Take a Seat

Barkley L. HendricksSweet Thang

Barkley Hendricks created portraits that depict his friends, family, students, and neighborhood acquaintances--Just like you he made art with images of his family and friends. He tried to capture fashion, style, textures and patterns of  the 1960's and 1970's--around 50 years ago.  The model Lynn Jenkins is lounging on a sofa and patterns pop around the canvas.

Take a Seat!

Let's look at how artists have shown seated figures and chairs in their art and how chairs can be a work of art on their own.

Doris Salcedo, "Installation at 8th International Istanbul Biennial," 2003

1600 chairs were used in the making of this particular monstrous work of urban art, pictured above. she frequently puts it right in public view, in a space people normally think of as empty

Probably two of the most famous seated figures in art

Leonardo da Vinci                                                                                Auguste Rodin

There are many reasons why people sit and artists have captured so many subjects taking a seat.

Wangari Mathenge, The Ascendents XVI, 2021.                           Luncheon of the Boating Party Painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

A figure glances at us. she seems to take a break from her reading.  People sit to read but also notice the green vanity with mirrors.  Maybe she does her hair, puts on jewelry, applies makeup and gets ready for the day at this seat.

People gather and pull up a seat to a table.  Maybe for a festive luncheon outdoors.

Sit back and let's look at art where the artist was prompted to create art about sitting. 

Alice Neel                                                                                                                                      Frida Kahlo

People pose for long stretches of time when they are painted and sitting allows the subject to be more comfortable.

The artist Alberto Giacommetti might bring to mind slim figures walking, falling or leaning but he also created drawings of linear (line) seated portraits.

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair by Mary Cassatt

Why do we sit? to rest, to work, to eat, to draw, to talk, to listen, to wait.

We sit to relax however "Whistler's Mother" does not look comfortable. James McNeill Whistler captured what life was truly like for Americans during this time. His most famous work, however, is one that focuses on his own mother. This painting is simply referred to as Whistler’s Mother. Seated in the painting and is seen by the viewer from the side in a very unique pose at the time and has become a popular American art work.

Jordan Casteel, Fatima 2018

Now here, the portrait of a street vendor Fatima by Jordan Casteel seems to be comfortable sitting on the bumper of her food cart  filled with baked goods. Jordan encountered her warm familiar smile because she parked her cart outside of the Studio where Joran worked. The donuts, muffins, and rolls on the shelves are popular American street foods... "

Sitting can be a way for us to be near and be close with friends and family

Chairs as the subject in art

Ai Weiwei (Chinese, born 1957), Grapes, 2015. 26 wooden stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)

Ai Weiwei created This sculpture of ancient stools.  He wanted to show old and new along with culture and history of China.

Artists can take inspiration from the objects they are surrounded by or may even be resting on.   

Famous artist Vincent Van Gogh painted these humble chairs.  How might these artworks be considered a still-life?  A chair with a pipe and a chair belonging to his painter friend Paul Gaugain.  Similar chairs show up in other works by Vincent

Sitting allows us to visit and connect with people.  This work by Marina Abramovic is Performance Art.

Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created by the actions of the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through video, it can be planned or spontaneous, and is traditionally presented to a public. The performance is the art.

The Artist Is Present

Marina Abramović
(Yugoslav, born 1946)  2010. Performance.

"Seated silently at a wooden table across from an empty chair, she waited as people took turns sitting in the chair and locking eyes with her. Over the course of nearly three months, for eight hours a day, she met the gaze of 1,000 strangers, many of whom were moved to tears.

“Nobody could imagine…that anybody would take time to sit and just engage in mutual gaze with me,” Abramović explained. In fact, the chair was always occupied, and there were continuous lines of people waiting to sit in it. “It was [a] complete surprise…this enormous need of humans to actually have contact."

45 seconds

Some artists set up a challenge for themselves to design a chair that looks good and is comfortable to sit in. 

Let's look a the chair as Design 

Charles and Ray Eames

Aiming to create a comfortable chair...like sitting in a well worn leather baseball mitt, Ray and Charles Eames dreamed up the Eames Lounge Chair. their lounge chair and accompanying ottoman incorporated wood and black leather (to create one of the most iconic sculptural, luxurious, and comfortable designer chairs.

Other Eames chairs were well designed but could also be mass produced in a factory so many people could enjoy the comfort and design.

A few more chairs that are truly works of art.

Tulip Chair                                 Louis XIV Armchair

Two chairs couldn't be anymore different but both serve the function of sitting.  One designed by Eero Saarinen who did not like the way chair legs looked under a table, cluttered and confusing. Eero designed the Tulip Chair which resembles the flower.  and one for a the king of France over nearly 400 years ago (1643-1715).  Notice the carved wood arms and legs, straight back and fabric upholstery.

If you were designing a chair would your goal be to make the shape interesting or the shape comfortable?  Form vs. Function.

Raise your hand when you can name the location of this Chair Sculpture?

The Wassily Chair – Marcel Breuer with bands of leather and metal.  Does this look comfy?  Think about why or why not

Chairs can be made out of many materials like wire, plastic and even cardboard!

Frank Gehry’s Wiggle Side Chair

In the 1970s, architect Frank Gehry began to experiment with scrap cardboard which led to one of the most iconic and playful designer chairs.  Frank found that by alternating the cardboard's corrugation to create stacks of it strong enough to support a human.

Some seating makes a statement! 

The Bocca Sofa, designed by Franco Audrito

Look at a close up of this Art Chair!  Ouch!

If this type of functional art interests you, the St. Louis Art Museum has an entire lower level gallery of furniture and artfully designed seating.  

How might you now think of a piece of furniture as a work of art?

Could you redesign an object you see everyday and make it more interesting to look at, easier to use or more comfortable?

Will you design functional art?