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honing the art of collaboration
by Arden Kass
Loveseat by Bob Ingram & Kathy
Halton
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When artists and architects work closely
together, the process of collaboration can make for great cocktail
party anecdotes, and yet, the results frequently outshine any
project either has worked on separately. For all its inherent
complexities, the very act of collaborating tends to yield
a richer, more satisfying piece of work than almost any other
variety of creative experience.
Bob Ingram, Philadelphia furniture designer
and woodworker, one of the co-founders of the Philadelphia
Furniture and Furnishings Show, puts it this way, "From my
point of view, a successful marriage of decorative art and
architecture is where the objects that are in the space influence
the architecture and vice versa. We make objects for spaces,
so the space has critical influence on the object."
Harris Steinberg of Steinberg & Stevens and
Penn Praxis at the University of Pennsylvania, says "working
with someone like Bob is inspirational... While his pieces
retain their individuality and character, they are complimentary
and sympathetic and integrated into the aesthetics of the room." For
a dining room whose archway frames a garden view, Ingram created
chairs with flared backs that "subtly reflect the architectural
qualities of the room," says Steinberg.
Ingram often works within an existing design
framework, having created the reception desk and a conference
room table for the Pennsylvania Convention Center, while fellow
Philadelphia furniture makers Josh Markel and Jack Larimore
supplied boardroom furnishings. "In that situation, he says "we
followed the motif the architects had established".
"Sometimes we’re much more dogmatic...sometimes
... we go back and forth more," says Meg Rodgers of Marguerite
Rodgers Ltd. "Working with a furniture maker allows you to
brainstorm...experiment with new materials. We can even end
up making it out of a totally different material than where
we started."
The Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings
Show, launched by Ingram and fellow Philadelphia furniture
designer/maker Josh Markel is an ideal meeting place for architects,
designers and decorative artists, bringing over 250 juried
artisans and 10,000 visitors to the Pennsylvania Convention
Center. Now in its ninth year, PFFS is the nation’s best
known exhibition and sale of fine hand-crafted furniture and
home furnishings, embracing every form of decorative art from
exquisitely wrought traditional ironwork to ethereal bowls
crafted of pistachio shells and sculpture wire. Envisioned
as a contemporary version of a guild fair, and with a range
of prices from spur-of-the-moment to heirloom investment, the
show functions as both a thriving retail marketplace and a
lively cultural forum for furniture makers, craftspeople and
collectors.
With 30% of its annual exhibitors chosen
from the Philadelphia area, PFFS consciously highlights the
diverse and ever-expanding community of craftspeople living
and working in its environs. With the ever-increasing interest
in unique accessories and furnishings for the home, PFFS, to
the delight of its founders, continues to serve as a springboard
for many uniquely satisfying collaborations.
"It’s like a dance, " says Ingram, where
clearly the architect has the lead, but dancing by yourself
can get a little boring. Dancing with other decorative artists
gives you a chance to expand your influence in a new medium
and see your initial concepts developed through someone else’s
hand, eye and heart."
Bob Ingram and Josh Markel are the founders
and directors of the Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings
Show.
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