Reaction to Abstract: Ralph Gilles

This episode of Abstract: The Art of Design felt different. It felt more like a story of Ralph Gilles life, rather than the story of his work. The story was beautifully crafted together and really told an inspirational story of where he came from and how he got to where he is. There was a sense of vulnerability from Ralph as he described where his love for cars came from and how almost everything he did was to make his father proud. There was also a bit where Ralph described the dark times in the automotive industry and it really set this episode apart from others, as many of the other artists we’ve seen haven’t really described a national dark period in their careers, whereas once Ralph began describing the late 2000’s, I knew exactly the kind of dark time he was talking about.

Each episode, I’m really taken back by how many avenues of design there are in the world. Ralph Gilles’ work in designing automobiles is incredibly fascinating and unique. It’s crazy to think about the amount of design that goes into the shape, interior, tech, and style of a car–normally I just hop in and drive it. Now, I kinda want to design a car of my own…