Wim and Vigour
April 17, 2011 by:
Daniel Ostroff
Wallpaper magazine [April 2011] profiles renowned designer, Wim Crouel, and shows us his Amsterdam apartment, filled with his vast book collection and iconic pieces of furniture, including an Eames lounge and ottoman, by Vitra.
The connection between Charles and Ray Eames and renowned Dutch graphic designer isn’t related to furniture, even though in this picture Crouel is sitting on an Eames 670. I found the connection here, in an on-line biography of Mr. Crouwel’s work. ‘Although his ideas were Bauhaus-related, unlike many Crouwel was not a dogmatist. He was fascinated by the ideas about serial and mass production, as he stated ‘we need the machine since we have no time.’ But he also believed ‘the machine cannot replace the precision of the human eye and human feeling.’ Crouwel’s work has always consisted of these two essential elements: the emotional aspect and the rational one.’ That’s also a good way to describe the work of Charles and Ray, who always attended to the human element, and who brought ample craftsmanship to their industrially produced designs. Another connection – Charles and Ray always made clear that they were not ‘ists.’ Their work addressed needs, not abstract principles.
Portrait: Qiu Yang for Wallpaper Magazine
http://www.wallpaper.com/
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