check these out (expensive as hell, but quite beautiful)
http://www.gumps.com/DECORATIVE+ACCENTS/HOME+DECOR/Vases/Eva+Zeisel+Small+Golden+Vase.axd
As everyone is probably already aware--
Eva turns 103 this week!
I came across this news the other day, which got me wondering... where does she live?
New York's Upper West Side, as it turns out. I found this so-so interview (link below) which happens to include photos of her NY crib. I was somewhat surprised to see that her apartment ain't particularly 'modern'.
http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/4373
She was never very "modern"...
A few years ago I had the pleasure to spend a morning and lunch with her in her daughter's home here in Montreal. We had met a day earlier and she asked me to come over. At that age it is a one on one, because she is neither able to hear at a distance or speak load enough for a larger group. So we could discuss a number of things that I found interesting, among them a number of ceramic technical questions for which she did not show much interest, her relationship with Arthur Koestler, especially when they met again in London before her departure for the U.S. but that part I will keep for my own memoirs. We also discussed the Russian constructivists who had such an influence on the art in the Weimar republic and of course on the Bauhaus. She was only 14 Naum Gabo published the constructivist manifest but on the other hand could look at the arts in revolutionary Russia, from a privilege and a crucial spot in the Russian Porcelain industry. She was very clear on the fact that she did not come from an art tradition but from a crafts tradition and had few good words for the Bauhaus and the modern movement. In that sense she is a lot closer to Charles and Ray Eames and the Cranbrook tradition. It was quite an experience to talk to someone of her quality and intelligence but the amazing thing is of course to talk to someone who was already in primary school when Picasso painted his first cubism painting....
Modern, yes, but not ultra modern
I have the wonderful 1984 catalog/book ("Design for Industry") published when her retrospective was at the Brooklyn Museum.
Looking through her designs, she was on the cutting edge of modern design, but she was also very pragmatic about design must be appropriate for everyday use. She apparently had little time for designs that were difficult to use and overly fragile.
In terms of her taste for design, she was definately belonging to the era of Philip Johnson, George Nelson, Florence Knoll, and the Eameses. Her post WWII designs continued not to be particularly radical, and I doubt if she had much time for the wild Italian lighting and furniture. I doubt if she is much of a fan of Frank Gehry, for example, or for all of that plastic furniture. She certainly wasn't Mod!
I remember when Philip Johnson designed the AT&T building in NYC (now the Sony building) and some people were up in arms about his Chippendale top of the building. I thought it was cool. I suspect Zeisel did too.
Why the hell not?
A tree full of ornaments is not a religious symbol, it's a secular one. And to make beautiful decorations for people to enjoy only helps spread joy. Besides, those are possibly the most stunning ornaments I've seen. Why only display them during the holidays?
Good for her! I hope she keeps designing for years to come.
Happy birthday Eva!One co...
Happy birthday Eva!
One complaint I have about these ornaments is the metal hangers better suited for 50cent ornaments. I find them intrusive and unsightly against the sensuous curves of the glass. Some kind of looped cord knotted at the other end would be better.
Here's a link to the Christmas tree entry at Wikipedia. I found it good reading!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree
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