Model 3107 Series 7

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It's interesting to remember that sitting on something purpose-made for our posterior and back is a relatively recent phenomenon - certainly in terms of the period of time that people have lived in purpose-built houses. I've no doubt that when men lived in caves, at the end of a day's hunting and foraging, as family groups settled down by a warm fire, there was a rush for the most comfortable ledge, rock or log on which to sit or recline. And yet, as far as western society goes, even as late as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries most people continued to make do with either nothing on which to sit, or a flat, backless wooden bench, chairs being the preserve of the well-to-do. So it's perhaps not surprising that since that time the chair has become one of the most frequently designed and re-designed pieces of furniture.The fact that chairs, and the way we sit on them, are also seen as the main cause of back problems in western society may also be a reason for the amount of attention that designers lavish on the humble chair: get it right and customers will beat a path to your door. Or so you'd think.

We've just spent a couple of days looking after our two year old granddaughter in London, allowing me to combine family duty with a little big-city photography. On a coffee break in a cafe at the Royal Festival Hall I noticed this group of empty chairs near a small stage area. I have a passing interest in chair design and immediately recognised them as Model 3107 Series 7 by the Danish designer and architect, Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971). Now you might be thinking that remembering the model number of something designed in 1955 counts as  more than a "passing interest", but the fact is this particular line has been reproduced more than any other and so is very familiar to students of the chair. I remember reading somewhere that in excess of seven million have been manufactured. I also recall that Jacobsen said he got the idea for the design from a chair by Charles and Ray Eames, thus underlining the fact that to make a completely original chair is exceptionally difficult given all the precedents and the need to accommodate the human body. The Model 3107 is a simple, elegant, dining-height design. However, in my experience it isn't the most comfortable of chairs for extended periods unless you carry your own padding in the form of a cushion or a generous posterior. Consequently it's probably the ideal chair for a restaurant where the management wants a quick turnover of customers.

I was drawn to this shot by the variations on a theme that is very evident in the arrangement. Inevitably, when you see a collection such as this you consider which one you like best. For me it's the dark, polished wood version.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f3.5 Shutter
Speed: 1/30 sec
ISO:800
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Chairs are hard

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"A chair is a very difficult object. A sky scraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous." Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect (1886-1969)

In February 2006 I used the quote above to preface a shot that I consider to be one of my better efforts. It shows a detail of a stack of shiny cafe chairs. In that post and elsewhere I've made the point that chairs can be beautiful, chairs can be comfortable, and chairs can be both beautiful and comfortable - but they rarely are. When the fusion of aesthetics and utility is achieved it is often justly celebrated and the designer becomes, if not a household name, then someone who is known to those who appreciate good design. So, the chairs of Michelle Thonet, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen, Robin Day, Konstantin Grcic and the like are found not only in the homes of such people, but in the world's museums and galleries.

My mind returned to this subject the other day when I saw this set of two chairs and a table. They are made for outdoor use and fulfil the requirement to stand up to the weather reasonably well - the hard ceramic/plastic surfaces will last a long time, and so will the metal, though it has rusted. And, aesthetically, I suppose they look fine in a cottagey sort of way. The co-ordinated pots are an unusual touch. But when it comes to sitting on them, drinking a cup of coffee, surveying the garden and chewing the fat - or even the cud - with a partner or friend, then the chairs look to have very obvious limitations. In fact, they look as though they would be torture for the posterior: cold in anything but the mildest weather, wet for a long time after rain, and hard, hard hard whenever you chose to sit on them! However, as objects to add detail, a certain character, and a suggestion of alfresco living they are fine. And as a composition for a passing photographer they looked fine too. 

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 119mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Cantilevered chairs

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It took a bold leap of the imagination to come up with the cantilevered chair. It is, as we say today, counter-intuitive; a shape that looks like it shouldn't work, or should work for only a short time before collapsing under the weight of its user. But, in 1924 the Dutch architect, planner and designer, Mart Stam (1899-1986), saw past these problems of the mind and produced the first example. Between 1926 and 1929, he created his S33 and S34 designs which found a ready market among those who wanted furnishings that reflected the modern spirit. Stam's designs were immediately followed by an example from Marcel Breuer (1902-1981), the Hungarian-American architect and designer, that combined the tubular steel frame with a more traditional seat and back made of wood and woven cane. This led to an action in the German courts with both men claiming to be the inventor of the canilever chair. The outcome of the case favoured Stam, but has left confusion in the minds of many about who originated this design classic.

Other designers, including Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld, Vernor Panton, Stefan Wewerka, and Frank Gehry, have subsequently taken the cantilever principle and given it their own twist. The most recent take on this, by now, established form for a chair, is by the German designer, Konstantin Grcic (1965- ). His MYTO chair is made by an Italian company from advanced BASF plastic that allows the strength and flexibility necessary in the cantilever design. It uses the minimum quantity required for the purpose, is recyclable, comes in several colours, and can be stacked up to eight chairs high. An example has been selected for the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

I came across a single, black example of Grcic's chair at a design exhibition. Placed on a white podium on a dark floor, with a white screen behind, the chair suggested a photograph, so I looked for a single image that displayed the chair to best effect and made an interesting composition within the camera's rectangular frame. I failed! However, I did, I think, achieve my goal with two images. The shot in landscape format makes best use of the chair and background together but fails because it doesn't show the far "leg" of the chair, whilst the portrait format image presents the chair to good effect against a less interesting background. Incidentally, both shots are in colour!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 2 (Photo 1)
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 8mm (37mm/35mm equiv.):(5mm (24mm/35mm equiv.))
F No: f2.4 (f2)
Shutter Speed: 1/50 (30)
ISO: 400 (200)
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Looking at chairs (again)

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Architects and designers can be obsessive. The great American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), during the time of his "Prairie Houses", took to creating every feature of the building. Once he had laid down the overall form and the layout of the rooms he set to designing the doors, stained glass windows, furniture, rugs, lights - everything. His intention was that the whole experience of living in his house should be one of co-ordinated and complementary design, and to that end he even designed the dresses for the lady of the house!

The influential English architect, C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941), was equally driven. His favourite "heart" motif was repeated throughout his houses in window shutters, door handles, and stencilled ornament, and his work extended into designs for furniture, wallpaper and other household items.

Today many architects specify the furniture for the houses they build from the catalogues of contemporary designers, rather than design it themselves. Often it is the comfortable modern classics by designers such as Breuer, Eames, Corbusier, Makepeace, Magistretti and Jacobsen that are chosen. Frequently, however, it is the eye-catching designs that are favoured: chairs, tables, lights etc, that look the part but don't necessarily offer the utility that is required for daily living. When I came across the chairs in today's photograph I was smitten by the beautiful, spare design, and the shadows thrown by the display lighting. However, though they would look the essence of modernity in the right setting - part sculpture, part chair - I did wonder how long I might be able to sit in one. They are the work of the Danish furniture designer, Mathias Bengtsson, are made of spun carbon fibre, and each weighs only 800g. In my photograph I tried to make a semi-abstract composition that showed the form of the chair without revealing a whole example (the bottom part of one is at the top and the top part of another at the bottom), whilst also showing the power of their pattern and the attendant shadows. The colour was added in post processing.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 39mm (78mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/25
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The corrugated chair

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I remember reading, many years ago, about two people who made a very big origami boat out of waxed paper. They placed it on a river, got in, and sailed a good few miles before it succumbed to the effects of the water and collapsed. It was a bit of fun with no real point other than finding out if such a feat was possible. But that didn't stop someone trying it again in Germany last year.

Is a corrugated cardboard chair made for similar reasons? I saw one the other day. It looked marvellous, all curves, layers, and contour-like textures that positively invited you to walk around it, examining the shape from every angle. However, even if sitting on it wasn't forbidden because it was on display, I doubt if I'd have parked my posterior on it because it didn't look particularly inviting. Chairs have long been the focus of experimentation in terms of materials and shape, and fine artists have often tried their hand at designing them, frequently producing visual interest but rarely combining it with comfort. Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) produced a striking "Red and Blue Chair" in 1917, but you wouldn't want to sit on it for long. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) collaborated with Edward James to produce his "Mae West's Lips Sofa", another piece that looks like it offers temporary relief rather than long-term repose. The German-American architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), who was responsible for the design of some iconic chairs, got it right when he said "A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous." Will the corrugated cardboard chair make it from concept to high street store? I doubt it, but what do I know? I'd have said the same about inflatable plastic armchairs and sofas and I've seen those for sale in discount stores and in use in students' flats!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 40mm (80mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/8
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On