these days i am trying to grab hold of those things that
mean something to me. i try and relate. it is though i am looking
for symbols. and signs. touchstones and seconds of light.
charlotte perriand
marched up to le corbusier and handed him her business card.
he looked at her drawings and famously said,
"we don't embroider cushions here."
later she had the confidence to invite him to see her installation
at the salon d’autumne.
he hired her.
she designed the b306 chaise lounge. she was photographed reclining in this chaise. it is a very mysterious photo. i assume that the photo was for an advertisement, but it is unforgettable due to the effect of her recline, her clothes, the shadows and her face turned towards the wall. it speaks volumes of ...something.
photos from here and here.
BAR SOUS LE TOIT
CHAIR-LESS
...a chair must be really important as an object because my mother taught me always to offer a lady my chair if there weren't enough around, and it can’t be just a question of ovaries or other delicate organs of the female anatomy, which they say go to pot if a lady remains standing.
it happens that even if a room is packed with empty chairs, a gentleman is supposed to stand up if a lady enters, i mean to honor her, the lady. what i mean is that to honor a lady a man must detach himself from his chair. he must abandon the chair, show that he is chair-stripped, unseated, chair-less, defenseless - otherwise things aren’t on an even footing.
sottsass on the metaphors of the chair from ettore sottsass - design metaphors
photo by j. emilio flores from ny times
