Visit the website of designer Michael Graves, and you'll be greeted with the words Humanistic Design = Transformative Results. The mantra can double as Graves’s philosophy. For Graves—who passed away at 80 earlier this month—paid no heed to architectural trends, social movements, or the words of his critics. Instead, it was the everyday human being—the individual—who inspired and informed his work.
During a career that spanned over 50 years, Graves held firm to the belief that design could effect tremendous change in people’s day-to-day lives. From small-scale kitchen products to immense buildings, a thread runs throughout his products: accessible, aesthetic forms that possess a sense of warmth and appeal.
Early in his career, Graves was identified as one of the New York Five, a group of influential architects who whole-heartedly embraced Modernism, the architectural movement that subscribed to the use of simple, clean lines, forms devoid of embellishments, and modern materials such as steel and glass.
However, Graves is best described as a Post Modernist. He eschewed the austerity of Modernism and its belief that “less is more,” instead embracing history and references to the past. He rejected the notion that decoration, or ornament, was a “crime” (as Austrian architect Adolf Loos wrote in 1908); rather, he viewed it as a way for his architecture to convey meaning.
As the noted architectural historian Spiro Kostof explains in his book “A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals,“ ”Post Modernists turn to historical memory … to ornament, as a way of enriching the language of architecture.”
Kostof continues by postulating that this form is attractive to the general public because its qualities—Spiro Kostofsuch as the use of vibrant colors—are visually appealing. To appreciate the structures, viewers don’t need to be well-read or understand the “true meaning” of the architectural gestures used.
