| The thesis project Subject to Change consists of six individual works that are reflective of my understandings of furniture design as a subjective craft. While there are many indicators that help users recognize an object as furniture, the way these indicators are presented to the users has remained fundamentally the same for hundreds of years. Through researching the social history of furniture, and discussing the romanticizing of wood as a material, I wanted to better understand why the presentation of furniture has remained relatively the same for so long, and if it were at all possible to change these presentations without changing the indicators.;To do this, I decided to create pieces that used furniture forms that were familiar to users, such as wooden cabinets and flat wooden surfaces, in combination with steel forms that are derivative of other functional objects, including tools and architectural structures, but are rendered unfamiliar through a change of scale, proportion, and context. The results are fully functional tables and cabinets that are both inviting and remained true to the craft of furniture making (at least in part), but are also precarious in their presentations, and do not necessarily read as functional at first glance.;The exhibition Subject to Change was installed in the University Gallery at San Diego State University, on view from April 25 th through May 5th, 2016. |
