Here is episode two of the interview with Eames scholar Daniel Ostroff, author of An Eames Anthology.
In this 21-minute podcast, Daniel talks about what separates an Eames piece from pseudo designers (and why there is no serious threat to copyright infringement), Apple and “good design”, how Daniel’s poor choice of rented furniture in a high profile industry led him to become an avid Eames collector, some of the standout archives that he perused when writing the Anthology (“toys and games are preludes to serious ideas”) and the couple’s film philosophy and their use of it in their work. He closes with if he had the choice of just ONE Eames piece, what it would be.…
Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing.
Question, comment, show suggestion? thesoulofcalifornia@gmail.com.
Next month, singer-songwriter Louise Goffin, the offspring of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, is very much her own woman. Louise discusses her new album, songwriting, her favourite instrument and her recent performance in front of 60,000 at London’s Hyde Park.
Charles and Ray Eames are a couple that left an indelible mark on modern design. Based out of Los Angles for the majority of their careers, the two worked on all things design and in a considerable amount of media, whether it be wood, wire, film or toys. Those in Los Angeles are able to see their 1949 masterpiece Case Study House #8, which sits today on a bluff overlooking the ocean.
Film producer and agent Daniel Ostroff began an unsuspecting relationship with the work of Charles and Ray Eames when a colleague suggested that his newly-found office was in dire need of better furniture. After the purchase of an Eames desk, Daniel began not only filling an office and a house, but curating a collection of their work.
In this 31-minute podcast, Daniel walks us through the philosophy of the couple, the importance of doing something that you love, the very equal input of each them (min. 7), their reinterpretation of plywood, the KAZAM! Machine and leg splints during WW2 (min. 12), the thinking of Case Study House #8 (min. 21) and its longevity compared to other “starchitects”, and closes with the influence of Charles’s visit to Germany.
Episode two will be released around 20 July and include Daniel's falling into a career as an Eames scholar, some of the stories around his access to archives in writing An Eames Anthology, how he views their films (as a film producer himself) and which one Eames piece he values the most….
Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing.