The Chair Series

What is “chairness” or what makes a chair a chair? A seat for one that has a back and four legs. Chairs have been used since antiquity. They are one of the most ancient forms of furniture. Early Egyptian’s made chairs with animal legs. Chairs generally designated privilege and stature rather than being of functional everyday use. The common people sat on chests, benches and stools until around the renaissance in the 16th century. The industrial revolution made chairs much more available. During the 20th century metal folding chairs, ergonomic chairs, moulded plastic, ply, tv recliners broardened the appeal of the chair. The design evolving to reflect the fashion of the day. During the 1930’s the Bauhouse movement removed unnecessary ornamentation and the chair became something akin to art. These designer chairs are rendered in fluro colours using a Post Pop style. Pop used images from popular mass culture to emphasise the banal or kitch. Much of pop art is based on irony and could be seen as being the first wave of post-modernism. These images of high design are made relatable and accessible using a cartoon like style that suggests Keith Harrring and Walt Disney. These objects d’ art were to became chattels of an elite but their painted representations are repurposed for audience inclusion.