Charlotte Perriand is among the foremost figures in twentieth-century interior design. Together with her contemporaries and collaborators Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier, she created many pieces of furniture we now consider classics, including the instantly recognizable LC4 chaise. Her pioneering work with metal was particularly instrumental in paving the way for the machine-age aesthetic popular throughout the 1920s and ’30s.
The second volume in a planned four-part series, this lavish book covers the years between 1940 and 1955. Beginning in the 1940s, Perriand traveled extensively in Japan by invitation of the Japanese government with whom she worked as an advisor to modernize the country’s design. During this period, she took many photographs documenting traditional Japanese culture, many of which are published here for the first time. From 1952 to 1955, a fruitful collaboration with the Ateliers Jean Prouvé provided for the first time the technical means for Perriand to mass-produce her designs while also further improving Prouvé’s own work both aesthetically and practically. A number of emblematic masterpieces came about as a result of this collaboration, including the Tunisian and Mexican dormitories at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.
Covering these important moments and many others, including Perriand’s work in Vietnam, in founding the Formes Utiles movement, and in further collaborations with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand continues the three-volume exploration of this key figure, complete with annotations and a bibliography for further research.
The second volume in a planned four-part series, this lavish book covers the years between 1940 and 1955. Beginning in the 1940s, Perriand traveled extensively in Japan by invitation of the Japanese government with whom she worked as an advisor to modernize the country’s design. During this period, she took many photographs documenting traditional Japanese culture, many of which are published here for the first time. From 1952 to 1955, a fruitful collaboration with the Ateliers Jean Prouvé provided for the first time the technical means for Perriand to mass-produce her designs while also further improving Prouvé’s own work both aesthetically and practically. A number of emblematic masterpieces came about as a result of this collaboration, including the Tunisian and Mexican dormitories at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.
Covering these important moments and many others, including Perriand’s work in Vietnam, in founding the Formes Utiles movement, and in further collaborations with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand continues the three-volume exploration of this key figure, complete with annotations and a bibliography for further research.
Table of Contents
Preface Paul Thompson
JAPAN 1940-42
Advising the Production of Industrial Art in Japan, February, 1940
Long before the Mission to Japan
The Context of the Mission
Arrival in Japan, August, 1940
The Diversity of Japanese Production: Mingei
An Exhibition Project
The Discovery of Kyoto
Visits, Lectures, Advising
Preparing the Exhibition
“Selection, Tradition, Creation”—Tokyo and Osaka, 1941
The Exhibition Catalog: A Critique of the Authorities
The Apartment of Étienne Sicard, 1941
The End of the Mission in Japan
Waiting for a Ship to the United States or France
INDOCHINA 1942-46
First Trip for an Exhibition and a Lecture, 1942
Advising Craftsmen and Small Industries in Indochina, 1943-1944
RECONSTRUCTION
Return to France, 1946
Méribel, 1946-48
Urgent Furniture for Reconstruction, L’Équipement de la Maison
Furniture for Knoll, 1946-1948
The Minimum Family Home, the Saint-Lô Hospital, 1947-49
“When materials and techniques are freed, a whole world of creative possibilities will be revealed.”
The Unité d’habitation of Marseille, 1947-49
Val-d’Isère Sports, Valsport Robert Killy, 1948-49
The CH Chalet, 1948-49
Publications on Japan
The Beginnings of Hardware
Formes Utiles, 1949
The Art of Dwelling, 1950
A Kitchen for Élisabeth de Vilmorin, 1949-50
Coquatrix Apartment, 1950
Monnet Apartment, 1950
Special Comissions
Chalet in Megève, 1951
The Unité d’habitation o Toulon, 1951
The End of the Perriand-Jeanneret Collaboration, 1951
The Milan Triennial, 1951
The first Competition for the Cité universitaire of Antony, 1950-51
The Maison de l’étudiant en médecine. 1949-51
The BCD
Furnishings for Africa, 1950-53
The Unité d’habitation Air France in Brazzaville, 1950-52
Building and Villa in Conakry, Banks in Douala and Fort-Lamy, 1952-54
The Hôtel de France in Conakry, 1952-53
The Apartment on rue Las Cases 1951-52
Formes Utiles at the Salon des arts ménagers, 1952
COLLABORATION WITH THE ATELIERS JEAN PROUVÉ
The Collaboration Agreement, 1952
Aesthetic and Practical Improvement of Jean Prouvé’s Furniture
Two Iconic Creations, 1952
The Maison de la Tunisie at the Cité universitaire, 1952
The Maison du Mexique at the Cité universitaire, 1952
The Furnishing of High Schools, Student Housing Projects, 1952-53
Residential Housing for the Ateliers Jean Prouvé, 1952-53
Issuing of Charlotte Perriand’s Furniture by the Ateliers Jean Prouvé. 1953-55
The Antony Competition and the Perriand-Prouvé Team, 1954-55
TOKYO 1953-55
Return to Japan, 1953
Standardization and Nomenclature, the Lessons of Japan
The Art of Dwelling and the Synthesis of the Arts, Avatars of the Exhibitions
“Proposal for a Synthesis of the Arts,” Tokyo, 1955
Collaboration with Kenzo Tange
Charlotte Perriand’s Influence on Japanese Design
Endnotes
Biography
Bibliography
Index
JAPAN 1940-42
Advising the Production of Industrial Art in Japan, February, 1940
Long before the Mission to Japan
The Context of the Mission
Arrival in Japan, August, 1940
The Diversity of Japanese Production: Mingei
An Exhibition Project
The Discovery of Kyoto
Visits, Lectures, Advising
Preparing the Exhibition
“Selection, Tradition, Creation”—Tokyo and Osaka, 1941
The Exhibition Catalog: A Critique of the Authorities
The Apartment of Étienne Sicard, 1941
The End of the Mission in Japan
Waiting for a Ship to the United States or France
INDOCHINA 1942-46
First Trip for an Exhibition and a Lecture, 1942
Advising Craftsmen and Small Industries in Indochina, 1943-1944
RECONSTRUCTION
Return to France, 1946
Méribel, 1946-48
Urgent Furniture for Reconstruction, L’Équipement de la Maison
Furniture for Knoll, 1946-1948
The Minimum Family Home, the Saint-Lô Hospital, 1947-49
“When materials and techniques are freed, a whole world of creative possibilities will be revealed.”
The Unité d’habitation of Marseille, 1947-49
Val-d’Isère Sports, Valsport Robert Killy, 1948-49
The CH Chalet, 1948-49
Publications on Japan
The Beginnings of Hardware
Formes Utiles, 1949
The Art of Dwelling, 1950
A Kitchen for Élisabeth de Vilmorin, 1949-50
Coquatrix Apartment, 1950
Monnet Apartment, 1950
Special Comissions
Chalet in Megève, 1951
The Unité d’habitation o Toulon, 1951
The End of the Perriand-Jeanneret Collaboration, 1951
The Milan Triennial, 1951
The first Competition for the Cité universitaire of Antony, 1950-51
The Maison de l’étudiant en médecine. 1949-51
The BCD
Furnishings for Africa, 1950-53
The Unité d’habitation Air France in Brazzaville, 1950-52
Building and Villa in Conakry, Banks in Douala and Fort-Lamy, 1952-54
The Hôtel de France in Conakry, 1952-53
The Apartment on rue Las Cases 1951-52
Formes Utiles at the Salon des arts ménagers, 1952
COLLABORATION WITH THE ATELIERS JEAN PROUVÉ
The Collaboration Agreement, 1952
Aesthetic and Practical Improvement of Jean Prouvé’s Furniture
Two Iconic Creations, 1952
The Maison de la Tunisie at the Cité universitaire, 1952
The Maison du Mexique at the Cité universitaire, 1952
The Furnishing of High Schools, Student Housing Projects, 1952-53
Residential Housing for the Ateliers Jean Prouvé, 1952-53
Issuing of Charlotte Perriand’s Furniture by the Ateliers Jean Prouvé. 1953-55
The Antony Competition and the Perriand-Prouvé Team, 1954-55
TOKYO 1953-55
Return to Japan, 1953
Standardization and Nomenclature, the Lessons of Japan
The Art of Dwelling and the Synthesis of the Arts, Avatars of the Exhibitions
“Proposal for a Synthesis of the Arts,” Tokyo, 1955
Collaboration with Kenzo Tange
Charlotte Perriand’s Influence on Japanese Design
Endnotes
Biography
Bibliography
Index