Our project of present certified releases is unique. The strict lovers and professionals ask for clarifications.
- Edition of multiples based on Maxime Old Modern Art Furniture?
- Interpretations?
- Copies?
- Something else?
It is a founding question we have been thinking about before dedicating ourselve to the Maxime Old Concept project. Here are our conclusions.
Maxime Old artworks
It is three thousands of finalised creations, twice more variations and a hudge quantity of sketches. His carrer lasts 60 ans, from the beginning of the 30th until the end of the 80th.
At a rate of 50 productive weeks per years, it means one fully finalised creation per week beside his Interior Architecture works.
We now understand why he found no time nor to realise his variations, nor to find the manufacturer able to produce multiples of his artworks. But he had the vision and teatched it at the French Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In 1945 he created dedicated designs in response to the French Industry Department request.
His collaboration with E.J Ruhlmann exacerbated his artistical demand related to design and production quality to the detriment of any economical compromise. When Ruhlmann died, several of his clients choosed to go ahead with Maxime, hence leading him to an elitist relationship of “on request creation/realisation. This wasn’t his view. Maxime never give up on any of his subtle refinements highlighting his pure style. These refinments are responsible for his designs to be so complicated to realise. Maxime confessed that he designed dear. Nor does he give up to his outstanding customers relationships, they are key for many specific designs. Both of these reasons caused him to be presented as “haute couture of modern art furniture”.
Slightly caricaturing, we may say that Maxime has been one the pioneer thinkers and promoters of the Design for the Edition but his own artworks escaped to the associated industrial process, due to his high inventivness and artistical requirements.
Have a look at the variations Maxime did for his Wave Tables, all different. Each inspiration generate a specific piece, a unique artwork.
Maxime Old Concept
Son and unique Maxime Old right-owner, largely involved in his creations, my first moral obligation is true rememnbrance.
I have all I need to succeeed with the wholeness of Maxime’s files. Moreover I shared his projects with him during ten years, which ones matter and how he intended to realise them.
I remember him commenting his own designs. The ones he was harsh with : “This is just over for me!”. Others to be redesigned : “The idea is still interresting but I’ll design it that way now” … one more sketch. And in particular, the designs we wanted to assert … even more : “This one is perfect for me, I’ll keep it as it is, … just accentuate this signature” … sketch for an ultimate variation.
My duty, my project, is to share these creations, the ones Maxime believed in most. I mean to give them birth. We deal with an art similar to music writting. The original artwork is abstract, encrypted in a music score, a technical drawing. The artwork become perceptible only released, performed by virtuosos (expertise, sensitivity, motivation, symbiosis, …)
Here are samples of our present certified releases, the ones for his Compass Card Tables. This is not marketing configuration, just different inspirations.
Back to the former question.
From what was said before, we can answer:
Edition? It means the manufacturing of multiples, more or less numerous and numbered, made through an industrial process. Someones has been very famous doing this by themself, as Jean Prové, others by delegating. Edition make sens because Maxime advocated it to the extent of making specique designs for it. We will use edition for its artworks he are sure that they fit in this context. We will go through his ideas and its manner, this means without any artistic compromise. In order the show this distinctive feature we will say “Artistic Edition”.
Interpretation in the sens of “in the style of”? This means using an inspiration and lessen it to a formula. Maxime refused it. We will not do this, it is not our project, nor memory, nor Art. It is artistic identity appropriation. We have so many genuine artworks to offer, that it is useless for us! That is why, each of our works will be certified as Maxime Old.
Copies? We just leave this for the ones with nothing, no designs, no rights, no talent, … Furter on, we help Maxime-lovers to differentiate the genuine and the copies.
The core of our project is to offer the complete “Maxime Old statisfaction”: to leave in close contact with artworks, that are parts of art history, and in which we are part as well. Just dream you are planning a major party, you want it to be unique. You meet a stanger, he listen to you and talks of his passion : Musique. You trust him, he chooses the pieces, the musiciens, he conduct them, .. it is magnificient, … you realise that you have just enjoyed Yehudi Menuhin … or his equal in a different style.
Talking about music we would use “Present Interpretation”, as we deal with moder art furniture, we use “Present Certified Releases”, pointing out that they are artworks and not simple objects.
Our project is to give you access to ten years of confidential studies made to concretize Maxime Old’s ideas, desires, aims. We intend to follow his visionary wish, in respect of his values: innovation, refinement dedicated to a pure style, outstanding customer relationship, rare emotions.
More about our Concept of certified present releases of Maxime Old Modern Art Furniture here.
