Eamon O'Kane
A History of Play: Froebel Eames Studio
2011
Installation

The work in this exhibition grew directly out of my relationship with my family. In the Fall of 2008, my wife borrowed the book An Eames Primer by Eames Demetrios. I read the book over the period of the following week during journeys on the bus to and from my studio. I learned that Charles Eames (and Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Mondrian and others) was educated in early childhood using the method developed by Frederich Froebel, who also invented Kindergarten. Our son Emil is five years old and Mikkel is three. They provide a constant flow of joy and inspiration, and continually prove that play is at the root of all creativity. Becoming a parent opened my eyes up to not only my parents' influence on us as children (they are both artists and three of my five siblings are also artists, one is a curator) but also how life and art and striking a balance is a continual process and should be approached as such. Therefore I have learned to slow down and enjoy life much more and to let it influence my work as an artist and an educator in a much more fluid and intuitive way.