For the past 5 years, Philadelphia area artist Robert
Dodge has based his work solely on recreating and
redefining the chair. He has made hundreds and
hundreds of chairs. All are nonfunctional sculptural
objects constructed of wood and finished with acrylic
paint. Among the variations of chairs, Dodge
experiments with scale from miniature to life-size,
proportion, color, design, and style. His obsessive
exploration of this singular form is a conceptual
exercise that is seemingly endless.
Dodge's chairs are presented in groups to convey their
enormous diversity and massive quantity. They are
often whimsical in presence as a result of their
eccentric attributes and folk art appearance. Dodge's
installation of 500 tiny chairs, each approximately
2"-6" high, is symbolic of the artist's vision.
Displayed in a field-like arrangement, the amassed
chair forms allude to continued growth and
exploration.
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You can make your own miniature chairs for those on a
tight budget - and short on time. Linda (and now Betsy
and Sandy) know how long the full size chairs take.
I will add the Dodge example to the paper mache lesson
page.
