Studio Furniture
Encyclopedia
Studio Furniture is a subfield of Studio Craft
centered around one-of-a-kind or limited production furniture
objects designed and built by craftspeople. The work is made in a craftsperson's studio
setting as opposed to being made in a high volume factory. This conception of the site of production as being a studio links studio furniture to studio art
and reflects its status as an individual creative process. Studio furniture objects often embody creative and/or communicative intent, a unique design, elements of functionality (either implicit or explicit), craftsmanship, and an intimate understanding of material in their creation. Studio furniture objects, perhaps because of their close association with sculpture and other fine art, are shown as often in art galleries as they are in furniture showrooms. As is the case in the Studio Crafts at large, this contested identity is the impetus for frequent intra-field dialogue and differing intellectual positions on the matter.
Studio Furniture incorporates the design process differently than Industrial Design
or Product Design
, but the designing of the object is an integral and important part of its creation none-the-less. Because of the requisite functionality (or implied functionality) of Studio Furniture, makers must design objects so that they fulfill their intended physical purpose. For example, a functional chair must be able to support the weight of the human body in a sitting position. After this requirement is met, other purposes may also be supported; the chair might also be designed with certain ergonomic considerations for user comfort or it might additionally be able to support the body while standing or reclining. While the meeting of physical requirements links Studio Furniture to other design fields, the expression of personal creative intent links the practice to the Fine Arts. Design comes in to play in the realization of this intent as well; successful Studio Furniture must be designed to simultaneously meet conceptual needs without compromising its functional goals.
The practice of design within the field of Studio Furniture, as with other Studio Crafts, follows a trajectory that that is unique in terms of the process of making. The design process begins with preliminary sketches or models, but this is not a “preconceptualization of the finished work in all its elements and details” which would then be executed by a maker (separate from the designer), as it might be in a Product Design setting. According to Howard Risatti in “A Theory of Craft,” “instead of being separated into stages, conception and execution are integrated so that a subtle feedback system occurs when physical properties of materials encounter conceptual form and conceptual form encounters physical material” (p169). The design of the object, to a great degree, happens concurrently with its creation. The skill of the maker and his or her ability to work with the subtleties and variations of the material, allowing those variations to inform and exalt the conceptual and functional goals of the piece, is intrinsically tied in to the object’s design.
Studio Craft
Studio craft, though it takes many forms, can be thought of in general as the tendency to practice craft methodology in an environment similar if not equivalent to that of an artist's studio...
centered around one-of-a-kind or limited production furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
objects designed and built by craftspeople. The work is made in a craftsperson's studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
setting as opposed to being made in a high volume factory. This conception of the site of production as being a studio links studio furniture to studio art
Studio art
Studio art is made of art and studio, and the term has several implications depending on the context used. The term encompasses all art forms, be they performing or visual.-Definition:...
and reflects its status as an individual creative process. Studio furniture objects often embody creative and/or communicative intent, a unique design, elements of functionality (either implicit or explicit), craftsmanship, and an intimate understanding of material in their creation. Studio furniture objects, perhaps because of their close association with sculpture and other fine art, are shown as often in art galleries as they are in furniture showrooms. As is the case in the Studio Crafts at large, this contested identity is the impetus for frequent intra-field dialogue and differing intellectual positions on the matter.
Elements of Studio Furniture
DesignStudio Furniture incorporates the design process differently than Industrial Design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
or Product Design
Product design
-Introduction:Product design is the process of creating a new product to be sold by a business or enterprise to its customers. It is concerned with the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.Product designers conceptualize and...
, but the designing of the object is an integral and important part of its creation none-the-less. Because of the requisite functionality (or implied functionality) of Studio Furniture, makers must design objects so that they fulfill their intended physical purpose. For example, a functional chair must be able to support the weight of the human body in a sitting position. After this requirement is met, other purposes may also be supported; the chair might also be designed with certain ergonomic considerations for user comfort or it might additionally be able to support the body while standing or reclining. While the meeting of physical requirements links Studio Furniture to other design fields, the expression of personal creative intent links the practice to the Fine Arts. Design comes in to play in the realization of this intent as well; successful Studio Furniture must be designed to simultaneously meet conceptual needs without compromising its functional goals.
The practice of design within the field of Studio Furniture, as with other Studio Crafts, follows a trajectory that that is unique in terms of the process of making. The design process begins with preliminary sketches or models, but this is not a “preconceptualization of the finished work in all its elements and details” which would then be executed by a maker (separate from the designer), as it might be in a Product Design setting. According to Howard Risatti in “A Theory of Craft,” “instead of being separated into stages, conception and execution are integrated so that a subtle feedback system occurs when physical properties of materials encounter conceptual form and conceptual form encounters physical material” (p169). The design of the object, to a great degree, happens concurrently with its creation. The skill of the maker and his or her ability to work with the subtleties and variations of the material, allowing those variations to inform and exalt the conceptual and functional goals of the piece, is intrinsically tied in to the object’s design.
Further reading
- Edward S. Cooke Jr., Gerald W.R. Ward, and Kelly H L'Ecuyer, The Maker's Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, 2003.