Nature Built in Furniture – Illustrated Feature

[display_podcast]

Nature Built into Furniture

Everywhere we go, we always see furniture. Furniture is what makes our rooms unique and comfortable. Furniture comes in different colors, different sizes, and is made up of different simple shapes such as circles, rectangles, and squares. However, how often do we see furniture that incorporates nature into the design?

The Delorenzo Gallery on 956 Madison Avenue has extraordinary antique furniture made up of mostly artificial objects in nature and daily human items. In recognition of artists during the French Art Deco period, the gallery mainly focuses on 20^th Century art (Arc Deco period). According to www.answers.Com art deco is “A decorative and architectural style of the period 1925-1940, characterized by geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of plastic and glass”. The museum has acquired and sold many antique artworks during that period, and the exhibit displays the artwork of various artists.

The Delorenzo Gallery has myriad types of furniture ranging from lamps to chairs. Each piece of furniture is delicately made, so delicate that one would rather admire it for the whole day than use it. As I walk around the museum, I noticed that each piece had some sort of mock creatures included in it such as shells, birds, and vases. The details of nature incorporated into the display added a twist to the furniture, and made it more enchanting that regular furniture at a department store.  The twist is neither too dramatic nor too simple, and gives the piece of furniture a different perspective compared to typical furniture.

Although the artists do not use the natural colors of the object, the imitated objects on the furniture themselves stand out without the color, and serve to connect humans to nature. The use of synthetic designs of nature on these furniture items makes the furniture much more majestic and unique. Each mock detailed nature pieces is well incorporated into the antique furniture and has a relationship and meaning with the overall piece. The details further enhance the structure of the furniture.

For example, Andre Groult designed a pair of chairs that integrates synthetic spiraling shells on the front legs and a leopard skin fabric for the seat instead of a regular rectangular leg with a plain color fabric. The spiraling shells, which goes from top to bottom, makes the chair look much more expensive and stronger. Shells are usually hard, and by incorporating shells into the chair not only does it enhance the beauty and uniqueness of the furniture, but further symbolizes the sturdiness of the chair thus making one feel that it is safe for sitting. In addition, the soft leopard skin fabric portrays a feeling of comfort and coziness, and gives the chair a wild and exotic feeling. Overall, the chair gives off a sense of sturdiness and comfort because of its intricate, yet astonishing details of nature.

However, another designer wanted to design a chair that revealed a more sturdy and stronger feeling. Armad- Albert Rateau created a bronze armchair with complicated details of scales and shells. The back of the chair and the seat are made up of meticulous fish, and the arms of the chair are made up of shells. Again, shells and scales are both hard objects especially in this case since they are made of medallions. By including scales and shells, the chair now presents a robust appearance. In general, the seat itself does not look sturdy because it is made up of rows of linked chains of fish, which creates cutouts or an open holed effect. If one of the chains breaks off, one would not be able to sit in it. Thus, by adding these little details into the chair, it makes the chair much more durable.

Other furniture such as Jean Dunand’s cabinet gives people a sense of security and provides a warning to outsiders. His furniture has engraved details of dogs on the furniture with one dog engraved on the top part of the cabinet that is watching the two other dogs have a conversation on the bottom of the cabinet. In nature and in the human’s world, dogs are symbols of loyalty. The fact that these dogs are engraved on the cabinet sends out a message to the owners that these dogs will protect their property. The tiny detail of a dog watching two other dogs is like a warning sign to strangers that they are being watched. Using nature to his advantage, Dunand was able to create a piece of furniture that makes people feel comfortable to have their possessions kept inside this cabinet, and may lead to customers to buy this product.

In addition to the pieces mentioned above, other artists used leaves, flowers, and geese to represent beauty, elegance, and gentleness in their designs. Birds to symbolized strength and alertness. In general, no matter what part of nature the artists used, it is well- fitted with the furniture, and it portrayed the artists’ goals and feelings in a subtle way.

Overall, by using designs of artificial creatures in natural, the artwork gave people a different view on simple furniture, and made the furniture much more extraordinary.  The designs were neither too extreme nor simple. This gallery showed that by adding small details (in this case nature), it can evoke a different feeling, and manipulate people into thinking that something is worth more or is stronger than it really looks.