Eames: The Architect & The Painter (2011)

As a child, I became fascinated with a short film called Powers of Ten.  It started in Chicago and zoomed out to show 10^24th meters.  The trip then reversed, going down to show a single proton in a man’s hand at 10^-16th meters.  (The full title was Powers of Ten: A Film Dealing with the Relative Size of Things in the Universe and the Effect of Adding Another Zero.)  I began watching some of their other shorts, many of which are available through YouTube or The Eames Office.  I had wanted to know more about the people behind the film, mostly because they aren’t known by most people as directors.  Whenever I tell people who made my favorite short, they always ask, “The ones who did the chair?”

Enter Eames: The Architect and the Painter.  Charles and Ray Eames were a husband-and-wife team known for making chairs.  He was trained as an architect and she started out painting.  Thus, Charles Eames was good with form and Ray Eames was known for adding color.  The first part of the documentary deals with the furniture, however there were other aspects to their career.  They did design a house, usually referred to as the Eames House.  (It’s also known as Case Study House No. 8.)  The documentary also covers films that they did for various clients, including Powers of Ten.

From the documentary, it would seem that they were very dedicated to their work.  One example is given of Charles Eames eating the cost of project overruns.  He was also the kind of person that would seal a deal with a handshake.  Ray Eames seemed to stay more in the background.  I’m not sure if that was a product of the era, wherein women weren’t necessarily at the forefront.  It didn’t seem to sit well with her, but it doesn’t seem like there was much she could do about it.

It’s pointed out that Charles and Ray Eames were often assumed to be brothers.  It was a mistake I made when I first heard the names.  (She was born Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser.)  I think someone of my age is going to look at something like that differently.  I grew up after the sexual revolution, so it’s a little more alien to me to see a woman not step up to take credit for something.  (I’ve occasionally asked my mother how accurate Mad Men was in depicting the office dynamic.)

I was able to get the documentary on DVD from Netflix.  My parents now have the disc and plan to watch it soon.  It would be interesting to talk about the documentary with someone, as I don’t really have much of a concept of the couple outside of their short films.  I was also born in 1976, so much of what they produced came out before I was born.  This puts a slightly different spin on how I saw the documentary.  Much of it is history to me.

I would think most art students would probably be aware of this documentary.  It’s worth watching for anyone.  Given how much they produced, I think most people won’t be aware of it all.  I could see a lot of people being surprised.  I can see a lot of people knowing them either for the furniture or the movies, but not both.  Even if you were aware of a particular film, you might not know that the Eameses were behind it.  If you have Netflix, put this in your queue.

IMDb page

The Black Ships (1970)

It’s somewhat frustrating to try to review a title and be able to find almost no information on it.  This is especially true of shorter films.  Charles and Ray Eames made a short film about Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan called, simply The Black Ships.  It’s done with artwork at the time and explanatory narration.

The Smithsonian Institution is listed on IMDb as a production company, which I would infer to mean that they may have used the short film as part of an exhibit..  However, I can’t find anything to back that up.  This is exactly the kind of short film a museum might play on loop.  It’s short and informative, but not too deep.  It’s apparently made for the shorter attention span of someone that‘s passing through

Finding information is made more difficult by the fact that I get information on Black Ships, directly.  Black Ship is the term given to a Western vessel by the Japanese from the 16th to the 19th centuries.  According to the film, the technology and appearance of the ships was new to the Japanese, who tried to copy as much of it as they could.

The short is available on DVD.  I’m not sure most people would get the set just for this, though.  I would think interest in this subject is going to be fairly narrow.   Even a school wanting to use it for a class might find it lacking.  You could probably find something more informative elsewhere.  If anything, it might be assigned as additional viewing outside of class if the school library had it or it were made available online.

IMDb page

Vignettes for Polavision: The Chase/Lucia Chase Vignette (1978)

Short films can be easy or difficult to review. In either case, it’s usually because the film is so short.  Vignettes for Polavision: The Chase comes in at only three minutes.  It shows a boy stealing a girl’s diary and the ensuing chase.  The location is the Eames Case Study House in Pacific Palisade, California, which can also be seen in House: After Five Years of Living.

There’s no dialogue in the movie.  It’s just the girl trying to get her diary back from that darned boy.  The film was a test for the Polavision Instant Home Movie System.  The system didn’t really catch on.  (Part of this was due to low quality.  It also had VHS and Betamax to contend with, either of which had sound and could be reused.)

It’s a very simple movie, safe for all ages.  The short is available as part of a DVD collection, The Films of Charles & Ray Eames.  Unfortunately, the DVD set doesn’t seem to be available through Netflix any more, even to save.  I’m not sure why this is.  I was able to rent the second disc, but when I went to return it and get the next disc, all of the subsequent discs had been removed.  (Volume 2 still shows in my history, but I can’t click on it.)  If anyone knows what happened, please leave a comment.

IMDb page

Toccata for Toy Trains (1957)

Most people are known for being one thing.  Some people are known for being an athlete or a musician.  Sometimes, people will make a transition.  I’ve noticed that a lot of entertainers become politicians.  (Both careers would seem to have a similar skill set.)  I first became aware of Charles and Ray Eames due to their short film, Powers of Ten.  As an adult, I looked it up and found out that they were also known for furniture and architecture.  While I have met other people that know about Powers of Ten, I wasn‘t really aware of how many short films they‘ve made over the years.

One of those films was Toccata for Toy Trains.  It opens with a narration stating that the trains shown are toy trains, rather than model trains.  The primary difference is that these aren’t meant to be exact replicas.  They’re meant to be played with.  (Some of the trains and people seem somewhat exaggerated.)  The film seems to go around a single area, showing people going about their business.  Much of it is either on or from the perspective of a train.

Much of the film seems like regular camerawork, but there are a few segments that appear to be stop motion.  Everything is close up.  There are no wide shots of the entire thing.  You don’t get anything that establishes the full scale of the layout.

Most people probably would pass this one over if they came across it on YouTube.  It’s only 14 minutes, but I would imagine that adults would get bored with it early.  Unless you’re a train or toy enthusiast, you’re probably not going to get much out of it.  It’s the kind of thing that might be shown as an interstitial on a PBS station.  At the very least, it’s short.

IMDb page

Blacktop: A Story of the Washing of a School Play Yard (1952)

When you hear of an experimental film, you tend to think of subject matter.  Charles and Ray Eames directed a few short films that could be considered experimental.  In their case, however, it was usually to test equipment or a new type of medium.  I’m ot sure if Blacktop falls under this category, but I wouldn’t be surprised.  If you’ve seen more than three of their short films, you may know that they’ve done some very simple shorts.  This one is probably the simplest that I’ve seen so far.

It’s nothing more than soapy water flowing over what appears to be a playground, hence the name.  There are very few distinguishing features.  Most of the surface is, as the name implies, black.  Occasionally, there’s a patch of grass or some markings in the form of paint.  (You can make out a few lines and an occasional number.)

We don’t even get to see where the water is coming from.  I’d assume a pressure cleaner, but I’m not sure what the standard method was back in 1952.  I’m not even sure if pressure cleaning is the correct method today.  It’s jut that it seems somewhat wasteful to simply pour water over such a presumably large surface.

There is an esoteric quality to the short.  I’m not really sure who this was intended for.  I really only watched it because I was able to get the DVD from Netflix.  I don’t recall there being any sort of commentary on the DVD that I got, although it would be interesting to find out more about these films.

It’s not the kind of thing most people would even think to rent.  I could see this playing in an art museum.  I could even see someone mimicking it to learn technique.  It’s not the kind of film I’d recommend to a wider audience.  At 11 minutes, it may seem a little long.  I kept waiting for something to happen.  I can’t say I was necessarily disappointed, but I never got my wish.  It was all water flowing over a surface.

If you can find it as part of a collection or come across it online, it’s worth a few minutes, at least.  I don’t know that you should expect to watch the whole thing.


IMDb page

House: After Five Years of Living (1955)

Sometimes, when you find something new, you try to find more of the same.  If you come across a song you like, you might look for other tracks by the same artist or maybe buy the album.  There is a certain expectation that the other tracks will sound similar.  When I first saw Powers of Ten, I didn’t realize that Charles and Ray Eames had made so many short films.  Netflix and YouTube have allowed me to find many other short films by the husband-and-wife team.  Not all of them where what I expected

I had imagined that this was more of a documentary.  I had read that the Eameses had  designed, built and lived in a house.  This movie shows what that house looks like after about five years.  You get the usual assortment of items, like tables and chairs.  There’s even a spiral staircase.   Instead of interviews, it’s a series of still images, each shown for a moment before moving on to the next one.  The entire sequence runs for 11 minutes and is set to music by Elmer Bernstein.

The house itself is currently open to visitors.  Students can get in free.  Everyone else is charged a $10 admission.  Apparently, you have to make a reservation.  (Details can be found on the Web site.)  It might be interesting to visit if I’m ever I the area.  However, the Web site states that you can’t park on site due to the location.  Also, due to the age of the house, restrooms aren’t available for public use.

If you want to watch this production, it is available on DVD as part of a collection.  The Eames Web site doesn’t seem to have this video available, nor does it appear to be available on their YouTube channel.  However, there does appear to be a house walkthrough.   (The walkthrough seems to be more what I had in mind for this short.)  I did see the video on YouTube, but the account isn’t the official Eames account.  I’m not sure what their association is.

I don’t know that I would buy any of the sets.  The replay value is going to be limited for me.  My interest is in seeing what else Charles and Ray Eames made.  I’m probably going to watch many of the films just once.  I could see this being of interest to architects or art students.  Even then, I don’t know how often it would be viewed.

The DVD I was able to rent from Netflix was The Films of Charles & Ray Eames, which goes on Amazon for $250.  Unfortunately, I could get just Vol. 2 before Netflix removed it from their selection.  I might have to check local libraries to find other copies.

IMDb page

Kaleidoscope Jazz Chair (1960)

A little bit of nostalgia can go a long way.  When looking up the short film Powers of Ten, I came to realize that the directors of the film had also made several other movies.  Charles and Ray Eames are known for chairs.  But they also made a lot of movies, including Kaleidoscope Jazz Chair.  They not only wrote and directed it, but they also make an appearance.

The short film is pretty much what the name implies.  There’s no dialogue, but there are plenty of chairs and a lot of imagery reminiscent of kaleidoscopes.  There’s also some nice music accompanying it.  It only runs for seven minutes, which makes it pretty efficient.

I had gotten this on DVD from Netflix.  I was able to skip the first DVD, as both of those motion pictures were available through their YouTube channel.  It took me a while to watch many of the shorts on the second disc, as I was having trouble finding a DVD player that would play the disc.  When I went to see about renting another disc, I was dismayed to see that they’re no longer available.

It’s a shame.  All of the shorts, including this one, are kind of fun to watch at least once.  I don’t expect to get a lot of replay out of this one, so buying it probably wouldn’t be best.  From what I can tell, most of the versions available on YouTube are excerpts.  To watch the full video, you may have to either buy the DVD or see if your local library has it.

I think for most people, this isn’t going to be one of the videos that would compel you to buy the whole set or even the one disc.  It’s the kind of thing you’d watch after having some other reason to buy it.  I could see an art teacher playing this in class one day.  I would definitely recommend watching this short film if you can get access to it.  It’s a shame you can’t rent it from Netflix, though.

IMDb page

Atlas (1976)

A lot of things happened in years ending with 76.  I was born in 1976.  200 years before that, America broke away from England.  Also, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, was published.  Atlas was produced to coincide with the 200th anniversary of its publication.

It’s a short video, only 2½ minutes long.  The video shows how Rome grew from a city to an empire and back again.  Most versions seem to repeat the video.  The first time has narration.  The second time is just the animation with music.  (The version on the Eames YouTube Channel has Russian subtitles.)

The animation is pretty simple.  It shows Rome and the surrounding empires and groups, like the Huns, and how each group changed over the corresponding years.  The time frame runs from circa 500 B.C. to A.D. 500.  The short is safe for people of all ages.  It’s just a map with changing lines and either narration or music.

There’s nothing objectionable like fights.  It’s not particularly elaborate, but it is at least somewhat informative.  It helps people visualize what the map looked like over the span of a millennium.  It’s exactly the kind of thing that a teacher might show to a third-grade class.

IMDb doesn’t list who the narrator is and I can’t find any information that would suggest a particular name.  I would imagine that it’s narrated by Charles Eames only because the voice is male.  If anyone can tell me definitively, please leave a comment.

IMDb page

901: After 45 Years of Working (1990)

After seeing Powers of Ten, I had wanted to see more movies by Charles and Ray Eames.  The good news is that many of their short films are available.  The bad news is that only a few are available streaming.  Powers of Ten can be seen on YouTube, either directly or through the Eames Official Site.  Another is this video, 901: After 45 Years of Working.  (Both movies make up the first disc of The Films of Charles & Ray Eames.)

The movie documents the closing of the Eames workshop after the death of Ray Eames.  It’s narrated by Eames Demetrios, the grandson of Charles Eames and features several people that were working at the workshop at the time of its closing.

The film documents the way the office looked as everything was being moved out.  There were a lot of slides that were being donated to the Library of Congress, which Ray Eames had been helping to catalogue.  There was also a lot of art and furniture.  Much of it was to be distributed, but I don’t recall if it was mentioned exactly where all of it was going.

The film is meant for people who have an interest in the Eames.  It doesn’t appear to have a rating, but I would say that it’s safe for all audiences.  There’s no cursing or violence.  I don’t recall any nudity, but if there was, it would have been as artwork hanging in the background.  It’s not a particularly exciting movie, but it is at least informative.  It’s exactly the kind of movie you could show in an art class one day if need be.

If you don’t have an interest in the Eames or in furniture, I’m not sure if you’ll make it through the entire video.  However, it is available streaming, so it’s worth at least a few minutes of your time.

IMDb page

Powers of Ten (1977)

The new Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science opened a few months ago.  Back before it moved to its current location, it was located right at the southern end of I-95.  I remember going there as a child a lot.  One of the things I remember was this dark room with a film called Powers of Ten, made by Charles and Ray Eames.

The concept is simple.  It starts out in  Soldier Field in Chicago with a couple having a picnic.  The filed of view is a square with text on either side.  On the left shows the distance, vertically, in numbers.  (We start with a square one meter by one meter.)  On the right side is the same information, horizontally, in powers of ten.  (Instead of 1 meter across, it’s shown as 100 meters.

The narrator explains that as we zoom out, the distance across the square increases by one power of ten every ten seconds, so that after one second, we’re at 10 meters, then 100 and so on.  After a few minutes, we make it to 10²⁴ meters, which makes our entire galaxy no more than a distant point of light.  We then zoom back in reducing a power of ten every 2 seconds until we’re back to 1 meter across.  We then work inward until the field of view is 10^-16 meters across.

The entire film is a short 9 minutes, but it imparts the sense of scale quite well.  We go form a normal size to a very vast scale, then down to a very small scale.  The movie was made in 1977, which probably would have made for a smaller upper and lower limit, but it’s still pretty vast.  The last few lines of the narration point out that the film covers 40 orders of magnitude.  It’s a bit much to comprehend, even after watching the movie.

While I grew up watching the film a lot, I don’t recall many other children mentioning it.  In fact, I only recall having a conversation about it once where the other kid mistook the narrator’s voice for the voice of Winnie the Pooh.  (To be fair, Phil Morrison does sound like the voice from the Disney films, but I don’t think he ever actually voiced the character.)  The web comic xkcd did reference it once, which I would take to mean that the film has a certain amount of prominence.  However it’s not the kind of thing I’d expect to see on TV or even on Netflix.  (You can rent this film as part of a DVD set, but I don’t think you can get it streaming.   I have seen it on YouTube, though.)

It’s worth noting that there was an earlier version, released in 1968.  I haven’t seen this one yet, although I imagine it might also be available through YouTube.  I have seen both offered on one DVD through Amazon, so I know that both versions are available.

I still think of this short every so often and go to watch it on YouTube.  Maybe one day, I’ll get around to purchasing it on Amazon.  I wonder if it was carried over to the new science museum.  If I ever get the chance to visit, I’ll have to check it out.

IMDb page

Official site (Eames Office)