Charles & Ray Eames
[ August 19, 2004 4:02 PM ]

"My wife and I had made a commitment to disregard the sacred enclosure around a special set of phenomena called art; in our view preoccupation with respecting that boundary leads to an unfortunate and unwarranted limitation on the aesthetic experience." Charles Eames.

Charles and Ray Eames were, without doubt, major figures in 20th century design, having designed everything from houses, furniture, films, multimedia, information displays, magazine covers, leg splints and much more. They were also friends with Billy Wilder and Buckminster Fuller.

What I find interesting is their use of information theory, and their approach to presenting scientific information using multiple, simultaneous sources of media. Works such as Project Mathematica and Glimpses of the USA are defining moments in information display, perhaps more revolutionary than the better known film Powers of Ten.

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As the quote above suggests, they were not interested in defining themselves in terms of the boundaries of a particular discipline. This is what made their work so exceptional. But one could also read a more muted interpretation on this choice that enabled them to function within the market driven design ethic of 1950's America (Charles was employed as a consultant to IBM for many years and the Eames office employed numerous people over its 35 year lifespan). Accounts seem to suggest that corporate interest in their work was very much driven by their ideas, not simply as propaganda merchants for a commercial ideal. Times have certainly changed.

If you want to know about "multimedia" you need to know about Charles and Ray Eames.

Recommended Reading:

Kepes, G: 1944, Language of vision, P. Theobald, [Chicago].

Neuhart, J, et al.: 1989, Eames design : the work of the office of Charles and Ray Eames, Thames and Hudson, London.

 

[created: October 11, 2001 5:00 PM, last modified: August 19, 2004 4:02 PM ]