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If the Villa
Savoye (white and stilted) leaves you cold after Mies van der
Rohe’s
Farnsworth
House
(transparent in nature wild), you are not alone--Le Corbusier’s
machine-aesthetic architectural legacy is increasingly démodé.
But the tubular steel furniture designed by Charlotte Perriand,
the French architect and designer, along with Le Corbusier and his
cousin, Pierrre Jeanneret, remain classic--iconic, recognizable
Machine Age classics. The question is how much of the
designs were Perriand’s own and how much was contributed by Le
Corbusier. The answer to that isn’t quite clear. The
story is that when Perriand first came looking to work with Le
Corbusier, he was to tell her:
“We don’t
embroider cushions here.”
Later, when his cousin Pierre had taken him to see the Bar sous
le Toît an installation for the 1927 Salon d’Autonne
which showcased Perriand’s furniture made of glass, steel, and
aluminum for a rooftop bar, he was rather impressed, and changed
his mind and invited her to work with them.
B306
Chaise Longue, 1928, Chromed bent tubular steel, leather,
Design: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret,Charlotte Perriand
Here are two
of the famous chairs that were originally shown as part of
L'equipement d'une habitation at the 1929 Salon d'automne
in Paris--the B306 chaise-longue and the LC-2 Club Chair.
The B306
chaise-longue (now sold as the
LC4)
is thought to be mostly Perriand's work. A dramatic and
rather bold statement, with its adjustable frame, this long
chair was inspired by the sinuous lines of 18th century
daybeds. The famous publicity still of Perriand (top
photo) reclining on the chaise with legs crossed at the ankle,
short skirt of a length that was risqué at the time, the
industrial armor of necklace of ball bearings, the helmet of
smooth hair.
Grand Confort
LC2
Club Chair, 1928
Chromed bent tubular steel, leather
Design: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand
And there is
that other famous chair:
The
Grand Confort LC2 Club Chair. The old club chair gone
modernist. The sense of
comfort offered by overstuffed cushioning here restrains itself to
straight lines, the comfort contrasting with and constrained by
the industrial steel tubing.
Perriand was
later particularly inspired by Kakuzo Okakura's
The Book of
Tea,
after spending time in the Far East, and was later to design the
interior at the minimalist residence of the Japanese ambassador in
Paris along with
Jean
Prouvé
. She was also to design some remarkable furniture with
Prouvé,
including the famous bookcase, the Bibliotheque from the
Maison du Mexique: "They invited the painter Sonia Delaunay,
known for her use of color and geometry to create the palette. Of
lacquered steel and pine, there is also a variation that combines
the bookcase with a bench."
Perriand (as
in the pubicity still) still casts a rather longue shadow
over the design world
To
Pre-Order:
Charlotte
Perriand, Objects and Furniture Design
Read:
The Book of
Tea, Kakuzo Okakura
Buy:
LC-4, dwr.com
Tags:
design art architecture
france
paris
books
design
color
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Farnsworth House, Mies
van der Rohe
Photo: Jon Miller, Hedrich Blessing,
farnsworthhouse.org
Villa
Savoye, Le corbusier
Bibliotheque from the Maison du Mexique, 1952
Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Sonia Delaunay |
