today our father would be 87 years old. he was such a friend. he staid somehow a boy all his life but he could play the concertina for my kids. he had such an impeccable sense for materials and quality, i think he was the best dressed man i know till today, never a prince always keeping it humble. but all pieces from the best.
congratulation from us all.i do not want to show one of his portaits again, but something quite different:
1957. a very plain livingspace (alfred schmellers house) that is part of his first prefab housing commission with the city of vienna and the u.s. marshallplan people in which he worked in partnership with architect roland rainer.
the walls and cupboards in these case study vienna style houses are made in plain beech plywood, still existing, mostly already modified (the teapots on the shelf already announced that nothing will stay the same).
rainer took my father in a partnership after he had received his m.i.t. degree in prefabrication in 1951 + befriended charles eames .
the fotos were shot when a party was going on there, my father is not present for one or the other reason*.
the ladies and gentlemen on these valuable pictures are all good samples of the prominent artist scene in vienna (avramidis,leinfellner,fruhmann) getting fairly drunk. the only sober one seems roland rainer, looking on somehow nervously.
its a friendly pandemonium, not much has changed here since then, only the faces.
laughing, on the wall : alfred schmeller
left,on guard:roland rainer
looking in the open fire of years and things to come.. josef mikl/painter, ferry kitt / 1st partner of my father/architect, a.schmeller/art historian,critic+promotor
(fotos: by courtesy connie schmeller/vienna)
(fotos: by courtesy connie schmeller/vienna)
starting fairly at this time and continuing to his early passing a never ending series of new thought product pieces, furniture and misc. were designed by him..
*perhaps working on some of these was the reason he missed that party, who knows...
