30 Oct 2016

Bat Out of Hell!

Initially Mirabelle's wink to Halloween was to feature a 1952 photograph by talented French photographer Robert Doisneau (1912 -1994), entitled 'Porte de L'Enfer, boulevard de Clichy, Paris 9è arrondissement', L'Enfer meaning Hell/ Inferno. The caped policeman 'flying past' the toothy gothic monster was referred to as hirondelle (swallow) back in the day, in reference to the distinctive cape that policemen wore when out on the beat that made them look like swallows when dashing around.



As a fitting correlation to the Halloween theme, I was prone to view the swallow as a bat defying the gates of Hell; note the policeman's confident - almost defiant - demeanour. L'Enfer cabaret (now defunct) stood in the colourful world-famous artist quarter of Paris, Montmartre.



Taking a closer look at the famed photographer's portfolio, it is easy to feel transported to a world of the spooky and the bizarre and the occult, so I couldn't resist adding on a few more Doisneau pictures that coincidentally capture the Halloween spirit, turning the wink into a long glance. The monochrome shots add to the ambience. Now up to us to solve the mysteries or just go along with their imbued poetry...



Sources: (1) 'Porte de l'Enfer, boulevard de Clichy, Paris 9è arrondissement', photography by Robert Doisneau, 1952, via L'Agence Photo RMN Grand Palais (*). The print is showcased at Centre Pompidou, Paris. (2) Sepia postcard of the Montmartre district of Paris, featuring boulevard de Clichy (Le Ciel et l'Enfer) cabarets, via Pinterest, allegedly dating back to the turn of the 20th century. Both cabarets were avant-garde surrealist themed venues. Le Ciel (meaning Sky/ Heaven) was an artists cabaret with a loose angel theme attached to it, while its flamboyant gothic next-door neighbour L'Enfer (Hell/ Inferno) cabaret erred on the morbid and the macabre. Such like venues were popular in 1880s-1920s Paris. (3-6) Robert Doisneau, photography via Atelier Robert Doisneau. (3) 'Yves Corbassière dans sa voiture à carreaux' (Y.C. in his checkered car), Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, 1948. (4) 'Stricte intimité' (Closest and dearest), Montrouge, 1945. (5) 'Une femme passe' (A lady walks by), Paris, 1945. (6) 'Le pendule' (The pendulum), 1945.

(*) RMN = Réunion Musées Nationaux

24 Oct 2016

Good Design according to Dieter Rams

When a product designer rambles on about good design, the first thing you do is check their designs. If said designer is Dieter Rams, you can pay closer attention to his word for you will learn invaluable information (design rules). And you can take his word for it because the gentleman knows his subject. If this weren't enough, he proves it too with his immaculate timeless executions!

PCS 45 Record Player, designed by Dieter Rams for Braun (1962)

Design without the Noise

As Chief Designer at Braun (1961-1995), Dieter Rams applied the winning formula of form and function to the 'T' of technology,  with a concise, methodical, pared-down ('Less, but better'), sleek and sober design. The end result was electrical consumer goods that served beyond the mere consumer act. We had the fusion of practicality, functionality, discipline into a stand-alone style icon that we may describe as a useful object of desire. Expect no brash, tack, bells or whistles. This is a case of unadulterated and enduring design. We're talking the 90% pure cacao bar of the chocolate world: potent, punchy and a classic.

"Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design." - Dieter Rams

Mirabelle wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Apple took a leaf out of Dieter Rams' design book in their formative years or whether they themselves came up to the equation of form and function that would challenge planned obsolescence by standing the test of time, trends and fads, and never fade or date. A quick online search validates my assumption.

Clockwise from top left: Early Shaver Series, F 1 Mactron Lighter, H 3 Heater and F 26 Flash Unit for Braun

You get it: there is design and then there is good design. For the former, expect the average, the bog-standard, and the mediocre, uninspired, imitative mass-produced hotchpotch from a mass of sycophantic designer cheats.

"What Dieter Rams and his team at Braun did was to produce hundreds of wonderfully conceived and designed objects: products that were beautifully made in high volumes and that were broadly accessible." - Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple

However for good design, expect a small distinct number of measured - usually quiet - dutiful and industrious personae like Mr. Rams, busy working on their next ground-breaking design innovation. Good design is not a case of here today, gone tomorrow. It makes a statement and it lasts the distance.

(L-R) SK 4 Phonosuper (1956), and TP 2, portable transistor radio and phonograph (1959), via Wallpaper


Dieter Rams Ten Commandments of Design:

1  . Good design is innovative
2  . Good design makes a product useful
3  . Good design is aesthetic
4  . Good design makes a product understandable
5  . Good design is unobtrusive
6  . Good design is honest
7  . Good design is long-lasting
8  . Good design is thorough down to the last detail
9  . Good design is environmentally-friendly
10. Good design is as little design as possible

Source: (1-2) All photography via Das Programm, the UK-based specialist dealer of Dieter Rams' designs for Braun and Vitsoe (1955-1995), described by the company as "some of the best 20th century modernist industrial design". Photographic montages by Mirabelle. (1) PC 45 Record Player by Dieter Rams for Braun (1962). (2) Clockwise from top left: Early Shaver Series by Futterer / Braun / Rams / Muller / Gugelot for Braun (1954-1962);  F 1 Mactron Lighter by Dieter Rams for Braun (1979);  H 3 Heater by Dieter Rams for Braun (1962); F 26 Flash Unit by Dieter Rams for Braun (1963). (3) Left to Right: SK 4 Phonosuper, combined audio system by Hans Gugelot, with Otl Aicher, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Dieter Rams, for Braun (1956); TP 2, portable transistor radio and phonograph, by Dieter Rams for Braun (1959). Photography by Marcus J Leith, via Wallpaper. (4) 'Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible', the definitive monograph on Dieter Rams' life, work and ideas, by Sophie Lovell.

Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible by Sophie Lovell

15 Oct 2016

Baby Arts

When I was in secondary school in Saint-Quentin, northern France, one of my arts teachers was Serge Dutfoy. I doubt he would remember me years and thousands of pupils later (!) but I sure do remember him because not only was he my arts teacher for a couple of years, he also established himself as a fixture on the local arts scene as a cartoonist and a jazz musician. He is a local celebrity!

Earlier in the Summer, when I stumbled across his name while browsing through a local arts blog, I traced monsieur Dutfoy back to his personal blog. Although it hasn't been updated in three years, it still managed to catch my eye, or rather this piece of anthology, "Serge et ses Grenouilles" (Serge and his frogs) did, drawn by his artist auntie Germaine, in Paris in 1946-47. The two family cats, Titite and Totote, are studying the figurines in the water from a safe distance, maybe trying to figure out whether or not they are edible...

My arts teacher's happy bath time as a baby, captured in watercolours! And with his grandma a piano teacher and his mum a piano player, we can safely say that art runs in the DNA of the family!



Source: "Serge et ses Grenouilles" watercolour, via Le Blog de Serge Dutfoy. His biography (in French) is available via La Lanterne à BD, L'Aisne Nouvelle and Wikipedia.
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