Have a Seat!

On Wednesday of this week fellow Fellow in Museum Education, Kate Moioli, gave an express gallery talk on the Art of Chairs. Her choices inspired me to revisit my favorite pair of chairs in the Art Institute, a pair of musician’s chairs from the 18^th century.

I have always been drawn to these petite perches for the posterior because they embody everything social about the 18^th century interior. These would lend an air of luxury and elegance to the home is ways beyond the rich materials used (the original leather upholstery is a finely dyed red) but in its skill and craftsmanship as well. The artisan has carved and ornate, ribboned vegetal design on the fronts and backs of the chairs. But, as the scholar Mimi Hellman has discussed, there was luxury (a joy in fact!) to owning sets! In this day of mass production we are apt to forget that to create an identical series of the same object requires more than just molds, patterns, and exact measurements. Each object is unique, with its own set of problems (err, features) be it grain, warping, dryness and any other  natural occurrence that comes about in the process of growth. It’s the same reason why, as a potter, you’ll never receive a tea set or set of bowls from me as a present.

That said, the joy of owning sets went beyond the mere expense and showiness of the home’s décor. In the 18^th century hundred of pamphlets and manuals on the art of furniture arrangement were published (think: the predecessor of the feng shui craze in mid-American households in the 1990s). The lady of the household could make or break social encounters merely by the coy placement of a settee or pair of chairs. A marriage proposal or physical rebuff could be facilitated by a chair cornered just so. It was a testament to the social elegance of the woman who arranged her own interiors. What is fascinating about these chairs is that their décor is our first clue as to how and where these were meant to be placed. Though they are called musician’s chairs, I have my doubts if that name refers to their actual function. In looking at the object as a whole one finds that the most elaborate decoration is on the backs of the chairs. So that presents a tricky problem for how place them in the room—one certainly can’t face their guests to the wall! Unless…you see, there are two of these chairs. It could only mean that they are meant to face each other and away from the main action of the room. Oo la la!

18^th century European interiors followed the fashion of the French court and the style in the late 18^th century was dominated by Louis XV and the maîtresse-en-titre (the officially titled royal mistress), Madame du Pompadour. The Madame du Pompadour designed tiny, intimate worlds for the king to escape from the world of politics (which were getting quite sticky!), small hunting lodges, tiny private theaters and small gatherings of choice guests. These types of private encounters needed a new form of furniture, a kind that was so drastically different from the very majestic, grand and public style of court held by Louis XIV.

These chairs could be arranged to facilitate a whispered conversation while still allowing the sitters to turn around and briefly join the wider conversation(s) throughout the room. The low backs also allowed the wide carriages of stylish dresses (see images from the Metropolitian Museum of Art’s exhibition, Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century.) Imagine how the body must position itself to balance yourself and your clothing on this teeny perch. It would take a great deal of elegance and graceful movements. One awkward move would expose any façade of gentility!

The intimacy of these two chairs reminds me of another pair of chairs on view right now in the Art Institute. In the recently installed Hyperlinks exhibition in the Architecture and Design galleries are two chairs designed by Arik Levy called Confessions (2010). They allow the sitter to crawl up into them and turn to their partner to whisper a private word or conversation in the same way one behaves in a confessional booth of the Catholic church. But what’s innovative and different about these chairs is that they are meant to swing around. Their openings can meet and close in the occupants allowing for an even more private encounter, à la Louis XV!