Before Harry Bertoia made his eponymous furniture collection for Knoll in the early 50s, he was an artist and jewelry maker. He even made the wedding bands for Charles and Ray Eames. But once his gridded metal collection became a hit at Knoll he’s been known first and foremost as a furniture designer.
The most famous of the five pieces he made is, of course, the Diamond chair, a chair that’s more sculpture than traditional seating. In fact, Bertoia noted that “If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculptures. Space passes right through them.” As one of the most important pieces of furniture designed in the 20th century, it’s the Cooper-Hewitt’s Object of the Month for April.
Made from welded steel in polished or satin chrome or bonded rilsan, it’s scratch, chip and chemical resistant. Some of the pieces in the collection include cushions, which are affixed with snaps or feature stretched fabric, pulled taut across the entire front. I wish I could sit in one all month long, but until I upgrade my simple wooden Adirondack deck chairs to something of the midcentury variety, I will continue to gaze longingly at Bertoia’s masterpiece from afar. [ harrybertoia.org ]
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The Cooper-Hewitt has had to make a lot of adjustments in its programming during the renovations of their Upper East Side location, which will be closed for the next two years. For starters, the Design Talks series hosted by the museum’s director, Bill Moggridge, are being held at WNYC’s Greene Space, and their upcoming exhibition “Graphic Design: Now in Production,” will take place on Governor’s Island.
The other consideration they’ve had to make is for their massive National Design Library. The library itself was established in the 1890s by the Hewitt sisters, and the collection has occupied the third floor of the museum since the it was obtained by the Smithsonian in the 70s. More than two years of planning has gone into moving the 80,000 volumes, 4,500 trade catalogues and several collections of pictures to two new spaces, the Miller and Fox House, a townhouse adjacent to the museum, and a conservation and storage facility in New Jersey.
Not to worry, two chandelier-lit public reading rooms at the Miller and Fox House will allow access to bound serials an reference volumes. There’s another space, too, a quiet reading room where serious researchers can pull volumes of magazines and exhibition catalogues from bookcases nestled into the wood-paneled walls. Most of the collection, however, is housed in a temperature-controlled facility in New Jersey.
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The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is pleased to announce an open call for nominations for the thirteenth annual National Design Awards program. 2012 nominations due: 15 December 2011. Questions? designawards at si dot edu 212 849 8337.
