Contemporary Art Inspires Students In Chair Design Competition
Contemporary Art Inspires Students In Chair Design Competition
The principles of contemporary art was the theme that inspired students at Ryerson School of Interior Design to design and build chairs for the 16th Annual Wilsonart Challenges Student Chair Design Competition.
Beyond basic form and function, each design was also informed by how students used expressive and stylistic contemporary elements such as movement, proportion, contrast or balance.
When creating their chairs, students used patterns from the Wilsonart® Laminate Collection.
Wilsonart, a world-class innovator of next generation engineered surfaces, created Wilsonart Challenges, which is both a sponsored class and a competition. During the year-long program, students learn how to design and build a one-of-a-kind chair, as well as how to prepare for a major trade show.
Introducing the program more than a decade ago, the Wilsonart Challenges is the longest-running sponsored student design class in North America.
Each year, a different design school hosts #WilsonartChallenges. This year, Wilsonart worked with The Ryerson School of Interior Design and with the University’s Creative Technology Lab at FCAD, an advanced technology-based workshop that supports creative research, specialized curriculum and entrepreneurship activities across all nine FCAD Schools and Ryerson Zones. It is the first year Wilsonart Challenges has been held at a school in Canada.
Amy Yan won the 2020 competition with her design “THE NOT LOVESEAT.” Her chair is a playful commentary on the dualistic nature of both human relationships and architectural volumes. The two curved seat backs appear to be under significant tension as though the chair is being stretched apart by the sheer volume that make up the two seats.
The resulting image could be a heart or viewed as a peace symbol suggesting that the chair embraces the dualities of love and peace along with the notions of splitting and separation. Amy’s chair poses a fundamental question; can these seemingly opposing notions exist together? Going a step further, can they even exist without each other as conflicting as they may seem? The judges noted that Amy’s chair was the perfect dialog between art and design.
“Ryerson emphasized hands on knowledge of materials more than any other school we have ever seen. The result is the outstanding quality in craftsmanship of the final chairs,” noted Grace Jeffers, design historian and Wilsonart Challenges program director.
“From a chair that explored the contrasting relationship between life and death to one which offers a playful commentary on the history of art and design, this year’s students have beautifully expressed both stylistic and functional elements of contemporary art,” noted Tammy Weadock, communications manager at Wilsonart. “Contemporary art is an ideal guidepost for designing with laminate, a modern material which inspires new designs and applications each day. Once again, we are overwhelmed with the students’ creativity and the artistry used to design and build these beautiful chairs.”
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