Millennium Tower Boston/Christopher Peacock
MILLENNIUM TOWER BOSTON
Christopher Peacock Video-REV
January 6, 2017
CHRISTOPHER VO:
How does an object go from being useful to being a work of art?
(MEANINGFUL PAUSE)
Often, when an object is useful, it isn’t very artful. Or if it’s artful, you can look at it…admire it…covet it. But you don’t want to use it, for fear of breaking its beauty.
CHRISTOPHER ON CAMERA:
SUPER: CHRISTOPHER PEACOCK, CABINET MAKER
I believe art wants to be useful. That it’s even more special when it can be loved as art…and also as a useful tool. The only way I want to make art is to make sure it serves both a basic utilitarian need…and also a basic human desire for order, balance and beauty. I strive to serve both needs, at the highest level.
CHRISTOPHER VO:
This passion to create is something I’ve always felt in my bones. The heft of a cut of wood. The hum of a workshop. The smell of sawdust. These things have always reverberated inside me. I was raised in London by a family of builders, surrounded by the conversations of working craftsmen. I learned there’s nothing more noble than to be a builder of beautiful things.
(PAUSE)
For me, the process begins by understanding what the client thinks they want…and then going beyond what they ever dreamed possible. Finding artistry in the grain. In the texture. In the inherent strength and fortitude of the very best raw materials in the world.
I also know that there are special places on earth where art wants to be born. I believe I’ve found one of those places. You’d have a hard time locating this place on a map. But here in the woods of rural America, with craftsmen who share my love of building art, we live out a simple motto:
Think beyond.
Don’t cut corners.
Use the best materials.
Reject it if it’s not perfect.
CHRISTOPHER ON CAMERA:
These words aren’t carved into any of the cabinets we make, but they may as well be. My love for music, going back to my days as a musician, gives my work a sense of rhythm--and all of us here understand that, intuitively. In the end, I hope you can sense true order and harmony in the finished pieces.
CHRISTOPHER VO:
We aspire to make each piece like no other. Not only as a testament to our craft, but to the vision of the person who will ultimately own it.
Little by little, with every passing day, the piece becomes more functional to its owner and the artistry becomes more undeniable. It’s there in the details. In the touch. In the way it feels like a symphony of both art and utility, in perfect balance.
CHRISTOPHER ON CAMERA:
I love that moment. Maybe it takes a day. Maybe a week. But there’s always--always-- a moment when a client suddenly goes from seeing my work as simply a beautiful amenity to seeing that, my god, it’s a true work of art. That moment…that’s why I build what I build. (SMILE)
FADE TO BLACK
SUPER: CHRISTOPHER PEACOCK FOR MILLENNIUM TOWER BOSTON