00:00:30,263 -- 00:00:33,198
CHARLES EAMES: An artist is
a title that you earn.
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00:00:33,266 -- 00:00:36,758
And it's a little embarrassing
to hear
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00:00:36,836 -- 00:00:38,394
people refer to themselves
4
00:00:38,471 -- 00:00:39,699
as artists.
5
00:00:39,773 -- 00:00:42,606
It's like referring to
themselves as a genius.
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00:00:45,645 -- 00:00:49,979
MAN: This was a man who was
a Merlin of curiosity.
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00:00:50,050 -- 00:00:52,041
He was driven by his curiosity.
8
00:00:54,854 -- 00:00:56,947
MAN: We weren't sure
quite what he was.
9
00:00:57,023 -- 00:00:58,217
Was he an architect?
10
00:00:58,291 -- 00:00:59,383
Was he a designer?
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00:00:59,459 -- 00:01:00,619
Was he a filmmaker?
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00:01:00,693 -- 00:01:02,820
But what he was, obviously,
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00:01:02,896 -- 00:01:04,864
was something
we all wanted to be.
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00:01:06,800 -- 00:01:09,030
RAY EAMES: I had been trained
as a painter,
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00:01:09,102 -- 00:01:12,799
but when we were working
on furniture,
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00:01:12,872 -- 00:01:14,703
and again in film,
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00:01:14,774 -- 00:01:18,210
it never seemed like leaving
painting in any way,
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00:01:18,278 -- 00:01:20,303
because it was
just another form.
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00:01:20,380 -- 00:01:24,009
WOMAN: She made paintings out of
what she was surrounded by.
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00:01:24,084 -- 00:01:27,918
Everything she touched, she
turned into something magical.
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00:01:27,987 -- 00:01:30,956
MAN: Everything that they did
in design, she saw as
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00:01:31,024 -- 00:01:32,582
an extension of her painting.
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00:01:32,659 -- 00:01:34,889
And everything they did in
design, he saw as an extension
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00:01:34,961 -- 00:01:36,929
of his architecture.
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00:01:36,996 -- 00:01:39,760
For them, these names like
painter and architect,
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00:01:39,833 -- 00:01:41,494
they weren't job descriptions.
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00:01:41,568 -- 00:01:42,967
They were ways of looking
at the world.
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00:01:43,036 -- 00:01:46,233
WOMAN: They were
introducing people
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00:01:46,306 -- 00:01:49,400
to look at the world
differently.
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00:01:49,476 -- 00:01:52,673
Life was fun, was work, was fun,
was life.
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00:01:52,745 -- 00:01:56,545
WOMAN: People would say
it was childlike behavior,
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00:01:56,616 -- 00:01:58,345
but what's wrong with that?
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00:01:58,418 -- 00:02:01,717
The Eameses have put
all this joy back in life.
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00:02:01,788 -- 00:02:03,619
You know that modernism,
let's face it,
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00:02:03,690 -- 00:02:06,716
was getting boring.
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00:02:06,793 -- 00:02:09,261
MAN: Had they just designed
the furniture,
37
00:02:09,329 -- 00:02:11,229
they'd be in the pantheon.
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00:02:11,297 -- 00:02:15,199
It's the multifaceted nature
of the career
39
00:02:15,268 -- 00:02:18,669
that is extraordinary.
40
00:02:18,738 -- 00:02:22,469
They give shape to America's
20th century.
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00:02:50,803 -- 00:02:54,000
MAN: I came from
an architectural office
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00:02:54,073 -- 00:02:57,941
where there were individual
tables with a conference room,
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00:02:58,011 -- 00:03:00,445
and there was carpet
on the floor.
44
00:03:00,513 -- 00:03:01,673
There were lights.
45
00:03:01,748 -- 00:03:03,909
We had drafting tables,
and all the equipment
46
00:03:03,983 -- 00:03:06,076
that you needed,
et cetera, et cetera.
47
00:03:06,152 -- 00:03:08,347
I walk into Eames Office,
48
00:03:08,421 -- 00:03:10,355
and it was like walking
into a circus.
49
00:03:12,792 -- 00:03:17,661
WOMAN: I walked in the door, and
of course I immediately thought,
50
00:03:17,730 -- 00:03:20,426
"Got any jobs here?"
51
00:03:20,500 -- 00:03:26,461
MAN: I'm just totally blown away
by the patina on every surface
52
00:03:26,539 -- 00:03:29,531
of graphics, and there were
models everywhere,
53
00:03:29,609 -- 00:03:31,099
and there was just stuff.
54
00:03:31,177 -- 00:03:32,542
I was just overwhelmed.
55
00:03:32,612 -- 00:03:36,776
MAN: I saw this incredible
apparition
56
00:03:36,849 -- 00:03:39,215
of animation stands
57
00:03:39,285 -- 00:03:41,776
and photographs
spread out on tables.
58
00:03:41,854 -- 00:03:44,322
Models being lit
for photography,
59
00:03:44,390 -- 00:03:45,755
a screening room,
60
00:03:45,825 -- 00:03:47,725
and a wonderful wood shop.
61
00:03:47,794 -- 00:03:49,591
Salt water tanks.
62
00:03:49,662 -- 00:03:53,428
WOMAN: There were Eames chairs
with Steinberg drawings on them.
63
00:03:53,499 -- 00:03:57,094
Every kind of visual treat
you can imagine.
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00:03:57,170 -- 00:03:59,968
And I thought, "I've come
to work in Disneyland."
65
00:04:02,141 -- 00:04:04,109
ASHBY: If you had taken
the roof off of it,
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00:04:04,177 -- 00:04:05,940
you would see that place
67
00:04:06,012 -- 00:04:07,502
changing constantly.
68
00:04:07,580 -- 00:04:10,014
So we'd just go around
69
00:04:10,083 -- 00:04:12,574
and take everything
out of the middle
70
00:04:12,652 -- 00:04:14,813
of the studio,
to put up a movie set
71
00:04:14,887 -- 00:04:17,685
to take pictures tomorrow,
and then the next day,
72
00:04:17,757 -- 00:04:20,692
you'd take out all the movie set
and put the tables all back up,
73
00:04:20,760 -- 00:04:22,455
and everybody's
back at work again.
74
00:04:24,664 -- 00:04:26,427
WOMAN: It was very informal.
75
00:04:26,499 -- 00:04:28,797
I mean, there wasn't ever
any kind
76
00:04:28,868 -- 00:04:30,062
of routine.
77
00:04:30,136 -- 00:04:32,696
There were no
"regular meetings."
78
00:04:34,274 -- 00:04:37,038
WOMAN: Because I did not have
a design degree,
79
00:04:37,110 -- 00:04:40,136
many of the people
in the Office thought
80
00:04:40,213 -- 00:04:42,204
I probably shouldn't be there,
81
00:04:42,282 -- 00:04:45,274
but Charles had
a differentattitude.
82
00:04:45,351 -- 00:04:47,945
And he said this to me...
83
00:04:48,021 -- 00:04:51,957
"I can teach you
how to draw.
84
00:04:52,025 -- 00:04:56,359
"If you can think
and you can see,
85
00:04:56,429 -- 00:04:59,523
and you can prove that to me,
you can work here."
86
00:04:59,599 -- 00:05:04,002
[Tune chiming]
87
00:05:04,070 -- 00:05:08,370
FRANCO: For four decades,
901 Washington Boulevard
88
00:05:08,441 -- 00:05:10,306
in Venice Beach, California,
was one of the most
89
00:05:10,376 -- 00:05:13,072
creative addresses on Earth.
90
00:05:13,146 -- 00:05:15,478
Dozens of gifted young designers
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00:05:15,548 -- 00:05:18,346
cut their teeth within the walls
of the studio.
92
00:05:18,418 -- 00:05:23,151
But the vision for the Office
came from the top.
93
00:05:23,222 -- 00:05:27,056
CHARLES EAMES: We have to have
a place where you can recognize
94
00:05:27,126 -- 00:05:28,787
where you're going
when you start out.
95
00:05:28,861 -- 00:05:30,658
FRANCO:
Modern design was born
96
00:05:30,730 -- 00:05:32,925
from the marriage
of art and industry.
97
00:05:32,999 -- 00:05:36,400
The Eames Office was born
from the marriage
98
00:05:36,469 -- 00:05:39,370
of Ray Kaiser...
a painter who rarely painted...
99
00:05:39,439 -- 00:05:42,806
and Charles Eames...
an architecture school dropout
100
00:05:42,875 -- 00:05:44,467
who never got his license.
101
00:05:44,544 -- 00:05:49,004
"Eventually, everything
connects," Charles said.
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00:05:49,082 -- 00:05:51,778
Furniture, toys, architecture,
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00:05:51,851 -- 00:05:54,149
exhibitions, photography,
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00:05:54,220 -- 00:05:56,085
and film were all connected
105
00:05:56,155 -- 00:05:59,522
in the wild, whimsical world
of the Eames Office.
106
00:05:59,592 -- 00:06:04,461
MAN: Charles and Ray Eames
wanted to bring
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00:06:04,530 -- 00:06:06,828
the most magnificent experiences
108
00:06:06,899 -- 00:06:09,561
that you could have
with your eyes
109
00:06:09,635 -- 00:06:12,934
to the largest number of people.
110
00:06:13,005 -- 00:06:15,269
I don't think there's anything
more important
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00:06:15,341 -- 00:06:16,672
for an artist to want to do.
112
00:06:16,743 -- 00:06:19,610
FRANCO: It was a career
that defined
113
00:06:19,679 -- 00:06:22,011
what it means to be a designer.
114
00:06:22,081 -- 00:06:25,482
And it all began with a chair.
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00:06:25,551 -- 00:06:29,453
MAN: Charles, where did the
classic Eames chair come from?
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00:06:29,522 -- 00:06:31,422
Did it come to you
in a flash,
117
00:06:31,491 -- 00:06:33,516
as you were shaving
one morning?
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00:06:33,593 -- 00:06:35,993
It sort of came to me
119
00:06:36,062 -- 00:06:40,021
in a 30-year flash,
if you want.
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00:06:40,099 -- 00:06:42,397
FRANCO: iTIME/i magazine called it
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00:06:42,468 -- 00:06:45,733
"the greatest design
ofthe 20th century."
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00:06:45,805 -- 00:06:48,103
But it didn't start out
that way.
123
00:06:48,174 -- 00:06:50,938
It began as a failure.
124
00:06:51,010 -- 00:06:53,205
Responding to a competition
125
00:06:53,279 -- 00:06:56,373
at the museum of modern art
in 1940,
126
00:06:56,449 -- 00:06:58,417
two unknown young architects...
127
00:06:58,484 -- 00:07:01,817
Charles Eames and his friend,
Eero Saarinen,
128
00:07:01,888 -- 00:07:05,619
set out to reinvent
the very idea of the chair.
129
00:07:05,691 -- 00:07:08,785
MAN: The goal is to create
an inexpensive,
130
00:07:08,861 -- 00:07:11,989
mass-produced chair
which is well designed,
131
00:07:12,064 -- 00:07:15,591
and which is molded to the body,
because it doesn't need a lot
132
00:07:15,668 -- 00:07:18,296
of upholstery, which is,
"a," old-fashioned,
133
00:07:18,371 -- 00:07:20,305
and "b," expensive.
134
00:07:20,373 -- 00:07:22,534
Upholstery is what
Louis XIV did.
135
00:07:22,608 -- 00:07:27,807
FRANCO: Working at the Cranbrook
Academy of Art near Detroit,
136
00:07:27,880 -- 00:07:29,939
Eames and Saarinen thought they
could mold
137
00:07:30,016 -- 00:07:31,745
the new miracle material,
plywood,
138
00:07:31,818 -- 00:07:33,080
into two directions at once
139
00:07:33,152 -- 00:07:35,848
to make a comfortable,
form-fitting shell.
140
00:07:35,922 -- 00:07:38,152
WOMAN: The critical point
141
00:07:38,224 -- 00:07:41,318
is where that back
becomes the seat.
142
00:07:41,394 -- 00:07:44,659
ALBRECHT: The glues aren't good
enough, and the chair splinters,
143
00:07:44,730 -- 00:07:45,958
which means,
when you'd sit on it,
144
00:07:46,032 -- 00:07:47,294
it would be a little
uncomfortable.
145
00:07:47,366 -- 00:07:49,357
So they have to upholster it.
146
00:07:49,435 -- 00:07:51,164
FRANCO: Despite failing
147
00:07:51,237 -- 00:07:54,673
at their goal of creating
a single-piece plywood shell,
148
00:07:54,740 -- 00:07:58,972
Charles and Eero
won the competition.
149
00:07:59,045 -- 00:08:02,776
WOMAN: The irony is that
150
00:08:02,849 -- 00:08:05,647
the chair that
Eames and Saarinen designed,
151
00:08:05,718 -- 00:08:08,016
they couldn't really
manufacture.
152
00:08:08,087 -- 00:08:12,148
FRANCO: Even with the upholstery
to cover the cracked surface,
153
00:08:12,225 -- 00:08:15,854
no existing machine could
successfully mold the plywood
154
00:08:15,928 -- 00:08:18,123
into the shape of the chair.
155
00:08:18,197 -- 00:08:19,425
MAN: It couldn't be made
156
00:08:19,499 -- 00:08:22,059
in the way that they claimed
it could be made.
157
00:08:22,134 -- 00:08:23,829
They had designed
the look of it
158
00:08:23,903 -- 00:08:25,837
without designing
the substance of it.
159
00:08:25,905 -- 00:08:29,671
FRANCO: After many unsuccessful
attempts,
160
00:08:29,742 -- 00:08:31,801
Eero Saarinen scrapped
the project.
161
00:08:31,878 -- 00:08:34,005
But Charles wasn't ready
to give up...
162
00:08:34,080 -- 00:08:36,776
this time, with a new partner.
163
00:08:36,849 -- 00:08:36,883
At Cranbrook, he had become
friendly with Ray Kaiser,
164
00:08:36,883 -- 00:08:40,876
At Cranbrook, he had become
friendly with Ray Kaiser,
165
00:08:40,953 -- 00:08:45,083
a talented young artistwho had
helped with the chair project.
166
00:08:45,157 -- 00:08:46,818
MARILYN NEUHART:
I said to Ray one day,
167
00:08:46,893 -- 00:08:49,691
"How did you and Charles
get together?"
168
00:08:49,762 -- 00:08:52,697
"Oh! I can't talk about it."
169
00:08:52,765 -- 00:08:53,823
I said, "Well, why not?"
170
00:08:53,900 -- 00:08:55,959
"Well, we just did."
171
00:08:56,035 -- 00:08:59,801
DEMETRIOS: They sparked, and
the rest is literally history.
172
00:08:59,872 -- 00:09:01,362
And I think in Ray,
173
00:09:01,440 -- 00:09:03,237
he really found his complement.
174
00:09:03,309 -- 00:09:05,800
FRANCO: But there was a problem.
175
00:09:05,878 -- 00:09:08,574
Charles was already married.
176
00:09:08,648 -- 00:09:11,583
He had moved up to Cranbrook
from St. Louis
177
00:09:11,651 -- 00:09:15,314
with his wife, Catherine,
and his young daughter, Lucia.
178
00:09:15,388 -- 00:09:23,295
KIRKHAM: The love letters are
Charles's letters to Ray,
179
00:09:23,362 -- 00:09:26,923
because the letters that Ray
wrote back to Charles,
180
00:09:26,999 -- 00:09:29,934
Charles destroyed,
because he was married.
181
00:09:30,002 -- 00:09:33,768
They show Charles madly in love
with her.
182
00:09:33,839 -- 00:09:35,670
There's no doubt about that.
183
00:09:35,741 -- 00:09:38,141
He talks about walking past
184
00:09:38,210 -- 00:09:39,871
the building
that she used to live in
185
00:09:39,946 -- 00:09:41,140
and looking up at her window,
186
00:09:41,213 -- 00:09:43,408
and they are very moving.
187
00:09:43,482 -- 00:09:47,919
These letters are talking about
188
00:09:47,987 -- 00:09:54,415
a joined future
as artists together.
189
00:09:54,493 -- 00:09:57,758
I think
his decision feels made.
190
00:09:57,830 -- 00:10:02,733
Ray certainly felt uncomfortable
enough to leave Cranbrook
191
00:10:02,802 -- 00:10:05,100
and go away and think about
192
00:10:05,171 -- 00:10:08,436
what she was going to do
thereafter.
193
00:10:10,710 -- 00:10:13,838
DEMETRIOS: Catherine was
a very impressive person.
194
00:10:13,913 -- 00:10:16,177
Knowing them both, as I did,
195
00:10:16,248 -- 00:10:20,082
you can see why
they didn't stay together.
196
00:10:20,152 -- 00:10:24,418
He really thought he had
something to offer the world,
197
00:10:24,490 -- 00:10:27,687
and this was going to be
a journey
198
00:10:27,760 -- 00:10:30,661
with a lot
of unexpectedness.
199
00:10:30,730 -- 00:10:34,325
This was ajourney that might
not lead to, uh, success.
200
00:10:34,400 -- 00:10:36,493
And I think that maybe
at that point in her life,
201
00:10:36,569 -- 00:10:37,934
this was not necessarily
202
00:10:38,004 -- 00:10:42,270
the place that Catherine
wanted to go.
203
00:10:42,341 -- 00:10:44,536
But I think that maybe
in Charles's mind
204
00:10:44,610 -- 00:10:49,274
that he had wanted a life
where love and work
205
00:10:49,348 -- 00:10:52,078
and life and work
were all blended together.
206
00:10:54,320 -- 00:10:56,811
FRANCO: Charles quit hisjob
at Cranbrook,
207
00:10:56,889 -- 00:11:01,883
and, in one last letterto Ray,
asked for her hand in marriage.
208
00:11:06,132 -- 00:11:07,599
His future with his new bride
209
00:11:07,667 -- 00:11:12,161
now depended
on making the chairwork.
210
00:11:15,908 -- 00:11:18,706
Broke and short on options,
211
00:11:18,778 -- 00:11:21,611
Charles and Ray
headed from Michigan to L.A.
212
00:11:21,681 -- 00:11:24,616
To finish what he had started.
213
00:11:24,684 -- 00:11:27,278
DEMETRIOS: Part of this journey
to California was
214
00:11:27,353 -- 00:11:29,253
they were both
going to figure out
215
00:11:29,321 -- 00:11:32,552
how to mass-produce molded
plywood and compound curves...
216
00:11:32,625 -- 00:11:34,957
which sounds very unromantic,
but I think it probably
217
00:11:35,027 -- 00:11:37,052
was pretty romantic,
under the circumstances.
218
00:11:37,129 -- 00:11:40,758
FRANCO: In their two-bedroom
apartment in Westwood Village,
219
00:11:40,833 -- 00:11:44,291
Charles and Ray set up
a makeshift workshop.
220
00:11:44,370 -- 00:11:46,838
RAY EAMES: The...
the first to...
221
00:11:46,906 -- 00:11:48,498
that did the molding,
222
00:11:48,574 -- 00:11:51,065
which was so magic,
223
00:11:51,143 -- 00:11:53,703
we called it by a magic name.
224
00:11:53,779 -- 00:11:56,009
So we called it "Kazam!"
225
00:11:56,082 -- 00:12:00,280
FRANCO: The "Kazam!" machine was
a jury-rigged molding device
226
00:12:00,352 -- 00:12:03,014
made out of heating coils
and a bicycle pump.
227
00:12:03,089 -- 00:12:06,855
But in 1942,
with the nation at war,
228
00:12:06,926 -- 00:12:11,829
raw materials were scarce,
and the "Kazam!" lay silent.
229
00:12:15,101 -- 00:12:19,435
But with the setback,
there was also opportunity.
230
00:12:19,505 -- 00:12:23,669
The U.S. Military
needed better splints.
231
00:12:23,743 -- 00:12:26,940
DEMETRIOS: The standard-issue
splint was metallic,
232
00:12:27,012 -- 00:12:28,809
and so the vibration of
the two people carrying them
233
00:12:28,881 -- 00:12:31,145
actually would make
the wound worse.
234
00:12:31,217 -- 00:12:32,514
They would actually be
better off
235
00:12:32,585 -- 00:12:34,553
if you grabbed a stick
off the ground and tied it to it
236
00:12:34,620 -- 00:12:35,780
than with this
amplification.
237
00:12:35,855 -- 00:12:38,085
So Charles and Ray said,
"Well, you know,
238
00:12:38,157 -- 00:12:40,387
we're experimenting
with molded plywood.
239
00:12:40,459 -- 00:12:42,723
Why don't we try
and design a new splint?"
240
00:12:42,795 -- 00:12:46,287
They're trying to make
a three-dimensional curve,
241
00:12:46,365 -- 00:12:47,593
kind of a bowl, you might say.
242
00:12:47,666 -- 00:12:49,429
They can't quite do it yet.
243
00:12:49,502 -- 00:12:52,062
So they need holes
in the plywood
244
00:12:52,138 -- 00:12:53,264
in order to release the tension,
245
00:12:53,339 -- 00:12:54,772
'cause otherwise
it's going to splinter
246
00:12:54,840 -- 00:12:55,829
where they try to do it.
247
00:12:55,908 -- 00:12:57,432
But working within
the constraints,
248
00:12:57,510 -- 00:12:59,501
what's nice is that this is
exactly what you need
249
00:12:59,578 -- 00:13:01,978
for a splint, 'cause you need
a place for the bandages to go.
250
00:13:02,047 -- 00:13:05,915
FRANCO: In a rented warehouse
space,
251
00:13:05,985 -- 00:13:08,852
their team of skilled designers
and craftspeople
252
00:13:08,921 -- 00:13:12,288
made 150,000 splints.
253
00:13:12,358 -- 00:13:15,418
With peace approaching,
Charles and Ray
254
00:13:15,494 -- 00:13:17,792
had one thing on their minds...
255
00:13:17,863 -- 00:13:20,627
applying the lessons
of the splints
256
00:13:20,699 -- 00:13:23,167
to the failed
plywood chairs.
257
00:13:23,235 -- 00:13:27,262
This time, they wouldn't design
the look of the chair first.
258
00:13:27,339 -- 00:13:30,137
DEMETRIOS: They would never make
that mistake again.
259
00:13:30,209 -- 00:13:33,110
They would let the design flow
from the learning.
260
00:13:33,179 -- 00:13:36,342
FRANCO: That meant
knowing who they were serving.
261
00:13:36,415 -- 00:13:37,575
In Charles's words,
262
00:13:37,650 -- 00:13:39,447
it was always about being
263
00:13:39,518 -- 00:13:41,509
a good host to their guests.
264
00:13:41,587 -- 00:13:45,580
CHARLES EAMES: The people we
wanted to serve were varied,
265
00:13:45,658 -- 00:13:49,150
and to begin with we studied
the shape and postures
266
00:13:49,228 -- 00:13:52,425
of many types...
averages and extremes.
267
00:13:55,534 -- 00:13:57,058
FRANCO: But it was more
than just a search
268
00:13:57,136 -- 00:13:59,604
for the best chair design.
269
00:13:59,672 -- 00:14:02,800
It was the beginning
of the Eames design process,
270
00:14:02,875 -- 00:14:06,572
a process of learning by doing.
271
00:14:06,645 -- 00:14:09,307
CHARLES EAMES: In the design
of any structure,
272
00:14:09,381 -- 00:14:11,246
it is often the connection
273
00:14:11,317 -- 00:14:14,753
that provides the key
to the solution.
274
00:14:14,820 -- 00:14:18,381
FRANCO: "Never delegate
understanding," Charles said.
275
00:14:18,457 -- 00:14:21,949
It would become a hallmark
of Eames design,
276
00:14:22,027 -- 00:14:23,858
their secret ingredient.
277
00:14:23,929 -- 00:14:26,295
MAN: Charles said,
yeah, there's a secret.
278
00:14:26,365 -- 00:14:29,357
First you have an idea,
then you discard the idea,
279
00:14:29,435 -- 00:14:33,201
then you have 50 other ideas
and you discard them,
280
00:14:33,272 -- 00:14:36,730
and then you do several models,
and they don't work,
281
00:14:36,809 -- 00:14:38,367
and you throw them out.
282
00:14:38,444 -- 00:14:41,880
And the secret is work and work
and work and work and work.
283
00:14:41,947 -- 00:14:47,385
FRANCO: The plywood furniture
was good to go in 1946.
284
00:14:47,453 -- 00:14:49,580
Charles said of the furniture,
285
00:14:49,655 -- 00:14:54,820
"We wanted to make the best
for the most for the least."
286
00:14:54,894 -- 00:14:56,589
That sentiment struck a chord
287
00:14:56,662 -- 00:14:59,222
with the Herman Miller
furniture company.
288
00:14:59,298 -- 00:15:02,495
Honest and simple
in its use of materials,
289
00:15:02,568 -- 00:15:06,504
the plywood furniture was also
affordable for the common man.
290
00:15:06,572 -- 00:15:10,201
Together, they would become one
of the great success stories
291
00:15:10,276 -- 00:15:12,141
of the postwar era.
292
00:15:19,718 -- 00:15:23,085
ALBRECHT: Charles and Ray Eames
provide much of the furniture
293
00:15:23,155 -- 00:15:25,988
for a kind of
Upper-middle-class,
294
00:15:26,058 -- 00:15:27,491
educated audience
295
00:15:27,559 -- 00:15:29,424
moving to suburbia.
296
00:15:29,495 -- 00:15:31,895
When the Second World War ended,
297
00:15:31,964 -- 00:15:34,956
it wasn't just five years
of pent-up demand.
298
00:15:35,034 -- 00:15:36,934
It was actually almost 15 years,
299
00:15:37,002 -- 00:15:39,300
because you also have 10 years
of the Depression.
300
00:15:39,371 -- 00:15:42,363
And people have much more money,
301
00:15:42,441 -- 00:15:44,272
so if you wanted to sort of
do something
302
00:15:44,343 -- 00:15:48,006
differentthan your parents,
you boughtthat Eames furniture.
303
00:15:49,882 -- 00:15:53,443
And itwas promoted that way.
304
00:15:53,519 -- 00:15:55,510
Everything around the marketing
suggested,
305
00:15:55,587 -- 00:15:58,852
"Here is something new
for a new society."
306
00:15:58,924 -- 00:16:01,916
And America was a new society
in '45.
307
00:16:05,197 -- 00:16:07,358
FRANCO: In the decades
to follow,
308
00:16:07,433 -- 00:16:09,594
Charles and Ray scored success
309
00:16:09,668 -- 00:16:12,762
with line after line
of Eames furniture.
310
00:16:12,838 -- 00:16:14,271
And their unmistakable designs
311
00:16:14,340 -- 00:16:17,207
became a ubiquitous part
of American culture,
312
00:16:17,276 -- 00:16:21,269
right up to today.
313
00:16:21,347 -- 00:16:23,838
Sold for $900, 232.
314
00:16:23,916 -- 00:16:28,478
I think the work retains
a real freshness.
315
00:16:28,554 -- 00:16:32,285
Elements of it still inform
contemporary design today.
316
00:16:32,358 -- 00:16:34,383
AUCTIONEER: $700.
317
00:16:34,460 -- 00:16:35,586
AUCTIONEER: $2,000.
318
00:16:35,661 -- 00:16:36,650
$2,100.
319
00:16:36,729 -- 00:16:38,162
AUCTIONEER: $2,100.
320
00:16:38,230 -- 00:16:39,822
AUCTIONEER: $7,000.
321
00:16:39,898 -- 00:16:42,298
AUCTIONEER: Fair warning,
selling... $13,000.
322
00:16:42,368 -- 00:16:43,699
Are we done?
323
00:16:43,769 -- 00:16:45,100
Sold for $13,000.
324
00:16:45,170 -- 00:16:46,432
WRIGHT: The rightness
of the furniture
325
00:16:46,505 -- 00:16:49,599
will continue to appeal
326
00:16:49,675 -- 00:16:52,576
to new generations.
327
00:16:52,644 -- 00:16:56,080
MAN: The word "Eames" has now
become a generic word.
328
00:16:56,148 -- 00:17:00,482
I mean, if you go on eBay,
it always says, "Eames era"
329
00:17:00,552 -- 00:17:02,645
blah, blah, blah.
330
00:17:02,721 -- 00:17:04,484
So it's become
a word like "Victorian."
331
00:17:04,556 -- 00:17:06,717
Maybe it's, in a way, accurate,
332
00:17:06,792 -- 00:17:09,056
because just like Queen Victoria
333
00:17:09,128 -- 00:17:11,653
represents an attitude,
334
00:17:11,730 -- 00:17:15,359
Eames also embodies
a certain approach
335
00:17:15,434 -- 00:17:18,130
to life and to thinking.
336
00:17:18,203 -- 00:17:20,831
FRANCO: By the early '50s,
Charles had grown
337
00:17:20,906 -- 00:17:24,535
an outsized reputation
as an icon of modernism,
338
00:17:24,610 -- 00:17:27,306
fighting to inject
an ethical dimension
339
00:17:27,379 -- 00:17:29,040
into American capitalism.
340
00:17:29,114 -- 00:17:30,775
At that price,
the customer knows
341
00:17:30,849 -- 00:17:32,248
exactly what
he's going to get.
342
00:17:32,317 -- 00:17:33,306
This!
343
00:17:33,385 -- 00:17:37,446
FRANCO: In MGM's
"Executive Suite,"
344
00:17:37,523 -- 00:17:38,649
William Holden stars
345
00:17:38,724 -- 00:17:41,318
as a curiously
Charles Eames-like
346
00:17:41,393 -- 00:17:43,020
furniture designer.
347
00:17:43,095 -- 00:17:44,562
We'll have a line
of low-priced furniture,
348
00:17:44,630 -- 00:17:46,689
a new and different line,
349
00:17:46,765 -- 00:17:49,233
as differentfrom anything
we're making today
350
00:17:49,301 -- 00:17:51,861
as a modern automobile is
different from a covered wagon.
351
00:17:51,937 -- 00:17:55,202
FRANCO: In the outside world,
Charles's reputation
352
00:17:55,274 -- 00:17:57,265
may have grown largerthan life,
353
00:17:57,342 -- 00:17:59,207
butwithin the Eames Office,
354
00:17:59,278 -- 00:18:02,714
there was always the lingering
question of credit.
355
00:18:02,781 -- 00:18:05,875
SUSSMAN: There are still
some sore issues
356
00:18:05,951 -- 00:18:09,978
among certain people who feel
they never were recognized
357
00:18:10,055 -- 00:18:12,148
as much as they should,
358
00:18:12,224 -- 00:18:14,954
but it's a very delicate issue.
359
00:18:15,027 -- 00:18:20,260
FRANCO: The issue came to a head
back in 1946
360
00:18:20,332 -- 00:18:23,199
at the unveiling
of the original Eames chair
361
00:18:23,268 -- 00:18:27,967
when the museum of modern art
gave Charles a one-man show.
362
00:18:28,040 -- 00:18:33,103
ALBRECHT: MOMA gives the name
Charles Eames,
363
00:18:33,178 -- 00:18:37,012
and this causes a certain
tension in the Office,
364
00:18:37,082 -- 00:18:39,778
because it was thought to be
a collaborative effort.
365
00:18:39,852 -- 00:18:44,312
MAN: It's not that he's swooping
in or is doing nothing
366
00:18:44,389 -- 00:18:46,880
and scarfing up all the credit,
367
00:18:46,959 -- 00:18:49,757
but he is not the only designer
that was involved.
368
00:18:49,828 -- 00:18:52,854
SUSSMAN: This happens
all the time.
369
00:18:52,931 -- 00:18:55,422
A group of young people
co-creating
370
00:18:55,501 -- 00:18:59,028
and influencing each other
and inspiring each other,
371
00:18:59,104 -- 00:19:01,095
and then the question is,
"Who did what?"
372
00:19:01,173 -- 00:19:03,903
One of the last projects
373
00:19:03,976 -- 00:19:07,207
I worked on was
"Day of the Dead," the film.
374
00:19:07,279 -- 00:19:10,248
I was down in Mexico
helping with that film,
375
00:19:10,315 -- 00:19:12,306
shooting, gathering objects,
376
00:19:12,384 -- 00:19:14,579
and setting the type.
377
00:19:14,653 -- 00:19:16,848
And I wrote,
"Assistance in Mexico,"
378
00:19:16,922 -- 00:19:19,652
and I wrote the names
of the people.
379
00:19:19,725 -- 00:19:25,288
So Charles came by my desk
and said, "What is that?!"
380
00:19:25,364 -- 00:19:29,391
And I said, "But we worked
on it, didn't we?"
381
00:19:33,338 -- 00:19:35,533
ASHBY: I went to New York
many, many times,
382
00:19:35,607 -- 00:19:37,973
putting the time life
lobbies together,
383
00:19:38,043 -- 00:19:39,943
and Charles never went
and saw them
384
00:19:40,012 -- 00:19:42,105
while the things
were being constructed,
385
00:19:42,181 -- 00:19:45,082
but I could never say
386
00:19:45,150 -- 00:19:47,414
that I designed anything
at the Eames Office.
387
00:19:47,486 -- 00:19:51,217
I never saw anything
come out of there thatwas not
388
00:19:51,290 -- 00:19:54,885
signatured, you know,
by him and Ray.
389
00:19:54,960 -- 00:19:59,397
OPPEWALL: When a product
comes out,
390
00:19:59,464 -- 00:20:00,556
it's a river.
391
00:20:00,632 -- 00:20:01,690
It starts at one point,
392
00:20:01,767 -- 00:20:03,359
and it ends at another point.
393
00:20:03,435 -- 00:20:07,701
Many peoplejump into it
along the way.
394
00:20:07,773 -- 00:20:12,403
BEEBE: And everybody contributes
a small piece,
395
00:20:12,477 -- 00:20:14,069
butonly if they go on
afterthat
396
00:20:14,146 -- 00:20:16,273
to produce
a stunning amount of work,
397
00:20:16,348 -- 00:20:18,316
I think, are they
capable of saying,
398
00:20:18,383 -- 00:20:19,873
"I did this, this, and this
399
00:20:19,952 -- 00:20:22,113
in the Eames Office
with no credit."
400
00:20:22,187 -- 00:20:27,853
WOMAN: I think he ran the Office
a bit like a Renaissance studio.
401
00:20:27,926 -- 00:20:29,359
You know, there's
a master painter,
402
00:20:29,428 -- 00:20:31,623
but then there are
all the other people
403
00:20:31,697 -- 00:20:33,062
who help realize the work.
404
00:20:36,735 -- 00:20:39,966
OPPEWALL: He may have been
exploiting us,
405
00:20:40,038 -- 00:20:42,632
but if you were not stupid,
406
00:20:42,708 -- 00:20:46,644
you were also exploiting
that relationship.
407
00:20:46,712 -- 00:20:48,475
I was happy,
408
00:20:48,547 -- 00:20:51,607
being exploited
409
00:20:51,683 -- 00:20:54,811
by a proper master.
410
00:20:59,057 -- 00:21:01,025
MAN: The most
wonderful work is...
411
00:21:01,093 -- 00:21:04,256
is the conscience
and the talents of a person
412
00:21:04,329 -- 00:21:06,490
who have every right
to have their name on it,
413
00:21:06,565 -- 00:21:08,863
even though it's done
by minions of other people.
414
00:21:08,934 -- 00:21:11,903
Things good and bad,
415
00:21:11,970 -- 00:21:15,565
he rightfully has his name
on them, and they rightfully
416
00:21:15,641 -- 00:21:19,509
are Charles Eames or
Charles and Ray Eames products.
417
00:21:19,578 -- 00:21:19,878
ARLENE FRANCIS: Almost always,
when there's a successful man,
418
00:21:19,878 -- 00:21:24,838
ARLENE FRANCIS: Almost always,
when there's a successful man,
419
00:21:24,916 -- 00:21:27,976
there is a very interesting
and able woman behind him.
420
00:21:28,053 -- 00:21:30,521
And a better case
could seldom be found
421
00:21:30,589 -- 00:21:32,386
than in Ray and Charles Eames.
422
00:21:32,457 -- 00:21:33,981
Come on in, Ray.
423
00:21:34,059 -- 00:21:35,993
Hello,
I'm so happy to see you.
424
00:21:36,061 -- 00:21:38,427
This is Mrs. Eames,
and she's going to tell us
425
00:21:38,497 -- 00:21:40,362
how she helps Charles
design these chairs.
426
00:21:40,432 -- 00:21:41,694
How do you manage that?
427
00:21:41,767 -- 00:21:44,361
Well, uh, aside from serving
428
00:21:44,436 -- 00:21:47,132
as an extreme in the testing,
429
00:21:47,205 -- 00:21:50,174
there are a million things,
430
00:21:50,242 -- 00:21:54,235
but, uh, I think
the most difficult thing
431
00:21:54,313 -- 00:21:56,611
is to keep the big idea,
432
00:21:56,682 -- 00:21:59,947
to be able to look
critically at the work.
433
00:22:00,018 -- 00:22:04,751
ALBRECHT: Arlene Francis is
clearly having a hard time
434
00:22:04,823 -- 00:22:08,657
with this husband and wife
working together.
435
00:22:08,727 -- 00:22:11,457
You know, this is the era
of "Mad Men,"
436
00:22:11,530 -- 00:22:13,088
as we're watching now.
437
00:22:13,165 -- 00:22:14,826
This is not fitting.
438
00:22:14,900 -- 00:22:19,837
And Charles Eames is trying
to promote Ray Eames,
439
00:22:19,905 -- 00:22:22,430
as saying that,
"We collaborated on this."
440
00:22:22,507 -- 00:22:25,135
CHARLES EAMES: Well, uh, Ray...
Ray was a painter.
441
00:22:25,210 -- 00:22:28,407
Ray worked here in New York with
Hans Hofmann for a long time,
442
00:22:28,480 -- 00:22:29,970
which is a pretty good start.
443
00:22:30,048 -- 00:22:32,278
KIRKHAM: I actually thought
Charles was more embarrassed
444
00:22:32,351 -- 00:22:33,375
than Ray.
445
00:22:33,452 -- 00:22:35,283
Ray is hidden away.
446
00:22:35,354 -- 00:22:39,791
Charles is being highlighted,
the great male designer.
447
00:22:39,858 -- 00:22:42,053
It's a very interesting moment
448
00:22:42,127 -- 00:22:45,324
of American sexual politics
in the 1950s.
449
00:22:45,397 -- 00:22:47,888
Uh, I wonder if you're going
to maybe take us through
450
00:22:47,966 -- 00:22:50,332
and show how... how the Eames
chair has developed.
451
00:22:50,402 -- 00:22:52,165
And, Ray, shall we
let Charles do it,
452
00:22:52,237 -- 00:22:53,329
or do you want
to help with it?
453
00:22:53,405 -- 00:22:54,667
Please, please.
454
00:22:54,740 -- 00:22:57,106
No, you see, as I told you,
she is ibehind/i the man,
455
00:22:57,175 -- 00:22:58,233
but terribly important.
456
00:22:58,310 -- 00:22:59,971
Thank you, Ray.
All right, Charles...
457
00:23:00,045 -- 00:23:03,276
SUSSMAN: The feminist conscience
had not been yet raised.
458
00:23:03,348 -- 00:23:08,411
Ray would always stand
behind Charles.
459
00:23:08,487 -- 00:23:13,015
And on camera or in interviews,
she said hardly anything.
460
00:23:13,091 -- 00:23:15,924
EDWARD P. MORGAN: Her warm
but quiet conversation
461
00:23:15,994 -- 00:23:18,462
shrank to total silence
before the camera,
462
00:23:18,530 -- 00:23:21,363
but her impact on Eames' work
spoke for her.
463
00:23:21,433 -- 00:23:24,561
She sat like a delicious
dumpling in a doll's dress,
464
00:23:24,636 -- 00:23:26,866
concentrating
on a sweep of subjects
465
00:23:26,938 -- 00:23:30,305
which would seemingly
choke a computer.
466
00:23:30,375 -- 00:23:32,206
ASHBY: People always made
the mistake
467
00:23:32,277 -- 00:23:35,735
that Charles and Ray,
itwas two brothers.
468
00:23:35,814 -- 00:23:37,873
They were a married couple,
469
00:23:37,949 -- 00:23:40,747
while at the same time,
they were partners
470
00:23:40,819 -- 00:23:43,219
in whatever
their design effortwas.
471
00:23:43,288 -- 00:23:47,554
OPPEWALL: Ray felt, I think,
472
00:23:47,626 -- 00:23:50,993
deeply enraged
and hurt, on occasion,
473
00:23:51,062 -- 00:23:55,021
when itwas assumed that it was
474
00:23:55,100 -- 00:23:58,866
actually just Charles's business
475
00:23:58,937 -- 00:24:00,996
and it was the office
of Charles Eames,
476
00:24:01,072 -- 00:24:03,870
not the office
of Charles and Ray Eames.
477
00:24:03,942 -- 00:24:07,742
It iwas/i Charles
who was in charge,
478
00:24:07,813 -- 00:24:10,179
but the body of work
would not have been the same
479
00:24:10,248 -- 00:24:12,216
without Ray's contributions,
480
00:24:12,284 -- 00:24:16,516
and how you separate that out,
I don't know.
481
00:24:16,588 -- 00:24:19,751
FRANCO: If the public saw Ray
as little more
482
00:24:19,825 -- 00:24:22,385
than the devoted wife
supporting her husband,
483
00:24:22,461 -- 00:24:25,953
Charles saw a talented artist
who had participated
484
00:24:26,031 -- 00:24:29,091
in the birth of abstract art
in America.
485
00:24:29,167 -- 00:24:32,295
Her mentor was the German
abstract expressionist
486
00:24:32,370 -- 00:24:34,099
Hans Hofmann.
487
00:24:34,172 -- 00:24:37,300
PERL: Hofmann is one
of the great catalytic figures
488
00:24:37,375 -- 00:24:39,002
in American art.
489
00:24:39,077 -- 00:24:43,514
He starts a school
in New York City in '33
490
00:24:43,582 -- 00:24:46,745
with at times no more than
a dozen or two students.
491
00:24:46,818 -- 00:24:50,777
They, together, are the seed
out of which
492
00:24:50,856 -- 00:24:53,416
the new American art
really grows.
493
00:24:58,663 -- 00:25:00,995
He was getting ideas from people
494
00:25:01,066 -- 00:25:04,160
like Mondrian, Paul Klee,
Kandinsky,
495
00:25:04,236 -- 00:25:06,932
but he was communicating them
496
00:25:07,005 -- 00:25:12,307
not as textbook learning, but as
this incredibly visceral
497
00:25:12,377 -- 00:25:14,106
sensation.
498
00:25:14,179 -- 00:25:18,639
And I have talked to people
who remember him
499
00:25:18,717 -- 00:25:21,880
walking into the studio and
looking at a drawing of theirs
500
00:25:21,953 -- 00:25:24,183
and tearing it down the middle
501
00:25:24,256 -- 00:25:27,987
and then taking the two parts
and moving them.
502
00:25:28,059 -- 00:25:30,926
And then suddenly something
that had been very static
503
00:25:30,996 -- 00:25:32,293
was dynamic.
504
00:25:34,099 -- 00:25:37,000
KIRKHAM: So I think it's there
that Ray learned
505
00:25:37,068 -- 00:25:40,401
some, at least, of this
wonderful capacity that she had
506
00:25:40,472 -- 00:25:43,635
for collaging,
forjuxtaposition.
507
00:25:43,708 -- 00:25:46,575
She could move things around
very, very easily
508
00:25:46,645 -- 00:25:50,103
and beautifully and find form,
509
00:25:50,181 -- 00:25:54,345
and find form
in relation to otherform.
510
00:25:58,490 -- 00:26:02,324
SUSSMAN: Ray knew what was art
511
00:26:02,394 -- 00:26:04,021
and whatwas not.
512
00:26:04,095 -- 00:26:09,590
And Charles depended
on her aesthetic genius.
513
00:26:09,668 -- 00:26:14,696
OPPEWALL: And she would put
objects on shoots
514
00:26:14,773 -- 00:26:18,402
that would just bring
the whole thing to life.
515
00:26:20,211 -- 00:26:24,944
By putting the stack
of black wire chairs
516
00:26:25,016 -- 00:26:28,144
naked with the wooden bird
517
00:26:28,219 -- 00:26:30,084
with the little wire legs,
518
00:26:30,155 -- 00:26:34,489
gave you a very different
feeling about those chairs.
519
00:26:36,595 -- 00:26:39,257
ASHBY: Charles could not deal
with the idea
520
00:26:39,331 -- 00:26:41,993
that any of the furniture
would have color on it.
521
00:26:42,067 -- 00:26:44,092
If you put a palette of colors
in front of him,
522
00:26:44,169 -- 00:26:46,160
they just... like he couldn't
handle it.
523
00:26:46,237 -- 00:26:48,671
It just went
over his head.
524
00:26:48,740 -- 00:26:51,265
He deferred to her completely
on color sense.
525
00:26:51,343 -- 00:26:54,335
BEEBE: She saw everything
as a painting.
526
00:26:54,412 -- 00:26:56,937
She had these enormous eyes
that were...
527
00:26:57,015 -- 00:26:59,381
they were open like this
all the time.
528
00:26:59,451 -- 00:27:02,648
And I think Charles
was very dependent on that.
529
00:27:02,721 -- 00:27:05,121
SUSSMAN: You could just
hear him say,
530
00:27:05,190 -- 00:27:07,090
"Ra-ay!"
531
00:27:07,158 -- 00:27:09,023
Which meant, "Come and help!"
532
00:27:09,094 -- 00:27:11,324
FRANCO: At the Library
of Congress,
533
00:27:11,396 -- 00:27:14,888
Ray's letters
to a traveling Charles
534
00:27:14,966 -- 00:27:16,991
show her fastidious attention
to every detail
535
00:27:17,068 -- 00:27:18,695
of their life and work.
536
00:27:18,770 -- 00:27:21,534
MAN: When she writes to Charles
in Paris
537
00:27:21,606 -- 00:27:24,973
and she's talking about
the slides that he's just taken,
538
00:27:25,043 -- 00:27:27,534
and she has this sketch
showing how she
539
00:27:27,612 -- 00:27:31,207
and Sandro and Don Albinson
have changed the chair.
540
00:27:31,282 -- 00:27:33,773
And then she's going on
about the films,
541
00:27:33,852 -- 00:27:35,786
and she's going on
about Elmer Bernstein.
542
00:27:35,854 -- 00:27:38,448
Then she tells him all
the places to shop in Paris
543
00:27:38,523 -- 00:27:39,956
and where to get his shoes
544
00:27:40,025 -- 00:27:41,253
and where to get her gloves
545
00:27:41,326 -- 00:27:43,385
and whatthe stitching
should be like on the gloves
546
00:27:43,461 -- 00:27:47,420
and how this perfume
by Balmain is $55 an ounce here,
547
00:27:47,499 -- 00:27:50,764
but it's cheaper in Paris,
"and please get it for me."
548
00:27:53,104 -- 00:27:54,969
SELIGSOHN: It's as if
they were one individual
549
00:27:55,040 -- 00:27:57,873
with two different
special areas,
550
00:27:57,942 -- 00:27:59,773
and a lot of itwas unspoken,
551
00:27:59,844 -- 00:28:02,074
just eye... eye contact.
552
00:28:02,147 -- 00:28:03,774
A nodding of something...
an idea
553
00:28:03,848 -- 00:28:05,816
thatthey both would agree on.
554
00:28:05,884 -- 00:28:09,547
PEATROSS: So that's how
you begin to separate
555
00:28:09,621 -- 00:28:12,385
their artistic personalities
and their contributions.
556
00:28:12,457 -- 00:28:15,051
But the separating them
isn't the important part.
557
00:28:15,126 -- 00:28:18,186
It's what they created together.
558
00:28:18,263 -- 00:28:20,959
That's why it's so good.
559
00:28:25,670 -- 00:28:28,571
FRANCO: Perhaps the greatest
Eames design of all
560
00:28:28,640 -- 00:28:31,837
was the image
of Charles and Ray.
561
00:28:34,612 -- 00:28:37,672
Their playful self-portraits,
eccentric dress,
562
00:28:37,749 -- 00:28:40,513
and quotable quotes
all contributed
563
00:28:40,585 -- 00:28:43,418
to the endearing picture
of a happy, modern couple
564
00:28:43,488 -- 00:28:45,922
absorbed in the challenges
of their work.
565
00:28:45,990 -- 00:28:49,983
Charles and Ray
were cultural icons,
566
00:28:50,061 -- 00:28:55,897
but their public face masked
a deep desire for privacy.
567
00:28:55,967 -- 00:28:59,664
After long hours at 901,
568
00:28:59,738 -- 00:29:02,070
they would retreat
to the home they built
569
00:29:02,140 -- 00:29:04,608
in Pacific Palisades.
570
00:29:04,676 -- 00:29:08,373
SUSSMAN: Charles and Ray were
their own community,
571
00:29:08,446 -- 00:29:12,405
and we were
in the satellite group.
572
00:29:12,484 -- 00:29:14,111
And so was everybody else.
573
00:29:14,185 -- 00:29:22,149
ASHBY: I had no sense that they
were trying to keep out
574
00:29:22,227 -- 00:29:25,196
the outside world
or anything else.
575
00:29:25,263 -- 00:29:28,357
They had created a world
and a lifestyle
576
00:29:28,433 -- 00:29:31,300
that just required them to go
577
00:29:31,369 -- 00:29:34,395
in this tunnel from their house
578
00:29:34,472 -- 00:29:37,373
to the work, you know,
back home again,
579
00:29:37,442 -- 00:29:40,673
so what you surround yourself
with and the choices you make
580
00:29:40,745 -- 00:29:42,906
about where you live
and how you live
581
00:29:42,981 -- 00:29:45,541
and the artifacts you have,
582
00:29:45,617 -- 00:29:47,710
they're all based upon
trying to create
583
00:29:47,786 -- 00:29:52,348
a seamless environment
and a seamless life.
584
00:29:52,423 -- 00:29:57,884
FRANCO: Originally, the house
was designed by Charles
585
00:29:57,962 -- 00:29:59,862
with Eero Saarinen as part of
586
00:29:59,931 -- 00:30:03,628
the influential case study
housing program in 1945.
587
00:30:03,701 -- 00:30:08,502
But Charles and Ray were not
ones to let a good design rest.
588
00:30:08,573 -- 00:30:12,236
DEMETRIOS: Charles Eames and
Eero Saarinen designed a house
589
00:30:12,310 -- 00:30:14,608
that we now call
the Bridge House,
590
00:30:14,679 -- 00:30:16,169
and it was forthis site.
591
00:30:16,247 -- 00:30:17,714
It would have cantilevered
from the hillside
592
00:30:17,782 -- 00:30:20,615
out into the middle
of the meadow.
593
00:30:20,685 -- 00:30:22,983
One of the ideas of the house
was to use technologies
594
00:30:23,054 -- 00:30:24,681
that had come
out of the war effort.
595
00:30:24,756 -- 00:30:26,883
So all the parts of this house
596
00:30:26,958 -- 00:30:28,926
were off the shelf.
597
00:30:28,993 -- 00:30:32,656
FRANCO: But the Bridge House
was never built.
598
00:30:32,730 -- 00:30:33,822
DEMETRIOS: After World War II,
599
00:30:33,898 -- 00:30:35,365
there were major
material shortages,
600
00:30:35,433 -- 00:30:36,866
and it took about
two or three years
601
00:30:36,935 -- 00:30:38,664
to even get the parts
that they had ordered.
602
00:30:38,736 -- 00:30:40,863
And in that time,
Charles and Ray
603
00:30:40,939 -- 00:30:42,099
fell in love with this meadow.
604
00:30:46,644 -- 00:30:50,671
RAY EAMES: We spent all...
all our spare time here.
605
00:30:50,748 -- 00:30:54,309
Began to think it would be
criminal to put that house
606
00:30:54,385 -- 00:30:56,376
in the middle
of the field.
607
00:30:59,224 -- 00:31:00,953
WOMAN: Charles realized,
608
00:31:01,025 -- 00:31:04,688
"Oh, we're making the classic
architect's mistake."
609
00:31:04,762 -- 00:31:06,627
You find
a beautiful site,
610
00:31:06,698 -- 00:31:10,190
and you plunk a house
in the middle of it.
611
00:31:10,268 -- 00:31:12,463
FRANCO:
With the meadow in mind,
612
00:31:12,537 -- 00:31:15,335
Charles and Ray redesigned
the Bridge House
613
00:31:15,406 -- 00:31:18,068
and began construction.
614
00:31:18,142 -- 00:31:20,406
MAN: It was relatively quick,
615
00:31:20,478 -- 00:31:25,677
because they were relying on
some form of prefabrication,
616
00:31:25,750 -- 00:31:29,186
of bringing materials
to the site
617
00:31:29,254 -- 00:31:32,246
and assembling them.
618
00:31:32,323 -- 00:31:36,760
FRANCO: On Christmas Eve, 1949,
619
00:31:36,828 -- 00:31:39,228
Charles and Ray moved in.
620
00:31:44,068 -- 00:31:46,468
Hines: The Eames house
in Los Angeles
621
00:31:46,537 -- 00:31:49,335
on that bluff
overlooking the Pacific Ocean
622
00:31:49,407 -- 00:31:54,344
is surely one of the great
buildings of the 20th century.
623
00:31:54,412 -- 00:31:57,279
FRANCO: Known to architectural
historians
624
00:31:57,348 -- 00:31:59,509
as Case Study House Number 8,
625
00:31:59,584 -- 00:32:02,781
it is the archetypal
modern house.
626
00:32:02,854 -- 00:32:05,721
Or at least,
it started thatway.
627
00:32:05,790 -- 00:32:08,452
WRIGHT: The Eames house
as it was first made
628
00:32:08,526 -- 00:32:11,256
is very different
from what it became
629
00:32:11,329 -- 00:32:13,354
as they lived in it
through the years
630
00:32:13,431 -- 00:32:16,992
and as it acquired
all their little touches.
631
00:32:17,068 -- 00:32:18,365
I think people miss that
632
00:32:18,436 -- 00:32:20,336
unless you've really been there
and been inside of it.
633
00:32:20,405 -- 00:32:21,770
Now, do you remember this?
634
00:32:21,839 -- 00:32:22,965
Do you remember this?
635
00:32:23,041 -- 00:32:25,009
I do.
I do.
636
00:32:25,076 -- 00:32:28,375
Uh, I don't remember
this one here,
637
00:32:28,446 -- 00:32:32,314
but there was at least one
at the Office.
638
00:32:32,383 -- 00:32:34,874
[Playing tune]
639
00:32:34,953 -- 00:32:38,047
MAN: Modern design has this
sort of clich of being
640
00:32:38,122 -- 00:32:40,784
the, you know,
the homes of super villains.
641
00:32:40,858 -- 00:32:42,086
Very hard-edged things.
642
00:32:42,160 -- 00:32:44,094
You can't have, you know,
your Pepperidge Farm cookies
643
00:32:44,162 -- 00:32:46,323
on the kitchen counter,
because that's going to ruin,
644
00:32:46,397 -- 00:32:48,092
you know,
this perfect tableau
645
00:32:48,166 -- 00:32:49,633
of this perfect life
that you live.
646
00:32:49,701 -- 00:32:51,532
But you would never look
647
00:32:51,602 -- 00:32:54,332
at the Eames House
and think that.
648
00:32:54,405 -- 00:32:58,000
The container for your life
can be simple,
649
00:32:58,076 -- 00:33:00,510
but that doesn't mean
your life has to be simple.
650
00:33:04,582 -- 00:33:07,983
SUSSMAN: What was in the house
was a combination of things
651
00:33:08,052 -- 00:33:10,885
that one hadn't seen before.
652
00:33:10,955 -- 00:33:13,617
There was a tumbleweed
hanging from the ceiling.
653
00:33:13,691 -- 00:33:16,319
Well, now you can see a lot of
tumbleweed around
654
00:33:16,394 -- 00:33:18,225
in people's houses,
but in those days,
655
00:33:18,296 -- 00:33:19,490
it was [Gasps].
656
00:33:19,564 -- 00:33:22,897
And near the tumbleweed
hanging from the ceiling,
657
00:33:22,967 -- 00:33:25,094
there were two
Hans Hofmann paintings
658
00:33:25,169 -- 00:33:28,036
suspended from
the deck of the roof.
659
00:33:32,443 -- 00:33:34,673
The floor was just another
canvas for Ray,
660
00:33:34,746 -- 00:33:36,714
the ceiling was
just another canvas,
661
00:33:36,781 -- 00:33:40,717
a sofa was a canvas
for a collage of objects.
662
00:33:40,785 -- 00:33:45,813
She would have entirely
all of herfamous
663
00:33:45,890 -- 00:33:47,824
blue and white dishes
stacked up.
664
00:33:47,892 -- 00:33:51,123
But she would have little red
hearts or little red accents.
665
00:33:51,195 -- 00:33:53,322
And itwas all perfect.
666
00:33:56,567 -- 00:33:58,194
MAN: I went to dinner
667
00:33:58,269 -- 00:34:01,170
at Ray and Charles's house
one night,
668
00:34:01,239 -- 00:34:04,731
and it came to dessert.
669
00:34:04,809 -- 00:34:07,141
So what they had arranged
for dessert
670
00:34:07,211 -- 00:34:10,009
was three bowls of flowers
671
00:34:10,081 -- 00:34:12,675
thatthey put in front of you
672
00:34:12,750 -- 00:34:15,913
to admire,
so it was a visual dessert.
673
00:34:15,987 -- 00:34:18,820
I was really [bleep] off
with that,
674
00:34:18,890 -- 00:34:20,790
I can tell you.
675
00:34:20,858 -- 00:34:24,191
I was really...
because I hadn't eaten much.
676
00:34:24,262 -- 00:34:26,856
I was saving up for the...
so I'm looking
677
00:34:26,931 -- 00:34:29,161
at these stupid flowers,
you know,
678
00:34:29,233 -- 00:34:32,168
and I'm saying, "What the hell
is wrong with these people?"
679
00:34:32,236 -- 00:34:33,863
You know, so I got in my car,
680
00:34:33,938 -- 00:34:36,429
and I drove out to the nearest
Dairy Queen.
681
00:34:36,507 -- 00:34:41,137
FRANCO: "Take your pleasure
seriously," Charles said,
682
00:34:41,212 -- 00:34:44,010
and that's exactly
what they did.
683
00:34:44,082 -- 00:34:46,209
[Circus music playing]
684
00:34:48,753 -- 00:34:51,119
OPPEWALL: Every time
685
00:34:51,189 -- 00:34:52,816
the Ringling Brothers
and Barnum & Bailey Circus
686
00:34:52,890 -- 00:34:56,348
would come to town, we would all
get out our cameras
687
00:34:56,427 -- 00:34:58,258
and our ectochrome, and we'd go
688
00:34:58,329 -- 00:35:01,423
running downtown, and we'd
photograph the circus.
689
00:35:05,002 -- 00:35:07,027
MAN: And he said, "Photograph."
690
00:35:07,105 -- 00:35:08,265
"What?"
691
00:35:08,339 -- 00:35:10,773
He said, "Anything you want.
Just photograph."
692
00:35:10,842 -- 00:35:13,242
And a couple of people
of the audience
693
00:35:13,311 -- 00:35:14,539
were there to feed you.
694
00:35:14,612 -- 00:35:15,943
It's like a machine gun,
695
00:35:16,013 -- 00:35:18,311
somebody was feeding you
the cartridges.
696
00:35:18,382 -- 00:35:21,977
And I took a lot of pictures.
697
00:35:22,053 -- 00:35:25,318
MAN: What impressed him was
how everybody knew their place,
698
00:35:25,389 -- 00:35:27,118
and sometimes they had
699
00:35:27,191 -- 00:35:29,716
two or three different tasks
that they had to do.
700
00:35:29,794 -- 00:35:34,857
CAPLAN: The circus looks
like a free-for-all
701
00:35:34,932 -- 00:35:38,060
and is absolutely
a model of constraints.
702
00:35:38,136 -- 00:35:44,041
OPPEWALL: And for Charles,
this was one supreme example...
703
00:35:44,108 -- 00:35:47,009
"the performance."
704
00:35:47,078 -- 00:35:52,038
"Never let the blood show,"
he would say.
705
00:35:52,116 -- 00:35:55,244
And this went back
to his philosophy
706
00:35:55,319 -- 00:35:58,618
of no good design,
no good performance
707
00:35:58,689 -- 00:36:01,886
without restrictions, without
restraints, without rules.
708
00:36:01,959 -- 00:36:04,985
ASHBY: He goes to the circus,
and hejust
709
00:36:05,062 -- 00:36:07,189
is overwhelmed by the richness
710
00:36:07,265 -- 00:36:08,789
of everything, you know,
711
00:36:08,866 -- 00:36:10,299
the costumes and the wagons
712
00:36:10,368 -- 00:36:11,733
and the tent.
713
00:36:11,802 -- 00:36:13,133
And he comes back,
and he's trying to...
714
00:36:13,204 -- 00:36:15,832
you can't turn a circus
into a piece of furniture,
715
00:36:15,907 -- 00:36:18,398
but he's desperately wanting to.
716
00:36:18,476 -- 00:36:22,640
FRANCO: Charles and Ray did not
turn the circus into a chair,
717
00:36:22,713 -- 00:36:26,046
butthey did turn
the Eames Office into a circus.
718
00:36:26,117 -- 00:36:27,846
[Drum roll]
719
00:36:27,919 -- 00:36:32,083
[March playing]
720
00:36:39,363 -- 00:36:41,024
ASHBY: He wasn't
embarrassed at all
721
00:36:41,098 -- 00:36:43,760
about what it is
that he was doing.
722
00:36:43,834 -- 00:36:45,734
You know, he felt really
confident about,
723
00:36:45,803 -- 00:36:47,464
"Yeah, this is a toy shop.
724
00:36:47,538 -- 00:36:48,937
This... I'm just
having fun here.
725
00:36:49,006 -- 00:36:51,304
And, you know, somehow or other,
you guys bring me money
726
00:36:51,375 -- 00:36:53,707
and tell me to go ahead,
and I'm going to."
727
00:36:53,778 -- 00:36:58,215
FRANCO: Royalties from
Herman Miller gave Charles
728
00:36:58,282 -- 00:37:01,615
the freedom to move beyond
his reputation
729
00:37:01,686 -- 00:37:04,484
as a designer
of modern furniture.
730
00:37:04,555 -- 00:37:06,785
SCHRADER: Herman Miller
was always after him
731
00:37:06,857 -- 00:37:10,190
to do more chairs, and he would
do chairs every now and then,
732
00:37:10,261 -- 00:37:14,095
but I don't think he liked
to think of himself
733
00:37:14,165 -- 00:37:15,530
or have others think of him
734
00:37:15,600 -- 00:37:18,398
as the chair designer.
735
00:37:18,469 -- 00:37:21,097
[Trumpet playing]
736
00:37:37,788 -- 00:37:39,847
SCHRADER: I was a film critic,
737
00:37:39,924 -- 00:37:44,384
and that gave me an excuse
to go down to 901.
738
00:37:46,230 -- 00:37:50,064
I fell in love with
the whole concept of 901,
739
00:37:50,134 -- 00:37:51,396
which was a kind of
740
00:37:51,469 -- 00:37:54,802
Renaissance art workshop,
where they did everything.
741
00:37:54,872 -- 00:37:57,306
At the time, he was considered
742
00:37:57,375 -- 00:38:00,970
a kind of cutesy,
pass little filmmaker,
743
00:38:01,045 -- 00:38:04,242
but no one had ever written
about the films.
744
00:38:21,132 -- 00:38:24,192
FRANCO: Eames films
are their own genre,
745
00:38:24,268 -- 00:38:27,726
the product not of a film studio
concerned with profits,
746
00:38:27,805 -- 00:38:30,296
but of a curious mind
yearning to communicate
747
00:38:30,374 -- 00:38:33,036
the complex beauty
of everyday objects.
748
00:38:33,110 -- 00:38:35,704
[Jazz playing]
749
00:38:35,780 -- 00:38:40,114
CHARLES EAMES: We've never used
film as an art form.
750
00:38:40,184 -- 00:38:43,483
We just use film as a tool.
751
00:38:43,554 -- 00:38:47,581
[Mariachi music playing]
752
00:38:47,658 -- 00:38:49,523
SCHRADER: They were, at heart,
753
00:38:49,593 -- 00:38:53,120
a kind of mixture of vanity
and self-expression.
754
00:38:53,197 -- 00:38:55,665
They only had one obligation,
and that was
755
00:38:55,733 -- 00:38:57,496
to satisfy Charles.
756
00:38:57,568 -- 00:38:59,729
CHARLES EAMES:
Much of our energy
757
00:38:59,804 -- 00:39:02,204
is like the guy in Vaudeville
that has
758
00:39:02,273 -- 00:39:04,104
the plates going, and he's
759
00:39:04,175 -- 00:39:07,303
intent on getting 30 plates
spinning at one time,
760
00:39:07,378 -- 00:39:08,675
but part of the process is
761
00:39:08,746 -- 00:39:11,544
quickly being aware of the ones
that are winding down,
762
00:39:11,615 -- 00:39:13,583
and keeping them spinning.
763
00:39:15,386 -- 00:39:17,445
ASHBY: One of the titles
that began to circulate
764
00:39:17,521 -- 00:39:18,920
between all the employees
765
00:39:18,989 -- 00:39:21,685
was the Eamery,
because it was like this place
766
00:39:21,759 -- 00:39:24,592
where everyone was driven
to work all the time.
767
00:39:24,662 -- 00:39:27,290
SUSSMAN: It was 24/7,
768
00:39:27,365 -- 00:39:28,889
365.
769
00:39:28,966 -- 00:39:31,434
JOHN NEUHART: Going
to the Eames Office
770
00:39:31,502 -- 00:39:33,902
and watching people
at their desks
771
00:39:33,971 -- 00:39:36,166
was like watching people
take their brains out
772
00:39:36,240 -- 00:39:39,505
and knead them like dough.
773
00:39:39,577 -- 00:39:42,978
People that came
from the outside
774
00:39:43,047 -- 00:39:46,346
couldn't believe that this was
the way things were done,
775
00:39:46,417 -- 00:39:50,877
but it was a delicious agony.
776
00:39:50,955 -- 00:39:54,982
It was like a temple for me.
777
00:39:55,059 -- 00:39:57,459
OPPEWALL: Many of us
understood very well
778
00:39:57,528 -- 00:40:03,865
that we were very poorly suited
for employment
779
00:40:03,934 -- 00:40:05,799
in certain kinds of jobs.
780
00:40:05,870 -- 00:40:10,705
We were very well suited
to be ithere./i
781
00:40:10,775 -- 00:40:15,212
ASHBY: Charles had a terrible
time interacting with people.
782
00:40:15,279 -- 00:40:17,747
Several times, I hired people,
783
00:40:17,815 -- 00:40:19,373
and they would be there
like three days,
784
00:40:19,450 -- 00:40:21,611
and he'd come to me and say,
"I just can't stand that guy.
785
00:40:21,685 -- 00:40:22,845
Get him out of here."
786
00:40:22,920 -- 00:40:25,445
And I never did know what it was
787
00:40:25,523 -- 00:40:27,650
that he saw in that person
788
00:40:27,725 -- 00:40:29,488
that he could just not
work with them.
789
00:40:29,560 -- 00:40:34,088
ROCHE: I happen to have
a sort of interest in language
790
00:40:34,165 -- 00:40:38,329
as a means of communication,
which I like to believe
791
00:40:38,402 -- 00:40:40,529
can be simple and direct.
792
00:40:40,604 -- 00:40:44,973
Charles, I would say,
didn'tsubscribe to that.
793
00:40:45,042 -- 00:40:50,639
Uh, no, we have to... you know,
the only thing is, uh, Perry,
794
00:40:50,714 -- 00:40:55,083
we have to have some sort of
a background before we do this,
795
00:40:55,152 -- 00:40:57,484
because one sort of begins to...
796
00:40:57,555 -- 00:41:01,423
SUSSMAN: His speech wasn't
yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda.
797
00:41:01,492 -- 00:41:04,256
It was stop and go,
and stop and go.
798
00:41:04,328 -- 00:41:07,923
No, you... you let me... cut
this, let me re... let me...
799
00:41:07,998 -- 00:41:12,094
ROCHE: He had
this incredible ability
800
00:41:12,169 -- 00:41:14,467
to surround every subject
801
00:41:14,538 -- 00:41:17,905
with a little cloud of words.
802
00:41:17,975 -- 00:41:19,840
We... we were hoping to...
803
00:41:19,910 -- 00:41:22,845
there were two...
there were several things.
804
00:41:22,913 -- 00:41:24,039
There was, uh...
805
00:41:24,114 -- 00:41:25,342
ROCHE: You finally
got the message
806
00:41:25,416 -- 00:41:29,318
at the end of about
15 or 20 minutes of wondering,
807
00:41:29,386 -- 00:41:31,251
"Whatthe hell is he
talking about?"
808
00:41:31,322 -- 00:41:35,053
It finally dawned on you
that he was telling you
809
00:41:35,125 -- 00:41:36,456
you were an absolute clown
810
00:41:36,527 -- 00:41:38,324
because there's something wrong.
811
00:41:38,395 -- 00:41:41,922
CHARLES EAMES: This one is
going to have something to do
812
00:41:41,999 -- 00:41:44,797
with what I think of
as the new cove tables.
813
00:41:44,869 -- 00:41:49,806
JOHN NEUHART: He appeared
one day at a conference at UCLA,
814
00:41:49,874 -- 00:41:55,312
and he started to speak, and it
just ran right off the track.
815
00:41:55,379 -- 00:41:58,075
Looked up, and he said,
"I'm sorry.
816
00:41:58,148 -- 00:42:00,946
I just...
isn't going to work today."
817
00:42:01,018 -- 00:42:03,316
And somebody said, "No, no!"
818
00:42:03,387 -- 00:42:05,252
So he said,
"Well, give me a minute."
819
00:42:05,322 -- 00:42:07,290
He put his head down.
820
00:42:07,358 -- 00:42:10,384
And everybody waited.
821
00:42:10,461 -- 00:42:12,258
And it took about two minutes.
822
00:42:12,329 -- 00:42:14,126
And he raised up.
823
00:42:14,198 -- 00:42:16,359
And he just took off.
Boom.
824
00:42:16,433 -- 00:42:18,901
CHARLES EAMES: Reams of paper.
825
00:42:18,969 -- 00:42:21,199
What you do with a ream of paper
826
00:42:21,272 -- 00:42:26,232
can never quite come up
to what the paper offers.
827
00:42:26,310 -- 00:42:27,641
[Cheers and applause]
828
00:42:27,711 -- 00:42:30,407
JOHN NEUHART: He knew
where his center was.
829
00:42:30,481 -- 00:42:33,382
And there are not a lot of
people that can do that.
830
00:42:33,450 -- 00:42:35,645
I... I have buttons
that get pushed,
831
00:42:35,719 -- 00:42:38,517
but I don't know
where my center is.
832
00:42:38,589 -- 00:42:42,218
FRANCO: For Charles,
knowing where his center was
833
00:42:42,293 -- 00:42:44,887
meant working
for powerful clients
834
00:42:44,962 -- 00:42:47,396
without compromising his ideals.
835
00:42:47,464 -- 00:42:50,865
And making a film to represent
the United States
836
00:42:50,935 -- 00:42:53,836
in communist Russia in 1959
837
00:42:53,904 -- 00:42:56,839
would put that philosophy
to the test.
838
00:43:01,512 -- 00:43:03,275
ALBRECHT: At the height
of the Cold War,
839
00:43:03,347 -- 00:43:04,405
the American government
840
00:43:04,481 -- 00:43:05,846
and the government
of the Soviet Union
841
00:43:05,916 -- 00:43:10,012
decided to hold
joint expositions.
842
00:43:10,087 -- 00:43:14,080
The United States would show
what America was about
843
00:43:14,158 -- 00:43:15,750
to the Soviet public,
844
00:43:15,826 -- 00:43:20,263
and the Soviet Union would show
what they were about to America.
845
00:43:20,331 -- 00:43:22,822
And one of the centerpieces
were a series
846
00:43:22,900 -- 00:43:24,891
of American kitchens,
847
00:43:24,969 -- 00:43:26,596
and it was there
that Khrushchev and Nixon
848
00:43:26,670 -- 00:43:29,366
had their so-called
Kitchen Debate.
849
00:43:29,440 -- 00:43:33,240
There are some instances
where you may be ahead of us.
850
00:43:33,310 -- 00:43:35,278
There may be some instances...
for example,
851
00:43:35,346 -- 00:43:37,405
color television...
where we're ahead of you.
852
00:43:37,481 -- 00:43:39,506
But in order
for both of us...
853
00:43:39,583 -- 00:43:40,641
[Speaking Russian]
854
00:43:40,718 -- 00:43:42,015
For both of us
to benefit...
855
00:43:42,086 -- 00:43:43,383
for both of us to benefit...
856
00:43:43,454 -- 00:43:46,480
FRANCO: But the U.S.
Information Agency
857
00:43:46,557 -- 00:43:49,924
decided that they had to show
Russians more about America
858
00:43:49,994 -- 00:43:52,690
than just cars
and household appliances.
859
00:43:52,763 -- 00:43:58,326
KIRKHAM: The idea is that
Charles and Ray will make a film
860
00:43:58,402 -- 00:44:02,338
about life in the USA:
"Glimpses of the USA."
861
00:44:02,406 -- 00:44:03,737
How could you make the world
862
00:44:03,807 -- 00:44:05,638
as we see it
in the United States...
863
00:44:05,709 -- 00:44:07,574
how could you make it
really credible
864
00:44:07,645 -- 00:44:09,442
to an audience like that?
865
00:44:09,513 -- 00:44:13,313
We could've shown the greatest
freeway in the United States.
866
00:44:13,384 -- 00:44:16,012
If we'd shown one picture
and they'd gone,
867
00:44:16,086 -- 00:44:17,417
they'd say, you know,
868
00:44:17,488 -- 00:44:19,888
"They've got the great
freeway interchange,
869
00:44:19,957 -- 00:44:21,219
but we've got one at Minsk,
870
00:44:21,291 -- 00:44:23,316
and we're going to build one
at Smolensk,
871
00:44:23,394 -- 00:44:25,362
and we'll have two,
and they have one."
872
00:44:25,429 -- 00:44:28,865
But in the redundancy
of the multi-image technique,
873
00:44:28,932 -- 00:44:30,991
in something like 12 seconds,
874
00:44:31,068 -- 00:44:35,061
I think we showed
120 freeway interchanges.
875
00:44:39,543 -- 00:44:41,272
ALBRECHT: People were sent
all over the country.
876
00:44:41,345 -- 00:44:43,108
Friends were called
to take images
877
00:44:43,180 -- 00:44:46,240
so that it looked
nationalistic.
878
00:44:46,316 -- 00:44:48,250
It couldn't look specific
and regional.
879
00:44:48,318 -- 00:44:51,412
It had to be
national and egalitarian.
880
00:44:53,557 -- 00:44:55,422
LUCIA EAMES: Charles said...
wanted pictures
881
00:44:55,492 -- 00:44:56,823
of people setting off for work,
882
00:44:56,894 -- 00:45:00,421
children coming from school,
coming up from the subway.
883
00:45:00,497 -- 00:45:02,362
And freeways.
884
00:45:02,433 -- 00:45:04,298
So I did my first,
885
00:45:04,368 -- 00:45:06,666
you know, helicopter flights,
886
00:45:06,737 -- 00:45:08,705
sort of strapped in,
leaning way out.
887
00:45:13,477 -- 00:45:17,914
I think the State Department
had sort of envisioned
888
00:45:17,981 -- 00:45:20,472
having lots of troop marches.
889
00:45:20,551 -- 00:45:22,041
And Charles said
he'd do the film,
890
00:45:22,119 -- 00:45:27,455
but he didn't want to have it
reviewed before it was shown.
891
00:45:27,524 -- 00:45:30,015
JOHN NEUHART: The government
really didn't have any idea
892
00:45:30,094 -- 00:45:31,561
what was happening.
893
00:45:31,628 -- 00:45:33,425
We would have these showings
894
00:45:33,497 -- 00:45:36,898
for the guy who would represent
the government, coming out.
895
00:45:36,967 -- 00:45:38,901
It seemed like each time,
896
00:45:38,969 -- 00:45:42,564
it would just get going,
and then it'd go blank.
897
00:45:42,639 -- 00:45:46,735
And we'd say, "That's as far
as we are right now."
898
00:45:46,810 -- 00:45:50,143
And he'd say, "Well...
899
00:45:50,214 -- 00:45:52,705
Yeah, I guess it looks okay.
900
00:45:52,783 -- 00:45:54,182
I don't know."
901
00:45:54,251 -- 00:45:55,912
So he'd go away.
902
00:45:59,256 -- 00:46:01,622
DEMETRIOS: Well, as Charles
said, sometimes
903
00:46:01,692 -- 00:46:03,785
if you don't ask
for people's opinions,
904
00:46:03,861 -- 00:46:05,158
then they don't
give them to you.
905
00:46:05,229 -- 00:46:06,423
They just got there
the day before,
906
00:46:06,497 -- 00:46:07,589
and I think by that time,
907
00:46:07,664 -- 00:46:08,858
the USIA was just relieved
908
00:46:08,932 -- 00:46:12,493
that there'd be ianything/i
to show.
909
00:46:12,569 -- 00:46:16,198
ASHBY: You know, and here you
have this giant effort
910
00:46:16,273 -- 00:46:17,433
that'd gone into
building the building
911
00:46:17,508 -- 00:46:19,135
and putting the screens up,
912
00:46:19,209 -- 00:46:22,770
and tickets being...
all of that happening.
913
00:46:22,846 -- 00:46:25,041
And he's waiting
till the very last minute.
914
00:46:25,115 -- 00:46:26,810
It's just kind of his nature.
915
00:46:26,884 -- 00:46:28,647
JOHN NEUHART:
Right at the end,
916
00:46:28,719 -- 00:46:30,243
he would suddenly appear,
917
00:46:30,320 -- 00:46:32,880
and it would look
like it was effortless.
918
00:46:32,956 -- 00:46:34,218
He'd say, you know,
919
00:46:34,291 -- 00:46:37,590
"This is just a little something
we've been doing."
920
00:46:37,661 -- 00:46:39,822
You know, and there'd be
blood all over the floor
921
00:46:39,897 -- 00:46:42,092
from the thing, you know?
922
00:46:45,002 -- 00:46:47,129
CHARLES EAMES: When we look
at the night sky,
923
00:46:47,204 -- 00:46:49,968
these are the stars we see...
924
00:46:50,040 -- 00:46:54,033
the same stars that shine down
upon Russia each night.
925
00:46:54,111 -- 00:46:58,207
We see the same clusters,
the same nebulae.
926
00:46:58,282 -- 00:47:00,842
And from the sky, it would be
difficult to distinguish
927
00:47:00,918 -- 00:47:03,216
the Russian city
from the American city.
928
00:47:03,287 -- 00:47:06,347
DEMETRIOS: If you're
going to communicate
929
00:47:06,423 -- 00:47:09,085
with 3 million Soviet citizens,
you need to say something true.
930
00:47:09,159 -- 00:47:11,252
You can't just show off
you've got
931
00:47:11,328 -- 00:47:13,296
better weapons
or this or that.
932
00:47:13,363 -- 00:47:16,196
You've got to try to speak
from the heart, and they did.
933
00:47:26,109 -- 00:47:27,770
Was it propaganda?
934
00:47:27,845 -- 00:47:29,972
Goodness, yes, have you seen it?
935
00:47:30,047 -- 00:47:32,675
Yes, it's, it's selling
the U.S.,
936
00:47:32,749 -- 00:47:36,913
and it's selling, I think,
a very sanitized USA.
937
00:47:40,991 -- 00:47:43,482
ALBRECHT: Of course
itwas propaganda.
938
00:47:43,560 -- 00:47:48,327
They were Cold Warriors.
939
00:47:48,398 -- 00:47:49,729
The difference is they...
940
00:47:49,800 -- 00:47:51,859
I believe they genuinely
believed it.
941
00:47:57,407 -- 00:48:01,673
KIRKHAM: One of the interesting
things was how to end this.
942
00:48:01,745 -- 00:48:04,908
Charles had this idea
of ajet plane.
943
00:48:04,982 -- 00:48:09,146
Ray still felt this might be
a bit hard-edged, a bit...
944
00:48:09,219 -- 00:48:11,779
could have
military implications.
945
00:48:11,855 -- 00:48:15,347
We never had an ending,
and one day Ray walked in
946
00:48:15,425 -- 00:48:18,360
and said, "Forget-me-nots."
947
00:48:18,428 -- 00:48:20,692
Charles said,
"Okay, forget-me-nots."
948
00:48:26,970 -- 00:48:28,631
FRANCO: Forget-me-nots,
949
00:48:28,705 -- 00:48:31,173
the universal symbol
of friendship,
950
00:48:31,241 -- 00:48:34,642
translates directly
into Russian,
951
00:48:34,711 -- 00:48:37,236
iNezabudki,/i "forget me not."
952
00:48:37,314 -- 00:48:39,805
KIRKHAM: They described
Nikita Khrushchev
953
00:48:39,883 -- 00:48:43,216
with tears
running down his cheeks.
954
00:48:43,287 -- 00:48:49,055
So you have this wonderful
sort of double ending
955
00:48:49,126 -- 00:48:53,654
of the simplicity of a flower,
but then this "Forget me not."
956
00:48:53,730 -- 00:48:57,427
And it worked
like the best Hollywood movie.
957
00:48:57,501 -- 00:49:01,733
FRANCO: The Moscow show made
Charles and Ray newly famous,
958
00:49:01,805 -- 00:49:05,764
not as designers of furniture,
butas communicators.
959
00:49:05,842 -- 00:49:09,938
Communicators who used images
rather than words.
960
00:49:21,358 -- 00:49:23,349
WECHSLER: Charles was
very wary of words.
961
00:49:23,427 -- 00:49:24,621
It's not about writing a script.
962
00:49:24,695 -- 00:49:27,129
It's about a sequence of images
963
00:49:27,197 -- 00:49:28,459
that can tell a story.
964
00:49:28,532 -- 00:49:31,990
FRANCO: In the Eames film
"Tops,"
965
00:49:32,069 -- 00:49:35,163
there are no words,
just pictures.
966
00:49:38,141 -- 00:49:42,475
OPPEWALL: In a way,
the film is a kind of an essay
967
00:49:42,546 -- 00:49:46,277
about the nature and meaning
of a top.
968
00:49:49,119 -- 00:49:52,919
In the beginning,
it's all about winding up,
969
00:49:52,990 -- 00:49:57,017
getting started,
putting it together,
970
00:49:57,094 -- 00:49:59,324
assembling the materials.
971
00:49:59,396 -- 00:50:01,887
And then it's
about throwing them,
972
00:50:01,965 -- 00:50:04,092
seeing how they work,
what they do,
973
00:50:04,167 -- 00:50:07,728
how they dance,
how they spin, how they sing,
974
00:50:07,804 -- 00:50:11,604
whatever it is
that their meaning is.
975
00:50:13,443 -- 00:50:16,810
But then you come to one moment
976
00:50:16,880 -- 00:50:20,281
where there's an architectural
plan on the tabletop,
977
00:50:20,350 -- 00:50:24,787
a blueprint,
and what spins
978
00:50:24,855 -- 00:50:28,291
is a thumbtack, and you realize
979
00:50:28,358 -- 00:50:33,295
you have suddenly gotten
directly into the essence
980
00:50:33,363 -- 00:50:36,799
of what it means to be a top.
981
00:50:40,103 -- 00:50:44,039
Things have meaning,
things have personality,
982
00:50:44,107 -- 00:50:48,806
things express ideas.
983
00:50:48,879 -- 00:50:54,181
Many designers were
and still are happy with
984
00:50:54,251 -- 00:50:58,017
the manipulation of objects.
985
00:50:58,088 -- 00:51:02,388
He was only truly deeply happy
986
00:51:02,459 -- 00:51:05,622
manipulating an idea.
987
00:51:05,695 -- 00:51:11,725
FRANCO: Beginning in the 1950s,
the idea of the computer
988
00:51:11,802 -- 00:51:15,169
triggered fear in the minds
of Americans.
989
00:51:15,238 -- 00:51:18,173
ALBRECHT: People were seeing
computers,
990
00:51:18,241 -- 00:51:20,004
and there was a worry
about them.
991
00:51:20,077 -- 00:51:23,103
And this notion
of the electronic brain
992
00:51:23,180 -- 00:51:24,613
feeds into fears that we're
993
00:51:24,681 -- 00:51:26,876
going to be taken over
by machines.
994
00:51:28,652 -- 00:51:32,213
FRANCO: At the time, computers
were synonymous
995
00:51:32,289 -- 00:51:35,281
with just one company... IBM.
996
00:51:35,358 -- 00:51:36,985
SELIGSOHN:
What was IBM's product?
997
00:51:37,060 -- 00:51:40,291
Big vacuum tube machines,
huge room-size machines,
998
00:51:40,363 -- 00:51:42,957
building-size machines, so that
999
00:51:43,033 -- 00:51:46,230
the average individual
was feeling an alien,
1000
00:51:46,303 -- 00:51:50,364
science-fiction type
invasion of my privacy.
1001
00:51:50,440 -- 00:51:51,873
How do you combat that?
1002
00:51:55,479 -- 00:51:57,709
FRANCO: IBM turned
to the Eames Office.
1003
00:51:57,781 -- 00:52:00,944
To overcome the computer's
PR problem,
1004
00:52:01,017 -- 00:52:05,078
Charles and Ray set out
to humanize it.
1005
00:52:05,155 -- 00:52:08,556
NARRATOR: Properly related,
it can maintain a balance
1006
00:52:08,625 -- 00:52:11,685
between man's needs
and his resources.
1007
00:52:11,761 -- 00:52:13,092
ALBRECHT: It's done in this,
1008
00:52:13,163 -- 00:52:14,994
what to us today
looks really corny...
1009
00:52:15,065 -- 00:52:19,832
but at the time, this was
thought to be radical...
1010
00:52:19,903 -- 00:52:23,395
to do a film for a science
company, like a cartoon.
1011
00:52:23,473 -- 00:52:26,499
NARRATOR: Something has now
emerged that might make
1012
00:52:26,576 -- 00:52:29,340
even our most elegant theories
workable.
1013
00:52:29,412 -- 00:52:31,676
ALBRECHT: And you go
from the abacus.
1014
00:52:31,748 -- 00:52:35,184
As human problems
become more complex,
1015
00:52:35,252 -- 00:52:37,982
people invent
more complicated machines
1016
00:52:38,054 -- 00:52:39,316
to solve those problems,
1017
00:52:39,389 -- 00:52:43,223
and the culmination of that is
the computer.
1018
00:52:44,961 -- 00:52:47,088
NARRATOR: This is a story
of a technique
1019
00:52:47,164 -- 00:52:50,224
in the service of mankind.
1020
00:52:50,300 -- 00:52:53,098
ALBRECHT: It's not
going to take over the world,
1021
00:52:53,170 -- 00:52:54,831
it's not going to be robots.
1022
00:52:54,905 -- 00:52:57,635
It's the logical
evolutionary progression
1023
00:52:57,707 -- 00:53:02,303
of man developing products
to solve problems.
1024
00:53:02,379 -- 00:53:05,906
FRANCO: Charles's visionary
interest in computers
1025
00:53:05,982 -- 00:53:09,474
helped to bring IBM into
the Eames Office stables.
1026
00:53:09,553 -- 00:53:12,579
But it was not expertise
that made Charles and Ray
1027
00:53:12,656 -- 00:53:15,284
indispensible to
the rapidly growing company.
1028
00:53:15,358 -- 00:53:15,859
WURMAN: You sell your expertise,
1029
00:53:15,859 -- 00:53:18,419
WURMAN: You sell your expertise,
1030
00:53:18,495 -- 00:53:20,486
you have a limited repertoire.
1031
00:53:20,564 -- 00:53:23,965
You sell your ignorance,
it's an unlimited repertoire.
1032
00:53:24,034 -- 00:53:25,433
He was selling his ignorance
1033
00:53:25,502 -- 00:53:27,936
and his desire to learn
about a subject.
1034
00:53:28,004 -- 00:53:29,403
And the journey...
1035
00:53:29,472 -- 00:53:32,441
of him not knowing to knowing...
was his work.
1036
00:53:37,147 -- 00:53:40,412
FRANCO: Over two decades,
Charles and Ray would complete
1037
00:53:40,483 -- 00:53:44,715
dozens of projects,
large and small, for IBM.
1038
00:53:44,788 -- 00:53:48,519
But perhaps the most bold was
their pavilion
1039
00:53:48,592 -- 00:53:51,959
for the 1964 New York
World's Fair,
1040
00:53:52,028 -- 00:53:55,429
a 1.2- Acre experimental space
1041
00:53:55,498 -- 00:53:59,491
celebrating the role
of computers in everyday life.
1042
00:54:03,707 -- 00:54:05,368
ASHBY: I was drawing the stuff
1043
00:54:05,442 -- 00:54:08,002
as fast as he
could conjure it up,
1044
00:54:08,078 -- 00:54:09,773
and they came up with this idea
1045
00:54:09,846 -- 00:54:14,044
of putting that theater
up on top of these trees.
1046
00:54:14,117 -- 00:54:16,381
And so I knew they were going to
have these plungers
1047
00:54:16,453 -- 00:54:18,580
going into the ground...
they are going to move,
1048
00:54:18,655 -- 00:54:20,520
you know,
400 people up on this ramp.
1049
00:54:20,590 -- 00:54:23,252
And I knew, as a designer,
I knew I was going to
1050
00:54:23,326 -- 00:54:26,921
have to figure out some way
to make all that happen.
1051
00:54:26,997 -- 00:54:31,366
And he's just so excited
about this thing.
1052
00:54:31,434 -- 00:54:34,028
And I'm just standing there
like that.
1053
00:54:34,104 -- 00:54:35,799
And I said,
"Charles, this is just nuts."
1054
00:54:35,872 -- 00:54:38,898
And he says, "Yeah, and no one
had told us not to do it."
1055
00:54:41,811 -- 00:54:45,804
FRANCO: For the show in Moscow,
they had used seven screens.
1056
00:54:45,882 -- 00:54:51,548
But at the IBM Pavilion,
there were 22.
1057
00:54:51,621 -- 00:54:54,852
CAPLAN: Charles was very big on
making people feel welcome.
1058
00:54:54,924 -- 00:54:58,587
You don'tjust get them in
an auditorium and show the film.
1059
00:54:58,662 -- 00:55:00,527
You have a host.
1060
00:55:00,597 -- 00:55:03,122
But, uh, itwas very hard.
1061
00:55:06,236 -- 00:55:11,401
Everything you said not only had
to be memorized and rehearsed,
1062
00:55:11,474 -- 00:55:12,907
but it had to be timed,
1063
00:55:12,976 -- 00:55:14,967
so when you pointed
to this screen,
1064
00:55:15,045 -- 00:55:17,912
what you were talking about
appeared on this screen.
1065
00:55:17,981 -- 00:55:20,449
And the same with that screen
and all the others.
1066
00:55:20,517 -- 00:55:24,681
Butthe problem was,
1067
00:55:24,754 -- 00:55:27,450
the host
had a nervous breakdown.
1068
00:55:29,826 -- 00:55:32,124
FRANCO: As Charles and Ray's
reputation
1069
00:55:32,195 -- 00:55:33,822
as visual communicators grew,
1070
00:55:33,897 -- 00:55:36,559
so did their list
of corporate clients.
1071
00:55:36,633 -- 00:55:37,691
MAN: N is for...
1072
00:55:37,767 -- 00:55:40,463
SINGERS:
j& Navigation equipment j&
1073
00:55:40,537 -- 00:55:42,698
j& Network protectors j&
1074
00:55:42,772 -- 00:55:44,967
j& Nuclear plant control j&
1075
00:55:45,041 -- 00:55:47,236
j& Nuclear reactor plants j&
1076
00:55:47,310 -- 00:55:50,768
j& For surface ships
and submarines j&
1077
00:55:50,847 -- 00:55:54,146
FRANCO: Westinghouse,
Boeing, and Polaroid
1078
00:55:54,217 -- 00:55:56,344
all trusted the Eames Office
1079
00:55:56,419 -- 00:55:59,217
to solve their problems.
1080
00:56:18,875 -- 00:56:22,834
When the Office was hired
by Alcoa
1081
00:56:22,912 -- 00:56:24,174
to show off the uses
of aluminum,
1082
00:56:24,247 -- 00:56:27,410
they built a solar-powered
Do-Nothing Machine,
1083
00:56:27,484 -- 00:56:30,681
which did exactly that.
1084
00:56:30,754 -- 00:56:33,746
SUSSMAN: That was
in the golden years,
1085
00:56:33,823 -- 00:56:36,849
when the heads of corporations
would speak,
1086
00:56:36,926 -- 00:56:39,486
a chair away from the designer.
1087
00:56:39,562 -- 00:56:42,224
So that if you needed
to talk to somebody,
1088
00:56:42,298 -- 00:56:44,391
you talked
to the decision maker.
1089
00:56:44,467 -- 00:56:48,870
You didn't talk to a manager
who talked to a director
1090
00:56:48,938 -- 00:56:50,565
who talked to a chief director
1091
00:56:50,640 -- 00:56:52,301
who talked to a vice president
1092
00:56:52,375 -- 00:56:54,138
who talked to
a senior vice president
1093
00:56:54,210 -- 00:56:56,235
who talked to
an executive vice president
1094
00:56:56,312 -- 00:56:58,803
who was allowed to talk to God.
1095
00:56:58,882 -- 00:57:03,251
SELIGSOHN: Almost never
was there a dissenting voice.
1096
00:57:03,319 -- 00:57:06,117
We trusted his decision making
entirely.
1097
00:57:06,189 -- 00:57:09,249
So his freedom to do
and to explain
1098
00:57:09,325 -- 00:57:10,952
and to conceive and execute
1099
00:57:11,027 -- 00:57:13,587
was almost unparalleled.
1100
00:57:13,663 -- 00:57:16,598
BEEBE: They didn't have
contracts.
1101
00:57:16,666 -- 00:57:18,133
They had a handshake.
1102
00:57:18,201 -- 00:57:21,932
All those huge projects
were done on a handshake.
1103
00:57:22,005 -- 00:57:24,405
"We're going to give you
the best product,
1104
00:57:24,474 -- 00:57:27,409
butwe can't tell you
what it's going to cost."
1105
00:57:27,477 -- 00:57:29,274
And for IBM
1106
00:57:29,345 -- 00:57:32,678
and for Polaroid,
and for Herman Miller,
1107
00:57:32,749 -- 00:57:34,046
it was okay.
1108
00:57:34,117 -- 00:57:37,450
FRANCO: And for Charles,
1109
00:57:37,520 -- 00:57:40,921
these gentlemen's agreements
went both ways.
1110
00:57:40,990 -- 00:57:46,587
ASHBY: The budget for
"Mathematica" was $150,000.
1111
00:57:46,663 -- 00:57:50,599
It actually ended up
costing $300,000,
1112
00:57:50,667 -- 00:57:54,000
and Charles paid
for the $150,000
1113
00:57:54,070 -- 00:57:55,765
that itwent over budget.
1114
00:57:55,839 -- 00:57:58,239
So the whole thing
about what things cost
1115
00:57:58,308 -- 00:58:00,367
and trying to keep it
within the budget
1116
00:58:00,443 -- 00:58:02,172
and meet the clients,
he didn't care about...
1117
00:58:02,245 -- 00:58:06,341
he cared about it, but he just,
he couldn't stop himself.
1118
00:58:08,751 -- 00:58:12,414
FRANCO: Charles and Ray's career
began with a utopian notion
1119
00:58:12,489 -- 00:58:15,890
of providing low-cost,
high-quality goods to the masses
1120
00:58:15,959 -- 00:58:17,927
through industrial production.
1121
00:58:17,994 -- 00:58:19,962
But they never viewed their work
1122
00:58:20,029 -- 00:58:22,463
for corporate titans
as selling out.
1123
00:58:22,532 -- 00:58:25,399
ALBRECHT: They wanted to work
for the Google of their time,
1124
00:58:25,468 -- 00:58:28,631
and they did, and it allowed
them incredible experimentation.
1125
00:58:28,705 -- 00:58:31,003
And they believed they could
have a bigger impact
1126
00:58:31,074 -- 00:58:34,168
on everyday life by working
for the bigger company.
1127
00:58:43,987 -- 00:58:46,353
FRANCO:
IBM shared Charles's concern
1128
00:58:46,422 -- 00:58:50,688
that American kids were falling
behind in math and science.
1129
00:58:50,760 -- 00:58:53,490
And as usual, they gave
the Office free rein
1130
00:58:53,563 -- 00:58:54,996
to address the problem.
1131
00:58:55,064 -- 00:58:57,259
Maybe, Charles felt,
1132
00:58:57,333 -- 00:58:59,198
a film could help.
1133
00:58:59,269 -- 00:59:02,204
NARRATOR: We begin
with a scene one meter wide,
1134
00:59:02,272 -- 00:59:04,240
which we view from just
one meter away.
1135
00:59:04,307 -- 00:59:06,639
Now, every ten seconds,
we will look
1136
00:59:06,709 -- 00:59:08,370
from ten times farther away,
1137
00:59:08,444 -- 00:59:11,277
and our field of view will be
ten times wider.
1138
00:59:11,347 -- 00:59:13,907
FRANCO: "Powers of Ten" would
become the best known
1139
00:59:13,983 -- 00:59:18,249
of all the Eames films,
viewed in countless classrooms
1140
00:59:18,321 -- 00:59:21,620
and copied freely by
filmmakers around the world.
1141
00:59:21,691 -- 00:59:24,683
SCHRADER: Everyone has seen
"Powers of Ten."
1142
00:59:24,761 -- 00:59:27,059
They may not have seen
the version Charles did,
1143
00:59:27,130 -- 00:59:28,392
but they have seen
1144
00:59:28,464 -- 00:59:31,365
one of the countless rip-offs
ofthat film.
1145
00:59:31,434 -- 00:59:34,597
NARRATOR: Ten to the sixth,
a one with six zeros,
1146
00:59:34,671 -- 00:59:37,401
a million meters...
soon the earth will show
1147
00:59:37,473 -- 00:59:38,633
as a solid sphere.
1148
00:59:38,708 -- 00:59:42,075
TONDREAU: Nobody had done
a movie like that.
1149
00:59:42,145 -- 00:59:45,911
How can you fail,
doing a cosmic zoom
1150
00:59:45,982 -- 00:59:48,644
in and out from all that is?
1151
00:59:48,718 -- 00:59:51,152
And so the concept is,
all by itself, mind-blowing.
1152
00:59:51,220 -- 00:59:53,518
NARRATOR: The trip back to
the picnic on the lakefront
1153
00:59:53,590 -- 00:59:56,388
will be a sped-up version,
reducing the distance
1154
00:59:56,459 -- 00:59:59,895
to the Earth's surface by one
power of ten every two seconds.
1155
00:59:59,963 -- 01:00:02,022
It's "Ch-ch-ch-ch-shoo,"
1156
01:00:02,098 -- 01:00:04,623
excessive information,
dizzying information.
1157
01:00:04,701 -- 01:00:07,135
NARRATOR: Ten to the ninth
meters,
1158
01:00:07,203 -- 01:00:09,330
ten to the eighth...
1159
01:00:09,405 -- 01:00:12,169
SCHRADER: Like in a chase
sequence in a movie,
1160
01:00:12,241 -- 01:00:14,232
everything is going by so fast,
1161
01:00:14,310 -- 01:00:16,778
it forces the observer to choose
the information
1162
01:00:16,846 -- 01:00:17,835
that's truly important,
1163
01:00:17,914 -- 01:00:19,438
which is the car
or the person
1164
01:00:19,515 -- 01:00:20,709
that is running away from you...
1165
01:00:20,783 -- 01:00:22,250
i.e., the idea.
1166
01:00:22,318 -- 01:00:25,310
NARRATOR: One. We are back
a tour starting point.
1167
01:00:25,388 -- 01:00:27,379
SCHRADER: Eames was aware that,
in fact,
1168
01:00:27,457 -- 01:00:28,947
that this was somewhat dizzying,
1169
01:00:29,025 -- 01:00:30,287
and that it wasn't possible
1170
01:00:30,360 -- 01:00:32,191
to get all
of this information across
1171
01:00:32,261 -- 01:00:34,593
in a single viewing,
and that was fine.
1172
01:00:34,664 -- 01:00:37,326
What he probably didn't know
1173
01:00:37,400 -- 01:00:40,631
was that he was also looking
into the future
1174
01:00:40,703 -- 01:00:42,603
of audio-visual perception.
1175
01:00:42,672 -- 01:00:45,732
The pace at which we receive
information today
1176
01:00:45,808 -- 01:00:51,678
is as fast as he was doing
back then.
1177
01:00:51,748 -- 01:00:55,343
NARRATOR: As a single proton
fills our scene,
1178
01:00:55,418 -- 01:00:57,613
we reach the edge
of present understanding.
1179
01:00:57,687 -- 01:01:00,884
SUSSMAN: As time went on,
1180
01:01:00,957 -- 01:01:06,020
Charles became more and more
and more interested in ideas,
1181
01:01:06,095 -- 01:01:08,859
especially science
and mathematics.
1182
01:01:08,931 -- 01:01:14,733
Ray was less engaged.
1183
01:01:14,804 -- 01:01:20,470
I mean, I'm no mathematician,
and I'm no... not an architect,
1184
01:01:20,543 -- 01:01:23,706
I'm not... I haven't had
certain training,
1185
01:01:23,780 -- 01:01:30,117
so I just try to help in the way
that I... in any way I can.
1186
01:01:30,186 -- 01:01:32,916
I don't stop to think
whether I can.
1187
01:01:32,989 -- 01:01:35,423
I just go as far as I can.
1188
01:01:35,491 -- 01:01:38,654
And if I...
1189
01:01:38,728 -- 01:01:44,257
if I can't, I can't.
1190
01:01:44,333 -- 01:01:46,233
TONDREAU: I think Ray
may have suffered
1191
01:01:46,302 -- 01:01:47,997
from a feeling
of marginalization,
1192
01:01:48,071 -- 01:01:50,835
because some
of those last projects
1193
01:01:50,907 -- 01:01:54,809
were heavy on ideas
and not as heavy
1194
01:01:54,877 -- 01:02:00,406
on the kind of visual richness
that was Ray's forte.
1195
01:02:00,483 -- 01:02:03,145
GIOVANNINl: She's no longer
as instrumental
1196
01:02:03,219 -- 01:02:04,516
in the entire thing.
1197
01:02:04,587 -- 01:02:06,111
She can apply an aesthetic,
1198
01:02:06,189 -- 01:02:07,952
she can dress a set, and so on,
1199
01:02:08,024 -- 01:02:11,790
but, um, she's no longer
as central.
1200
01:02:11,861 -- 01:02:16,230
FRANCO: Ray's exquisite taste,
her eye for form and color,
1201
01:02:16,299 -- 01:02:18,631
made her indispensible
to the Office.
1202
01:02:18,701 -- 01:02:22,000
But it could also be
a terrible burden.
1203
01:02:28,111 -- 01:02:32,070
OPPEWALL: I remember peering
into Ray's office
1204
01:02:32,148 -- 01:02:34,048
only once or twice,
1205
01:02:34,117 -- 01:02:37,951
because when the door opened
and I looked into it,
1206
01:02:38,020 -- 01:02:44,823
I thought, "I don't ever want
to look in there again,
1207
01:02:44,894 -- 01:02:48,022
because it's a little
frightening."
1208
01:02:52,368 -- 01:02:55,462
ASHBY: Ray had a little room,
smaller than Charles's,
1209
01:02:55,538 -- 01:02:57,665
directly across the hall
from his,
1210
01:02:57,740 -- 01:03:00,573
that was just
absolutely jammed
1211
01:03:00,643 -- 01:03:03,203
with all of her little
pieces of paper
1212
01:03:03,279 -- 01:03:04,871
and all of her little slides
1213
01:03:04,947 -- 01:03:06,244
and all of the little notes
1214
01:03:06,315 -- 01:03:08,112
that people had mailed to her
1215
01:03:08,184 -- 01:03:10,618
and that she was mailing
to them.
1216
01:03:10,686 -- 01:03:12,711
BEEBE: And she would go in
and find things.
1217
01:03:12,789 -- 01:03:14,017
She would say, "Oh, I have one,"
1218
01:03:14,090 -- 01:03:15,819
and she would disappear
into the room
1219
01:03:15,892 -- 01:03:18,520
and come out
with the perfect kite.
1220
01:03:18,594 -- 01:03:22,462
Or she'd go in and find
the perfect scarf or something.
1221
01:03:22,532 -- 01:03:25,057
She would go,
and she would fuss with it,
1222
01:03:25,134 -- 01:03:27,295
and change it one day,
1223
01:03:27,370 -- 01:03:29,361
and the next day,
she would look at it again
1224
01:03:29,438 -- 01:03:31,065
and change
a little something else.
1225
01:03:31,140 -- 01:03:33,768
And I think over the years,
1226
01:03:33,843 -- 01:03:37,176
the perfectionism
did get in the way.
1227
01:03:37,246 -- 01:03:40,306
In a way, it crippled her.
1228
01:03:40,383 -- 01:03:44,376
WOMAN: Here is oh, a picnic
basket, a drawing of a basket.
1229
01:03:44,453 -- 01:03:46,284
Up in Seaview Village,
1230
01:03:46,355 -- 01:03:47,845
so probably Deborah Sussman.
1231
01:03:47,924 -- 01:03:51,451
It's a letter
from Lily Saarinen.
1232
01:03:51,527 -- 01:03:52,653
That's cool.
1233
01:03:52,728 -- 01:03:54,059
Look at that,
I've never seen that.
1234
01:03:54,130 -- 01:03:55,154
There we go...
1235
01:03:55,231 -- 01:03:58,496
"Dearest Queen
of all Pack Rats."
1236
01:03:58,568 -- 01:04:01,332
I think it was almost
a nervous tic with her.
1237
01:04:01,404 -- 01:04:03,497
She was constantly
making notes,
1238
01:04:03,573 -- 01:04:06,872
and usually on the back of
Benson & Hedges wrappers.
1239
01:04:06,943 -- 01:04:08,934
This is one of the wrappers,
1240
01:04:09,011 -- 01:04:10,569
and on this side
1241
01:04:10,646 -- 01:04:12,671
she designed something
that looks very reminiscent
1242
01:04:12,748 -- 01:04:15,216
of some
of her fabric designs.
1243
01:04:15,284 -- 01:04:17,752
And you turn it over, and you
see it's a Benson & Hedges.
1244
01:04:17,820 -- 01:04:20,618
And on this side
are notes she made
1245
01:04:20,690 -- 01:04:24,353
for lighting of the puppet shows
1246
01:04:24,427 -- 01:04:26,224
at the IBM pavilion.
1247
01:04:26,295 -- 01:04:28,729
CAPLAN: You'd find them
everywhere.
1248
01:04:28,798 -- 01:04:30,322
They'd drive you crazy.
1249
01:04:30,399 -- 01:04:33,061
And they could say, "Buy soap,"
1250
01:04:33,135 -- 01:04:35,069
or "Liver and onions
for dinner,"
1251
01:04:35,137 -- 01:04:38,129
or they'd have
very elaborate ideas.
1252
01:04:38,207 -- 01:04:40,437
MARILYN NEUHART:
She had her suits made,
1253
01:04:40,509 -- 01:04:43,501
and they had pockets that went
all the way to the hem.
1254
01:04:43,579 -- 01:04:45,012
So whatever she wanted to keep,
1255
01:04:45,081 -- 01:04:46,912
she would just shove
in the pockets.
1256
01:04:46,983 -- 01:04:50,009
MAN: So what would happen
with these notes?
1257
01:04:50,086 -- 01:04:51,883
McALEER: Well, for a time,
she asked the staff
1258
01:04:51,954 -- 01:04:54,047
to try to type them up,
and I think it became
1259
01:04:54,123 -- 01:04:56,182
too overwhelming
for the staff.
1260
01:04:56,259 -- 01:04:58,659
It was such an avalanche
of notes.
1261
01:04:58,728 -- 01:05:02,528
TONDREAU: Ray didn't communicate
like everybody else does.
1262
01:05:02,598 -- 01:05:04,725
She expected that you
1263
01:05:04,800 -- 01:05:07,462
pre-understood
what she was talking about.
1264
01:05:07,536 -- 01:05:10,334
The people who didn't
make the effort
1265
01:05:10,406 -- 01:05:13,375
would sometimes use
the epithet "Crazy Rayzy,"
1266
01:05:13,442 -- 01:05:16,036
simply because they
didn't understand her.
1267
01:05:16,112 -- 01:05:19,809
But Ray is not crazy.
She's brilliant.
1268
01:05:19,882 -- 01:05:22,476
BEEBE: And Ray had
a lot of competition
1269
01:05:22,551 -- 01:05:24,109
forCharles's attention,
1270
01:05:24,186 -- 01:05:30,887
which I don't think anybody ever
really gave her credit for.
1271
01:05:30,960 -- 01:05:35,090
That everybody wanted Charles
and not Ray.
1272
01:05:37,166 -- 01:05:41,500
OPPEWALL: He was the guy that
the IBM executives would call.
1273
01:05:41,570 -- 01:05:44,095
He was the guy that you went to
1274
01:05:44,173 -- 01:05:46,232
to discuss the projects
intellectually.
1275
01:05:46,309 -- 01:05:50,439
He was very charismatic.
1276
01:05:50,513 -- 01:05:53,209
Charles was extremely
charismatic.
1277
01:05:53,282 -- 01:05:54,476
He was very charismatic.
1278
01:05:54,550 -- 01:05:55,642
He was very handsome.
1279
01:05:55,718 -- 01:05:59,017
He was very handsome
and very charismatic.
1280
01:05:59,088 -- 01:06:01,682
I know that word is really
overused, but he was.
1281
01:06:01,757 -- 01:06:04,988
And especially very charismatic
to women.
1282
01:06:10,132 -- 01:06:11,963
BLAICH: He reminded me
of Henry Fonda,
1283
01:06:12,034 -- 01:06:16,266
and I met Henry Fonda one time,
and I told Henry Fonda this,
1284
01:06:16,339 -- 01:06:17,601
that I thought
they looked alike,
1285
01:06:17,673 -- 01:06:19,300
and he said,
"That's a compliment."
1286
01:06:19,375 -- 01:06:22,674
SUSSMAN: I mean, he had
these dimples,
1287
01:06:22,745 -- 01:06:24,872
and he..."Aw, shucks,"
kind of guy.
1288
01:06:27,116 -- 01:06:30,483
SCHRADER: He was handsome
and smart, and cool.
1289
01:06:30,553 -- 01:06:33,021
So, you know, that's a kind of
lethal combination.
1290
01:06:33,089 -- 01:06:35,284
WECHSLER: It was the vision.
1291
01:06:35,358 -- 01:06:37,223
It was the personality.
1292
01:06:37,293 -- 01:06:38,726
It was the charm.
1293
01:06:38,794 -- 01:06:40,694
It was the unexpected.
1294
01:06:40,763 -- 01:06:41,889
It was the person.
1295
01:06:41,964 -- 01:06:45,730
This is just a small selection
1296
01:06:45,801 -- 01:06:47,792
of letters that I went through
1297
01:06:47,870 -- 01:06:52,705
to find things that pertain
particularly to the work.
1298
01:06:52,775 -- 01:06:56,871
"In the next few weeks, I must
pull together a preliminary film
1299
01:06:56,946 -- 01:06:59,710
for the 'Franklin and Jefferson'
show."
1300
01:07:04,153 -- 01:07:07,213
And then the rest is personal.
1301
01:07:12,728 -- 01:07:16,425
BEEBE: I think their marriage,
1302
01:07:16,499 -- 01:07:21,801
it was a mystery to everybody,
in a way.
1303
01:07:21,871 -- 01:07:26,171
They were emotionally
extremely bonded.
1304
01:07:26,242 -- 01:07:32,943
But he found excitement
and thrills outside of Ray,
1305
01:07:33,015 -- 01:07:35,813
and outside of the Office,
1306
01:07:35,885 -- 01:07:40,948
which was really
crushing to her.
1307
01:07:44,794 -- 01:07:47,524
WECHSLER: I met him when he was
on the visiting committee
1308
01:07:47,596 -- 01:07:49,826
forthe architecture department
at M.I.T.
1309
01:07:49,899 -- 01:07:52,959
And I was a young
assistant professor.
1310
01:07:53,035 -- 01:07:55,731
Charles said, "Let's experiment
1311
01:07:55,805 -- 01:07:58,273
with some films on art."
1312
01:08:02,111 -- 01:08:07,174
I have many, many letters,
extraordinary letters.
1313
01:08:07,249 -- 01:08:09,774
Because we didn't live
in the same city,
1314
01:08:09,852 -- 01:08:13,185
we tried to see each other
as we could.
1315
01:08:13,255 -- 01:08:15,519
He had come to London,
1316
01:08:15,591 -- 01:08:18,958
and I was there,
and I could not get away.
1317
01:08:19,028 -- 01:08:21,360
And he said, "I will come
and stand in front of the house
1318
01:08:21,430 -- 01:08:24,661
at a certain time," and I
slipped out of this
1319
01:08:24,733 -- 01:08:26,758
rather formal dinner,
1320
01:08:26,836 -- 01:08:30,567
and there he was, and we just
looked at each other.
1321
01:08:37,179 -- 01:08:41,673
We had a very profound love
for each other.
1322
01:08:44,954 -- 01:08:49,323
He wanted very much
for us to get married
1323
01:08:49,391 -- 01:08:52,690
and to have a child,
1324
01:08:52,761 -- 01:08:54,854
and to close...
he wanted to close
1325
01:08:54,930 -- 01:08:56,454
the Eames Office in Venice,
1326
01:08:56,532 -- 01:08:58,397
which he found very burdensome,
1327
01:08:58,467 -- 01:09:01,959
and for us to open an office
together in New York.
1328
01:09:06,742 -- 01:09:09,404
And I made a decision...
1329
01:09:09,478 -- 01:09:11,378
and I don't know if was
the right decision...
1330
01:09:11,447 -- 01:09:13,881
that I couldn't do it to Ray.
1331
01:09:13,949 -- 01:09:15,883
Because I had a friendship
with her,
1332
01:09:15,951 -- 01:09:18,749
but above all because they had
been together so long,
1333
01:09:18,821 -- 01:09:22,951
and I knew how much
she depended on him.
1334
01:09:23,025 -- 01:09:26,392
And I said, "I can't do it."
1335
01:09:31,400 -- 01:09:35,097
BEEBE: Ray dealt with it
very privately.
1336
01:09:35,171 -- 01:09:38,265
She was hurt deeply,
1337
01:09:38,340 -- 01:09:41,173
but she wasn't
the kind of person
1338
01:09:41,243 -- 01:09:44,770
who would have said,
"It's me or her."
1339
01:09:44,847 -- 01:09:49,682
OPPEWALL: I don't think
she wanted to leave.
1340
01:09:49,752 -- 01:09:54,849
I think itwas something
that she had to accept.
1341
01:09:54,924 -- 01:09:56,619
This wasn't the era
1342
01:09:56,692 -- 01:09:59,923
of easy-come, easy-go
relationships.
1343
01:09:59,995 -- 01:10:04,932
There was too much
shared life and community,
1344
01:10:05,000 -- 01:10:08,265
and the fact that he, you know,
1345
01:10:08,337 -- 01:10:11,773
had other relationships outside
of the Office...
1346
01:10:14,043 -- 01:10:17,137
he seemed to be constructed
that way.
1347
01:10:17,213 -- 01:10:21,775
KIRKHAM: But there is a position
that I think is nonsense,
1348
01:10:21,850 -- 01:10:24,978
which is to say that because
Charles was having
1349
01:10:25,054 -- 01:10:27,614
a relationship
with somebody else
1350
01:10:27,690 -- 01:10:30,250
that he couldn't then carry on
a collaboration with Ray.
1351
01:10:30,326 -- 01:10:32,191
I mean,
that clearly didn't happen.
1352
01:10:34,930 -- 01:10:38,127
FRANCO: In fact, Charles and Ray
were about to collaborate
1353
01:10:38,200 -- 01:10:40,259
on the largest,
most complex project
1354
01:10:40,336 -- 01:10:43,032
the Office would
ever undertake.
1355
01:10:44,707 -- 01:10:48,336
Forthe nation's bicentennial
celebration in 1976,
1356
01:10:48,410 -- 01:10:50,605
the Eames Office designed
1357
01:10:50,679 -- 01:10:52,874
"The World
of Franklin and Jefferson,"
1358
01:10:52,948 -- 01:10:55,849
a traveling show made up
of three films,
1359
01:10:55,918 -- 01:10:59,877
40,000 words
translated into four languages,
1360
01:10:59,955 -- 01:11:03,015
and thousands of photographs
and objects,
1361
01:11:03,092 -- 01:11:06,892
including a stuffed bison.
1362
01:11:06,962 -- 01:11:10,261
When "Franklin and Jefferson"
opened in Paris,
1363
01:11:10,332 -- 01:11:13,859
it was seen by 50,000 people
in two months.
1364
01:11:13,936 -- 01:11:17,337
More than a thousand visitors
saw it each day
1365
01:11:17,406 -- 01:11:19,135
in London and Warsaw.
1366
01:11:19,208 -- 01:11:21,142
But when it came to New York,
1367
01:11:21,210 -- 01:11:24,771
the reception was different.
1368
01:11:24,847 -- 01:11:28,442
ALBRECHT: When it appeared at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
1369
01:11:28,517 -- 01:11:32,044
iThe New York Times/i reviewed it,
and the headline was,
1370
01:11:32,121 -- 01:11:36,319
"What Is This Stuff
Doing at the Met?"
1371
01:11:36,392 -- 01:11:37,484
Ltwas one of the first times
1372
01:11:37,559 -- 01:11:39,823
the Eameses were ever
criticized.
1373
01:11:42,298 -- 01:11:44,323
It had an enormous
amount of text.
1374
01:11:44,400 -- 01:11:47,494
Nobody could have possibly read
it all, it was so dense.
1375
01:11:50,339 -- 01:11:52,500
WURMAN: This show was
a bit picky for me,
1376
01:11:52,574 -- 01:11:54,542
too many little objects
that I would remember none.
1377
01:11:54,610 -- 01:11:56,043
It was too many things to see.
1378
01:11:56,111 -- 01:11:57,578
I can remember about ten things.
1379
01:11:59,281 -- 01:12:02,148
He knew so much
about all these things,
1380
01:12:02,217 -- 01:12:05,152
he couldn't edit out something.
1381
01:12:05,220 -- 01:12:08,212
These are things
of the period
1382
01:12:08,290 -- 01:12:10,383
and of the time,
from Mount Vernon.
1383
01:12:10,459 -- 01:12:13,587
WURMAN: They were all
so interesting to him,
1384
01:12:13,662 -- 01:12:15,425
and he was familiar with them,
1385
01:12:15,497 -- 01:12:17,465
and he could see all these
connections.
1386
01:12:17,533 -- 01:12:19,797
But you can't keep it all
in your head
1387
01:12:19,868 -- 01:12:21,301
if you're not
that familiarwith it.
1388
01:12:23,939 -- 01:12:26,737
OPPEWALL: You could
call itclutter, butthat's not
1389
01:12:26,809 -- 01:12:28,208
what Charles
would have called it,
1390
01:12:28,277 -- 01:12:30,939
because clutter is
just stuff that's
1391
01:12:31,013 -- 01:12:34,710
dropped and abandoned
and forgotten and leftthere.
1392
01:12:34,783 -- 01:12:36,250
It was dense,
1393
01:12:36,318 -- 01:12:38,309
and it was complex,
1394
01:12:38,387 -- 01:12:40,981
but there was a mind at work
1395
01:12:41,056 -- 01:12:42,455
placing it there.
1396
01:12:42,524 -- 01:12:45,550
Whether you as the recipient
1397
01:12:45,627 -- 01:12:48,619
were willing and able to accept
that is another question.
1398
01:12:50,899 -- 01:12:52,764
ALBRECHT: They're pushing up
against the envelope
1399
01:12:52,835 -- 01:12:54,632
of what technology could do,
1400
01:12:54,703 -- 01:12:57,729
because they're trying to give
the visitor
1401
01:12:57,806 -- 01:13:00,969
a hypertext experience,
1402
01:13:01,043 -- 01:13:03,671
but they're doing it
in physical space.
1403
01:13:03,746 -- 01:13:05,077
And it doesn't work.
1404
01:13:05,147 -- 01:13:08,514
They are anticipating
1405
01:13:08,584 -- 01:13:10,211
what the computer can do today
very easily
1406
01:13:10,285 -- 01:13:13,686
with layering text and giving
you at different levels.
1407
01:13:13,756 -- 01:13:17,487
So it's a failure,
but it's an honest failure.
1408
01:13:21,630 -- 01:13:24,360
The criticism of
"Franklin and Jefferson"
1409
01:13:24,433 -- 01:13:26,196
hit Charles hard.
1410
01:13:26,268 -- 01:13:29,169
DEMETRIOS: The
"Franklin and Jefferson" show
1411
01:13:29,238 -- 01:13:31,138
was an exhausting show
1412
01:13:31,206 -- 01:13:32,969
because it was huge,
1413
01:13:33,041 -- 01:13:36,875
and I think sort of
the machinery of doing that
1414
01:13:36,945 -- 01:13:39,140
was just tiring.
1415
01:13:39,214 -- 01:13:40,282
TONDREAU: I saw Charles
at his happiest
1416
01:13:40,282 -- 01:13:42,944
TONDREAU: I saw Charles
at his happiest
1417
01:13:43,018 -- 01:13:45,509
when he was getting to do
a lot of photography.
1418
01:13:45,587 -- 01:13:49,387
And he was very engaged directly
on the creative process
1419
01:13:49,458 -- 01:13:50,891
of doing the photographs...
1420
01:13:50,959 -- 01:13:54,156
which led me to the idea
that maybe he felt
1421
01:13:54,229 -- 01:13:56,891
he was missing something,
you know,
1422
01:13:56,965 -- 01:13:58,592
because he had had
the transition
1423
01:13:58,667 -- 01:14:01,534
to more of an executive
position at the Office.
1424
01:14:01,603 -- 01:14:05,266
BEEBE: It was very hard for him,
because he didn't really have
1425
01:14:05,340 -- 01:14:07,467
a successor,
1426
01:14:07,543 -- 01:14:11,309
and for the years
that I was there, he was always
1427
01:14:11,380 -- 01:14:13,575
looking for the perfect person.
1428
01:14:13,649 -- 01:14:15,810
It was a battle one day
1429
01:14:15,884 -- 01:14:19,980
with the IBM representative,
Mike Sullivan,
1430
01:14:20,055 -- 01:14:22,956
and Mike said,
"Why don't you shut this down?"
1431
01:14:23,025 -- 01:14:24,322
And he said, "I'd like to."
1432
01:14:24,393 -- 01:14:26,122
And Sullivan said,
"What would you do?"
1433
01:14:26,195 -- 01:14:30,825
And he said, "I'd just travel
and shoot."
1434
01:14:30,899 -- 01:14:34,460
"But," he said, "I don't know
what to do about Ray,
1435
01:14:34,536 -- 01:14:37,130
and closing the Office."
1436
01:14:37,206 -- 01:14:40,175
BEEBE: He was tired, and he was,
1437
01:14:40,242 -- 01:14:42,676
I don't know if it was his
heart, but he was cold a lot.
1438
01:14:42,744 -- 01:14:45,406
I brought him one morning...
it was a Saturday morning,
1439
01:14:45,481 -- 01:14:47,278
and I'd made applesauce cake
or something,
1440
01:14:47,349 -- 01:14:48,839
and I brought it to the office,
1441
01:14:48,917 -- 01:14:51,579
and I handed it to Charles
wrapped in tin foil,
1442
01:14:51,653 -- 01:14:54,144
and it was still warm,
and he took it,
1443
01:14:54,223 -- 01:14:55,713
pressed it to his chest,
1444
01:14:55,791 -- 01:14:57,588
and he was thrilled
to have that warmth
1445
01:14:57,659 -- 01:15:00,321
just sort of on his chest.
1446
01:15:15,944 -- 01:15:20,643
JOHN NEUHART: I was out of
the office the day that he died.
1447
01:15:20,716 -- 01:15:25,449
It was, in a way,
it was expected.
1448
01:15:28,223 -- 01:15:31,488
SUSSMAN: It just didn't
seem possible.
1449
01:15:31,560 -- 01:15:34,324
I mean, I knew that some people
that Charles worked with,
1450
01:15:34,396 -- 01:15:36,990
men in the East, wept.
1451
01:15:39,568 -- 01:15:47,668
He was such a dominant force in
the lives of designers that...
1452
01:15:49,444 -- 01:15:54,143
it was like there was suddenly
a big empty hole.
1453
01:15:58,654 -- 01:16:00,679
OPPEWALL: There are still days
1454
01:16:00,756 -- 01:16:03,190
when I'm driving
down the highway,
1455
01:16:03,258 -- 01:16:06,523
thinking about things,
and I think,
1456
01:16:06,595 -- 01:16:09,086
"Why did you die?
1457
01:16:09,164 -- 01:16:12,258
I'm not through with you yet!
1458
01:16:12,334 -- 01:16:16,964
I haven't finished asking you
the questions I wanted to ask."
1459
01:16:23,612 -- 01:16:27,946
He was the most important person
in my life.
1460
01:16:30,052 -- 01:16:33,749
I mean, he could be, he could
really be tough, you know,
1461
01:16:33,822 -- 01:16:36,290
but he...
1462
01:16:39,828 -- 01:16:42,262
he was an extraordinary
person.
1463
01:16:49,571 -- 01:16:52,563
BEEBE: After Charles died,
1464
01:16:52,641 -- 01:16:54,268
suddenly Ray was
1465
01:16:54,343 -- 01:16:56,106
the head of the Office.
1466
01:16:58,680 -- 01:17:00,648
She gathered everybody around,
1467
01:17:00,716 -- 01:17:04,345
and she talked about her goals
and what she wanted to do,
1468
01:17:04,419 -- 01:17:07,855
and how she needed
our help.
1469
01:17:07,923 -- 01:17:10,915
And it was really very powerful,
1470
01:17:10,993 -- 01:17:12,790
because she had never
done that before.
1471
01:17:12,861 -- 01:17:17,321
But she felt this huge burden
about carrying on the name
1472
01:17:17,399 -- 01:17:19,162
and carrying on the Office.
1473
01:17:19,234 -- 01:17:23,193
And I think it was killing her.
1474
01:17:23,271 -- 01:17:25,535
And I said, "Come on, Ray,
why don't you
1475
01:17:25,607 -- 01:17:28,633
just close the Office,
and let's go and paint."
1476
01:17:28,710 -- 01:17:31,110
And she said
"No, that's all in the past.
1477
01:17:31,179 -- 01:17:33,044
I can't do that anymore."
1478
01:17:36,618 -- 01:17:38,017
FRANCO: Without Charles,
1479
01:17:38,086 -- 01:17:41,419
activity in the Eames Office
dwindled,
1480
01:17:41,490 -- 01:17:44,857
until itwas time
to finally close 901.
1481
01:17:47,596 -- 01:17:49,860
Ray focused
on the painstaking work
1482
01:17:49,931 -- 01:17:52,923
of cataloguing the voluminous
40-year output
1483
01:17:53,001 -- 01:17:56,095
of the Eames Office.
1484
01:17:56,171 -- 01:17:59,732
Nearly 350,000 photographs
1485
01:17:59,808 -- 01:18:02,299
and half a million documents
had to be organized for shipment
1486
01:18:02,377 -- 01:18:05,676
to the Library of Congress.
1487
01:18:09,251 -- 01:18:12,118
But over the years,
a new generation
1488
01:18:12,187 -- 01:18:14,849
lifted Ray
from Charles's shadow,
1489
01:18:14,923 -- 01:18:17,983
discovering in her
exuberant design sense
1490
01:18:18,060 -- 01:18:21,791
a refreshing alternative
to the austerity of modernism.
1491
01:18:24,066 -- 01:18:26,830
And Ray seemed to finally
find her voice
1492
01:18:26,902 -- 01:18:32,033
as one of the most influential
women of American design.
1493
01:18:32,107 -- 01:18:34,871
Best for the most for the least,
1494
01:18:34,943 -- 01:18:36,934
that was always the principle.
1495
01:18:37,012 -- 01:18:38,946
That's why we became interested
1496
01:18:39,014 -- 01:18:40,276
in mass production.
1497
01:18:40,348 -- 01:18:44,250
SUSSMAN: At that point,
1498
01:18:44,319 -- 01:18:47,254
women began to point to Ray.
1499
01:18:47,322 -- 01:18:48,812
You know, "If there are
two Eameses,
1500
01:18:48,890 -- 01:18:50,357
why aren't they both credited?"
1501
01:18:50,425 -- 01:18:51,722
And now, of course, they are.
1502
01:19:10,879 -- 01:19:15,816
BEEBE: She kept saying, in
the hospital, "What day is it?"
1503
01:19:15,884 -- 01:19:19,843
And I would say,
"It's Wednesday the 18th."
1504
01:19:19,921 -- 01:19:21,946
And she would say, "Oh."
1505
01:19:22,023 -- 01:19:23,456
And then the next time
I would come,
1506
01:19:23,525 -- 01:19:25,857
then she would say,
"What day is it?"
1507
01:19:25,927 -- 01:19:27,019
"It's Thursday."
1508
01:19:27,095 -- 01:19:28,426
"Oh."
1509
01:19:33,401 -- 01:19:37,269
I think she wanted to die
on the same day as Charles
1510
01:19:37,339 -- 01:19:41,708
because it sort of symbolized
their being one.
1511
01:19:46,248 -- 01:19:52,710
Her last statement was one
of being with Charles.
1512
01:20:10,005 -- 01:20:14,704
This guy and that guy
could trade places.
1513
01:20:14,776 -- 01:20:17,370
There's probably an Eames chair
1514
01:20:17,445 -- 01:20:20,073
literally in every single issue
that we've published.
1515
01:20:20,148 -- 01:20:21,172
You know, you could go
1516
01:20:21,249 -- 01:20:23,080
from the DAX to the DSS
to the LCW,
1517
01:20:23,151 -- 01:20:24,982
you know, you'll get
this whole range.
1518
01:20:25,053 -- 01:20:26,850
MAN:
Clockwise just a little.
1519
01:20:26,922 -- 01:20:27,911
Just a little.
1520
01:20:27,989 -- 01:20:31,618
The furniture still has
a quality
1521
01:20:31,693 -- 01:20:32,955
that every young designer
1522
01:20:33,028 -- 01:20:34,962
is searching for,
because of the amount of thought
1523
01:20:35,030 -- 01:20:36,725
that's been put into it
1524
01:20:36,798 -- 01:20:40,928
by everyone whose hands touch
the project.
1525
01:20:41,002 -- 01:20:44,062
I think you see that optimism
of the American spirit
1526
01:20:44,139 -- 01:20:46,369
in their design.
1527
01:20:46,441 -- 01:20:48,170
It provided
just a great blueprint
1528
01:20:48,243 -- 01:20:49,938
for how we could live our lives.
1529
01:20:52,347 -- 01:20:54,110
PEATROSS: What furniture
designers
1530
01:20:54,182 -- 01:20:57,117
ever have produced
40 to 50 pieces of furniture
1531
01:20:57,185 -- 01:21:00,621
that have been in production
for five decades?
1532
01:21:00,689 -- 01:21:03,988
But the other thing is
the sheer joy,
1533
01:21:04,059 -- 01:21:05,924
that aspect of play.
1534
01:21:05,994 -- 01:21:09,589
No one else, I think,
had that combination
1535
01:21:09,664 -- 01:21:12,599
of the pragmatic
and the aesthetic.
1536
01:21:12,667 -- 01:21:14,828
NARRATOR: Seven...
1537
01:21:14,903 -- 01:21:17,872
SUSSMAN: They loved to say,
"We don't do art.
1538
01:21:17,939 -- 01:21:19,964
We solve problems."
1539
01:21:20,041 -- 01:21:21,099
It's the process.
1540
01:21:21,176 -- 01:21:22,837
It's, how do we get
from where we are
1541
01:21:22,911 -- 01:21:25,573
to where we want to be?
1542
01:21:25,647 -- 01:21:27,205
NARRATOR: Grasp the rear
of the viewfinder...
1543
01:21:27,282 -- 01:21:29,807
DEMETRIOS: Charles and Ray were
always looking to the future.
1544
01:21:29,885 -- 01:21:31,375
They weren't
sort of sitting around,
1545
01:21:31,453 -- 01:21:33,353
telling war stories about
organic furniture.
1546
01:21:33,421 -- 01:21:34,649
What they were doing is like,
1547
01:21:34,723 -- 01:21:36,884
"What's the next thing?"
1548
01:21:36,958 -- 01:21:39,927
ALBRECHT: They were there
1549
01:21:39,995 -- 01:21:42,020
for the major moments
in American history,
1550
01:21:42,097 -- 01:21:44,497
and they were really the
pioneers of the information age.
1551
01:21:44,566 -- 01:21:47,364
NARRATOR: The visitor
can try out the computer
1552
01:21:47,435 -- 01:21:49,096
as a carrier of information.
1553
01:21:49,170 -- 01:21:51,798
ALBRECHT: The breadth
of the work is extraordinary,
1554
01:21:51,873 -- 01:21:55,775
but there is also a unifying
theme of beauty
1555
01:21:55,844 -- 01:21:59,075
and a desire to reach
a broad audience.
1556
01:21:59,147 -- 01:22:01,877
So if it was pulled forward
a little bit?
1557
01:22:01,950 -- 01:22:04,475
Every designer owes them
some amount of debt,
1558
01:22:04,552 -- 01:22:08,488
but at the same time, part of
that debt should be to kind of
1559
01:22:08,556 -- 01:22:12,856
take what they did
and move beyond it.