An Outdoor Eames Photography Contest put on by Herman Miller involves photographing an Eames Molded Plastic Chair in a landscape or cityscape environment.

 

One of the hallmarks of downtown Phoenix is the lively and articstic Roosevelt Row district, where artists and small business owners have clustered and began opening galleries, coffee shops, record stores, boutiques and restaurants. This area of the city was always important to the vibrancy of downtown, but was rezoned in the 1970's to become a high rise district which never succeeded.  The resulting blight over the next 20 years began to attract artists looking for studio space, and today the area is once again a part of the true cultural heart of Phoenix.

 

I chose this area of the city to photograph the Eames chair, as artistic murals are a trademark part of Roosevelt Row - artists appropriated the sides of vacant buildings, many of which are now successful cafes and studios.  To me, they represent hope and optimism for the future, and true human beautification of a once depressed area.

 

The color and whimsy of these two particular murals evoked for me the spirit of Charles and Ray Eames, and make the perfect home for their beautiful and playful chair.