Exploration of the Female Form Through Furniture
The subject of women in design is extensively explored through furniture design. From the outset there are problems with the objectification of women due to sculpting the female form into furniture. However, it is also be seen as a celebration of women and the female form. It really just depends on how the designer approaches the design and their views on women are shown in their design outcomes.
The ‘Marilyn’ chair by Arata Isozaki, 1972 can be seen as a celebration of the female form. He took inspiration from the Mackintosh highback chair with the “clean lines of the Marilyn ChairIsozaki combined the curves of Marilyn with the narrow, vertical lines found in the Mackintosh high-back chair” (Berg 2015).The tall, slim, black back of the chair with the repeated thin bars creating a solid back signifies elegance, feminism and strength. This celebration of the female body is modest and tasteful. The subtlety seen in the soft flowing lines of the design makes it all the more effective rather that the chair blatantly representing Monroe’s body.
Salvador Dali designed the Bocca Sofa in 1936, which is seen as an “emblem of contemporary art” andit was “influenced by Dada and Surrealist movements” (Splendia 2009). As well as the sofa representing Marilyn’s lips there was a “whole room that represented her entire body” (Splendia 2009). This is another way of celebrating of the female form in a tasteful way. It symbolises the strength of women; lipstick can be worn as a sort of armour, making women feel more confident, allowing them to succeed and thrive in other aspects of life; whether this be in business or socially. The obvious reasons for the use of Marilyn Monroe in these designs are her voluptuous beauty, fame and talent. However, if we really look at what she represents we see the significance of her being referred to in design . She is the epitome of celebrity and probably because of her movies and private life she was a fascination for everyone. She had a vulnerability that men found attractive and women felt sympathy for her making her an all encompassing significant figure. She explained that she wanted to be known as a “real actress and human being” and she wanted to “be in the kind of pictures where I can develop, not just wear tights”(Morgan 2018). Of course she loved the glamour and explained that she would “never knock glamour” and that there was “nothing wrong with it” (Morgan 2018) but that doesn’t mean that she didn’t want to be seen as a human and not be objectified because of her profession and the way that she looked.
On the other hand, the use of women and the female body in furniture can sometimes beovertly objectifying and vulgar. Allen Jones produced a multitude of sexual and pornographic tables and chairsin his ‘Women-as-furniture’ artworks, they are the “perfect images for an argument about the objectification of women”. (Wroe 2014)He has alwaysprovoked controversyand designed these objects at the time of Women’s Liberation movementwhere women who were “living lives of rapid social and cultural change” were questioning the “conditions of their lives, and their relationships with men”.(Sisterhood and After Research Team., 2013). You could argue that Jones was creating this furniture to make a point by shocking the viewers as they see how vulgar it is to objectify women in the hope that it would help towards sexism subsiding. However, it can also be argued that Jones is a misogynist who has used his artistic ability to create furniturethat is overtly sexist and quite possibly the “most sexist art ever” (Williams 2014). There were three artworks in the collection; Hatstand, Table and Chair. With the ’Chair’ design, “a woman lies on her back, with her knees against her chest and a cushion on top of her. That’s the seat, her calves make the chair’s back. While all the clothes — black leather gloves, boots and a strap — reference bondage” (Williams 2014). Everything about the ‘Chair’ is sexist, the boots and strap which are said to “reference bondage” (Williams 2014)are commodifying women whilst literally and metaphorically stripping them down to sexual beings by using this “imagery of women-as-sex-instruments” (Williams2014). Jones seemed rather lackadaisical about people seeing these designs as feminist horrors and stated “I’m not saying this is right or wrong, OK? I’m just saying, ‘Here are some tits.’ Get over yourself.” (Williams 2014). I personally find his comments rather weak and feel he should defend his work that he clearly wants to be seen as art objects not as commercially produced furniture.
The elegance of Isozaki ‘s chair is so dramatically opposite to the vulgarity of Jones’ pieces. Isozaki’s reference to women is subtle and the pieces are timeless. Jones’ work will certainly invite debate, irritation and I’m sure in some cases even admiration and appeal sadly. Dali’s pieces seem to be more kitsch but have a lasting appeal because of the Pop Art feel to it and the Monroe reference has become a universally popular one.
Bibliography:
BERG,L., 2015. Paradigm Gallery: Architects and Their Chairs “I”[Online] Available at: https://www.pgmod.com/category/arata-isozaki/. Accessed on 28thApril 2019
MORGAN, M., 2018. Los Angeles Magazine: Was Marilyn Monroe a feminist?[Online] Available at: https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/marilyn-monroe-the-girl/. Accessed on 29thApril 2019
Sisterhood and After Research Team., 2013. British library: Sisterhood and After, Activism and he Women’s Liberation Movement [Online] Available at:https://www.bl.uk/sisterhood/articles/activism-and-the-womens-liberation-movement. Accessed on 29thApril 2019
SPLENIA., 2009. Splendia: Architecture and Design, The History of the Bocca Sofa[Online] Available at: http://blog.splendia.com/en/the-history-of-the-boca-sofa-2/.Accessed on 28thApril 2019
WILLIAMS, Z., 2014. The guardian: Is Allen Jones’s sculpture the most sexist art ever? [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/10/allen-jones-sexist-art-royal-academy-review.Accessed on 29thApril 2019
WROE, N., 2014. The Guardian: Allen Jones: ‘I think of myself as a feminist’ [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/31/allen-jones-i-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist.Accessed on 29thApril 2019
