Guest Speaker - Darrel Wilkinson

Darrel Wilkinson was a guest speaker for our class this week. He is an employee at Widmer Interiors out of Bloomington, and one day he "Drank the Herman Miller Kool Aid," as he says. His vast knowledge on the topic of Herman Miller is why he came to speak with us.


Unfortunately I arrived late to class, but when I did he was talking about designers Ray and Charles Eames, a married couple designing for Herman Miller. They not only were furniture designers but they were also, architects, fabric designers, and video makers. He mentioned a video to look on YouTube that they created, called The Power of Ten, which is in a link below. Many of their furniture contains layers plywood, that was inspired from one of their earlier designs, surprisingly enough a leg splint.




He also touched the topic on the fabric designer that was influential at Herman Miller, Alex Girard. Then he went into the Action Office design which changed the way offices were set up for ever. This was created by Robert Propst. This was a revolutionary creation that allowed companies to have more employees in the same amount of space, increasing the amount of work being done, later saving money. This is something that was sought after, but also made Propst angry and later not take recognition for the design.




An expensive yet iconic chair that is in many art museums is called the Aeron Chair, which was designed by Bill Stumpf. This was the first chair that utilized the mesh, and even the use of mesh being the entire support as well as the lower back support that is patented by Herman Miller. This chair is truly the symbol for ergonomics and the focus on the user, and ergonomics.


It is important to note that Herman Miller does not have its own designers but rather contracts with outside individuals so that they have a clean free mind of design. It was also interesting to add how important the environment is to Herman Miller. The amount of trash that they take out each day is small enough to fit in a grocery bag. Also, to get rid of wasps on the land of their office, they did not kill them but rather naturally removed them by bringing in thousands of honey bees.






https://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0

Peer Review: Art Deco

Riann: I enjoyed readying her post, it was quick, concise and to the point. Allowing me to quickly read what she had to say while still getting enough information to understand the Art Deco Movement.

Miryam: I felt she used really good wording as well as examples to explain what the Art Deco movement was all about. She used really good visual aids as well as her description of the functionalist and decorators I felt was written very well.

Art Deco

In the 1920’s the Art Deco movement was prevalent in the design community, with its origins being France. This movement was a period of tension between the functionalists and the decorators. The functionalist was the ones that prided themselves of the efficiency and practicality side of things were mass production was key. Whereas, the decorators prided themselves on the craftsmanship and homemade aspect of things. With the sailing of the French Ocean Liner from France to the US, this movement was brought to the US.

The characteristics that can be seen in this style of design are listed below:

• Cubist/Hard lined forms
• Use of Aluminum
• Hard Angles
• Black Laquor

 

Designers that made an impact during this movement include: Maurice Dufrene, Jaques-Emile Ruhlmann, Joseph Urban, Jean Dunand, Michel Roux-Spitz, Fredrick Kiesler, Eialeen Gray, and Paul Frankl.

Below are two examples of Art Deco from the movement period.

 

 

Current Application



 



 Click Here to see a video comparing the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles of design.

Modernism: Peer Review

Amanda M.: Reading Amanda's post about Modernism, I enjoyed how she touch a lot of different specific individuals that were seen during this era. Her visuals also helped show us what work was done and how we see it today.

Angie: I also enjoyed how Angie discussed multiple individuals and works as well during this period. It was interesting to compare her past and present use of the Barcelona chair because I could really see how that chair has changed very minimally and can go with a lot of different interior spaces.