In February of 1950, lamp designer Yasha Heifetz (not to be confused with Jascha Heifetz, the violinist) countered that built-in lighting was "flat and static," and he set out to prove the value of a good lamp. With the MoMA, in 1950 he co-sponsored a national lamp design contest, hoping to change the opinions of Breuer and other modernist purists about domestic lighting.
Over 600 competitors entered, submitting almost 3,000 designs. Heifetz, Breuer, the museum's director René d’Harnoncourt, the museum's director of the department of architecture and design Philip Johnson, lighting designer Richard Kelly and others acted as jurors.
Some of the competitors were Richard Schultz from Knoll, as well as Frank Greenhaus and Kevin Roche, both of whom worked for Eero Saarinen, along with Alexey Brodovitch, art director for Harper's Bazaar. Fifteen winners were announced in 1951, and Heifetz immediately began producing ten of the winning designs. Breuer was won over and started ordering lamps for his clients. The modern lamp had gained legitimacy.
The Heifetz Manufacturing Company of New York started in 1938. Their primary product was table lamps, but they also made ashtrays, wood and metal sculptural items and some furniture. Over the twenty-five years that Heifetz was in business, he estimated that the company produced approximately 4,000 pieces and that he designed about half of them, the most popular of which had abstract bases made of ceramic, wood or metal. Some depicted the stylized human form, while others depicted animals or were kidney and melon-shaped.
From modernmag.com
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| Brass abstract lamp 1stdibs.com |
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| Lamp with brass leaves, wooden base and fiberglass shade 1stdibs.com |
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| Cerused birch torso lamps 1stdibs.com |
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| Freeform oak lamps with fiberglass shades 1stdibs.com |
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| Abstract French oak lamps 1stdibs.com |
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| Limed oak leaf lamps 1stdibs.com |
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| Male and female figures lamp 1stdibs.com |
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| Floor lamp by A. W. and Marion Geller for the 1950 MoMA lamp design competition 1stdibs.com |
The first one reminds me of the Kaizer's helmet and the last quite musical -- a cymbol. The last one looks quite simple yet futuristic and musical.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about the musical reference in the last lamp, but you're right...it has a lot of "cymbal-ism." (Couldn't resist the bad pun.)
DeleteDear Dana, the last lamp is so beautiful. So sorry, for not commenting a lot the last weeks. I was a little bit busy ;-)
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see you back in blogland, Ria. I'm glad you found something in this post that made you smile. I certainly smiled when I read yours yesterday. Can't wait to see your white floors!
DeleteCool lamps. I wonder if the last pic is a real cymbal or not. What if the owner needs to strike it to switch the lamp on. (:
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be cool if it were?
Deletewho was this YASHA person? i've always thought people simply plunked jascha's name in front of the heifetz (for obvious reasons). yes, i find a mention of yasha heifetz in an old MOMA press release, but otherwise, there's nothing about this "prolific" (was he/she?) designer.
ReplyDeleteDidn't this post furnish answers to quite a few of your questions? :)
DeleteYasha Heifetz was a real person. He was married to my father’s sister. He escaped from Russia during the Revolution as a and traveled through Europe eventually ending up in the US. I spend many summers at his home in Clinton, CT (off Rte 81)where his home and factory were located. He was a designer and innovator. I have a few of his scrapbooks and design notebooks which I treasure to this day.
ReplyDeleteYasha Heifetz was a real person. He was married to my father’s sister. He escaped from Russia during the Revolution as a and traveled through Europe eventually ending up in the US. I spend many summers at his home in Clinton, CT (off Rte 81)where his home and factory were located. He was a designer and innovator. I have a few of his scrapbooks and design notebooks which I treasure to this day.
ReplyDeleteYasha Heifetz was a real person. He was married to my father’s sister. He escaped from Russia during the Revolution as a and traveled through Europe eventually ending up in the US. I spend many summers at his home in Clinton, CT (off Rte 81)where his home and factory were located. He was a designer and innovator. I have a few of his scrapbooks and design notebooks which I treasure to this day.
ReplyDelete