SMC CRITIQUES #2 ...3 Masters

[Mark Singer]

For the second in the series of Critiques, a suggestion was made to compare the work of two Masters of woodworking: Maloof and Nakashima . I thought adding a Third Woodworking Master , Hans Wegner. Would make it even more interesting. Each of these men devoted their lives to this craft and it is difficult to pick the best example of each of their works. I am also somewhat limited by pictures that I can find. While we all have our favorites , that is not the subject of discussion. Instead it should be comparing the designs of 3 chairs, the way they use the wood , the details, and how you feel it all comes together. There is a great deal of information available on the web on each if you want to learn more. It is fine to say which chair is your favorite as long as you say why.So here we go....

http://americanart.si.edu/collections/exhibits/whc/whc-noframe.html?/collections/exhibits/whc/maloof.html


http://www.r20thcentury.com/bios/designer.cfm?article_id=74

http://www.denmark.org/mermaid_Sept97/Danishdesign2.html

Classic "Maloof Rocker" (upper left)
Nakashiima Conoid Chair (lower left)
Wegner : "The Chair" chair and arm detail 2 pictures

[Jim Becker]

It's interesting that you choose the first two makers as they both exhibit wonderful organic design in their work, although the Nakashima example you provide is a little less so at first appearance. And both not only make/made interesting looking pieces, but they are also very comfortable in the case of these chairs. (Nakashima is no longer with us, although his daughter Mira still runs the business effectively) I have had the pleasure of sitting in both a Maloof rocker (at David Ellsworth's house) and a number of Nakashima chair designs, including the Connoid chair illustrated. Both makers' joinery is impeccable.

I know less about Maloof, but have been admiring and studying Nakashima's work; not only because I like it, but because it's accessible to me with the firm's New Hope compound only about 5 miles from our house (open on Saturdays 1-4 in case you are in the area) as well as the permanent exhibit in the Nakashima reading room at the Michner Museum in Doylestown PA. In fact, I have a chair project of my own that has been "in progress" for a long time that plays off Nakashima's "Mira" chair...a three leg design with a heart-shaped seat profile that hints of Windsor through the spindle work. Nakashima's Soul of a Tree is a must read, IMHO, for anyone seriously interested in woodworking. (His daughter has a new book just released, but I have not read it yet)

I'm not at all familiar with Wegner, but the chair shown also provides a wonderful organic feeling from the contours, interleaved joinery and the careful attention to how the grain of the wood is used for "feel" and to enhance the curves. I'd like to sit in that chair, too...once I had the opportunity to admire its beauty and just touch its silky surfaces!

All of these are interesting examples that differ in many ways from last week's selection; yet they all serve the same essential purpose--a comfortable place to sit a human body. Like last week's chair, they are designed to provide comfortable support but these "look" more like they accomplish that task. Could that be from our "conditioning" about what chairs should look like?

[Mark Singer]

Jim,
Really thoughtful observations. If you have better images of Nakashima"s work , especially chairs please post them. It will add depth and allow others to see more of each designer/crafstman.
Your mention of the "organic " sence of their work made me remember , I did't post the original Wegner Chair...Originally it was called "The Round Chair" and had a rush woven seat...it was after Pres. Kennedy started using it in the 60's that it was called "The Chair"...I found a pic of the original.

http://www.ambientando.com/nts/nombreyapellido/pics/Round%20Chair.jpg

[Jamie Buxton]

I love Nakashima's big slab pieces -- the tables in particular. However, I'm not fond of his seating furniture. This Conoid chair looks to me like pieces I've built when I get overly fascinated with the engineering, and lose track of the visual design. I'm sure the chair is stable and solidly built, but it seems to me to be angular and awkward. The Wegner design, in contrast, is much more graceful and integrated.

[Jim Becker]

Here's a few pictures of some other Nakashima chairs. The first is the taller version of the Mira chair I referenced in my previous post and the one that my own set of six is based on. (A shorter version, however, without the foot rest. Mine has an 18" seat height)

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/4201.jpg

The "New Lounge Chair":

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/4501.jpg

The Conoid chair with a cushion:

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/4801.jpg

The "New Chairs" with arms:

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/536001.jpg

The "New Chair" with a free-form arm:

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/5601.jpg

The Day Bed with a plank back:

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/designingnature/6101.jpg

These are just a few examples...more pictures from an exhibition at the Modern Gallery are available at http://www.modernegallery.com/pages/nakashima/nakashima_gallery_dn.html. A good pictorial reference for his work is also available in a book called, George Nakashima Full Circle by Derek E. Ostergard which I believe is out of print but may be available at a public library or other similar source for viewing.

What I like about Nakashima's chairs is that many of them pull a lot of things from Windsor and other early colonial formats, but with a fresh and different approach. He also was a master at letting the wood talk...

[Mark Singer]

Jim,

Great pictures! I love the sofa!!

[Jim Becker]

This Conoid chair looks to me like pieces I've built when I get overly fascinated with the engineering, and lose track of the visual design. I'm sure the chair is stable and solidly built, but it seems to me to be angular and awkward. I thought the same thing at first, but despite that, I found them to actually be quite comfortable to sit in. There are several of them in the reading room at the museum and I "tested them out" several times. I think he got the angles right which makes all the difference in the world when it comes to seating. Of course, no one design is right for everyone, functionally or astheticly, and the Conoid design is no exception!


Great pictures! I love the sofa!!Yes, that sofa would look lovely in your home, too... :D (Ching...ching...)

[Bart Leetch]

I like Maloof's work because of the way the different parts flow together. I have seen more pictures of his work than the other 2 gentlemen. I also like the size of Maloof's chairs.

[Mark Singer]

Here is a few more Maloof pics!http://www.oma-online.org/graphics/maloof_exhibit_27.gif


http://www.oma-online.org/graphics/maloof_exhibit_31.gif



http://www.fairplex.com/fp/calendar/specialevents/sammaloof/images/chair1.jpg

[Allen Grimes]

After looking at all those pictures, I decided I like Maloof's work best. I like the use of curves and points, his work seems a lot closer to my taste than Nakashima. When designing, which btw is all I've been doing lately since my shop has no electricity, I tend to use a lot of curves/waves that end in points and Maloof seems to do the same. I never seen any of his work before but I really like it.

I really like Nakashima's daybed but not really his chairs, the Conoid chair is the one that I like the least. It reminds me of an airport chair, the way the legs and feet are. The only thing its missing is a few more seats connected to it in a row. I also don't like the way some of the chairs have short legs and long torsos. It makes them look handicap. The chairs definatetely do not look plain and I can see that they are works of art, but not my taste in art. Makes me think of Picaso, he's a great artist, but I don't like his work.

That is all based on the pictures here, I've never seen the work of either of these 2 WWs until today, though I'd definately like to see more.
EDIT: By the way, I wasn't comparing Maloof's style to my style, but to my taste. I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea.

[Chris Padilla]

Maloof's designs look more rustic and Nakashima's look more refined. They both have their places in a room.

However, Jim's posted pic of the 'New Chair' from Nakashima traipses off into Maloof's rustic look with that plank-like floating arm. Same idea goes with the Day Bed...gotta love that slab/rustic look.

[Chris Padilla]

Here is a few more Maloof pics!


http://www.oma-online.org/graphics/maloof_exhibit_31.gif Mark, what is this? A double music stand?

[Mark Singer]

Chris,
It is a double music stand for 2 musicians or one that moves about.Ryan and I saw this piece at Sam's house a few years ago. He is a wonderful person!

[Mark Singer]

Here are a couple of Wegner's chairs....The Bull Chair....the Chinese Chair ...and the Classic Wishbone chair

[Keith Christopher]

Maloof: I love the continious feel of the chair, it flows. The joinery is spot on and it looks inviting, with it's gentle curves and tapered arms. The kind of chair you want to fall asleep in. The chair appears to be shaped to fit a human body.


Nakashima: his designs are very rigid looking. While I'm sure they're comfortable the hard straight lines (in the examples) tend to think uncomfortable. his work is flawless (to me but I'm sure he knows EVERY flaw in them) and style attractive as a showpiece but I don't feel the "sit in me" call from his chairs. The asian style is apparent but they all seem rigid to me.


Wegner: Similar comment as with Nakashima, but the chairs seem more inviting that the Nakashima chairs due to their more curvy shape.

[Mark Blumer]

I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like about the appearance Nakishima's chair until Alan Grimes wrote that it looked as if it should be attached to a line of similar chairs at the airport. That is exactly what I feel too. Its as if he is trying too hard to make a style statement.

The Wegner chair appears to be uncomfortable for several reasons: I hate chairs with that type of back rail. They always hit me at the wrong spot in my back and since there is only one band of contact (support) they always start to hurt. Also, the seat is concave. If you think about it, only those clown punching bags that knock down and bounce back up are built to properly fit a seat shaped like that. A seat like that will force you to bunch up in the middle (I don't bunch up in the middle). In my opinion, chairs more than any other form of furniture must first be functional and the first function of a chair is comfortable support for the body.

That brings me to the Maloof chair. This rocker to me is one of the defining pieces of modern American woodworking. I have never sat in one but I don't doubt for a second that it is comfortable. If I remember correctly, didn't JFK, who suffered terrible back pain, sit in one for hours at a time? At the same time that it apparently gives total fitted support, it is a piece of sculpture. The wood flows and just invites you to run your hand along the surfaces. I had the pleasure of meeting Sam Maloof about 25 years ago at a woodworking show in Chicago. He is just a delightful, soft-spoken, unassuming person. I think his work reflects that personality. Warm, comfortable without being flashy.

Of the three chairs, just based upon appearances, I don't even want to sit in the Wegner chair, I'm not sure about the Nakishima chair and I would give anything for a chance to rock in the Maloof rocker.

Mark Blumer (East Lansing, MI)

[Scott Parks]

I love Maloof's rockers. Someday I will build a chair with Maloof design. It has an artistic flair to it, and looks extremely comfortable. To me, the other two are just chairs, a place to sit.

[Dan Mages]

Those are some beautiful chairs!! The Nakashima chair, for some odd reason, reminds me of a duck. It has something to do with the two legs and very long feet. :confused:

Dan

[Roger Myers]

I love Maloof's chair, and Wegner's, while not my personal preference also has a timeless look to it. I always admired Nakashima's appreciation and use of the material, but his seating doesn't do anything for me. I find that I am really drawn to pieces (whatever the period or style) that look like they will still be appreciated as much in 200 years as today.... I see that in Maloof and Wegner, but not in Nakashima's chairs...

I can't put my finger on it, but it's what makes a Goddard Townsend (18th Century -Newport RI) piece, or a Shaker piece, or a Garrett Hack (current maker) piece, or a Seymour (American - Federal period) piece, or a Krenov.... well, the list is long, and the styles varied, but these makers all of have a style that is in my mind timeless.

I'm drawn to American period furniture, and to Shaker influenced styles the most, but even in styles that are quite different there are certain designs that just look right...
I know that that's what this critique and forum is about, and I wish I could get my point across better.... I can look at a piece of federal furniture produced by Seymour in the 18th century and it just looks right...exquisite attention to small details...in fact that's why I mention Hack....he is a strong advocate of small details setting a work apart... a simple bead, a bit of inlay, small things that make a huge difference.

In Nakashima's chair, while of outstanding quality, will it stand the test of time (not 50 years, but 250 years)? Maybe....but I'm not convinced.

Ok...done rambling...design critiques are obviously not my strong suit:)
Roger

[Joe Mioux]

Classic "Maloof Rocker" (upper left)
Nakashiima Conoid Chair (lower left)
Wegner : "The Chair" chair and arm detail 2 pictures

All three chairs exhibit motion.

Maloof's rocker is easy. The graceful (dynamic movement) curves and the fact that it is a rocker demonstrates actual movement.

Wegner's chair has four static-stable lines (the legs) that attach the backrest to the chair. The backrest is where the movement is demonstrated. The wooden back rest which is twisted conveys unreleased energy.

Nakashima's chair demonstrates implied motion. If the back rest was perpendicular to the the floor, there would be no motion. However, since the backrest is angled back, you see motion all be it implied.

Joe

[Peter Hochmann]

This example of a Nakashima...a chair must have a seat and legs, aside of those 2 elements, this piece does not follow convention. The seat shape suggests fluidity, yet the rest of the piece suggests ridgidity.

This example of a Wegner...what we know as traditional Scandiavian. Simple, practical, exquisitly crafted.There is fluidness even in the linear lines of the piece. One would not be compelled to touch, but yet, when one rests in this chair, one would feel a "sub-conscious satisfaction" with the tactile feel of this chair.

This example of a Malouf...to look at this piece, one would be compelled to touch, to caress. Subtle curves abound throughout the piece. The piece invites one to sit, relax, be comfortable, but to the layman, these senses are piqued subconsciously...the viewer would not even know that they are compelled to touch. Even such details as the "horns" at the top of the seat back, placed in such a way that answers to ones "natural tendancy" to rest ones hands there when standing behind the chair.

[Mark Singer]

Very interesting responses...to add a little...

Professional critics have said:

"Maloof Chairs Invite you to try them"

"Nakashima chairs dare you to try them"

"Wegner....timless nothing can be added or taken away"

I have seen and sat in all 3 chairs. They are each amazing in their own way.
Wegner seems very refined...you have a sense of how it was built in the details...the transitions are perfect.

Maloof...transitions are seemless, amorphic...in a great flowing way

Nakashima...is more about a juxtoposition of simple forms not trying to blend or merge at transitions...rather stand in relation to one another.

[Tom LaRussa]

Oh but you're a dastardly one, Mark Singer! :D

It'll take me at least a week of groaning, straining effort to wrap my little pea brain around this one in anything resembling a coherent fashion. :confused: :mad: :( :eek: :)


Oh, and for anybody else who thinks this is easy...


I am also somewhat limited by pictures that I can find.
HAH! :cool:

A page showing 17 of Wegner's chairs -- http://hivemodern.com/products/?cid=154&cid2=306

101 Nakashima pieces -- http://www.modernegallery.com/pages/nakashima/nakashima_work.html

An online Maloof exhibit with 35 pics of various pieces -- http://www.oma-online.org/maloof_exhibit.html


I know, we were just supposed to compare the pieces in the pics you posted, but how can I do that knowing that there are others out there???? :eek: :(

And why should I suffer alone???? ;)

[Jim Becker]

This is the Nakashima Mira chair that is the inspiration for my own set of six "somewhere in progress" in the shop...

http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/current/3701.jpg[/url]

This was my prototype. I had to make some angle adjustments to the legs for better stability. The final chairs are mahogany seats and top rails with turned ash spindles and legs.

http://sawsndust.com/images/3legchair/threelegchair-proto.jpg

[url="http://sawsndust.com/p-3-leg-chairs.htm"]Some early construction pictures are here (http://www.modernegallery.com/media/nakashima/current/3701.jpg)...it's been awhile since I worked on this project due to a wrist injury, but I need to get back to it soon.

[Joe Mioux]

Jim:

With regards to your chair...is this where east meets west?

[Jim Becker]

With regards to your chair...is this where east meets west?
Yea...I'm about 5 miles west of the Nakashima facilites... :D

[Joe Mioux]

LOL...very good.:)

[Joe Mioux]

Jennifer, my 8 yr old, has some comments as well....

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14237&stc=1

"that's awesome!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14238&stc=1

"that's funky"

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14240&stc=1

WOE! I think that translates to WOW!

Hope you all enjoyed an 8yr old's perspective

[Mark Singer]

Jim, that really looks great! Nice proportions...How many will you make?

[Mark Singer]

Tom,

Great! I am glad you found the additional info...the more we know the better. Each one of these guys spent their lives not as just designers , but as crafstman....they are 3 wonderful stories. Wegner's father was a cobbler in Denmark and he worked along with greats like Arnie Jacobsen....The summary of his approach too design is great reading for all....if you scroll down there are great statements on the elements of design....that are worth reading...

http://www.denmark.org/mermaid_Sept97/Danishdesign2.html


Oh but you're a dastardly one, Mark Singer! :D

It'll take me at least a week of groaning, straining effort to wrap my little pea brain around this one in anything resembling a coherent fashion. :confused: :mad: :( :eek: :)


Oh, and for anybody else who thinks this is easy...


HAH! :cool:

A page showing 17 of Wegner's chairs -- http://hivemodern.com/products/?cid=154&cid2=306

101 Nakashima pieces -- http://www.modernegallery.com/pages/nakashima/nakashima_work.html

An online Maloof exhibit with 35 pics of various pieces -- http://www.oma-online.org/maloof_exhibit.html


I know, we were just supposed to compare the pieces in the pics you posted, but how can I do that knowing that there are others out there???? :eek: :(

And why should I suffer alone???? ;)

[Jim Becker]

...How many will you make?
Set 'o six chairs. They are to accompany this teak table top with the mahogany base. The top is a restoration...originally from Viet Nam and is over 2" thick with just one joint down the middle. The base I made from laminated 8/4 mahogany. (sorry...poor, old picture...)

http://sawsndust.com/images/gallery/teaktable-final.jpg

[Mark Singer]

In the Current issue of "Woodwork" Yeung Chan is interviewed and states that his favorite dsigner is Hans Wegner...that when he first saw his chairs he thougt they were beautiful...Wegner was a famous Danish Chair designer....he designed many of the Classic chairs including John F Kennedys ..."The Chair" used in the Kennedy /Nixon debates..The article in Woodwork is a very good and the magazine continues to be at the top of my list