Even More Eames

Thanks to Jesse's post for reminding of something that may be of interest to the media historians and archivists among us — the Library of Congress is currently restoring many and perhaps, eventually, all of the films of Charles and Ray Eames. The project, which began in 2018, was funded in part by Herman Miller, a furniture producer with the rights to many of the Eames' designs, including the iconic lounge and shell chairs. The restorations are quite impressive, with a polished sheen redolent of Instagram's finest sponsored content. As we touched on in class, Eames' modernism is effective in erasing, or at least blurring, the line between consumer capitalism and domestic lifestyle; I'd argue that these new restorations further drive home that point, and I would not be surprised to see them pop up in digital marketing campaigns for companies like Herman Miller, Design Within Reach, or any other purveyors of rather expensive mid-century modern furnishings. As Amy Auscherman, an archivist at Herman Miller noted in an interview, “I like to joke that if the Eameses had Instagram, they would be really good at it.” On that note, @eamesoffice on Instagram is very much worth a follow.

Link to films: https://www.hermanmiller.com/stories/why-magazine/preserving-the-eameses-film-legacy/

https://www.culturedmag.com/eames-hollywood-legacy/