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Avg. Rating: 3
Avant-garde Designer.
Stark was born in Paris in 1949. His spectacular design ideas sparked off one sensation after another since the early 1980s. He had already done interior design for Paris nightclubs. His first company was started in 1968 producing inflatable objects and, in 1979, he founded Starck Product. He ventured out in 1982 to Dallas Texas.
Then he did a lot of work on French President Mitterand's private apartment in the Elyse Palace. This book shows photos of the products and buildings he has designed before retiring. He even taught the reader some French: Le Civisme Est D'avamt Garde means "To be a good citizen is to be avant-garde; L'amour Est Une Espece Ezvoiede Disparition means "Love is an endangered species."
In 1997 he gave the control tower at Bordeaux-Merignac Airport an ultra modern look, as he did the Beer Hall in Tokyo, restaurants in Hong Kong and Madrid, Spain, and a building in Japan. He was very versatile with his ultra-modern gadgets. The bear toy on the cover is called The Bear Band; now, why he left off the right foot is perplexing.
In addition to all the pictures the book is handwritten by Starck in answer to questions posed to him by Fay Sweet who put the book together for him. She has written ALESSI: ART AND POETRY and some architecture books.
He is quoted as saying, "It is not not enough to make things of beauty; they must also be good." He created a series of "Good Goods," which he describes as "nonproducts for the nonconsumer."
His irreverent humor and showmanship (pranks) show him to be a hippie from the Sixties. But a good one -- what's with all the eyes on inside covers, another perplexing thing. Must be French.
Inspirational
This man is amazing. He's an all around great designer with morals and ethics in today's society. I bought this book as well as 2 other Fay Sweet books. She gets at the heart of the designer's philosophical views and concepts for design.
Worth the money?
Well, not quite. This book is more a catalog of his designs than a real musthave. My advise: search the internet for his designs and contact the manufacturer for a (free) catalog. Then you'll probably have the same. By the way, his designs are great!
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
All these books pertaining to Starck are basically the same. Just imagine a book on Starck pertaining to his real magic: Hotel / Restaurant Interior's, dovetailed with great photo details. For example a complete overview of his Hotel Designs for Ian Schrager. Theres a book that would give you the same feeling you have when entering one of these hotels, that being; "You can check out but you can never leave!"
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