On design : the magic language of things / Eva Zeisel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zeisel, Eva, 1906-2011.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Design.

Physical Description:

221 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Eva Zeisel : on design : the magic language of things

Place of Publication:

Woodstock, NY : Overlook Press, 2004.

Summary:

With a trailblazing career that spans more than seventy-five years and continues to this day, with recent creations that include a Martini glass featured in Bombay Sapphire ads and vases for Nambe and KleinReid, Eva Zeisel stands at the forefront of twentieth-century designers. Her works, mostly in the fields of ceramics and glass, are a reflection of a profoundly independent vision, unconstrained by design conventions, fads, or ideologies, and are featured in the permanent collections of museums throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Her belly-button wall dividers are part of the modern decor in the lobby of the Standard Hotel in Los Angele.

In this lavishly illustrated, full-color book, the designer for the first time communicates the ideas that have guided and inspired her work throughout her career. Each aspect of the design process is analyzed -- variety, spontaneity, line, contour, shading, and texture, among others -- to show how the best works are the result of a dialogue between creator and object whose result is an environment that is pleasurable, comfortable, and elegant. The language in which this dialogue is conducted, "the language of things," is one in which Zeisel's fluency is unparalleled, and her thoughts, read alongside the photos of her stunning creations and those that have inspired her, make this book indispensable to every enthusiast of art, ceramics, and design.

Contents:

Introduction: The Magic Language of Design 13

Essay: The Roots of 20th Century Design 15

Our Goal: The Playful Search for Beauty 25

To See: Affinitive Seeing 27

Variety

Not Originality 36

Spontaneity 53

Line 57

Shading and Shadows 73

Surfaces: Textures & Reflections 79

Scale 89

Crisp or Soft 95

To the Limit of the Material 97

Compact to Lacy 99

Contours: Complete and Incomplete Forms 112

Togetherness 117

Functional Objects 128

Fun 137

Associations with the Human Body 141

Influences 157

Birds 166

Visible Structure 179

Geometric Forms & Patterns 187

Curves: Stress & Compound 203

Beauty 209

Love 210.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-217).

ISBN:

1585674079

OCLC:

54677482