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Duration: 15 mins., 59 sec.

A note about the video: The start is rough, as I struggled to get the tripod set up, even while the camera rolled (running from one session to another…). In the end I decided it was best to keep the camera on the slides, rather than panning back and forth. I hope you won’t get car sick watching the first minute or so. Also, although audio keeps playing, I left a black video gap from about 1 minute, to 1 min., 25sec., to eliminate jerky camera movements and focus…

I love the sheer simplicity of Shaker furniture. Greene & Greene appeals to my senses, even if I don’t know how to make a G&G piece. I like the look of furniture crafted in pine, and in native woods. I love the looks of old furniture. Until this session, I just did not understand contemporary furniture and, even less, how it might be shaping today’s work.

I have extracted 15 clips from a 92-minute video I filmed during this presentation. I hope it is representative of what we saw and heard.

Dr. Oscar Fitzgerald delivered a presentation that opened my eyes to contemporary furniture design. He used a terrific set of slides that brought the audience from furniture design at the end of the 19th century, to the most recent important pieces of the twentieth century. For me, this was a journey of discovery, for I did not understand its importance.

Dr. Fitzgerald delivered on the pre-conference announcement, which read in part:

In this lecture, you’ll follow the history of contemporary design during the last 100 years, from mass-produced machine-age pieces to the iconoclastic work of individual makers that have change woodworking, such as George Nakashima, James Krenov, Art Carpenter, Sam Maloof and others.

I invite you to read Dr Fitzgerald’s bio at the Presenters page of the conference announcement.

Now that I understand the importance of 20th century design a little better, I hope to study more about it. And maybe I will become better at design, in the process. This is but one example of the importance of these conferences; they open our eyes to previously unexplored areas, with many possibilities. It is my wish that many of you also have an opportunity to attend future events, for they are a terrific way to learn, so that we may move forward.

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