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Designer Alexander Girard has been called “the perfecter of the conversation pit form.”
One need look no further than the multicolored and once-radical conversation pit in the Miller House living room in Columbus for considerable proof.
That creativity and much more is included in the soon-to-be-released book “Alexander Girard: Let the Sun In” by Todd Oldham and Kiera Coffee, a vividly illustrated monograph celebrating this midcentury designer and his tremendous output.
In Columbus, besides The Miller House, Girard also is most prominently known for his redesign of the facade of 301 Washington St. — the offices of community leader and industrialist J. Irwin Miller, and the interior, such as the carpet and drapes.
This $125 volume explores Girard’s tremendous output throughout his decades-long career, one that spanned graphic, textile, furniture, product, interior, architectural, and typographical design. Published by Phaidon Press in New York, the book is set for release in October.
Born in 1907 in New York City and raised in Florence, Italy, Alexander Girard revolutionized midcentury American design through his singular artistic ethos. Girard, having originally studied architecture, worked across myriad disciplines, producing textiles and furniture lines for Herman Miller as well as singular pieces for interior design projects, comprehensive exhibitions on modern design and folk art across the United States, iconic graphic designs for airlines, restaurants and more.
Whether designing the visual identity for a Latin American-themed restaurant in New York or exquisite, handmade wooden dolls, Girard consistently personalized each of his designs, imbuing all of his residential and commercial environments with exuberant color and pattern schemes, and customized furnishings.
Organized by discipline, this lavish volume explores the full breadth of Girard’s highly original output. The book opens with an essay by editor and designer Todd Oldham, contextualizing Girard’s creative philosophy, endless flexibility, and valuable presence in the world of design.
The book then journeys into Girard’s textile designs, where he implemented abstract forms and geometric patterns that effortlessly moved between chic and understated to whimsical and vivid.
This chapter also offers insight into Girard’s experiences leading Herman Miller’s textile department, during which time he collaborated closely with George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames (who had a significant Columbus connection), in addition to designing hundreds of patterns that are still popular and available today.
The book’s latter chapters focus on Girard’s relationship with interior design. The thought of a completed and fixed interior design struck Girard as alien, and his own living spaces were in a state of constant change, deliberately designed to respond to seasons and new ideas.
As Girard once humorously noted: “An interior design is really a slow-motion movie of junk changing position.”
