The conflagration about Eames Demetrios letter to Dwell about Modernica's versions of Eames shell chairs lead me to wonder:
What if Eames not only designed an iconic chair that Herman Miller produced, but also designed a more cheaply made version of the same chair and had it produced by a lesser manufacturer?
As this is a hypothetical, it does not really matter why he did it, but for some context, let's say he and HM did it because they were tired of being knocked off and making no money, so they decided do both the original and knock off and so participate in the profits of both, and in turn actually control the nature of the knock off to some extent.
Then let's imagine that many decades later there is a MCM renaissance, as has in fact occurred. Then imagine that HM resumes production of the old HM version the Eames, while Modernica resumes production of the version Eames knocked off himself.
Do we still have an argument about knocking off?
it depends
We don't even need to be hypothetical about it because there are plenty of designs the Eames did that are out of production.
I suppose it all depends on what the argument for making the knock-off is. As Whitespike & Barry have brought up there is a case to be made for "Knock-off as preservationist" in which companies are knocking off pieces that are out of production. I think it's an interesting argument, although I'd be more comfortable if those companies actively sought licensure.
What is more realistic is that companies look at licensed products to see what is actually selling, then copy it at a lesser price. As I pointed out in the Dwell thread - if Modernica lays claim to the shell chairs why aren't they producing LaFonda or the Loose Cushion Armchair in addition to the standard shell shapes? (PS - I do like that Modernica offers a number of non-production bases).
I'm uncomfortable with the "this is what the designers would have wanted" argument, which is usually based around the mostly erroneous myth that Modernism was about low cost. It is also usually proven by those making that argument that they have NO idea who or what the designers were about. Lets use Modern Reproductions as an example; when asked "are your pieces original?" their website states "Regardless from whom you might buy it, at whatever price, it will always be nothing but a copy!" This is clearly untrue, as many pieces by Herman Miller, Knoll, Cassina, & Fritz Hansen have never been out of production. How can they be copies if they've been made by the same people for 60 years?
If I
were a dead designer, I'm not sure I'd want even the most talented and well-intentioned practitioner deciding what I "would have done" in a given case. . .
Strictly speaking, every unit produced on an assembly line after "job one" (the first unit off the line) is a copy. But that's probably not helpful to the discussion !
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