Event at Hilton Palm Springs, Horizon Ballroom, Palm Springs, CA.
Speaking of his Cranbrook years, Charles Eames said, “Those who know of Rembrandt early [in life] are cheated of the pleasure of discovery.” Though neither Charles nor Ray were blank slates when they arrived at Cranbrook, both saw a chance to understand more deeply. By the same token, they brought remarkable life experiences that made their learning and teaching there all the richer. Indeed, the Cranbrook philosophy and their approach to that philosophy could not have been better matched.
Charles and Ray were intensely visionary while still deeply pragmatic in their work, and both aspects were on full view during their time in Michigan. Of the legendary Eames/Saarinen Organic Chair, Charles said that in the end it was “more a statement of principle” than a fully-realized chair. But scarcely had they left Michigan, when fate (and furniture) brought them another deep Michigan connection, this time on the other side of the state, where they redeemed the promise of their early exploration through their work for Herman Miller, Inc., of Zeeland, Michigan.Speaking of his Cranbrook years, Charles Eames said, “Those who know of Rembrandt early [in life] are cheated of the pleasure of discovery.” Though neither Charles nor Ray were blank slates when they arrived at Cranbrook, both saw a chance to understand more deeply. By the same token, they brought remarkable life experiences that made their learning and teaching there all the richer. Indeed, the Cranbrook philosophy and their approach to that philosophy could not have been better matched.
A grandson of Charles and Ray Eames, Eames Demetrios is Director of the Eames Office and Chairman of the Eames Foundation. Wearing many hats including consultant, filmmaker, and author, he is best known in the design world for spearheading the successful rediscovery of the Charles and Ray Eames design heritage by new generations, as Director of the Eames Office.
