EAMES: THE ARCHITECT & PAINTER
FILM REVIEW
I knew somewhat of their work but knew nothing of their relationship or how they collaborated. I found this film very insightful as it goes into more detail of how such an interesting and intriguing couple worked together over the years.
The parts of the film that stood out to me were about credit. How throughout their career as a design duo it was Charles who more often than not got sole credit for the work instead of them both, not to mention the rest of the staff at the office. It highlights the period very well, with condescending sexist interviews where Ray is overlooked and treated as just a housewife or someone that simply supports Charles. The film did a very good job at correcting the record on this. It made clear that Charles almost needed Ray to work the way he did. Where he had incredible vision for physical design he had no colour sense for example. As a painter, Ray had the desired skills to combine with Charles to create many of their most iconic works over the years. While it seemed clear from this film that Charles was a supportive advocate for Rays input in the work with quotes such as “What I can do, She can do better.”, this sentiment did not seem to apply to the staff. In one particular portion relating to a short film where the staff at the office had mentioned the names of those who had worked on the set in the credits, to which Charles asked “Why is that there” (Or something to that effect). I just found that interesting. How frustrating it must have been to pour your heart and soul into something and receive little credit. It showed that Charles Eames was not the sole person responsible for the iconic range of works, but that it was a team effort of not only him and his wife but of everyone at the office. None the less, those interviewed that worked alongside the couple did not seem overly bothered by the lack of credit. I suppose getting the chance to work with arguably the most iconic modern designers in history would make up for that. The way the poeple talk about and describe the couple in such a way of admiration and curiosity speaks to their creative minds and vision. One of their former staff asked why he had to die, because she had so much more to ask him and so much more to learn.
I guess that my ultimate takeaway from this is to be open to collaboration in all aspects of design. Even some of the greatest minds had a massive team behind them supporting them. Communication and different perspectives is obviously what leads to these great timeless designs.