In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection.
Kennebec is a fun, playful wallpaper pattern that would hang unobtrusively on the wall, adding a bit of color and texture to the room. The design is rustic in nature, given that it has the appearance of a bunch of sticks being tossed up and then freezing in midair. The twigs are rendered in trompe l’oeil fashion, with some shading to suggest volume, complete with nubs and life rings. The twigs don’t cast a shadow which creates the illusion of them being aloft. The close placement of the twigs, and the haphazard arrangement of them in all different directions, suggests this tossing motion.
The wallpaper has a matching border, also composed of twigs, though in a much more composed format. The placement of the twigs in the border are more controlled, forming a Gothic-style framework of trefoils and pointed arches. The more structured border is a great way to top off the seemingly random free-for-all of the wallpaper.
Kennebec border, 1998, designed by Chuck Fischer for Brunschwig & Fils, Inc.; Gift of Brunschwig & Fils, Inc. 1999-62-3
Chuck Fischer is a man of many talents. He is a muralist and decorative painter, creates trompe l’oeil accessories and painted floors for interiors, working with such notable designers as Albert Hadley. Wallpapers and textiles he designed for Brunschwig & Fils are in the Cooper Hewitt collection, and he has also created designs for F. Schumacher & Co. He has also been creating pop-up books for over fifteen years.
Greg Herringshaw is the Assistant Curator for Wallcoverings.
