The great perq of what I do is meeting people I otherwise would never get to know, and an interview I did earlier this week for ON THE SCENE took me…and soon our viewers… into the world of an extraordinary artist.
Tuesday I interviewed the architect and designer, Michael Graves. At his home. Exquisite Italian inspired renovated warehouse home. Home with rare sculptures, paintings, treasured books, and ornate furniture gathered from every corner of the earth. The kind of place that sends fear through a tv crew, that don’t-touch-anything-god-I-hope-the tripod-doesn’t-bang-into-the-wall-please-let-nothing-break fear. It gripped me when we set foot in the door and only left when we pulled out of the driveway. Could even the gravel be imported?
Graves is a fascinating, deep thinking, learned man. He was generous with his time, we spent nearly four hours there. I had spent the weekend preparing for his interview…reading reviews of his architecture and previous print interviews he’s given and grateful I did. You have got to be sharp to keep up with him. He’s also a man who survived a life changing experience seven years ago when a sinus infection spread to his spine leaving him paralyzed from the chest down…almost overnight. We talked about that and how it’s affected his work.
But many of us know Graves best from the housewares line he designs for Target. So during the interview I reached down, pulled a bag from the floor and said, “I went shopping at Target yesterday and here’s some of your stuff.” I took out a colander, meat mallet and can opener, and said, “so tell me, what makes these a Michael Graves design? What do you notice?”
He described the nuances of each piece…its form and function and essence. Who knew a meat tenderizer could spark such inspiration? After seeing this interview you’ll never pound your beef the same.
