I Love IKEA. There is not ONE thing about the place I don’t like. In fact, to me a day spent at IKEA, is a day well spent.
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| Buy me, I'm delicious! |
However, recently I discovered that my Swedish sanctuary was founded in 1943, which was completely puzzling and disappointing as I thought it was a Gen X innovation that Gen Y had since adopted and popularized as the no. 1 ‘go-to’ furniture outlet.
I thought IKEA was another triumph of gen y culture that like many others has infected the world countless times over, like Apple and its family of IPods, IPhones and IPads, or YouTube and social networks like facebook and twitter.
Yes, maybe shopping at IKEA means that you enjoy a good bargain, but it also means that you embrace the modern, and that you yourself have cool design flair.
And I’m pretty sure us Millenial’s (gen Y’s) were the ones who turned IKEA into a pronoun, as a friend might say, “What a comfy bed” to our natural reply, “it’s an IKEA”.
Though disappoint aside that IKEA was actually founded at the cusp of modernity in the early 20th century, I still believe that it is one of today’s modern feats that gen X and Y’s (like myself) are able to enjoy. And I understand as a product of modernity, it is subject to change accordingly to each generation’s needs, which brings me to my point of discussion of the Eames chair.
Ultra-modern for its time, the Eames single chair became the star prop in the film ‘Kaleidoscopic Jazz Chair’ by Charles and Ray Eames; a film and subject matter equal in modernity and their influence.
Just like IKEA, the Eames chair and its family of couches and ottomans have been continuously recycled since their founding. Contemporary designers and retailers have repeatedly mirrored and reconfigured the original sleek and effortless design for a wide market of contemporary homes and modern day living standards (generally speaking).
Below is an example of the original Eames Arm Chair and a re-creation of its design by Matt Blatt in 2011. Spot the difference?
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| Original Eames Armchair, 1950 |
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| Matt Blatt Eames Armchair, 2011. |
I think the concept of design of the Eames chair and brands like IKEA has bred a new culture of people embracing a simpler, eco-friendly and economically sustainable lifestyle and environment.
Since modernity’s influence from the early-mid 20th century, the world has (ironically) become smaller, enhanced by technology and communications. Values have changed and our lives have become far more directed towards the future.
I can see this in ‘Jazz Chair’, a film equal in modernity to its subject (the Eames chair), inspiring an audience confident in the new world through modern design.
‘Jazz Chair’ actually reminds me of a typical IKEA commercial; both are clean and fresh in their approach in portraying something innovative, colourful and bold, with a simple yet striking message.
In ‘Jazz Chair’, there are two people brought closer together by the Eames chair, that I suggest parallels to an IKEA commercial I found on YouTube advertising the range of ‘possibilities’ one has living with your partner* in a shared space designed and fashioned by IKEA furniture.
In the ad, the room is constantly transforming, adapting for both function and aesthetic purposes to suit various modern lifestyles. In the Eames film, the chairs similarly present a rainbow of colours that rapidly change altering our mood(s) and how we imagine each belonging in different spaces. The Eames chair like the IKEA room sees a series of ‘possibilities’ for suiting every contemporary lifestyle.
Both Charles and Ray’s film and the IKEA commercial are dynamic and eye popping; their choppy editing style and bouncy energetic music keep audiences interested and entertained.
While there may be a lot too take-in visually in both the short film and ad, with no voice-over or figures and information, each succeeds in reaching a modern day audience who seek (generally) entertainment at a much more rapid pace and accessible form.
And what is fun about the film and the IKEA ad is the use of props that come alive in a trippy style of animation. In Charles and Ray’s short film (with aid of the feel-good Jazz music), it’s like the chairs take on a life of their own. In fact, the panning across the seats and flipping shots of one chairs back to the other, reminds me of the style of camera angles and techniques used in the scene ‘Let’s go to the movies’ from the original 1982 film, ‘Annie’. If you watch from about 2mins 20secs in of this clip, you’ll see the parallels of camera angles used to capture the isle boys lighting the way to the entrance to the Can-Can girls lifting their heads up one after each other on stage.
In the IKEA ad the furniture in the rooms also take on a life of their own; tables slide across the floors, doors appear from blank walls, and sofas and chairs resize and adapt to the mood and purpose of the countless rooms we see.
I love how all Eames films promote modernist and avant-garde thinking but at the same time, is able to take us back to something or somewhere that is before the necessary and compulsory embellishments in society. Jazz Chair is not overly adorned or excessively planned but yet it takes us to the depth of our memory and perception. Jazz Chair also reminded me of IKEA, but my IKEA was (in accordance to all my 'childish' responses to the Eames films) a familiarly nostalgic image. It reminded me of going to IKEA with my parents and being fascinated by the colours, the strange shapes and the odd lines. I love how the Eames films trigger so much in everyone's mind!
ReplyDeleteLove the parallel between IKEA and Eames! Honestly, now that I think of it, spending a few hours in IKEA kind of produces the same effect of watching Eame's Jazz Chair. You feel cool, hip, and like you invested in something worthwhile, but you can't put your finger on exactly what it is...
ReplyDeleteI too liked your comparison with Ikea. Eames chairs seemed fresh, daring and bold in the 1950s. Now they're a retro classic. High-period Modernism I think actually represented a highly individualistic 'design for living' yet it slowly evolved into a middle ground of 'good design' (by which we seem to mean simple, practical and adaptable, as exemplified by Ikea) that is now a staple of Western middle class life.
ReplyDeleteIkea is so pervasive and utterly representative of how we live now (I heard a slightly revolting statistic recently about the astonishingly high percentage of Europeans who were conceived on an Ikea bed!) that it bears examination as a token of ultra-conformism - and yet we feel pleased with ourselves for 'choosing' Ikea items in our homes (mine is full of it). There's a tension there. A bit like the whiff of 'non-conformity' that Apple still manages to attach their products despite their ever-growing ubiquity. It's an example I think of the awesome power of consumer capitalism to absorb and integrate any idea that potentially threatens it. e.g. Boho chic assembled from thrift-store curiosities? Just manufacture an affordable likeness. It saves people so much trouble...
Really enjoyed this blog and the parallel u draw between Eames's chairs and ikea. I can definitely see the ad quality, and what you were saying about the Annie dancers. As it scans down the line of chairs I always think of a chorus line in those old timey musicals.
ReplyDeleteI guess that shows how creative ads can be now if something so similar is considered a film worth studying in a cinematic modernism course today. Or maybe we take the creativity that goes into some (and I'll stress 'some') ads. Great blog
'Take for granted' was what I meant to say
ReplyDeleteWhilst I can't share in your passion for IKEA, I too was captivated by how Charles and Ray Eames advertised their products through film in such unique and avant-garde ways, no doubt a revolutionary concept at the time, and one that has inspired so many advertisers today.
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