Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames

Dezeen Wire: in this movie filmed by cultural collective Pacific Standard Time, rapper Ice Cube explains his love of architecture and how the work of renowned architects Charles and Ray Eames inspires him.

The musician, who previously studied as an architectural draftsman, compares the combination of prefabricated elements in the Los Angeles Eames House to a sampled hiphop track.

Here's some more text from Pacific Standard Time:

“Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames” is the latest instalment in a series that explores unexpected artistic connections between culturally influential Angelenos of different generations

In “Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames,” O’Shea Jackson, the rapper and actor also known as Ice Cube, talks about his love for architecture and how the work of legendary designers Charles and Ray Eames continues to inspire him.

Touring the home of Charles and Ray Eames, known as Case Study No. 8, Ice Cube explains how hip-hop mirrors the couple’s beautifully designed home as both make use of prefabricated pieces that fit together to form a whole.

“What I love about the Eames is how resourceful they are,” explains Ice Cube. “[The idea for the Eames House is] taking something that already exists and making it something special, kind of like sampling.”

The extended version of the video features Ice Cube driving around Los Angeles and talking about the city’s vast architectural landscape, from strip malls to famous landmarks like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Watts Towers. Ice Cube has long been passionate about architecture and studied architectural drafting at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in 1987, right around the time when he recorded the first demos with the legendary South Los Angeles rap group N.W.A.

“When N.W.A. was first about to pop off I wasn't sure if I was gonna make a living [from music],” says Ice Cube. “Cussin' on the radio? I didn't know if that was gonna bring me any money, so I ended up going to school in Phoenix and spending a year out there.”

Produced by video director Dave Meyers, “Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames” is the third video in a series that features authentic and unexpected connections between today’s cultural influencers and Pacific Standard Time-era (postwar) artists to show how Los Angeles art continues to inspire the world.

The Eames House Foundation is a Pacific Standard Time exhibition partner, presenting “Indoor Ecologies: The Evolution of the Eames House Living Room”.

Preceded by the videos “Kiedis Celebrates Ruscha” and “Schwartzman Celebrates Baldessari,” the Ice Cube/Eames video is the latest installment in the creative campaign by TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles to promote Pacific Standard Time: Art inL.A.1945-1980, the unprecedented six-month celebration of the birth of the Los Angeles art scene.