“Art is in everything.”
A first-generation French female architect who dreamed of creating "residential art."
Charlotte Perriand's first memoir in Korea

The Masters of Modern Art series consists of biographies and autobiographies of domestic and international master artists who had a significant influence on the cultural and artistic world around the 20th century.
The twenty-third protagonist of this series, which will be republished from 2018, is Charlotte Perriand, a first-generation French female architect and pioneer of interior design.

In the male-dominated architectural world of the early 20th century, Perriand created the 'Art d'habiter' (Art of the Home) that stands out for its openness, playfulness, and flexibility, and pursued a harmonious work between humans and their surroundings. Deeply sympathetic to women's rights and the plight of the underprivileged, she strived to provide many people with access to beautiful, useful, and functional spaces.
As an artist with a deep love for life, nature and freedom, she has established her own unique domain through various architectural projects, including private residences, student dormitories, military quarters, an Air France branch, embassies and, over the past 20 years, the Les Arcs ski resort.
He also created some of the most iconic designs of modernism together with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, and his sculptural works, such as the Grand Confort, Chez Longue, and Pouteuil Doshiet Basquillain, have become great classics that still excite collectors today.

This book is a candid autobiography, rich in visual material, of Charlotte Perriand's adventurous life written a year before her death, and is a complete account of the journey of an artist who lived a free, independent, and creative life.

I was admitted to a children's hospital when I was ten years old.
It was to undergo an appendectomy, which all children at the time had to undergo.
It was a great opportunity to skip school.
I really liked the new white hospital.
The ward was simple, and the window looked out onto a garden with trees.
Mom brought me some orange champagne to cheer me up.
But when I actually got home and saw all the furniture and all the clutter, I burst into tears.
The hospital's simplicity was just right.
It was then that I realized for the first time in my subconscious that blank space is powerful because it can contain everything.

---「1.
From the story that began in 1903

One afternoon, somewhat intimidated by the solemn atmosphere of the studio, I stood before Le Corbusier, his eyes unreadable behind his large glasses, hugging my drawing book.
His first greeting was somewhat cold.
“What’s your business?” “I’d like to work with you.” He quickly glanced through his drawing book and replied,
“We don’t embroider on cushions,” he said, and then led me to the door.
Finally, I mustered up the courage to leave my home address and inform him that I had submitted my work to Salon Doton.
There was no expectation of meeting again.
Rather, I left with a light heart.
No one can say that my charm worked.

The next afternoon, I met Jean Fouquet at the Salon.
He said with a bright face.
“I saw Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret at your booth this morning.
I think I'll ask you to work together.
“I wonder if the letter will arrive.”
---「2.
Le Corbusier, from "The Age of Pioneers"

Our chair research was influenced by body posture.
However, Villa Laroche and Villa Church, with their architecture, atmosphere and reputation, have influenced this approach to research.
It uses a lightweight frame made of steel tubes coated with chrome or lacquer, independent of various accessory materials.
'Fauteuil dossier basculant' and 'Chaise Longue' feature detachable fabric or calfskin stretched taut by springs, with cushions made of leather, satin or calfskin placed on steel springs.
The lacquered steel tube frame of the 'Grand Confort' sofa was called a 'cushion basket'.
It was actually a part made for the purpose of placing a cushion on it.
The cushions could be upholstered in leather, thick linen, or a combination of the two.
Imagination was a powerful force.
I studied life-size drawings in the studio with Pierre Jeanneret during the day and with Le Corbusier at night.
---「2.
Le Corbusier, from "The Age of Pioneers"

One day, while we were spending happy mornings in Montparnasse, a letter arrived for Pierre and me.
With one letter, a book filled with beautiful stories turned into the next chapter.
During the ten years I spent in Pierre and Le Corbusier's studio, I was deeply immersed in their knowledge, their way of thinking, their way of life, and I was surrounded by their friendship, their environment, their friends, and their plans for the future.

It was obvious that I had to leave the studio to avoid being a distraction.
However, I could not accept the contents of the letter.
Everything was so beautiful.
Le Corbusier criticized Pierre and me for working on 'Régine 37' without saying a word.
That was a misunderstanding.
I could have tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
Should I start over? I didn't want to think about it.
So I decided to leave.

---「2.
Le Corbusier, from "The Age of Pioneers"

He questioned the idea of ​​making everyday items for export.
There was a contradiction in the term 'for export'.
How can you make something without knowing how to use it? I've noticed that craftsmen look through European magazines for inspiration on forms.
I once saw a lacquered egg cup that was too big to hold a regular egg, but too small to hold an ostrich egg.
Since people in Japan do not eat soft-boiled eggs, the person who made it did not know how to use egg cups.
The same problem was found in toasters.

What should I do? Should I watch a movie about Western lifestyles? Should I explain how they sleep in bed, what table manners are, how to eat with a knife and fork, and why the knife looks like a "surgical" blade? In Japan, meat is cut in the kitchen, out of sight, so as not to remind guests of the animal's original form and to avoid shocking their sensibilities.
---「3.
From “Japan and Indochina during the War”

Many Frenchmen were arrested, including Jacques.
The Japanese commander came to the house and told her that her husband would not return.
“Prepare a small travel bag for him.”

I shouldn't have left there.
He searched my house with an officer who said he had heard stories about me in Japan.
And he acted like a Tokyo police officer and ordered me to bring out the whiskey.
“What about the suitcase?” I had prepared it in advance.
He handed me a bag containing pajamas, toiletries, etc.
He said, opening his bag.
“Put a bottle of whiskey in there too.” I said nothing, plucking a rose and putting it in my bag.
---「3.
From “Japan and Indochina during the War”

Le Corbusier replaced the term 'art decoratif' with 'equipment de l'habitation', and I replaced it with 'art d'habiter'.
Later, 'Art of Living' was changed to 'Art de vivre', which was also the title of my solo exhibition held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1985.
In a 1950 headline in the magazine Technique and Architecture, I defined 'dwelling art' as follows:
“The harmony of a residential area cannot be unrelated to architecture and urban planning.
Even if we try to achieve harmony through equipment alone, it would be a futile effort.
Because it is also affected by external factors such as site, direction, and amount of sunlight.
A dwelling must not only embody material goods, but also create an environment where people can achieve balance and liberate their spirit.

In this process, you must make your attitude clear.
To fill or to empty? This seemingly absurd question contains an important point.
“For some people, space means nothingness or poverty, but for others, it represents the possibility of thinking and moving.”
---「4.
From "The Real Age"

The first reason I accepted to participate was because I love mountains.
The second one looks similar to the one in Meribel, but the method was different.
Roger Godino envisioned an 'integrated' resort linking sports and various cultural activities.
It was a revolutionary plan.
To achieve this, it was necessary to be familiar with all the information regarding the issues raised, such as construction, installation, operation, commercialization, and maintenance.
Roger Godino asked us to supplement the design and implementation team to provide direction.

---「5.
Among “leisure buildings, facilities, and environments”

While writing this book, I realized many things.
I looked into my inner self, reaching back to the limits of my memory, and old memories stored in my brain came back to life under my pen.
My brain recorded everything and proved that it could resurrect everything with just what nature gave it.
So, I wondered what other wonders the brain might still be hiding.
If you put it into practice, you will find the answer.
To live is to let what is within us breathe alive.

---「6.
From “Between Nothingness and Emptiness”