Ceramic Clocks
Belief in progress and growing economic prosperity were central aspects
of the American way of life around 1950. Everything seemed possible, and people
strove to be 'modern'. With the aim of bringing modern design into American
homes, George Nelson conceived a wide array of everyday objects: lamps, clocks
and other domestic accessories. Up until the 1970s, the Nelson office created
many different items for the home, including the Bubble Lamps and the Ball
Clock, which became icons of mid-century modern design.
The Ceramic Clocks combine geometric and organic shapes in a way that is
both playful and sculptural, evoking associations with three-dimensional works
by artists like Constantin Brancusi or Isamu Noguchi. For unknown reasons, the
Ceramic Clocks were never produced in series, though designed and developed in
full detail in the early 1950s.
Using the original plans and prototypes as a basis, Vitra has produced a
new edition of the Ceramic Clocks in porcelain, finished in a variety of
coloured glazes and equipped with a modern quartz movement. These cheerful
table clocks are available in three versions.
About Designer | |
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George Nelson |
In 1935, Nelson joined the editorial staff of the 'Architectural Forum',
where he was employed until 1944. A programmatic article on residential
building and furniture design, published by Nelson in a 1944 issue of the
journal, attracted the attention of D.J. DePree, head of the furniture company
Herman Miller, Inc. A short time later, George Nelson took on the position of
Design Director at Herman Miller. Remaining there until 1972, he became a key
figure of American design; in addition to creating furnishings for the home and
office, Nelson also convinced the likes of Charles &
Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander
Girard to work for Herman Miller. In 1957, Vitra founder Willi Fehlbaum signed his first licence agreement
with Herman Miller to produce furniture for the European market. During the ensuing
decades of the collaboration with Vitra, a close friendship evolved between
George Nelson and Rolf Fehlbaum, who later said about Nelson: 'No other
prominent designer spoke as intelligently or wrote as coherently about design'.
Nelson expressed his thoughts on design topics in numerous articles and eleven
books; his seminal treatise 'How to See' was recently reissued in a new edition
by Phaidon. Along with his position as Design Director at Herman Miller, Nelson
opened his own design office in 1947, George Nelson Associates, Inc., working
together with such outstanding employees as Irving Harper, Ernest Farmer,
Gordon Chadwick, George Tscherny and Don Ervin to create countless products and
objects, some of which are now regarded as icons of mid-century modernism. His
architectural work included numerous private residences. The Sherman Fairchild
House (1941) attracted considerable attention, and his Experimental House
exemplified his interest in prefabricated building and flexible floor plans.
George Nelson died in New York in 1986. His estate, which is held by the
Vitra Design Museum, encompasses roughly 7400 manuscripts, plans, drawings,
photographs and slides dating from 1924 to 1984. In 2008/09, the Vitra Design
Museum mounted the exhibition 'George Nelson – Architect, Writer, Designer,
Teacher. |