“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” so said Pablo Picasso; but he was an artist and he was original so I suppose he could say as such, my opinion on this however is as such, “If you are going to copy then you may as well steal.” Verner Panton was an original, he was an artist a creator a thinker – he was a master of fluid, futuristic style of 1960s – he had a truly distinctive style and he will be remembered, the cone chair brought to him attention of which the heart cone was derived from– it was his design, he was the original and with it he had a story – he will be remembered, right now he IS remembered but then you get @home living space, and they or the person or whomever - how can they be remembered; for designing a bad copy of the heart cone chair (amongst others), for taking someone’s story and their history and twisting it into a carnage of a copy!
@home Living Space do well don’t they – they are expanding, they seem to be more and more ubiquitous so I don’t understand, why don’t they design something local that is lekker, why don’t they invest money in students and their design, or do they not trust that something they invest in will do well – is it that they must ride on the tails of design such as the heart cone chair which has already proved successful?
As said the Heart Cone chair was designed after the Cone Chair – and it was this chair, the cone that gave fame to Verner Panton, and it was this chair that gave him his truly distinctive style, where he came into his own - it was this chair, the cone, that attracted controversy in New York, after the police ordered that it be removed from a shop window where large crowds had gathered to see it.
You see, design has a history the original heart cone chair has a story its not only the physical, it’s not only the piece – there is a reason the chair was designed during a period of pop culture, during an important decade in the sixties, it meant something that design, it is a piece that won’t date how can it – it is 2008 and it STILL looks great. Fantastic that @Home Living Space agree with me on this, but what is their point of copying – so that they can offer a FAKE to the consumer for R2,100??? Is their argument that it’s cheaper? Of COURSE it is cheaper, it is an awful copy, it is made with cheap materials that will not last¸ it is NOT THE ORGINAL, is it stupid of me to think that of course the original will be more expensive? Am I alone here? Let me repeat myself, take the time invested in copying and spend it investing in local design. There are many students out there that are more thank skilled for this job, this country is fuelled with talent, take them - these students - and enhance their skills rather than attempting to imitate original designs that come out as bad copies!
One Comment
Come on!!! How I would LOVE to have the heartcone chair (or any of Pantons pieces for that matter) in my home. Who wouldn’t? I’ve been into Twiice countless times and mentally furnish my home with these designer pieces. I have to ask myself though….do I want a cheap rip off in my home? Absolutely not! I look at the design of the Heartcone, the panton and many others and see beauty. They are beautiful! They have that special something….I dunno, perhaps its the fact that they are of course original pieces and whomever designed them put a piece of themselves into it. Its for that reason a fake could NEVER take its place in my home. R 2100? cheap?.. yes. beautiful?…..uh no! @Home WHAT were you thinking??? You have some georgeous things in your store and you commit this crime?!?!?
3 Cheers to Korver!!!