Where Are The Great Designers Of The 21st Century? Kieren…
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Where Are The Great Designers Of The 21st Century?
Kieren Kinsella Woodworking https://preview.redd.it/2dpjekyshojg1.png?width=1896&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab0434ed6b918883f7d970cd3188ba3d4eb58caa
I am going to say something controversial. There is very little good design today. There are plenty of technically great woodworkers making furniture but very few great designers. None can stand up to the greats of the past. The Holy Trinity of furniture designers are Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, and George Nakashima. Many would also add Jean Prouvé to this list of greats. Soon after, Eames revolutionized mass production and, with that, the ubiquitous Eames Lounge Chair remains unchallenged.
Let us talk about one, and perhaps the greatest furniture designer of the twentieth century, Hans Wegner. He alone designed some five hundred chairs, one hundred of which were produced at scale, all handcrafted in ateliers by a small team of artisans just before the dawn of mass production. Hans Wegner existed on that razor's edge of old world craftsmanship and modernism ushered in by the Bauhaus. Hans Wegner revolutionized furniture design. Hans Wegner was singular. Most importantly, his oeuvre had a consistency of vision and thought that is lacking in almost every artisanal furniture designer today. His understanding of ergonomics was unparalleled. Not even the measured complexity of the Aeron chair can compete. Of course, Wegner's designs extended beyond chairs. His catalog is encyclopedic.
I speak about Wegner and mention the other greats because all woodworkers today are descendants of these designers. Even the great Sam Maloof stood on the shoulders of Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner. Then there is the great tradition of Windsor chairs and Shaker furniture. Many woodworkers today would claim one of these schools as their spiritual forbears. Fair enough, but like Wegner, there is a consistency and singularity to Windsor chairs and Shaker furniture that designers today cannot match. To design a table "in the style of" a Shaker table is inferior to a Shaker table.
Many furniture designers are master craftsmen. Technical skill does not mean, however, that they are great furniture designers. In fact, some of the works and practices I see have me shaking my head in disappointment, as with the use of polyurethane varnishes, epoxies, and resins. I look all over the world for great, singular artists. The only furniture designer I have found with their own vision coupled with unparalleled craftsmanship is Kieren Kinsella. His side tables made from stumps of wood are singular masterpieces. I will go so far as to say that after George Nakashima there is only Kieren Kinsella. I hope to be proven wrong.
#diy
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Kieren Kinsella Woodworking https://preview.redd.it/2dpjekyshojg1.png?width=1896&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab0434ed6b918883f7d970cd3188ba3d4eb58caa
I am going to say something controversial. There is very little good design today. There are plenty of technically great woodworkers making furniture but very few great designers. None can stand up to the greats of the past. The Holy Trinity of furniture designers are Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, and George Nakashima. Many would also add Jean Prouvé to this list of greats. Soon after, Eames revolutionized mass production and, with that, the ubiquitous Eames Lounge Chair remains unchallenged.
Let us talk about one, and perhaps the greatest furniture designer of the twentieth century, Hans Wegner. He alone designed some five hundred chairs, one hundred of which were produced at scale, all handcrafted in ateliers by a small team of artisans just before the dawn of mass production. Hans Wegner existed on that razor's edge of old world craftsmanship and modernism ushered in by the Bauhaus. Hans Wegner revolutionized furniture design. Hans Wegner was singular. Most importantly, his oeuvre had a consistency of vision and thought that is lacking in almost every artisanal furniture designer today. His understanding of ergonomics was unparalleled. Not even the measured complexity of the Aeron chair can compete. Of course, Wegner's designs extended beyond chairs. His catalog is encyclopedic.
I speak about Wegner and mention the other greats because all woodworkers today are descendants of these designers. Even the great Sam Maloof stood on the shoulders of Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner. Then there is the great tradition of Windsor chairs and Shaker furniture. Many woodworkers today would claim one of these schools as their spiritual forbears. Fair enough, but like Wegner, there is a consistency and singularity to Windsor chairs and Shaker furniture that designers today cannot match. To design a table "in the style of" a Shaker table is inferior to a Shaker table.
Many furniture designers are master craftsmen. Technical skill does not mean, however, that they are great furniture designers. In fact, some of the works and practices I see have me shaking my head in disappointment, as with the use of polyurethane varnishes, epoxies, and resins. I look all over the world for great, singular artists. The only furniture designer I have found with their own vision coupled with unparalleled craftsmanship is Kieren Kinsella. His side tables made from stumps of wood are singular masterpieces. I will go so far as to say that after George Nakashima there is only Kieren Kinsella. I hope to be proven wrong.
#diy
source
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