Mushrooms for the salon of the bourgeoisie: In memory of Pierre Paulin
Sandra Hofmeister writes an amazing tribute to an amazing designer and humanitarian. What would the world of design be without Pierre Paulin? Many of his designs have already become timeless icons, avant-garde and classic at the same time. In spite of having every good reason to let people celebrate him as the designer of the Grande Nation, the Frenchman always considered his own achievements to be marginal. A fondness of experimentation and curiosity characterize his unmistakable signature style, be it in the halls for Georges Pompidou in the Elysée Palace or in the curved lines of the Flower Chair made of transparent polycarbonate that was presented only this year in Milan. Pierre Paulin died at the age of 81 on June 13, 2009 in Montpellier. His visions will live on.
“My professional conviction is that I wanted to avoid traditional production,” the son of a French father and Swiss mother once explained. This conviction becomes manifest in the furniture and rooms, irons and aircraft interiors he designed, alongside many other things. With inexorable drive Pierre Paulin sounded out the limits of what was possible, and in doing so created utopian but at the same time user-oriented worlds that were intended for normal everyday life just as much as for a banquet given by the French President. Born in Paris in 1927, Pierre Paulin studied at the École Camondo and was, in his early years, inspired by Scandinavian design, Charles and Ray Eames and Florence Knoll. In 1953 he presented his first own furniture collection at the household goods trade fair in Paris. At that time he crafted the CM141 desk – a minimalist desk with slender steel legs and reduced wooden drawers – with his father. Last year Ligne Roset started producing this classic again as a re-edition under the name “Tanis”.
Bigtime Design and I share a couple of things with Pierre. Grey hair and a passion for materials and their somewhat obtuse renderings in contemporary design. I encourage any designer worth a dime (fabricated out of polycarbonate of course) to spend a minute or two and read the entire article and i promise an inspiring read. enjoy. to the artice….