Coming soon: a documentary on Charles and Ray Eames
So the news is that the IFC Center will premiere Eames: Architect and Painter by directorsJason Cohn and Bill Jersey. PBS will air it in December as part of their American Masters series. From this interview (Part 1 and Part 2) I get the impression that the documentary will be really good. Cohn’s devotion to the project (he has spent five years working on it: fundraising, documenting and filming) and his passion for both the Eames’ work and work ethos gives me confidence. The fact that he’s a journalist with a design sensibility and not a designer with a journalist sensibility is also a good sign. It’s a subtle but important difference.
The difference between telling the story of two people that happened to do great design and were able to convey the value of it to non-designers, making “the best for the most for the least” and something more centered on doing an appraisal of their work and the value of their legacy. I’m not saying that a designer wouldn’t have done a great job, I’m just saying it’s a matter of focus.
Sometimes people who are not designers are good at explaining the value of certain design concepts in layman’s terms. Sometimes not. We’ll see.
Until then, here’s the trailer:
Ventana externa