ORIGINALITY DECONSTRUCTED
PALM SPRINGS
February 17 - 25, 2023
Ace Hotel & Swim Club
701 E Palm Canyon Dr,
Palm Springs, CA
The capsule exhibition celebrated creativity by pulling back the curtain on the “how” and “why” of iconic design products, demystifying what goes into their conception. By dissecting these items, the showcase offered an in-depth look into different aspects of production.
Visitors were presented with issues surrounding sustainability and the challenges of copyrighting design. What goes into ensuring the authenticity of a carefully conceived and meticulously-crafted object, especially those with historical significance?
Be Original Americas: Originality Deconstructed was curated by Adrian Madlener with the generous support of host sponsor Ace Hotel and sponsors Lumens, Crypton, and Fritz Hansen.
Please visit the final exhibition in Los Angeles from March 17-26, 2023
FEATURING
ANGLEPOISE
Original 1227 Giant Floor Lamp
Handmade in-house at Anglepoise’s UK headquarters, the Original 1227 Giant Floor Lamp is a well-crafted luminaire three times the size of its iconic counterparts. The illuminated sculpture’s spring system was originally engineered as a vehicle suspension system. This mechanism ensures the light can perfectly position at any angle with even the slightest touch. Cast in durable aluminum and made to order, the oversized task lamp can stand the test of time. Like much of the brand’s full product range, this product is guaranteed for life. Isolating its key parts, the exhibition reveals the attention to detail that is given to each component.
CARL HANSEN & SØN
Faaborg Chair
In 1914, architect Kaare Klint designed the Faaborg Chair for the Faaborg Museum, resulting in the birth of a design that would become one of the first Danish classics. The chair created a foundation for what is now widely defined as the Danish Modern movement, putting the Scandinavian country on the world map in the 1950s. To this day, Carl Hansen & Søn manufactures the heritage design by honoring the original craftsmanship for which the chair is revered. The exhibition details the manufacturing processes carried out by the brand’s skilled in-house artisans, all of which are accomplished by hand.
FRITZ HANSEN
Series 7 Chair
Fritz Hansen has been manufacturing Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 Chair for over six decades. The iconic design is a testament to uncompromising artisanry, the enduring qualities of a design defined by a unique formal composition. Developed to stand the test of time, the versatile chair is produced using premium, carefully sourced, sustainable materials through a combined process of time-honored analog techniques and modern technology. Revealing the nine layers of molded veneer that compose the chair’s main shell, the exhibition reveals the sturdiness, craftsmanship, and originality of the engineering that lays behind the design’s pared-back exterior.
GEORG JENSEN
Pitcher 992
Developed in 1952 by Danish designer Henning Koppel, the iconic Pitcher 992 is often referred to as the Pregnant Duck due to its shape. For its production, two identical flat silver plates go through a long process of being raised using different hammers and are often heated to ensure that the material stays soft and flexible. Once the edges of the two halves are grinded-down and carefully prepared to achieve a perfect fit, they are soldered together. The handle and the base are crafted using a similar process. It takes a Georg Jensen silversmith two months to complete the finished product.
HERMAN MILLER | MILLERKNOLL
Eames Lounge and Ottoman
When the Eames Lounge and Ottoman were introduced by Herman Miller in 1956, a pamphlet by Ray and Charles Eames featured an exploded rendering of their new design. The illustrated graphic meticulously outlined the forty-plus components of the highly engineered, then radical, and now iconic design. The exhibition reflects this transparent approach. In service of greater comfort, it was the most complex chair concept the Eameses had realized to date. While the earliest models have become heirlooms, the design remains in continuous production and is still made in Michigan based on the original, exacting standards.
MENU
Penguin Rocking Chair
As part of MENU’s latest ICONS collection, The Penguin Rocking Chair evokes the American Modernism of the 1950s and 60s. Designed by furniture designer Ib Kofod-Larsen in 1953, the well-proportioned, contrasting, and playful chair is a piece of Danish cultural heritage and design history. The organic design takes on a sculptural quality and can serve as a statement piece in any interior. On display as part of the exhibition is the open construction chair’s curved walnut back, upholstered seat, stringent steel frame, and black ash rockers, among other key components.
PHASE DESIGN
Bride’s Veil Low Stool
With a unique formal vocabulary, Phase Design’s Bride’s Veil Low Stool serves as an alternative to the archetypal settee. As revealed in the exhibition, nineteen solid half-inch thick round steel bars fan out and are welded to a central bent steel frame. A radiused upholstered seat rests atop the base that is affixed by six round bars that stretch across the frame. The low stool design is precision produced by Los Angeles craftspeople deliberately using simple, readily available materials. When put together, the elements take on unique visual qualities.
SPONSORED BY
