Ivan Chermayeff lecture, 1998 November 17
Scope and Contents
Henry Wolf introduces Ivan Chermayeff as a partner in one of the world's "best" design firms, Chermayeff & Geismar (later Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.) Wolf relates personal anecdotes from the 1970s, when he subletted an office from Chermayeff and worked with Chernayeff on a project basis. These projects included Pan Am, Xerox, AT&T, and Philip Morris. Wolf also emphasizes Chernayeff's influence in the world of design, as well as the ubiquity of Chernayeff's designs themselves.
Chermayeff proposes a kind of discourse on "what design is": whether it's a profession; what do designers do; the changing practice of design; the difference between art and design. He likens graphic design to plumbing and surgery. He emphasizes that design is about communication generally, and the effective communication of the mundane and banal in particular. He discusses his fixation with garbage, ephemera, and expresses an appreciation for "amateur" design.
Dates
- 1998 November 17
Extent
1 1/4 inch Audio Cassette (Total duration of 01:13:01)
Biographical note
Ivan Chermayeff (1932-2017) was born in London and immigrated to the United States in the 1940s. After attending Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts, Harvard University and Chicago's Institute of Design, Chermayeff earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Yale School of Arts and Architecture in 1955. In 1957, Chermayeff formed a partnership with Tom Geismar, whom he'd met at Yale, and Robert Brownjohn. After Brownjohn's departure in 1960, the company, renamed Chermayeff & Geismar Associates, went on to become one of the most powerful graphic design firms in the United States.
In addition to his successful graphics business, Chermayeff led a distinguished career as an independent artist. Among his many honors, in 1981 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by the Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., and in 1999 received a Distinguished Service Award from the New School University.
Chermayeff held a position on the Parsons School of Design Board of Advisors in the late 1970s. He then became a member of the Parsons Board of Overseers from 1988-2002, the New School Board of Trustees from 1990-2002, and was on the Parsons Board of Governors (1990-2002). Chermayeff was also a frequent guest lecturer at Parsons and served as a vice chairman for the Communication Design Department scholarship committee during the 1980s.