|
Newport Design Week, which I wrote about prior to attending the event, turned out to be a very successful and entertaining four days in Newport, RI. The subject of design may seem straightforward to many, but in fact great design requires extensive knowledge across a wide array of subjects. The talks touched on historical figures such as Edith Wharton and Nancy Lancaster, the history of architectural design in Newport--which could have gone on for days--and what it is that makes for a sublime experience and even whether that experience, at least according to Richard Sammons, is more a sensory revelation than a visual one. Panelists from across the country showed their work and discussed the problems that they faced in getting the results they desired.
What is it about design, or more precisely, interior design, that makes many--mostly men, I hate to say--groan and say, I leave that to my wife, I just pay for it. This antediluvian attitude is contrary to the need we have for a salubrious environment. Life, if you're lucky enough, can be about joy, about the uplifting of spirit which can begin by being in a place one calls home. This may sound a little panglossian, but it isn't. I hark back to Orson Welles's depiction of Citizen Kane in that eponymous movie where Kane reveals what mattered so much to him--his sled, Rosebud. In direct correlation to this depiction, I sat and listened to two wonderful talks that were about "things", one by Matthew Grubman of P.E. Guerin, the brass supplier located on Jane St. in Greenwich Village, and Scott Kravets of the fourth generational firm, Kravet, Inc. the fabric supplier.
Almost any film director, if asked to depict the psychopathic character will do so using bare rooms, devoid of personal artifacts to help establish the subject's inability to relate to any environment, either mentally or physically. Would that the psychopath could met either Kravet or Grubman as they talked about their commitment to learning and supplying items that represented extraordinary thought--thought in design, thought in craft and thought in product. Making such product available to designers is always a gamble--do they get what they are looking at or not? I have to say that I was the other person talking about product at the conference and although I don't make my product, I have enormous enthusiasm for what I sell--it is history writ in objects. The three of us want to uplift homes with what we do--it is our raison d'etre.
The final day of presentations featured three speakers devoted to making spaces that offer an uplifting environment for their clients. Anne Fairfax, the organizer of the event, was the first and she emphasized the bones of good architecture and the willingness of clients. Building is not inexpensive these days no matter where you reside--the first project on her slides showing a house on a steep hill in Hong Kong. Suzanne Tucker of San Francisco talked next noting that things didn't necessarily come easily as one project went on for eight years! (I can't imagine that.) Suzanne's delight in great sight lines in a home were particularly relevant as site lines are great visual enhancers. Lastly, Alex Papachristedes from New York City, received a standing ovation for his wit and charm, and he made it clear that kitsch is not a dirty word. It works every now and then, because we all have it. The teddy bear, and a great deal more, lives on in Alex's work!
|
