Vitra Girard Bird Bookend
GIRARD BIRD BOOKEND
GIRARD BIRD BOOKEND
Designed by Alexander Girard, 1945
Although its features are reduced to a minimum, the archaic-looking Girard Bird (1945) by Alexander Girard is clearly recognisable as an avian creature.
DESIGNER
ALEXANDER GIRARD
Born in 1907 in New York City, Alexander Girard was one of the leading figures of postwar American design, along with his close friends and colleagues George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames.
The primary focus of his wide-ranging oeuvre was textile design. Girard created numerous fabrics for the Herman Miller Company, favouring abstract forms and geometric patterns in a wide variety of colour compositions.
Many of his upholstery fabrics remain as timely and vital as ever and are still manufactured and utilised by Vitra today.
Having originally studied architecture, Girard made a name for himself over his long career in the fields of furniture, exhibition, interior and graphic design.
Moreover, he was one of the world's most important collectors of folk art. The objects and textiles acquired by Girard on his extensive travels provided him with a rich source of inspiration and ideas.
When Rolf Fehlbaum, the son of Vitra's founding family, first visited Alexander Girard and his wife Susan at their Santa Fe home in 1960, Fehlbaum wrote a letter to his parents telling of the deep impression it had made on him, and describing it as the most fascinating house he had ever seen in the United States.
Vitra and the Vitra Design Museum have devoted themselves to the reappraisal and revival of Alexander Girard's work over the past several years.
The growing Girard collection in Vitra's product portfolio includes his painted Wooden Dolls, the Environmental Enrichment Panels and various furniture pieces and objects, along with his distinctive fabric designs.
After Alexander Girard's death in 1993, his heirs donated the Girard archive (comprising hundreds of drawings, prototypes and samples) to the Vitra Design Museum. In 2016/17, the museum mounted the exhibition 'Alexander Girard: A Designer's Universe'.
INFORMATION
MATERIAL
Solid Maple
BRAND
Vitra
PRODUCT TYPE
Bookend
DESIGNER
Alexander Girard
YEAR OF PRODUCTION
1945
DIMENSIONS
- Height : 150 cm
- Width : 235 cm
- Depth : 75 cm
STRUCTURE
The archaic-looking figure, made from solid maple wood sourced in France, can stand on its feet or tail.
PRODUCTION
Made in France
STAND ON
Feet or Tail.
DETAIL
In the mid-1940s, the designer Alexander Girard experimented with a series of abstract sculptures made of glass, foam rubber, corrugated cardboard, driftwood, plywood and solid wood – including an avian figure carved by hand out of wood from an apple tree. These sculptures were presented in the July 1945 issue of the American magazine ‘Arts & Architecture’.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Today, the original wooden bird is held by the Vitra Design Museum as a part of the Girard Archive. In close cooperation with the Girard family, Vitra has brought this figure back to life: though its avian features are reduced to a minimum, the Girard Bird is clearly recognisable as a member of its species.