Eames: The Architect and The Painter

Drexel recently hosted the film Eames: The Architect and the Painter. The film was shown, followed by a question and answer session with one of the directors of the film, Bill Jersey. While it was not an event that I was particularly interested in before attending, my friend studying interior design and architecture dragged me to see it. Within moments of the film starting, I knew I was going to enjoy the film.

The film introduced Charles and Ray Eames, design extraordinaires who worked from 1940s until Charles’ death in 1978, a quirky couple whose photographs show an insanely cute bond of the two, both lovers and partners in design. Their designs flashed across the screen, one after the next, and each one looking equally familiar to me. Charles and Ray Eames, along with their office of associates, appropriately named The Eames Office, were frontrunners in developing the modern American design aesthetic.

Charles’ “Eames Chairs” are regarded to be his most celebrated designs. He stripped away all extraneous elements of a chair, and created the most simplified device for sitting. The chairs were made from plywood, a cheap, easily accessible material, and were about to be mass-produced for a wide audience. These designs are still mimicked today in modern furniture design. Despite being affordable at one time, an Eames Chair truly manufactured by the Eames Office will run a steep bill in current times. One after the next, their designs were celebrated by designers and consumers alike. There was constant pressure to make another great chair, but somehow, Eames always managed to do it.

While Charles was the primary designer of the furniture, Ray was the backbone that held the designs together. Charles knew structure, but Ray knew color. This knowledge of color provided Ray a platform for design patterns for the furniture. Her designs are also still copied today and recognizable without knowing who the couple is.

The film also reveals other design conquests, including film and exhibition design, all while being narrated by James Franco, oddly enough. After the film, Bill Jersey humbly and humorously answered questions about the couple and the research put into developing the film. With hundreds of thousands of reference materials on the couple, the choice of editing what made the film or not provided more work than gathering the actual material. Whether you have an interest in architecture, fashion, painting, or multimedia design, this film offers a great look at amazing designers who impacted multiple industries, and did so beautifully.