I absolutely adore the work of Tapio Wirkkala, the Finnish glass designer I discovered a couple of weeks ago. Glass may be great as a medium but in the hands of this artist, it becomes magical…
We’ve all seen some of his designs like the Finlandia vodka bottles but he’s a poet when his work comes done to a less commercial level. I had a great time in the Decoratif Arts museum of Paris.
I had the advantage of a great view to Paris — check the Eiffel tower’s reflection in Wirkkala’s five Murano glass bottles’ window:
There were some funny glass (and wood) sculptures like Richard Meitner’s fish:
I was pleasantly surprised by the Czech artist, Libuše Niklová (1934–1981), a famous toy designer. From the 1950s to the 1980s, Niklová created toys like the inflatable animals and dolls (I had one clone of it in Tehran with a little bell in it!)
“She had the brilliant idea of using flexible pleated piping that squeals when pressed. The result was her “accordion” toys: a cat, dog, goat and lion that can be taken apart and reassembled like a construction game.”
Check out her toys links at the end of the post; you’ll have fun.
As long as I was with the funny stuff, Snoopy always makes me smile:
His creator, Charles Schulz, famously said:
“Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement.”
I saw one of the first huge ad posters for The laughing cow or “La Vache Qui Rit” cheese:
The permanent collection of this museum has a rich array of chairs:
from Mies van der Rohe‘s Barcelona chair to Ron Arad’s folding one:
Olivier Mourgue designed his well-known classic Djinn chairs (1965) made famous by ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ by Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick created a futuristic rotating Hilton hotel in Space. In it, the Djinn chairs received their lasting moment of fame. Olivier Mourgue named the chairs ‘Djinn” which in Muslim legend, is a spirit often capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people (Genie in English):
Do you remember the beautiful scene of the Hilton Lobby in Space Odyssey?
I should stop before I make this post about Kubrick!
I also liked this statue of wood and nails by Janine Janet, made for a window of Balenciaga in Paris in 1959; It’s called the queen:
One of the best things about this underrated museum is its breathtaking views of Paris; I kept running from one window to the next!
I took all of these pictures with my android phone and this is the proof:
Last but not least, my favorite view from the building is this one looking down at Place des Pyamides:
the museum’s site here.
the cute toys here.
Tapio Wirkkala here.
Somerset Maugham in ” The Moon and Sixpence”:
“Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly?
Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul.
And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it.
To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody that he sings to you,and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination.”
Whilst you are still there, please do another blog on Paris window shop displays and details walking around with your lovely meditations on these things? Always enjoyable….! Wirkkala is interesting because of this same sense of and sensitivity to play and interplay as well, maybe that is why you like him so much?