Pulp Power

Is design an art form? It’s a good question, and one of many that’s asked (and answered) in Design Redux: Eames as Paper, which runs through the end of this month at the Goldstein Museum of Design. Design Redux spotlights the creative process behind the development of the Eames Paper Collection, a line of fine paper commissioned by Neenah Papers and designed by Minneapolis-based Design Guys.

Designer paper may not seem like an exercise in deep aesthetic thought, but Design Redux makes the case by holding a magnifying glass to the specifics of the design process, then stepping back for a panoramic look at the nature of design from the vantage point of two of the most influential designers of the last century. Says Goldstein director Lin Nelson-Mayson, “The story of the exhibition is the story of how the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames, as designers and as pioneers in the process of design, continues to influence design partnerships today”—literally, in this case.

The exhibit is equal parts object and observation and is organized around a series of Q & As—some provocative, some technical, some slightly obtuse—with the husband-and-wife duo, culled from their aptly titled film Design Q & A. But it’s not all cerebral. There’s plenty to please the eye, including waterfalls of the Eames-inspired paper, projects by design students that incorporate the new paper collection, and Eames-designed furniture, including chairs, folding screens, and ottomans.

The paper collection embodies the challenge at the heart of the Eames philosophy: to create objects that successfully locate the line between form and function. But is it art? The Eameses offer guidance: “The design is an expression of the purpose. It may—if it is good enough—later be judged to be art.” You be the judge. Through March 31. 240 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, 651-624-7434,

Reach Stephanie Xenos at stephaniexenos@yahoo.com.