Step up your writing

In assignment four I made the statement that the pair of Bauhaus Wassily chairs I found on Trade Me were timeless. I stated that although these chairs were first pioneered in the 1920’s they still have a sheik and fresh contemporary look and would be favorably welcomed when furnishing a household in 2013. I argue that the Bauhaus art form is still a prominent influence in contemporary design both in physicality and rationalist intention.

Physically the Bauhaus art form is prominent in our current style as it is very industrial and involves a lot of metal and leather and is made to look simplistic. A recent rendition of the Wassily Chair, that I chose to search on Trade Me in project four, is this Zetel Chair; Designed by minimalists Fein Muller and Hannes Van Severen. Much like the Wassily Chair, this chair has a refined metal pipe-like structure and a thick leather material as the component that is sat on. These designers have used the basic outlines of the Bauhaus styled Wassily Chair but have heavily simplified the craft and expanded the design to make it seat two.

Zetel Chair by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen

We don’t notice the Bauhaus influence in our everyday furniture but it is influential in many of the top designs of today and their values are important in our global endeavor to create sustainable and rational designs. The Bauhaus movement started after the Second World War, when Germany was low on resources and focused on creating rational products and designing for the mass production. This is how their slogan “Art into Industry.” (Gropius) came about. This relates to our contemporary issue of global warming and the new pressure to make eco-friendly and affordable furniture in mass amounts for and international buyers. Instead of lack of resources due to war, we as a planet are beginning to run out of natural resources and are striving to invent new environmental materials to work with.

Griffith Winton, Alexandra. "The Bauhaus, 1919–1933". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm (August 2007)

Muller, Fien & Van Severen, Hannes. Duo Seat. Muller Van Severen. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://mullervanseveren.be/site/duo-seat-lamp/.

Trade me hunt

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Today on Trade Me I tried to look for a one person Bauhaus styled chair that would be both appropriate for someone on a student budget to purchase and an appropriate size for a student’s room.

In searching for the chair simply typed Bauhaus into the general search engine on trade me. I chose to define the search for this object by clicking on the home and living section of trade me so I wouldn’t have to sift through all of the random items linked to this word. Here three items popped up, one of which was appropriate to my specifications listed before, one that was appropriate but pricier and more aesthetically pleasing, and one, which was irrelevant to the provisions. The chair I chose to focus on was a Wassily chair and the second most expensive but best looking. The chair is not an original but a respectable replica of the original styled chair that minus a few spots of rusting looks to be in good condition.

The guy listing it has done a great job at describing the chair as he gives a manageable but informative history of the chairs creator, Marcel Breuer, the inspirations behind the chair, it’s dimensions, materials and it’s status in society today.

“Marcel Breuer was an apprentice at the Bauhaus in 1925 when he came up with the design idea for this chair. The frame was inspired by the tubular frame of a bicycle. This chair was revolutionary in the use of the materials (bent tubular steel and canvas) and methods of manufacturing. It is now considered one of the most iconic chairs of the 20th Century.”

The chair has sleek metal and leather materials, which are proving to be timeless as even though it was first designed in the late 20’s, it’s still relevant and sheik in present contemporary design styles. This chair emulates the beliefs of how Walter Gropius, thought designs should be as it uses industrial components of engineering and manufacturing with the tubular like structure. I chose a second hand replica, as it looks to be well made and in good condition whilst being a lot cheaper than an original Wassily chair or brand new Replica of this product. 


Jen422. Pair of Wassily Chairs. Trade Me.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=592774245

Poster

Keely Meechan’s work integrates the Rococo like curvature and spontaneity with the sleek and clean components of Modern design, resulting in a pleasant juxtaposition of natural and unnatural features. The designs are molded in a way that presents a flow of plastic being disturbed by the sternness of the solid metal, like an abandoned plastic bag flowing in the wind whilst trapped in the branches of a tree.

This exhibition is heavily influenced by the natural elements of nature and the human’s invasion that is slowly destroying it. Humans create more waste than our world can handle and take little notice of the effect this is having on our eco system and quality of life.

Through this exhibition I strive to enlighten you on the impact product waste has on our planet and influence you to be innovative about our planets future. I strive to raise questions among the audience about our relationship with our waste. Could rubbish be used as a medium for creative outlet? Could we use the plastic recycling as a material for new recycled sculptures? Could the way we mindlessly discard our rubbish change if we were to use it as an artistic symbol?

Visit the Wellington City Art Gallery to experience the excitement and ingenuity of Meechan’s latest work.