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Take a Seat!
Take a Seat is an ongoing series of public furniture installations aimed at increasing the availability of seating options in New York City subway stations. Perfectly functional chairs are rescued from trash piles and reassigned to stations where limited seating options leave subway patrons no choice but to stand for extended periods of time.
(This is the best example of see something, say something that I've ever seen.) Take a Seat is an ongoing series of public furniture installations aimed at increasing the availability of seating options in New York... more -
Robotic Chair, Here the Seat grabs You
Your average work of cutting-edge contemporary art gets seen by maybe a few hundred, a few thousand people. So far, thanks to footage that has gone viral on YouTube, a motorized sculpture called "Robotic Chair" has been seen by almost a million people.
The piece, conceived by Canadian artist Max Dean, then realized as a collaboration with roboticist Raffaello D'Andrea and mechanic and sculptor Matt Donovan, consists of what seems to be a standard wooden chair. As you watch, it collapses with a crash, its legs and back and seat flying off in all directions. Then, over the course of the next 10 minutes, the chair's almost animate seat seeks out its missing back and legs, and the whole sculpture reassembles and rights itself.
Seen in person at Vancouver's Contemporary Art Gallery, where the much-traveled work is on view, it is tremendously effective. Yet to Dean's surprise, that impact seems to have survived translation onto computer screens.
"In 1985, when I became one of the artists in residence at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, I dreamt up this project about a chair that would fall apart and put itself back together again. I was thinking, 'What happens if there's an object that is out of our control?' I wanted the piece to determine its own state. That was one of the driving ideas, and a chair just seemed to be the natural thing to work with. They're everywhere, and we take them almost for granted, and we invest an enormous amount of trust in them. They're extensions of our body, almost.
"I wanted my chair to be very generic, and yet I wanted it to have this capacity to fall apart and put itself back together. At that time, I don't think it was conceivable to do it. The computing power wasn't even there. It was only in 2004 that I got together with Raff D'Andrea, and he came up with the idea of the chair seat being the robot itself. And it was only when we started building it that the whole metaphoric aspect of it -- the idea of falling -- became paramount in my mind. Falling seems to be everywhere in our Western culture. We fall in love, we fall into depression, we fall asleep.
"Because it's outside of what we normally know, I think everyone has come at the chair with a particularly interesting take. Kids cry in front of it. People applaud it. People laugh at it. People are cynical about it. There's such a range of emotions that go on in front of this thing that it's been overwhelming. I thought I was making a sculpture, and I realize that we have created a performer."
-- Interview conducted and condensed by Blake Gopnik
"Robotic Chair" is also on display at Flowers East gallery in London until Sept. 13. Visit http://www.flowerseast.com or http://www.roboticchair.com for information.. Your average work of cutting-edge contemporary art gets seen by maybe a few hundred, a few thousand people. So far, thanks to footage ... more -
Two Arrested for Turbo Chair
"Police in Germany have confiscated what's thought to be the world's fastest office chair.
Two 17-year-olds had pimped up the offending seat by adding a lawnmower engine, bicycle brakes and a metal frame.
The teenagers claimed they had only tested their contraption by riding it a few metres, but witnesses had reported seeing it whizzing about all over the streets of Gross-Zimmern.
The pair were arrested. Officers are considering charging them with a variety of offences - including riding a vehicle without insurance, licences or registration."
Now there's a way to increase office efficiency. "Police in Germany have confiscated what's thought to be the world's fastest office chair. ... more -
Design: laptop lounge chair
Totally awesome or pampered, indulged, ass-wiping for the twenty-first century?
With research showing that the most healthy position to be sitting in whilst at work is the 'leaning back slouch', I think this could actually catch on in forward-thinking workplaces. Although if they're anywhere like where I used to work, you'll have to make your own laptop chair, with a bar stool and a couple of canteen trays Cellotaped to either side ... Totally awesome or pampered, indulged, ass-wiping for the twenty-first century? ... more -
Clever Design - Table and 4 Chairs
What a cool design this table and chairs is! It looks like a nice contemporary garden ornament but comes apart to form a table and 4 chairs. Awesome! What a cool design this table and chairs is! It looks like a nice contemporary garden ornament but comes apart to form a table and 4 c... more
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Genghis Khan massage chair
The Japanese think of everything...
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pop a squat anywhere you want
extremely cool.i want one.though i dont mind sitting on the ground. its still cool
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Teen beats classmate with chair in taped attack
Los Angeles, CA - Just a week after a disturbing video of six teenagers beating up a former friend Victoria Lindsay began to circulate on the Internet, another violent teen video has surfaced. In Prescott, Arizona a fourteen-year-old girl was arrested after bashing a rival schoolmate unconscious with a folding chair. The incident was video taped by a fellow student.
According to Prescott Valley Police Commander P.J. Janik, the girls had been throwing sunflower seeds at each other in the school cafeteria when things escalated and the attacker picked up a chair and beat the 13-year-old victim in the head.
"This was an unfortunate event, but juveniles confronting and assaulting juveniles is occurs daily in school yards across the country," Janik told the Daily Courier. "This one just happened to be digitally taped and put on the Internet.
The victim, Taylor Hedlund, explained to ABC15 that she was eating her lunch when the attack occurred and was instantly knocked unconscious.
Authorities say that the attack had been planned, and the assailant had told another friend to record the incident on her cell phone. The video was later posted on myspace and youtube.
The 14-year-old is in custody at the Yavapai County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and interference with an educational institution.
Hedlund recovered from the violent incident with only a few bruises to her head.
School officials at Achieve Academy have refused to comment on the incident saying only that authorities were handling the matter. Los Angeles, CA - Just a week after a disturbing video of six teenagers beating up a former friend Victoria Lindsay began to circulate... more -
Chair Exam
Printed on a real 1200dpi digital paper in matte finish and then glued to very heavy stock black mat cardboard. Ready to be framed. All this done by hand and one at a time. Printed on a real 1200dpi digital paper in matte finish and then glued to very heavy stock black mat cardboard. Ready to be framed. Al... more
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Wicker Furniture: Changing old into new and useful
Restoring and altering wicker furniture is a great opportunity to get creative and add to your existing home decor. When choosing wicker furniture, keep your eye out for items with a unique shape and in good condition. Once you get them home, the fun part begins. See link for more.. http://www.helium.com/tm/505526/restoring-altering-wick... Restoring and altering wicker furniture is a great opportunity to get creative and add to your existing home decor. When choosing wick... more
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Class clowns beware - the rock-proof chair
Apparently 7,000 British school children need to go to hospital each year after injuring themselves by tipping backwards on chairs. Now a school teacher has given up his job and designed a school chair which he claims is impossible to tip backwards. Apparently 7,000 British school children need to go to hospital each year after injuring themselves by tipping backwards on chairs. No... more
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Zelfo - a 100% plant based bio-plastic with no glues or resins
bio-plastics from plants - no glues or resins or petro-chemicals
strong, mouldable, aesthetic - zelfo is the cellulose based future of plastics
checkout the peanut chair on www.zelfoaustralia.com bio-plastics from plants - no glues or resins or petro-chemicals ... more -
Worlds worst exercise machine!
"Well, it’s simple: it’s a chair that simulates hula dancing (read: virtual boning), enabling you to lose weight while doing daily tasks like hanging out, relaxing, taking a break and blogging."
Awesome I want one! "Well, it’s simple: it’s a chair that simulates hula dancing (read: virtual boning), enabling you to lose weight while doing dail... more -
Chairs - Cubicles Survival Guide
This weeks Survival Guide episode focuses on chairs, one of the more overlooked elements of office design that is really one of the most important. If you only get one thing from the episode, let it be that no joint is distracted more than five degrees. This weeks Survival Guide episode focuses on chairs, one of the more overlooked elements of office design that is really one of the m... more
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Amazing chair
I like it cos its cool... can't really work out what you'd use it for, but imagine if everything that broke fixed itself!! ;) I like it cos its cool... can't really work out what you'd use it for, but imagine if everything that broke fixed itself!! ;... more
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Current's new work chairs
I mean really. What is more important than the comfort of your employees?
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