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CHARLES POLLOCK Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for CHARLES POLLOCK
4 Entries
Constance smith
August 28, 2020
Having the opportunity to work beside Charles in his last years, I found we were partners "living for design". I created rings from a piece of tubing used for a Knoll 657 chair which we each wore and treasured. He continues to inspire me and will continue to be missed and appreciated by all those who follow.
September 12, 2013
Thank you Uncle Charlie for being such an inspiration and following your passion. Our lives are better because of you. love, Anna L. Lorenzo
Richard Ekstract
September 12, 2013
POLLOCK--Charles. Charlie served his country at the Infantry School, helping us transform "The Infantry School Quarterly," into "Infantry Magazine," quadrupling circulation. Richard Ekstract - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=charles-pollock&pid=166645420#fbLoggedOut
A Tribute was held on Sept. 9th at St. Peters.
Constance Smith
September 10, 2013
I submitted the enclosed comments to the Editor, but have no verification that it was received from the New York Times.
Letter to the editor:
After searching the Obits and the Art section, I opened Business Day to the wonderful tribute to designer Charles Pollock – Charles Pollock, 83, Dies: Designed and Office Mainstay.
Since moving Mr. Pollock's materials to 157th apartment and studio in South Jamaica a few years ago, Charles and I have worked closely and furiously together designing and developing furniture and collecting notes and photographs for his forthcoming biography. Charles truly lived for design. I relay some comments and corrections for a better understanding of what he stood for.
UNDERSTANDING THE REAL CHARLES POLLOCK
The work of Charles Pollock has influenced the style concepts of our era.
THE FIRST ERGONOMIC CHAIR
The pieces in the swaged leg collection, which included two chairs, a desk and a table, all have four legs, not three legs at reported in Column 3.
Pollock's earliest and most remarkable piece was the ergonomic swaged leg chair designed as a student at Pratt in 1953, refined for production in the office of George Nelson and manufactured by Herman Miller and offered in two versions. HM has recently introduced a swaged leg chair based on the stationary version. When it was acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art for its permanent collection, the New York Times featured an article about the 28 year-old.
Mr. Pollock had a successful relationship with Olivetti. (Misunderstanding appeared in column 4.)
THE OLIVETTI CHAIR WAS DESIGNED, PATENTED IN 1980, EXHIBITED, SOLD AND WON AN AWARD
Just last week, Pollock spoke to me about the Flexa chair. It was a great honor to work with Fortunato Gallico in the Olivetti organization as Italy was considered a cradle of design worldwide in the 1970s at which time the MOMA featured the show: Italy: The New Domestic Landscape sponsored in part by Olivetti. The Olivetti Synthesis Flexa chair, patented in 1980, was introduced and produced in small quantities by Olivetti, an iconic company plagued by politics and financial difficulties. Carlo DeBenedetti acquired a stake in the company and introduced new electronic products to stave off bankruptcy. Olivetti, after all also created the first personal desktop computer – the Programma 101 introduced at the 1964 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows, NY.
The carefully designed tubing atop a plastic molded base, was built of an inherently flexible plastic tubing layered with polyurethane. The ergonomic seat back addressed the users' position. The Flexa Chair was introduced at NEOCON 20 in 1988 at the EXPOCENTER and billed as - a step towards simplicity. The chairs are very collectible. Mr. Pollock was married to Maud Pollock when these pieces were designed. Sheryl Fratell, his last companion for 27 years, notes, “I visited NEOCON in Chicago in June of 1988; Charles won an award for this chair.”
Charles and I worked together to create a more beautiful world and were still working together at the time of his accidental death in a fire. Charles always said - When you walk into a room, the chair is like a PERSON.
Good designers and good designs live forever in our schools, in our homes and in our businesses. But more importantly, good designers live forever in our hearts.
Constance A. Smith, Business Partner
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