2 November, 2008

Verner Panton - sixties champion

The influence of a designer has at his contemporaries and future generations is a good measure of their talent. Verner Panton is a magnificent examples of this in his influential forms. Panton is famous for a revolutionary design in the choice of both types of materials. The characteristics of Panton's work is a sculptural elegance, striking form and especially color. Panton forms stood out from other contemporary design, the best possible way.

panton chair

Panton grew up on the Danish island of Funen, where his father ran an inn. Panton began to study architecture at the line in Odense, and his interest in design took him on to Copenhagen where he continued studying at the Royal Danish Academy. Then he got job at Arne Jacobsen's architectural office where he stayed for two years. There are rumors however that Panton was one of the best employees, then he would rather prefer to spend their working hours to develop their own ideas.

Panton represents several unique design and cult classics. The most famous and beloved is Pantonstolen. The chair is made of one large piece and place currently produced by Vitra using a more advanced plastic materials (injection-shaped polypropylene) than the first Pantonstolarna. Today, there are plenty of cheap Chinese copies of the model on the market. Despite the injury to the artist's reputation by inferior quality, it is a sure sign of an attractive design. I believe that there is little point in buying a copy, not if you want småning for sell at a profit. In addition saves you normally only around 30% of the price of the real thing. Vitra offers visiting an orange limited edition of Pantonstolen out in trade, so no excuses!

panton cone chair

Another of the classic Panton chair is Cone. Cone is available in different variants, K1, which is fully padded and K2 as a wire design is the same shape. These seats were amazing at the time of their entry into the design market. Chairs single rotating point was a major deviation from the three or four bones that normally expected on a chair. I remember clearly my first meeting with the chair and I still have not gotten over the optical illusion it creates. It seems to just stand, perfectly balanced, without taking into account the laws of physics. It is important to remember how early this design was considered. 1959 Panton had already both Cone and Panton in production. The unique seats, combined with Panton's famous interiors and exhibitions had a great influence on the coming decade. Today, they are classified as two sixty icons. The kitsch is the stigma in the next forty years, has slowly disappeared, revealing that these two are true classics.

1973 Panton created yet another future design classics. This time it was the series 1-2-3 System for Fritz Hansen. Identification System 1-2-3 makes you maybe think of the grouping during a failed 'seven-a-side' football match, but it's actually an incredibly well designed chair with the flexibility, production and comfort in mind.

System 1-2-3 Panton

Despite the above three design classics, it is more likely to encounter Panton's wonderful work in the form of a lamp. Flowerpot (both table and ceiling lamp) is well known and immensely popular worldwide. The explanation lies in the cost of production is relatively low, they are small, come in a variety of colors, bearing the name of a great designer and above all, the original and classic form has been difficult to mistake.

Panton Flowerpot Lamp

Panton was an extremely productive designer and I could spend days to write about his work. In his time was Panton's design barrier-breaking and surpassed everyone's expectations. Panton's work has certainly survived the stigma of the psychedelic sixties, and his designs are, quite rightly, its place among the timeless modern classics.

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[...] A designer has influence on their era and future generations is a good measure of their ability. Verner Panton was nothing if not influential. Panton was known for many revolutionary designs, both in form and [...]

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