It was 1957 and the photographer Otto Stupakoff, then installed in Rio de Janeiro, ordered a comfortable sofa from his friend and architect Sergio Rodrigues, where he could “laze” in his studio on Rua Sambaíba, in Leblon. History is known, but it deserves to be remembered because it also made History: from “Sofazão do Otto”, as Rodrigues called the project, for the creation of the Mole armchair, an icon of Brazilian and international furniture even today, 60 years after its launch was a small step. Or dash. The "partnership", so to speak, between the photographer and the architect is highlighted in the exhibition Otto Stupakoff: beauty and restlessness, on display at the Moreira Salles Institute in Rio de Janeiro until April 16. In addition to a replica of the famous armchair, the Sergio Rodrigues Institute also provided the first study of the sofa, as well as advertising images of the furniture made in 1958 by Otto himself.
The photo session, incidentally, also yielded another good story. To promote the sofa and other furniture, the architect and the photographer took the pieces to the sands of Leblon beach, which, deserted that afternoon, played the role of infinite background. As soon as the furniture was distributed, however, the tide rose, drenching everything. “It was funny, because at the time it was a pain. But the next day, the exhibition with the Mole armchair was opened with press comments saying that we threw furniture overboard, as if it were a sort of dispatch, ”said Sergio in an interview with the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in February 2006 , eight years before his death.
The photos illustrated the catalog of Oca, a revolutionary store of architecture and interior design created by Sergio in 1955. And Otto's remuneration for the work was an example of the armchair, since at the time of the order he was unable to pay for the piece.
“Sergio said that when the team that created the furniture budgeted the cost, it was a little high for Otto. Then Sergio said 'let me see, maybe I was wrong'. And when they recalculated the price, it got even more expensive ”, recalls Fernando Mendes de Almeida, vice president of the Sergio Rodrigues Institute, who often heard from the architect himself about the furniture. “Whenever he talked about the Mole chair, he told the whole story. This valued creation, and Sergio knew how to shed light on these things, it was fun. He did not understand anything about more pragmatic matters, budget, values. That part always stayed with Vera Beatriz (woman, muse and great love of the architect's life, who presided over the institute until his death, on January 3 of this year). The word that fits him well is entrepreneurial. He knew how to seduce, make everyone believe in his ideas ”.
