Joe Gebbia supports the new Eames Institute
“Discovering the Eames” as a young art student changed the trajectory of my life and their work continues to have a profound impact on me to this day.” said Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia. The American designer and entrepreneur, who cites the work of Ray and Charles Eames As key influences, Gebbia provided seed funding for a new non-profit organization called the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity. “I’m thrilled to be part of this incredible organization working to share the lessons and legacy of Ray and Charles,” Gebbia adds.
The new initiative is led by President and CEO John Cary and Chief Curator Llisa Demetrios, granddaughter of Ray and Charles. “My goal as Chief Curator of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity is to help recreate the world that existed outside of the frame,” explains Demetrios. ‘I am motivated in this work to inspire others to learn from the way my grandparents approached their life and work so that they may eventually feel that sense of limitless potential that I was able to experience first hand and take it up and apply it in their own world.’
The mission of the Eames Institute is to equip everyone with the same creative problem solving as Ray and Charles, so that everyone can use design to solve problems. “Ray and Charles didn’t believe in the notion of a gifted few – they thought you got good at what you loved to do through practice, exploration, understanding and effort,” continues Demetrios. The institute will occupy both physical and digital spaces with an extensive archive at the Eames Ranch in Petaluma, California, and online exhibitions and the online magazine “Kazam! on the Eames Institute website.
Joe Gebbia with Llisa Demetrios
Images courtesy of the Eames Institute
Joe Gebbia, Airbnb entrepreneur and funder of the Eames Institute
The legacy of Ray and Charles Eames
A name synonymous with design, the Eameses remain two of the most prolific and influential designers in the world. Ray was a painter and sculptor and Charles was an architect. The couple married in 1941 and together they undertook a wide range of projects over the next 30 years: from architecture to film. Ray and Charles are best known for their iconic chair designs, such as the Eames Lounge Chair, and their innovations in materials and aesthetics.
Rather than focusing on the designs themselves, the new institute focuses on the designer’s approach and exploring how it can be applied to today’s challenges. ‘When Ray and Charles Eames were asked ‘What are the limits of design?’ they answered by reversing the question: “What are the limits of the problems?” It is in this spirit that we welcome you to the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, where the lessons that Ray and Charles left us through their work, and more importantly, how they approached this work, take life for a new generation willing to explore the “frontiers of problems”, says the Eames Institute website.
Ray and Charles are best known for their iconic chair designs
the Eames collection
As part of the Eames Institute, tens of thousands of objects from the couple’s work and personal archives will be made available to the public for the first time. Housed at the Eames Ranch, the extensive collection will showcase Ray and Charles’ iterative process, deep well of curiosity and love of discovery. Exhibits range from handmade prototypes and furniture components to exhibit items and folk art from around the world.
“Being able to share Ray and Charles’ legacy in this way, to showcase their incredible process and expansive design vision, is the dream of a lifetime,” explains Demetrios. “I hope the Institute’s efforts will help people find inspiration to solve problems in their own world.”
The most comprehensive and unique collection of Eames designs and associated ephemera in the world
a closer look at life with ray and charles
The first online exhibitions on the Eames Institute website focus on three distinct themes. ‘Before They Were the Eameses’ examines the creators’ lives before they became an iconic duo; “Plywood during the War” examines newlyweds’ experiences with plywood during World War II; “Form Follows Formulation” explores the history of the iconic Eames shell chair.
The Institute’s website also houses an online magazine called “Kazam! The magazine features stories about people, projects and ideas that are shaping a better future. Current articles include a look at childhood life with grandparents Ray and Charles written by Demetrios. “We, the grandchildren, have never felt despised”, she writes. “They took us seriously, listened to us and gave us advice to incorporate into our own creative work. When, at the age of 12, I informed Charles that I wanted to be a sculptor, he told me: “You must be able to use all the tools in your workshop as well if not better than the person you hires – or you won I don’t know if they are doing a good job.
Charles Eames with his granddaughter Llisa Demetrios
Demetrios is now Chief Curator of the Eames Institute
eames ranch
The Eames Ranch will be the cornerstone of the Eames Institute, serving as an indoor and outdoor “living laboratory”. Designed by architect William Turnbull, the building was constructed in the mid-1990s by Charles Eames’ daughter and Llisa’s mother, Lucia Eames, as an artist’s residence and studio.
“I learned so much living here with my mother for twenty years, and I could see the wonder on people’s faces as they experienced this material firsthand,” said Llisa Demetrios. “With the Institute and our new website, it’s so exciting to think of how many more people will be able to share this experience, and that my grandparents’ legacy is evolving in surprising and delicious new directions.”
The Eames Ranch in Petaluma, California
Alongside Cary and Demetrios, the Eames Institute will be led by a team of museum professionals, agricultural and land stewards, and operations and program administrators. Although it operates independently, the new institute shares the same mission as the Eames Office and the Eames Foundation.
“The Eames Institute will add a new facet to the network of organizations passionate about the work of Eames and strengthen everyone’s overall mission to preserve and share the creative legacy of Charles and Ray,” says Eames Demetrios, Director of the Eames Office and Chairman of the Board of the Eames Foundation.
The ranch is a working farm, artist’s residence and studio
The cornerstone of the Eames Institute
project info:
Last name: The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity
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