Arlene Francis, host of NBC's "Home" show, introduced Charles and Ray to television audiences in 1956, along with their iconic design Lounge Chair and Ottoman.
Ray doesn’t talk much here, but there’s a good recording of her voice on SoundCloud, accepting an award for their house. It’s titled “Ray Eames’ Royal Gold Medal Acceptance Speech at RIBA.”
Standard for the time. My aunt was the secretary to a big executive. He was a drunk and was worthless after lunch. So she ran the company after lunch for ten years.
I wish they'd shown an Eames Child's Stool. I have one of the molded birch plywood stools with the clear varnish finish. It was their very first commercially sold product, I believe, even before the adult chairs. The demunative child's stool, chair, & desk weren't a success, so production only lasted a short time in the mid 40s. Apparently, there aren't many left in the world. I've never seen another, other than in photos.
This makes me sick to watch. I have tremendous respect for Ray, even considering her one of my personal heroes of design and culture. I realize the time context is so different, but the ingrained patriarchy oozing from the female host is very very telling of what Ray was subjected to.
I disagree that this is somehow demonstrative of "patriarchy". If that were the case, then reality itself must be "patriarchal" (hint: it's not; reality doesn't care about sex or gender). The *fact* is that Charles made much more significant contributions to the furniture than Ray did. It's also more than a little ironic that you are accusing the host -- a woman -- of being some kind of tool of "the patriarchy". If "the patriarchy" were still A Thing, the network would not have made a woman the star of the show; it would have done what _actual_ patriarchies (like Saudi Arabia, for example) do: it would have kept women at home and out of the public eye. Ray was a skilled graphic designer, but she had little other training beyond abstract art. She had no engineering expertise, nor architectural, nor cinematographic -- all areas where Charles *did* have expertise, and all the core of the Office's output. Charles was a trained, practicing architect, he co-invented the process of 3-D molding plywood (with Eero Saarinen), and was an instructor of industrial design. He immersed himself in learning about plastic production at Herman Miller, so he could design the fiberglass chairs, and in the technical aspects of filmmaking. There is no doubt that Ray was important to the team's work at the Eames Office. It's well-known that he bounced ideas off of her, and he trusted her judgment. Charles' color-sense wasn't very good; he deferred to Ray and to Alexander Girard on that matter. Ray seems to have been Charles' equal, intellectually and aesthetically. But when it came to the furniture the Office designed, her contributions were a fraction of Charles'.
RIGHT?!?!!! I was looking at this and I had to stop for a moment because I was cringing so hard at how belittling and condescending the host was. They were É Q U A L, it’s disgusting, and I’m not even mad at the host herself, it’s the culture. God I’m so angry. Had I been her, I probably couldn’t have managed to be so graceful.
@@bricology that is not true!!!! THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!!!! Her contribution to their design’s form was tremendous!!!!!!!!! I shouldn’t be typing this while I’m so angry but GOD I’M SO ANGRY they were sane enough to admit it was the two of them, why are we here speculating about who did what? They were a team.
It has nothing to do with patriarchy, it’s the host being disrespectful to Ray. Throughout the interview she’s directly speaking to Charles, flirting with him, and ignoring or belittling Ray. I think the host wanted to get in his pants, and eventually she probably did!
Learning about them thru my tarot work where they’re on an oracle card. What an adorable couple. Also funny that I’m literally using one of their designs unknowingly
I think Arlene Francis was very gracious and respectful of Ray Eames, given the cultural tenets of the time. Also - Arlene Francis was a (closet) lesbian so I’m sure she connected personally in some respect with a woman’s plight for recognition among men
Hello, I'm studying industrial design and I need information about Charles Eames (and Ray Eames). The purpose of links to other designer, who was influenced by Charles & Ray Eames at their achievements. Whether before or even today. Links can be, film, sculpture ect ... All parts (movie or other objects) having a relationship with Eames. A reproduction can a different item What draws an object Eames ... I know this is vague but unfortunately this is information we received. So all information, examples ect ... are welcome thank you. Sorry for my english, but I'm french
If you're already interested in Charles & Ray Eames' informations, you can go to their website : www.eamesoffice.com/ It's a really good website which shows all their work about their life :) Not be affraid about yout english, I'm French too ! :')
she's a clever woman, really. You must surrender towards her will in order to get some redeption jaj... how to actract a woman so independent. wow! she's beautiful! At that date woman was thought to be stupid and feminism remained for literature and the news, but not her.
It’s a great shame that Herman Miller gave all the rights for Eames furniture to Vitra. A corporate blunder in a time of indifference to the value of the HM legacy.
Why is it a shame? Vitra serves Euorpe and other regions that Herman Miller is not located near. It was instrumental in dispersing their designs throughout the world.
One facet of the Eames' philosophy was accessibility to many people, not just those with vast amounts of disposable income. Vitra's Eames products are increasingly pricey, beyond the means of the audience the Eames created for.
@@writergrrl11 I completely agree. Last year I was in Switzerland at the Vitra flagship campus and manufacturing plant. It also crossed my mind that most all of the Eames' work is now out of reach of most consumers making an average living wage. I'm also a bit dismayed at the use of plastics instead of natural materials--the child's elephant chair is an example. I think the smallest decorative plastic one I saw (too small for even a child to sit on) was nearly €200. I believe the Eames' would not have embraced this type of elitist pricing IMO. Ray was a great collector of many relics, many of which had no significant monetary value, but that she found beauty and inspiration in.
Amazing all the social justice warrior comments below. Arlene Francis was not known as a lesbian. That assertion might come as a shock to her two husbands and son. Maybe she was bi-sexual but what does that have to do with anything? Charles seems very gracious and acknowledges that they are a design team. In an interview in this format it makes sense one person does most of the talking. Ray was an equal partner and I often find the person who says the least is often thought the wiser. My Unitarian church has been taken over by PC idiots who have removed the Thomas Jefferson doors because he was a slave owner. We have come a long way in civil rights but I fear for our democracy at the hands of the litmus test knuckleheads.
@@12346unkown -- No, that's not my implication _at all._ Women can certainly be sexist, just as non-Europeans can be racist, LGBT people can be prejudiced against cis-hetero people, etc. My point was that Arlene Francis did not seem sexist to me, and the very fact that she was hired by the men who ran the business to be the host of a TV show, makes the entire premise of Ray being the victim of sexism in their appearance on the show, to be rather absurd.
@@bricology i don’t see how Arlene being employed by whoever for whatever would have any significance to the situation. Ray is being belittled repeatedly and is not given credit for anything but supporting her husband. If she had been portrayed correctly she wouldn’t have had to travel the world claiming authorship after charles’ death. I don’t know about you but underestimating someone’s contribution and portraying them as a kind of assistant based on their sex seems to meet the criteria for sexism quite well. And then when everyone finally knew they were partners both in life and work they tried to turn her into his brother. You gotta admit the misidentification is pretty one sided here….
@@12346unkown wrote "Ray... is not given credit for anything but supporting her husband". That is not true; Charles insisted that Ray's contributions were essential _to their work,_ not just to him. "If she had been portrayed correctly she wouldn’t have had to travel the world claiming authorship after charles’ death." She *didn't* have to. The Office continued to receive income for much of its output, after Charles died. She didn't "have to" do _anything._ I am not "underestimating someone’s contribution and portraying them as a kind of assistant based on their sex"; I am basing it upon REALITY. It's pretty silly the way that couples like Charles and Ray get appropriated as some kind of feminist cause célèbre when there is no justification for it. In couples where the woman has contributed more than the man to their shared output (such as Marina Abramovic & Uwe Laysiepen), or is the superior talent (like with Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes), I am more than happy to state as much. Ray was, as I have pointed out above, an expert on color theory, and graphic design (as well as fine arts and dance). She was NOT a furniture designer, an industrial designer nor a structural engineer, much less an architect or a trained cinematographer. You (and others) are trying to elevate her role within the Office to that of having equal input, when *_she simply didn't._* The onus is on those who claim that she had equal authorship to the furniture the Office designed for Herman Miller, to demonstrate that, and such has never been done. Seriously: show me one scrap of paper with a drawing in Ray's hand, of a novel aspect of the Office's furniture designs. Her input (beyond expressing her opinions, which would have been useful) consisted of fabric design and color choices -- elements irrelevant to most of the Office's output.
To everyone harping on how supposedly sexist this is, and how Ray was supposedly "marginalized" -- explain this: the Eames Office was a flurry of activity for about 35 years, with a tremendously rich and varied output . . . until Charles died. Ray lived on for another 10 years, and was regularly at the office. Name _one_ accomplishment that she was responsible for during those 10 years (and no -- arranging archives, and putting together a book on the firm's work, does not count). Charles thought Ray was very important to the Office's work, and he never suggested otherwise; that was generous (and unusual) of him. But Charles was the essential one of the two. He was a trained, practicing architect, he was an instructor of industrial design, a trained cinematographer, etc. He co-invented the process for 3-D molding plywood (with Eero Saarinen). Without Ray, there is no doubt that Charles would have still been a very successful, influential force in design. The Eames Office could well have been much the same with just him at the helm. Even if she had access to all necessary resources, and sexism wasn't a factor, could Ray have done what the Office did, without Charles? *Not a chance.* Where a woman contributes more than her male partner, she should be given more credit than he. The same is true when it's the other way 'round.
I've sat in the TV chair and it works better without the ottoman. People need to move a little around when they sit. If your feet are up it cramps your back. (Sorry Herman Miller. I think after 75 years your feelings won't be hurt.)
this is very embarrassing just to watch, you would think that the host would just do a little bit of research prior to the interview, there’s really no excuse for the ignorance of the host.
She was not subservient to Charles. He "always" noted her contribution to everything they did in print and interviews. It was the media at the time that presented Ray as a secondary person. Don't blame Charles and Ray for the limited role she was portrayed in at the time. In other words, learn about something before making such a statement.
@@markblunck2692 -- it was generous for Charles to give equal attribution to Ray (and unusual; he wasn't big on sharing credit). But it remains a fact that of the two, Charles' contributions to the output of the Office dwarfed Ray's.
Renia Ellen Saddler how in the world do you figure miss Francis was a lesbian when she was married to Martin gavel from 1947 until he died in 1986? Stupid bitch. With a son
Cheryl Royder Because people in that period could not be out and had to hide their homosexuality....that is how. No need to call someone a “stupid bitch”. That’s very harsh...
Кино
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Charles & Ray, so down to earth. Their chairs are absolutely incredible. Stylish yet sturdy and so iconic. I love their esthetic. Brilliant couple!
Perhaps their greatest feat in their lives is that they never seemed to have stopped smiling.
"Unusual couple..." And they then both look at each other like "whaaaaat?"
Ray doesn’t talk much here, but there’s a good recording of her voice on SoundCloud, accepting an award for their house. It’s titled “Ray Eames’ Royal Gold Medal Acceptance Speech at RIBA.”
Amazing to see film of this! Thank you for posting!
Thank you!!!
Sad to see how they tried to introduce Ray as an accessory to Charles
Standard for the time. My aunt was the secretary to a big executive. He was a drunk and was worthless after lunch. So she ran the company after lunch for ten years.
I just ordered mine! I can't wait to get it!!!
Arlene is just so grand!
Arlene isn't grand. She is an annoying ass in this video.
@@markblunck2692 your mom
Can't help feeling there was a bit of a culture clash between this upper class New Yorker Arlene Francis and this laid back west coaster Eames couple.
I wish they'd shown an Eames Child's Stool. I have one of the molded birch plywood stools with the clear varnish finish. It was their very first commercially sold product, I believe, even before the adult chairs. The demunative child's stool, chair, & desk weren't a success, so production only lasted a short time in the mid 40s. Apparently, there aren't many left in the world. I've never seen another, other than in photos.
Você pode me enviar fotos desse banco? Fernando brasil.
Very interesting teleport to a fragment of the passed but still very actual century.
show de bola, e eu comprei agora em 12/2021 essa poltrona chique, nunca imaginei que era modelo de 1956!! muito moderno ainda hoje, imagina em 1956!!
WOW amazing video
good ole arlene
she opened alot of doors for women....
his glove wearing wife is rather stepford eh...
This makes me sick to watch. I have tremendous respect for Ray, even considering her one of my personal heroes of design and culture. I realize the time context is so different, but the ingrained patriarchy oozing from the female host is very very telling of what Ray was subjected to.
I disagree that this is somehow demonstrative of "patriarchy". If that were the case, then reality itself must be "patriarchal" (hint: it's not; reality doesn't care about sex or gender). The *fact* is that Charles made much more significant contributions to the furniture than Ray did.
It's also more than a little ironic that you are accusing the host -- a woman -- of being some kind of tool of "the patriarchy". If "the patriarchy" were still A Thing, the network would not have made a woman the star of the show; it would have done what _actual_ patriarchies (like Saudi Arabia, for example) do: it would have kept women at home and out of the public eye.
Ray was a skilled graphic designer, but she had little other training beyond abstract art. She had no engineering expertise, nor architectural, nor cinematographic -- all areas where Charles *did* have expertise, and all the core of the Office's output. Charles was a trained, practicing architect, he co-invented the process of 3-D molding plywood (with Eero Saarinen), and was an instructor of industrial design. He immersed himself in learning about plastic production at Herman Miller, so he could design the fiberglass chairs, and in the technical aspects of filmmaking.
There is no doubt that Ray was important to the team's work at the Eames Office. It's well-known that he bounced ideas off of her, and he trusted her judgment. Charles' color-sense wasn't very good; he deferred to Ray and to Alexander Girard on that matter. Ray seems to have been Charles' equal, intellectually and aesthetically. But when it came to the furniture the Office designed, her contributions were a fraction of Charles'.
RIGHT?!?!!! I was looking at this and I had to stop for a moment because I was cringing so hard at how belittling and condescending the host was. They were É Q U A L, it’s disgusting, and I’m not even mad at the host herself, it’s the culture. God I’m so angry. Had I been her, I probably couldn’t have managed to be so graceful.
@@bricology that is not true!!!! THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!!!! Her contribution to their design’s form was tremendous!!!!!!!!! I shouldn’t be typing this while I’m so angry but GOD I’M SO ANGRY they were sane enough to admit it was the two of them, why are we here speculating about who did what? They were a team.
It has nothing to do with patriarchy, it’s the host being disrespectful to Ray. Throughout the interview she’s directly speaking to Charles, flirting with him, and ignoring or belittling Ray. I think the host wanted to get in his pants, and eventually she probably did!
Sounds like Mrs. Ray keeps Charles in line
Learning about them thru my tarot work where they’re on an oracle card. What an adorable couple. Also funny that I’m literally using one of their designs unknowingly
excelente, hay alguna versión en español??
I have to write a short report on chairs. How the heck do you go about this?
Arlene Francis keeps trying to box Ray into a traditional (and sexist!) "women role".
Yeah -- the _female_ star of the show, is somehow supposedly "trying to boxy Ray into a traditional...role". Makes perfect sense. 🙄
@@bricology Women can perpetuate sexism too lol
@@lilliputian8899 -- true enough. And not just sexism against women; also sexism against _men._
I think Arlene Francis was very gracious and respectful of Ray Eames, given the cultural tenets of the time. Also - Arlene Francis was a (closet) lesbian so I’m sure she connected personally in some respect with a woman’s plight for recognition among men
Hello,
I'm studying industrial design and
I need information about Charles Eames (and Ray Eames).
The purpose of links to other designer, who was influenced by Charles & Ray Eames at their achievements. Whether before or even today. Links can be, film, sculpture ect ...
All parts (movie or other objects) having a relationship with Eames. A reproduction can a different item What draws an object Eames ...
I know this is vague but unfortunately this is information we received.
So all information, examples ect ... are welcome
thank you.
Sorry for my english, but I'm french
If you're already interested in Charles & Ray Eames' informations, you can go to their website : www.eamesoffice.com/
It's a really good website which shows all their work about their life :)
Not be affraid about yout english, I'm French too ! :')
I'd be interested in where you got that info.
she's a clever woman, really. You must surrender towards her will in order to get some redeption jaj... how to actract a woman so independent. wow! she's beautiful! At that date woman was thought to be stupid and feminism remained for literature and the news, but not her.
Fucking epic. Someone donate a Eames Lounge chair to me please!
It’s a great shame that Herman Miller gave all the rights for Eames furniture to Vitra. A corporate blunder in a time of indifference to the value of the HM legacy.
Why is it a shame? Vitra serves Euorpe and other regions that Herman Miller is
not located near. It was instrumental in dispersing their designs throughout the world.
One facet of the Eames' philosophy was accessibility to many people, not just those with vast amounts of disposable income.
Vitra's Eames products are increasingly pricey, beyond the means of the audience the Eames created for.
@@writergrrl11 I completely agree. Last year I was in Switzerland at the Vitra flagship campus and manufacturing plant. It also crossed my mind that most all of the Eames' work is now out of reach of most consumers making an average living wage. I'm also a bit dismayed at the use of plastics instead of natural materials--the child's elephant chair is an example. I think the smallest decorative plastic one I saw (too small for even a child to sit on) was nearly €200. I believe the Eames' would not have embraced this type of elitist pricing IMO. Ray was a great collector of many relics, many of which had no significant monetary value, but that she found beauty and inspiration in.
The Eames family has a vested interest in Vitra and in protecting the Eames legacy. They work very closely with Herman Miller and Vitra to assure it
Amazing all the social justice warrior comments below. Arlene Francis was not known as a lesbian. That assertion might come as a shock to her two husbands and son. Maybe she was bi-sexual but what does that have to do with anything? Charles seems very gracious and acknowledges that they are a design team. In an interview in this format it makes sense one person does most of the talking. Ray was an equal partner and I often find the person who says the least is often thought the wiser. My Unitarian church has been taken over by PC idiots who have removed the Thomas Jefferson doors because he was a slave owner. We have come a long way in civil rights but I fear for our democracy at the hands of the litmus test knuckleheads.
Ah the casual sexism, what a different time -.-
not really
not really a different time.
@@kttkr are you implying that casual sexism still exists nowadays in western culture?
Arlene Francis seems sexist, no? Aside from her, the video is great, I love Ray and Charles Eames work.
No.
The irony of accusing the _female_ star of the show of somehow being sexist is more than a little laughable.
@@bricology i’m not sure I understand, are you implying that women can’t be sexist?
@@12346unkown -- No, that's not my implication _at all._ Women can certainly be sexist, just as non-Europeans can be racist, LGBT people can be prejudiced against cis-hetero people, etc.
My point was that Arlene Francis did not seem sexist to me, and the very fact that she was hired by the men who ran the business to be the host of a TV show, makes the entire premise of Ray being the victim of sexism in their appearance on the show, to be rather absurd.
@@bricology i don’t see how Arlene being employed by whoever for whatever would have any significance to the situation.
Ray is being belittled repeatedly and is not given credit for anything but supporting her husband. If she had been portrayed correctly she wouldn’t have had to travel the world claiming authorship after charles’ death. I don’t know about you but underestimating someone’s contribution and portraying them as a kind of assistant based on their sex seems to meet the criteria for sexism quite well. And then when everyone finally knew they were partners both in life and work they tried to turn her into his brother. You gotta admit the misidentification is pretty one sided here….
@@12346unkown wrote "Ray... is not given credit for anything but supporting her husband".
That is not true; Charles insisted that Ray's contributions were essential _to their work,_ not just to him.
"If she had been portrayed correctly she wouldn’t have had to travel the world claiming authorship after charles’ death."
She *didn't* have to. The Office continued to receive income for much of its output, after Charles died. She didn't "have to" do _anything._
I am not "underestimating someone’s contribution and portraying them as a kind of assistant based on their sex"; I am basing it upon REALITY. It's pretty silly the way that couples like Charles and Ray get appropriated as some kind of feminist cause célèbre when there is no justification for it. In couples where the woman has contributed more than the man to their shared output (such as Marina Abramovic & Uwe Laysiepen), or is the superior talent (like with Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes), I am more than happy to state as much.
Ray was, as I have pointed out above, an expert on color theory, and graphic design (as well as fine arts and dance). She was NOT a furniture designer, an industrial designer nor a structural engineer, much less an architect or a trained cinematographer. You (and others) are trying to elevate her role within the Office to that of having equal input, when *_she simply didn't._* The onus is on those who claim that she had equal authorship to the furniture the Office designed for Herman Miller, to demonstrate that, and such has never been done. Seriously: show me one scrap of paper with a drawing in Ray's hand, of a novel aspect of the Office's furniture designs. Her input (beyond expressing her opinions, which would have been useful) consisted of fabric design and color choices -- elements irrelevant to most of the Office's output.
I'm happy that there is a thing as proper body language in our time.... The host makes you feel very unwelcome.... :/
I feel the same! Very awkward and I feel she's flirting with Eames in front of his wife lol
To everyone harping on how supposedly sexist this is, and how Ray was supposedly "marginalized" -- explain this: the Eames Office was a flurry of activity for about 35 years, with a tremendously rich and varied output . . . until Charles died. Ray lived on for another 10 years, and was regularly at the office.
Name _one_ accomplishment that she was responsible for during those 10 years (and no -- arranging archives, and putting together a book on the firm's work, does not count).
Charles thought Ray was very important to the Office's work, and he never suggested otherwise; that was generous (and unusual) of him. But Charles was the essential one of the two. He was a trained, practicing architect, he was an instructor of industrial design, a trained cinematographer, etc. He co-invented the process for 3-D molding plywood (with Eero Saarinen). Without Ray, there is no doubt that Charles would have still been a very successful, influential force in design. The Eames Office could well have been much the same with just him at the helm. Even if she had access to all necessary resources, and sexism wasn't a factor, could Ray have done what the Office did, without Charles? *Not a chance.*
Where a woman contributes more than her male partner, she should be given more credit than he. The same is true when it's the other way 'round.
I've sat in the TV chair and it works better without the ottoman. People need to move a little around when they sit. If your feet are up it cramps your back. (Sorry Herman Miller. I think after 75 years your feelings won't be hurt.)
this is very embarrassing just to watch, you would think that the host would just do a little bit of research prior to the interview, there’s really no excuse for the ignorance of the host.
wife so subservient to Charles
She was not subservient to Charles. He "always" noted her contribution to everything they did in print and interviews. It was the media at the time that presented Ray as a secondary person. Don't blame Charles and Ray for the limited role she was portrayed in at the time. In other words, learn about something before making such a statement.
@@markblunck2692 -- it was generous for Charles to give equal attribution to Ray (and unusual; he wasn't big on sharing credit). But it remains a fact that of the two, Charles' contributions to the output of the Office dwarfed Ray's.
Arlene Francis was a lesbian. Whatever, no big deal. She was simply born into the wrong time period.
Renia Ellen Saddler how in the world do you figure miss Francis was a lesbian when she was married to Martin gavel from 1947 until he died in 1986? Stupid bitch. With a son
Cheryl Royder Because people in that period could not be out and had to hide their homosexuality....that is how. No need to call someone a “stupid bitch”. That’s very harsh...