I'm moving home soon and trying to get away from the perching on the edge of my bed whilst using the computer problem. I have a dream of spending my time bonding with my iMac whilst sitting in a Herman Muller Aeron chair, I'm a stickler for good design, what can I say.
Whilst trawling through the second hand versions on eBay to see if my dream can be fulfilled (this is really window shopping more than anything else), I find this in one of the product descriptions.
"Ask Bill Stumpf a question and then fasten your seat belt. He's likely to take you on an around-the-world trip, touching down here and there, commenting on this and that, making you forget where the journey began and wondering when, and if, it will end.
Stumpf thrives on such spontaneity. He likes not knowing his exact destination. He trusts his instincts. 'Design should be like jazz,' he says, 'improvising and discovering, blending the pleasure and pain of life into something wonderful.' "
Sound familiar?
"Stumpf's battle really began in the 1960s. 'Everything goes back to those days at the University of Wisconsin,' he says, referring to the postgraduate years he spent studying and teaching at the university's Environmental Design Center. 'Everything was about freeing up the body, designing away constraints.' "
A relaxed embrace and movement based on the body's natural positioning focusing on energy rather than tension....
"It was there where Stumpf, working with specialists in orthopedic and vascular medicine, conducted extensive research into the ways people sit - and the ways they should sit. In 1974, Herman Miller commissioned him to apply his research to office seating. Two years later, the Ergon chair was introduced.
"'I work best when I'm pushed to the edge,' he says, 'after D.J. DePree first told me - that good design isn't just good business, it's a moral obligation. Now that's pressure.' "
That's how I feel about my teaching, whilst I live from my teaching and dancing, of course I want to see my students dance and more importantly dance well. It's my belief and with belief comes values, with values pressure to conform (I must eat chocolate every day) oh are we back to food again? I know that students who feel they get something from whatever they are studying will want to come back for more, who wouldn't want to give to their best ability in this situation.
"In a state of constant, almost childlike curiosity, Bill Stumpf continues his wide-ranging journeys. And, if you have some time - and an open mind - he'll be more than happy to share his discoveries with you."
All that from a chair designer... and you thought Tango was passionate.
