THE Eameses
After watching The Architect and the Painter, I found myself wanting to learn everything there is to know about Charles and Ray Eames and how they went about work, or in other words, their lives.
The Eameses embody almost everything that led me to fall in love with design. Growing up, I always remember feeling a sadness if I had to be interrupted while I was doing something fun. I would cry when I had to go home after playing at my cousin’s house or when I had to leave a birthday party early. Remnants of the feeling remained when I had to interrupt something I enjoyed with something less appealing like chemistry. So, when I discovered design, my problem seemed to be solved. I found an area that supported having fun. I was able to use my experiences and apply them to something that was labeled “work” but didn’t feel that way. The Eames were the embodiment of this — combining work, play, and fun to create and explore.
While many of the Eames’ projects are iconic and interesting, I enjoyed learning most about their way of thinking. They saw the world as a combination of architecture, design, and art, rather than as separate entities. I personally admire how the documentary described Ray Eames as seeing “everything as a canvas”. I believe my practice of aesthetics is something I need much work on and so learning about Ray Eames’ natural vision for beauty and form is inspiring.
One of the comments that I thought depicted what the Eamses were about involved their reason for filmmaking. They did not make films for the profit but rather because it was a great way to explore their own self expression. They made films for the sake of exploring new areas and subjects which is a curiosity I admire. For example, if Charles Eames were to go over budget for a project, he would pay the amount over and was willing to do so because he could not help himself in doing the project to his heart’s content. A powerful line from the film was how Charles Eames, in working with the largest companies of the time, was not selling his particular skill set but rather his ignorance. Despite being cemented as an icon in design, Charles still acknowledged that he was not all knowing and it was this fact that motivated him to do the work he did. It is a mentality I never really thought about before but now has me curious. He was presenting his ignorance and willingness to excel at a project rather than a skillset.
The movie also accounted information about Charles and Ray Eames’ personal lives which I think added an element to the story that made them real people rather than the icons that they are often taken as. It was interesting to learn about the paradox involving credit to projects. Those in the movie recalling events told how Charles’ name was often the only one that was accredited to projects, despite teams of people working on them. And while those in the movie felt discredited from this, they could not help but acknowledge that in spite of this, they continued to admire and work with Charles because he was that gifted in the field. It was also interesting to gain insight on who Ray Eames was as a person. Despite being in the shadow of Charles because of her gender, she continued to do the work she loved to the best of her ability. Also, in the part of the film describing Charle’s affair with another woman, Ray was described as not being the “me or her” type which says a lot about her love for Charles and their relationship.
After looking at their products, I think the small House of Cards is something I would look to buy. The toy is a fun pattern deck to explore different mixtures of colors and pictures in different structures. It is a good representation of what I strive for and what they represent: work and play do not have to be seperated but can powerfully be put together to create something amazing.
I end with a quote from the film that Ray said regarding her work. She said she “goes as far as she can rather than think about how far she can go.” These are words I will try to embody.
