Eames: The Architect & The Painter Page #5

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shooting, gathering objects,

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and setting the type.

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And I wrote,

"Assistance in Mexico,"

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and I wrote the names

of the people.

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So Charles came by my desk

and said, "What is that?!"

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And I said, "But we worked

on it, didn't we?"

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ASHBY:
I went to New York

many, many times,

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putting the time life

lobbies together,

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and Charles never went

and saw them

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while the things

were being constructed,

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but I could never say

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that I designed anything

at the Eames Office.

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I never saw anything

come out of there thatwas not

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signatured, you know,

by him and Ray.

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OPPEWALL:
When a product

comes out,

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it's a river.

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It starts at one point,

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and it ends at another point.

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Many peoplejump into it

along the way.

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BEEBE:
And everybody contributes

a small piece,

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butonly if they go on

afterthat

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to produce

a stunning amount of work,

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I think, are they

capable of saying,

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"I did this, this, and this

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in the Eames Office

with no credit."

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WOMAN:
I think he ran the Office

a bit like a Renaissance studio.

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You know, there's

a master painter,

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but then there are

all the other people

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who help realize the work.

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OPPEWALL:
He may have been

exploiting us,

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but if you were not stupid,

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you were also exploiting

that relationship.

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I was happy,

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being exploited

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by a proper master.

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MAN:
The most

wonderful work is...

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is the conscience

and the talents of a person

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who have every right

to have their name on it,

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even though it's done

by minions of other people.

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Things good and bad,

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he rightfully has his name

on them, and they rightfully

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are Charles Eames or

Charles and Ray Eames products.

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ARLENE FRANCIS:
Almost always,

when there's a successful man,

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ARLENE FRANCIS:
Almost always,

when there's a successful man,

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there is a very interesting

and able woman behind him.

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And a better case

could seldom be found

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than in Ray and Charles Eames.

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Come on in, Ray.

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Hello,

I'm so happy to see you.

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This is Mrs. Eames,

and she's going to tell us

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how she helps Charles

design these chairs.

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How do you manage that?

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Well, uh, aside from serving

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as an extreme in the testing,

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there are a million things,

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but, uh, I think

the most difficult thing

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is to keep the big idea,

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to be able to look

critically at the work.

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ALBRECHT:
Arlene Francis is

clearly having a hard time

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with this husband and wife

working together.

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You know, this is the era

of "Mad Men,"

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as we're watching now.

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This is not fitting.

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And Charles Eames is trying

to promote Ray Eames,

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as saying that,

"We collaborated on this."

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CHARLES EAMES:
Well, uh, Ray...

Ray was a painter.

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Ray worked here in New York with

Hans Hofmann for a long time,

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which is a pretty good start.

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KIRKHAM:
I actually thought

Charles was more embarrassed

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than Ray.

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Ray is hidden away.

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Charles is being highlighted,

the great male designer.

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It's a very interesting moment

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of American sexual politics

in the 1950s.

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Uh, I wonder if you're going

to maybe take us through

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and show how... how the Eames

chair has developed.

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And, Ray, shall we

let Charles do it,

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or do you want

to help with it?

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Please, please.

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No, you see, as I told you,

she is ibehind/i the man,

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but terribly important.

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Thank you, Ray.

All right, Charles...

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SUSSMAN:
The feminist conscience

had not been yet raised.

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Ray would always stand

behind Charles.

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And on camera or in interviews,

she said hardly anything.

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EDWARD P. MORGAN: Her warm

but quiet conversation

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shrank to total silence

before the camera,

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but her impact on Eames' work

spoke for her.

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She sat like a delicious

dumpling in a doll's dress,

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concentrating

on a sweep of subjects

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which would seemingly

choke a computer.

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ASHBY:
People always made

the mistake

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that Charles and Ray,

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