What is a chair? This simple question can be answered with a simple response. A chair is a piece of furniture on which a person can sit. However, chairs, particularly plastic chairs, are also part of much more complex design theories, debates and histories. They can be an insight into the society and the period they are or were used in. They can be symbols of status, wealth and taste. Chairs have a fundamental function – to hold up a seated individual – but they fulfil many other unintended functions; for example, to be a comfortable place for a snoozing pet, a chairdrobe for laundry waiting to be washed or put away, a substitute bedside table, or a plant stand, to name a few.
Chairs are part of our daily lives, and in the 21st century they've become a bigger part of our routines than at any other time. How many have you sat on today? An armchair, a dining chair, an office chair, the seat on the bus, a stool in a coffee shop or bar. These utilitarian objects aren't only products of design, but objects of engineering. Chairs need to be strong, work under stress, be relatively lightweight, but not so light that they feel structurally unsound. Ideally, they'll also be aesthetically appealing and comfortable to use.
In a museum collection, ‘the chair’ is taken out of its original context – it'll no longer be sat upon and as such has lost its intended function. It does, of course, now take on a new function. That is, to act as an exemplar of its kind, be examined, studied, and researched. At MoDiP, it also acts as an inspiration or a spark of energy in the mind of the creative. Chairs hold the power to conjure up an image of the people who might sit in them, or the space they might occupy, they may even become sculptural abstract forms that inform building designs, the shape of a garment, or anything else the imagination allows.
Please be seated, pull up a chair, take a seat and contemplate, consider, and visually explore the objects in our exhibition.
Visit to the MoDiP website for more information about this exhibition.
