A Designer’s Universe Exhibion 2019-2020 Sandro’s work and influence at Herman Miller (1952 – 1973) by Jackie Lockington and Richard Proctor

Trained as an architect, but proficient in all areas of design, Alexander Girard was introduced to HM by and , who needed appropriate fabric for their modern furniture designs. Girard was hired to create the Miller Texle Division in 1951 and was its Director of Design unl 1973. His salary was 5% of the sales of his fabric. From his home in Santa Fe, NM, he designed over 300 texles in multudes of colorways, mulple collecons of wallpaper, decorave prints and wall hangings, and furniture. Sandro’s fabric designs were an integral part of the mid-century direcon of HM. They were bold, bright, colorful, and opposite in feeling than the modern pale and staid colors available at that me. While working for Herman Miller, Girard did freelance work for exhibions, museums, restaurants, shops, and private clients. He and his wife also connued to travel extensively collecng folk art, his main inspiraon.

Girard was no faddist. He was an arst and innovator with a great awareness of markeng and promoon. Hugh De Pree said, “Alexander Girard taught us that business ought to be fun, that part of the quality of life was joy, excitement, and celebraon. He provided for the Herman Miller program an emoonal enrichment. …we followed AG where he led us because we knew he had impeccable taste and incredible astuteness about space, color, and paern”

GIRARDS MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS TO HERMAN MILLER AND INTERIOR DESIGN

1. His inaugural collecon for Herman Miller offered a fully formed vision for a holisc texle program and made an immediate impact within the trade and media. Previously (1930’s-1951 he had his own label and designed mostly fruits, flowers, and “conversaonals” printed on a white ground through his outlet in Grosse Pointe, MI

1 2. Girard was the first to coordinate fabrics in a book (3 ring binder, etc.) so designers could “mix and match” and look through the collecon

3. Girard was to give character and touch and also to supplement and lend excitement to the work of Nelson and Eames. The three men formed a design team that has influenced living not only in the USA, but throughout the world.

4. His work has been described as an andote to modern design, or the humanizaon of . He restored what classical modernism had rejected in design, color, decoraon, and opulence.

5. Small and simple designs such as checks and stripes coordinated with larger prints and were available for a number of years with mulple colorways

6. Designed fabric for the furniture designs of Nelson and Eames

7. Commercial fabrics were well tested for strength, color fastness, wrinkling, abrasive resistance, stch strength, etc, the technical requirements of the day.

8. Girard’s innovaons extended to a variety of markeng, sales, and specificaon tools he designed to accompany his collecons.

9. Sandro was given free rein to contribute graphics and showroom installaons, lending a more disnct character to each collecon and adding a new dimension to the HM program as a whole

10. Girard explored wildly different approaches to producon method, yarn content, paern, texture, color, and mood to create an unrivaled body of work.

11. Girard’s love of folk art played an extensive role throughout his tenure with Herman Miller, from influencing the texle designs, to styling for

2 showrooms. His unique approach was oen featured in magazines and trade materials.

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Below is a brief history of HM and how its design and manufacturing philosophy changed over me. Highlighted are the famous mid-century designers whose creave genius shaped that change (Rohde, Nelson, Eames, Girard). Herman Miller is sll in operaon world wide, is a leader in commercial design, and has showrooms all over the world.

1905 begins as the Star Furniture Co, manufacturing tradional bedroom suites

1922 Herman Miller (the man) is president of the company and D.J. De Pree general manager and corporate leader unl 1962

1923 De Pree convinces his father-in-law (Herman Miller) to purchase a majority of Star Furniture stock and change the name to Herman Miller

1930 NY designer, is hired, and convinces De Pree to make modern furniture, directs design unl his death in 1944

1933 HM modern furniture debuts at the Chicago expo

1934 Rohde led HM into the upholstery business as well as casegoods

1939 opens showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago (first manufacturer’s showroom at the Mart), then, in 1941, a NY showroom.

1942 enters the office furniture market, opens showroom in LA, Gilbert Rohde dies in 1944

1945 Tradional-style furniture is phased out; architect George Nelson is hired as the key design consultant unl his death in 1985

1946 First HM furniture collecon by George Nelson, Nelson brings in and introduce award=winning molded plywood chairs for mass producon. They were exhibited at the MOMA in New York

3 1951 Eames and Nelson know Girard personally and are familiar with his exhibions, awards, architecture, etc. They suggest him to De Pree and he is hired as a colorist and texle innovator, which connues unl 1970’s.

1952 The HM Texle Division is formed, headed by Girard, who introduces the first of over 300 fabric designs as well as wallpaper collecons.

1956 the famous and ooman is introduced on Television, there are seven HM showrooms across the country

1957 HM enters the internaonal market and by 1990 have facilies in Europe, Canada, and the Asian Pacific

1958 HM opens showroom in San Francisco, designed by Alexander Girard

1960 Girard designs La Fonda del Sol project, HM manufactures some of the furniture (designed by Girard and Eames)

1960 During the 60’s HM transioned from serving residenal customers to instuonal environments to corporaons.

1961 HM Texles and Objects Shop opens on May 22 in NY, designed by Girard, makes Girard fabrics available to the public, and was the first retail store for HM.

1963 Texles and Objects Shop closes, 1964 Girard wallpapers disconnued

1965 Girard redesigns the visual aspects of enre Braniff Airlines: his furniture leads to the Girard furniture collecon

1967 Girard group furniture collecon is introduced, but disconnued in 1968

1970 Girard designs Environmental Enrichment graphics for fabric-covered Acon Office panels: added to Acon Office in 1972, disconnued in 1976

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Addional informaon about Sandro’s Fabrics

4 Screen Process Fabric Prinng: A sheet of sheer fabric (silk or polyester) is stretched firmly over a light weight frame and a stencil is adhered to it. Print cloth is laid out on a long padded table with a notched registraon bar on each side. The screen is placed on the print cloth and print paste is squeegeed over the stencil onto the print cloth below. The stencil areas remain unprinted (blocked out) and open areas will print. For a one color single-image (most Environmental Enrichment Panels for instance) the process ends here. For mul color prints a different screen of the exact same size will be needed for each color. Girard was a master of overlapping transparency.

Drapery Fabric: Girard advised against floral designs which become distorted when draped or folded. He favored stylisc abstracons and his endless geometrics. He said, “It is boring to be aware of endless paern repeats, they should be as invisible as possible.” This is a skill he fully developed in his 20 years with Herman Miller.

Upholstery Fabrics: Mostly woven paerns but some small scale repeats as well.

Cushion Covers: Unique single-image designs oen one screen print color with ground color opons.

Environmental Enrichment Panels: Single-image panels, forty designs in all which had recurred repeatedly – sun faces, double hearts, doves and angels. Mostly one color prints. Designed to fit office spaces and personalize them. Prices ranged from $16.50 to $44.00, disconnued in 1976, but VERY collectable today.

Subjects and Sources: Alexander Girard was a cosmopolitan cizen of the world and probably the 20th century’s foremost collector of folk art. He was a champion of (then) outrageous, intense color schemes (hot pink, melon, burnt orange on school bus yellow ground fabric for example). He blended his own precise and organized way of working with the magic, mystery, and intensely human (somemes messy) quirkiness of the world of folk art.

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