JT Cooke Yelled At Me

[woodsroad]

Brass said: "It was one of my lasting regrets that my wife and I didn't commission a work from him. "
I was fortunate as a child to visit Nakashima's studio several times. My mother took a liking to his "New Chair", and over a period of several years bought six of them. Each time, we would drive out to his studio in New Hope, PA and he would greet us. He would talk wood with my father, who was wonderful furniture maker in his own right, and show us what he was working on at the time.
I believe that my parents paid $90 each for the chairs, so it wasn't a large order by any means, yet Mr. Nakashima always took the time to talk with us and to treat us as if we were having him furnish our entire house.

 

[iamn8]

Bad posting

 

[iamn8]

Yeah it's so very complicated in these sorts of forums. Few of us have ever met in person. Perfect strangers sharing thoughts and opinions through text alone is bound to have issues, humor far more so!!! :wink: *
* utilizes an emoji in an effort to depict a sense of playfulness and lightheartedness. Any offense perceived or otherwis was not my intent and i apologize if you have been :wink: **
** utilizes a second emoji meant to also portray playfullness and lightheartedness and diminish any perceived offense. Refer to :wink: * above.

 

[iamn8]

Woodsroad: exactly how the artist/patron relationship should be! BEAUTIFUL CHAIRS!!! And the story enhances their importance to you. As was said above, any strong relationship with the artist greatly enhances ownership!

 

[woodsroad]

Michael, they are very comfortable, both physically and dare I say emotionally. We all know the comfort derived from the aesthetics of a great artist. Holding a beautifully designed and executed pipe brings pleasure without ever lighting it. And just as importantly, I still feel a connection to George Nakashima through his work, the hallmark of a truly great artist.

 

[brass]

George spoke about wood in almost mystical fashion. In particular, he said that wood has a spirit and talked to him. The wood would tell him its purpose, whether it was to be used to create a table or a chair or other piece. The form lived in the wood.
His passion reminded me of Plato's philosophy of form. Plato held that objects exist apart from themselves. A chair happens to be the classic example. The "chairness" property existed apart from the chair, in a different mode of existence than the physical chair. The form is not just the concept of "chairness" you have in your mind. The form exists independently of the chair and isn't dependent on whether or not someone thinks "chair". It is always there. All chairs, not just this chair, participate or copy the ideal form of chair.
I'm not saying that George was a Platonist. I'm just saying that indwelling form was not unique to him or other artists. The difference, I think, is that George believed a particular chair lived in a piece of wood, waiting for him to set it free.
It reminds me of the story about the sculptor, when someone asked him how he carved his statue of a horse. "It's easy", he replied. "The horse lives in the block of marble. You just cut away the pieces that don't look like the horse."
And I think that is partly the difference between a tobacco pipe craftsman and an artisan. The former takes a block of briar and carves a pipe he has formed in his mind. The artisan takes a block of briar and reveals the pipe that lives in the briar.
Of course, this isn't scientifically verifiable, so you rationalists/positivist philosophers can ignore this thread.

 

[zack24]

my parents paid $90 each for the chairs

Those days are long gone- I've always loved Nakashima's work...
...and since this thread has apparently been hijacked already- One of Frank Lloyd Wrights more interesting houses had a very elaborate skylight. The new owner called him during a rainstorm complaining because the skylight was leaking all over a dining table that Wright had also designed. The client asked "What should I do?" Wright answered- "Move the table..."

 

[daveinlax]

The new owner called him during a rainstorm complaining because the skylight was leaking all over a dining table that Wright had also designed.

I think that house was Wingspread, I've also heard Wright visited "his house" he rearranged the furniture and made wardrobe sugestions to Johnson's wife. 8O