Wassily×Bobo

2021

Ruston, Louisiana USA

¼” and ½” birch plywood, metal zip-ties, ¼”–20 machine screws, wing nuts, red electrical tape, faux Wassily Chair frame.

Created in the mid 1920’s, the Wassily chair was a child of the modernist movement, and inspired by, light-weight, bent bike frames and mass production. The chair’s intentions are a minimal appearance – wrapping many functions into singular components, the form follows its function. This interpretation of the Wassily chair exploits those visual and physical functions of the original. The new materials and connections reveal the true mood and identity of the chair – raw and industrial.

Smoking was widely accepted and perceived as a non-harmful activity in the 1920’s. Today it is viewed on the opposite end of the spectrum with clinical research to back up the perception. The addition of the ashtray echoes the chairs change in identity. What was considered glamorous, and a luxury is now a coarse, and almost crude thing.

The Wassily x Bobo Chair brings to light what Marcel Bruer was trying to hide through modern/minimal design. Using industrial materials, the new details and connections reveal the streamlined functions of the original, revealing the chair’s true identity.