Sweat the Details
"The details are not details. They make the product."
My favorite design catalog arrived today. I always look forward to seeing incredible furniture and lighting, from mid-century classics like Isamu Noguchi's sculptural coffee table to contemporary show stoppers like Marcel Wanders whimsical Zeppelin S1 lamp. When I opened the catalog to find this great quote from designer Charles Eames, I knew I would have to save it! I think "sweating the details" is what separates great artists from good artists.
PS: I'm adding a new label for my posts..."Rachel's Random Ramblings!"
Labels: Rachel's Random Ramblings
posted by LaCour at 11:05 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for mentioning this. I struggle with NOT being detail-oriented enough. I have certainly learned about details and how they compliment the big picture-- metaphorically speaking and also literally-- both are important in what we do.
Rachel's Ramblings--I love to see what you are thinking about, oh daughter of mine! Always clever, always insightful, and many times peppered with your compassion. Artists--meant to show the world what the world cannot see.
Mom
I had the rare privilege of attending a prep school that was designed by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. It was intended to be the American response to The Bauhaus. Furnishings and fixtures were designed by Saarinen, his colleagues, and many of his students including Ray & Charles Eames, Florence Knoll (of Knoll design fame), and his son Eero. The school was designed to elicit questions - a thousand little quirks, meandering corridors, and other intentional inconveniences designed to provoke you into awareness the space, included simply to goad you into asking 'why that way?'. And once you saw one, you couldn't stop looking for others and I got bug for it, there and everywhere. Those details were in fact my first photographic subject and what led me to the camera in the first place. This all came flooding back when I read your post. Another connection, and just one more reason I'm glad that we're connected to YOU and the imperative you bring to your work and our industry!
...but you didn't mention which catalog... :-)
If you're an Eames fan, there is an AMAZING 6 DVD set of all of Ray & Charles Eames' short films available, by the way:
http://www.dvdplanet.com/details.cfm?info=IMA000440
Their 'Powers of Ten' film changed my life.
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