Herman Miller

Herman Miller began in 1906 as the Michigan Star Furniture Company. They sold mainly residential furniture with a gaudy Victorian flair. Later they dropped the "star" from their name. D.J. DePree was hired as a clerk for the Michigan Furniture Company and ten years later became president. In 1923 the company was being sold and D.J. wanted to buy it. He didn't have the money so he asked his Farther-In-Law for the money to buy the company. He was so grateful that he named the company after him, Herman Miller. In the 1930's the depression was happening and the company was going under. Gilbert Rohde was hired as a furniture designer for the company and he really pushed the switch to modern. in 1933 the first line of modern furniture was released. Some other notable characters involved with Herman Miller include; George Nelson who designed the logo, and Ray and Charles Eames who were furniture designers. They had a very eclectic and avant garde style. Charles was commissioned to design a leg splint for the military that had to be lightweight. He used bent, pressurized wood to create the design. Later he put this concept into his furniture. A few of the Eames' designs include the Chaise Lounge Sleeper, the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and the Solar Powered Do Nothing Machine. Another notable person is Robert Propst. He came up a new concept for office design. He developed the Action Office, but people didn't like it so he was forced to change it up. The companies loved the new version because with the vertical storage, they could fit more employees in the space. Since then, office design has again shifted to more open offices with a few private areas. The corporate offices of Herman Miller are located in Michigan. The Greenhouse is in Holland, Michigan and is a LEED certified building. Everything is recycled and the amount of trash that comes out of the building in one week can fit in a grocery bag. It had a problem with wasps at first but they brought in honey bees to combat the wasps. The bees produced honey and so Herman Miller now gives visitors jars of their honey. Herman Miller also owns several other companies including, GEIGER, Nemschoff, Maharam, and Design Within Reach.

Extra Credit:
Documentary on Charles and Ray Eames
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/charles-ray-eames-the-architect-and-the-painter-watch-the-full-documentary-film/1950/

Peer Review:
Scott: Even though he was late to class he still managed to get a lot of information about the company and Ray and Charles Eames. I liked how he included their video in a link.
Riann: I liked how her blog was short and sweet and to the point. She did a good job of supplementing her blog with the pictures.  

Art Deco

Art Deco began in France in the 1920's. There was tension between Functionalists, who focused on mass production, common person, and social good and Decorators who focused on labor intensive craftsmanship, elite market, and were not concerned with social theory. The 1925 Worlds Fair in Paris gave Art Deco its name. It was a showcase for the exhibition of interior design. It showcased furniture, lamps, textiles, and accessories. Common themes in Art Deco include the use of angled and cubist forms, aluminum, black lacquer, glass, zig-zag or chevron patters, skyscraper inspired designs, and prominent light fixtures. The designers of the time used rich materials including: ebony, zebrawood with inlays of ivory, tortoise-shell, leather, polished metals, mirrors, and glass. A notable French designer of this time was Michel Roux-Spitz. He designed the Salon des Artistes Decorateurs in Paris and the Bureau de Administratuer. He mainly focused on governmental buildings. Another designer was Jean Dunand. He was also a figure in the Art Nouveau movement and moved towards geometric forms in the 20's. He was a decorator for the wealthy and produced screens, cabinets, chairs and tables and often worked with lacquer. Maurice Dufrene was also a figure in the Art Nouveau Movement and a well know and very influential French designer. He designed furniture, textiles, glass work, metal work, and complete interiors. His work includes the French Art Deco Side Table and the Carved, gilt-wood three-piece sofa suite. Jean Michel Frank was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors. He decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry. He used mainly neutral colors and let the beauty come from his materials. Jacques- Emile Ruhlmann was a French furniture designer who focused on glamour and uded unusual materials such as, ebony, zebra wood, sharkskin and ivory. His most famous chair is his Elephant Chair. Art Deco came to the United States via the Normandie, a French ocean liner. The interior of the ocean liner was extravagent Art Deco style and inspired the movement in the US.

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Extra Credit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z69pRbAb_No

This video shows some pictures of the Art Deco district in Miami, Florida

Peer Review:

Amanda M- I liked how she talked about why Art Deco became a style, with the need for fun during the World Wars.

Holli: I liked how she went into the motifs of the time period and talked about why materials they used. Her pictures were also a nice supplement.

Modernism/International Style

Modernism began in 1900 and lasted through 1950, this was the time during the World Wars. “The Machine” was source of design inspiration and functionalism term used to describe design style. There was a rejection of the past and historical design and an embracing of industrial design during this time. The pioneers of this movement were Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier. Frank Lloyd Wright designed over 1000 structures, completed 532 works and worked in the offices of Adler and Sullivan in Chicago before branching out on his own. Some of his notable works include the Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois, the Hickox house in Kankakee, Illinois, and the Robie House in Chicago, IL. Walter Gropius established own architectural practice in 1911 and formed the Bauhaus School in 1919. Some Bauhaus teachers included Marcel Breuer a Hungarian born modernist architect and furniture designer and Wassily Kandinsky a Russian painter and founder of abstract art. Economic and political problems closed the Bauhaus at Weimar and Gropius designed the building for the new location in the industrial city of Dessau. But the school was forced to close in 1933 due to WWII. Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He believed that exhibitions offered opportunities to showcase interior design and furniture. Some of his notable works include the Barcelona Exhibition, the Barcelona chair, the Tugendhat House, and the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. Le Corbusier worked for Peter Behrens and Josef Hoffmann and was most known for urban design. He wanted to improve the industrialized urban cities such as Paris, France. He combined a passion for classical Greek architecture and an attraction to the modern machine. His notable works include Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau, and Villa Savoye.

Past:
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Present:






Extra Credit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UttRfwd9zjs

"Bauhaus: Art as Life - Talk: An Insider's Glimpse of Bauhaus Life"

Peer Review:

Holli: I liked how she focused on Mies and went into a lot of great detail about his works, and her pictures were spot on.

Stephanie: I liked how she summarized the whole period while still hitting all the key points.