Directional? Yuck. The new buzzword in furniture design may be Directional, as H & H reports last Thursday, but we find the word itself as meaningless as the furniture is hideous. The big lead article is therefore a difficult one for us to swallow, and we find it fascinating how collectors are trying to find the next big thing and move us beyond our current obsession with Mid-Century Modern.
But the direction of directional, is a grueling, overstimulated trek through the 60's, 70's and 80's which we would rather not take...or are not ready for. Chrome, velour, gold trim and chunky shapes, this is the direction that Jonathan Adler has been going in for the past few years and which has barely had enough time as "dated." We will see what comes of this, and hope disaster is averted.
While H & H inspired difficulty this week and was not particularly practical there were a few good tips. In Currents, we found some beautiful (but expensive) design items on sale at the Cooper-Hewitt by modern sculptors such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, and in Personal Shopper, Marianne Rohrlich focuses on furniture for childrens' rooms. We liked the Preschool Computer Desk (without the computer!) which is sold at Sensory Edge for $174. MGR
H&H LINKS
- For Sale: A Diva's (Madeleine Castaing) Eccentric Legacy
- Antiques Arrayed in Paris. Americans Aren't
- Coffee Break: Now, Java in a Pod
- Personal Shopper Slideshow - Children's Furniture
- Currents Slideshow
- Ill Winds Improve the View - Gardening after Ivan
I read this article and was horrified ! God help us all if this stuff takes root....
I really think we're running out of trends....and there's not much originality out there in furniture design....so it kind of makes sense. We need to spark a revolution in taste and demand more from designers as we move forward.
If that 80's Memphis design stuff comes back, it will surely be a sign that the last days are upon us!
YIKES. The Normandie meets Louise Nevelson meets Studio 54. In bronze.
My feel about "directional" pieces: Born again as "collectibles", they can be openly, childishly liked. Kitsch is ok as a collector's thing. Besides, these pieces are very high quality items, and quality often speaks for itself.
Remember, sincere (as opposed to snobbish, and even then...)collecting is not real life but an intimate fantasy trip, "good taste" having little to do with it.
I like the word "directional": it is non-committal aesthetically (the items are not judged, pretty or ugly does not matter), thus opening up all emotional possibilities. In fact, it is a non-directional assessment.
The farther away new collecting trends are from one's own taste, the better, because then you can be grateful someone has shown them to you. Otherwise you would never had noticed them!