Expect the Unexpected in Portland…like Charles Eames photographs
If you think you don’t know who Charles Eames is, stop in to Addo Novo at 490 Congress St. in Portland and ask the owners Brian and Shawneric to show you some of his furniture designs. You will recognize every one of them. You sat on one in your high school cafeteria. Your dad read his newspaper sitting on Eames’ easy chair. Possibly your parents purchased some for kitchen seating. Molded plastic and plywood ring a bell? Believe me, you’ll know these shapes – they are the icons of the 50′s and 60′s and very, very much back in fashion.
BUT. Once you’ve looked at the furniture, look up. On the walls at Addo Novo are 100 rarely-viewed photographs taken by Eames. As you study these images, you’ll start to get insight as to how Eames saw shapes and color and carried those impressions through all of his artistic passions. Most photographs are in color, but there are quite a few in black and white, before color film became available. Repeating but evolving shapes are a major component of his work and I lost myself in some pure enjoyment and delight here.
Addo Novo is one of the few venues chosen worldwide to display The Charles Eames Centennial Portfolio this year. So shuffle on down and broaden your education before August 26. And keep checking in to the store because Brian and Shawneric are committed to including large, edgy artwork created mostly by Maine artists on their store walls and it’s often photographs.
(Image and text courtesy of Addo Novo)
Learn more about Charles Eames and his legacy here.
