White noise

August 2, 2005 10:18 AM

White plastic chairs - Jens Thiel blogs his research of the ubiquitous chair we all love to hate for an upcoming monobloc monograph and museum exhibition. The first chair emerged midcentury, devil spawn of a noble heritage. Today, some fear the monobloc population rivals or exceeds that of humans. Some view the chair as art, others see their place in history, but I agree with the wag who dubs them tupperware containers for lard butts.
posted by madamjujujive (20 comments total)

"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Bush said. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes."

Sooo...increased funding for comparative religion classes, then?
posted by The Dryyyyy Cracker at 10:19 AM on August 2, 2005

Ah shit...two windows open, posted in the wrong one. My bad. Please delete.
posted by The Dryyyyy Cracker at 10:20 AM on August 2, 2005

expensive designer chairs of the 50s = art.

chairs for the people = devil spawn, lard butts, tupperware.

some people have too much time on their hands.
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:39 AM on August 2, 2005

Why does everybody hate the white plastic chair?
I, for one, am tired of all this white plastic chair bashing.
If you don't like the white plastic chair, why get out and move to another, different chair.
White plastic chair: Love it or leave it.
posted by mk1gti at 10:44 AM on August 2, 2005

Here's a good site for info on other plastic chairs for those thinking of relocating: Design Within Reach
posted by mk1gti at 10:48 AM on August 2, 2005

3.2.3 "chairs for the people = devil spawn, lard butts, tupperware."

I dunno, if you actually read the linked article, it seems pretty fair to the chairs. Maybe not to fat people, but to the chairs.
posted by Bugbread at 10:50 AM on August 2, 2005

More on the chair in a Smithsonian article (PDF) published last year.
posted by beagle at 10:58 AM on August 2, 2005

White plastic chairs are good luck, even if you've got a capacious backside.
posted by OmieWise at 11:10 AM on August 2, 2005

I have no white plastic chairs, mine are all of the minority, green plastic chair variety. This doesn't mean they're less capable than the white, caucasian plastic chairs, just different.
posted by mk1gti at 11:15 AM on August 2, 2005

I, for one, welcome our new plastic monobloc overlords. (sorry, it had to be said).
posted by CommaTheWaterseller at 12:32 PM on August 2, 2005

madamjujujive.... turning orginary white plastic subjects into FPPs that are works of art.
posted by three blind mice at 12:40 PM on August 2, 2005

My favorite "chair art" would have to be Shapeshifter, a whale skeleton made out of monoblock chairs.
posted by O9scar at 1:08 PM on August 2, 2005

I'm sitting on my new Rex folding armchair, of which I just took delivery of just a few moments ago.
I was looking for something like the Eames Plywood lounge chair that wouldn't break the bank but was still hours-long comfy and storable to boot. Ahhhh, bliss. . .
posted by mk1gti at 2:38 PM on August 2, 2005

nk1gti "I'm sitting on my new Rex folding armchair"

You paid $128 for a folding chair.

Can I have some money?
posted by Bugbread at 2:47 PM on August 2, 2005

It's not just any folding chair. It's a folding *lounge* chair. There's a difference. Go to a Design Within Reach store and give it a test sit. A test sit doesn't mean just jump in and jump out, it means go there, sit down, stretch out, move around, close your eyes, *live* in the chair for a bit. Go ahead, they won't mind. There are other people coming in who buy buttloads of their more expensive stuff, they're just banking on you coming back and being one of them if you buy the cheap stuff first.
To put things in perspective, I've got some serious back problems so I have to be extra fussy about choosing a chair.
This thing will beat any cushy chair hands down. 'Course I could be just b.s.ing you. . . The only way to find out is. . . Take the sit challenge.
posted by mk1gti at 3:06 PM on August 2, 2005

mk1gti : "To put things in perspective, I've got some serious back problems so I have to be extra fussy about choosing a chair. "

Ok, that makes quite a bit of sense.

mk1gti : "'Course I could be just b.s.ing you. . . The only way to find out is. . . Take the sit challenge."

No problem. Their nearest store, according to their site, is only 4784 miles away, so if you'll spring for the plane ticket, I'm game ^_^
posted by Bugbread at 3:51 PM on August 2, 2005

I actually did look to see if there was a store in Tokyo. I also did a search for 'Rex armchair Tokyo' but couldn't come up with anything. Hopefully if you ever get the chance. . . (^_^)
I got the idea for a wood chair from a book I read called The Chair. The author's not to big on cushy chairs, but then again, she's not to big on bucket seats in cars, so what does that tell you?
I've been sitting in this chair for a few hours now doing my thang and after getting up a few minutes ago, for the first time in about a month I haven't been stiff when standing up. Very unusual indeed.
posted by mk1gti at 4:26 PM on August 2, 2005

Cheap and ubiquitous can be a wonderful thing. One of the most creative uses of these chairs is the wheelchair created to provide mobility assistance to impoverished nations, distributed by Free Wheelchair Mission. Using the white plastic chair as a base, a fairly tough wheelchair can be created for roughly $42. (via Reader's Digest)
posted by kyleg at 5:35 PM on August 2, 2005

Wow, that was a great link. Good to see that white plastic chairs are doing their part to make the world a happier place (^_^)
posted by mk1gti at 6:16 PM on August 2, 2005

I Love My Chair is a coffee table book-to-be with individually submitted images of people's chairs and stories of those chairs. It's a project by user research firm Sense Worldwide who like to create artifacts or events that reflect the culture they are detecting (see NoWax, their take on iPod-DJing).
posted by stevil at 5:53 PM on August 10, 2005