July 12, 2011 |
FROM THE VAULT (SPRING SUMMER 2011)
When we think of Monsiuer Philipp, our set designer de jour, all we can think, all that pops in our head, despite having been emailing and getting to know him is If I had a hammer/ I’d hammer in the morning/ I’d hammer in the evening/ All over this land/ I’d hammer out danger/ I’d hammer out a warning/ I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters/ All over this land. Like we said we’re sorry.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN SET DESIGN? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
I got a call from a good friend of mine who asked me to help him out with a set design job he had to do.
WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
I ask myself the same question every morning.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER? MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT?
That people still call me for jobs. 4. Where are you from? The mountains.
HOW DID YOU END UP IN NEW YORK?
Women. But don’t ask further.
WHAT’S YOUR SECRET FOR MAKING IT IN NEW YORK?
It’s still a secret, I can’t tell.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BIG COMMISSION? WHAT DID YOU DO?
An Elvis statue made out of chocolate for a Kruder and Dorfmeister album shoot.
ARE YOU PERFECTIONIST?
I am going to borrow a motto from ex Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara and answer the question I wish I was asked: The haveli then was a complete ruin and had been uninhabited for a century- except for tigers, who had given birth and brought up litters of cubs there. The roofs had fallen in; what stood still was covered in graffiti; not a single door, window frame or shutter remained, and thick thorn bushes came right down to the house.
WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER TAKING UP A CAREER IN INTERIOR DESIGN? DO UP THE HOMES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS? OR AT LEAST THE HOMES OF NOTORIOUS SOCIALITES?
Never. But I just did the interior design for a new austrian restaurant in New York called Edi and the Wolf.
GOOD SET DESIGN IS?
When you look at a picture and don’t see that a set designer was involved.
by Natalie Dembinska
Photograph by Christian Anwander – www.christiananwander.com
