It started out as a personal challenge. Rachel Delphia, the Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman curator of decorative arts and design at the Carnegie Museum of Art, saw an Instagram post shared by Cranbrook, the venerable institution dedicated to arts education. "It was right when we started to pivot to put content online and when everything still felt really new and uncertain," Delphia explains to AD PRO. She's speaking of course of earlier this spring, when the seemingly sudden coronavirus lockdowns sent museums all over the country into fast-paced adaptation mode. For its part, Cranbrook had added content to its feed that informed followers about how to construct a cardboard chair at home. Delphia was inspired (partially because of the recyclables her eight-year-old was then using for his own school project). And in the background of Cranbrook's original post just so happened to be the perfect idea: a chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames.
Delphia had been interested in the Eameses since her grad school days during the late 1990s. And recently, Ray had been on her mind during Women's History Month. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for Delphia's idea of a fun happy hour activity to take on a life of its own. Ultimately, Delphia filmed a full-fledged video of herself creating the LCW Chair, which the Eameses first designed in 1945 and is in the Carnegie Museum of Art's collection. That video launches today as another update to the museum's ongoing digital education efforts.
In terms of production, Delphia faced a handful of challenges, "I really wished that I had a camera tripod," she says with a laugh, adding that "making videos is not usually part of my job." Consistent lighting was another issue, as was finding a neutral backdrop—problems many are now well-acquainted with thanks to the rise in Zoom calls.
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But of course, difficulties such as these are not dissimilar from the inherent issues raised when constructing just about anything. That, of course, is inseparable from the appeal. "Art can be therapeutic," Delphia reflects at one point. Later on, she notes, "I think trying to replicate something that interests or intrigues you is a phenomenal way to learn about it…. [It leads to] really wonderful and deep engagement." And from the sound of it, Delphia fully plans to continue to take advantage of her own educational advice. In the midst of her usual and ever-changing workload, she's planning on trying to build a miniature George Nelson Marshmallow sofa. That, we can't wait to see.
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