto, and austere works by Prouve, Perriand, and Mies.
"What do you love about furniture?
I love to look at great chairs (but rarely sit in them). Some of the greatest sculpture ever created were created by Mies and Guimard."
See the full shoot and interview here.
Via The Selby.
Classic Spaces: George Nakashima House, Studio + Workshop: Solebury Township, PA
A visit to George Nakashima's House, Studio and Workshop, now being operated by Mira Nakashima. Located in Solebury Township, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the main shop was the first structure built on the property in 1946, with several other structures to follow during the 50's to the 70's, including a poolhouse, studios, and residences. This historic place is the genesis of some of the most important works of the 20th Century, by a true master of modernist design.
Probably the most intriguing photo to me is of the Jean Prouvé Standard Chair in one of the workshops. For Nakashima, a master of wood to admire a work of Prouvé, a master of a wholly different medium and aesthetic, and of a different continent altogether.... that in itself is a testimony to Nakashima's genius.
The 1st photo is via George Nakashima Woodworker, the 2nd and 3rd photos via Helena Tarelki, and the rest via strictly_phals.
