Eliyahu's chair - Rietveld
As part of my studies on brit milah* and Eliyahu chairs,** I wanted to center a new reflection around a design monument, the Rietveld Red Blue Chair***. Wonderful in its simplicity, this design has been a major source of inspiration in my work. The chair relies on simple shapes for focused use.
By extending the legs and adding a base, the user is able to get the best seated position during the ceremony. I sought to preserve all the design codes, while adjusting the back's inclination to transform the chair's purpose. The "grafitti" on the top bar is my only design transgression: the creative phrase,
״זה הכיסא של אליהו הנביא זכור לטוב״
"This is the Seat of Elijah the Prophet, may he be remembered for good".
These words inscribe the chair with its new purpose; now it is something else.
Personal project
2022
*"Brit Milah is the ceremony during which a circumcision is performed on Jewish baby boys when they are 8 days old. This ceremony is important for many Jewish people as it is a symbol of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Watch as this family shares why they think the ceremony of Brit Milah is important."
(Source: Jewish Museum, London)
**"According to Jewish tradition, the Prophet Eliyahu is present at every circumcision, protecting the baby boy. And so “Eliyahu’s Chair” is the name given to the seat of the godfather who holds the infant during this ceremony."
(Source: Israel Museum, Jerusalem)
***"In the Red Blue Chair, Rietveld manipulated rectilinear volumes and examined the interaction of vertical and horizontal planes in much the same way as he did in his architecture. Although the chair was originally designed in 1918, its color scheme of primary colors (red, yellow, blue) plus black—so closely associated with the Dutch de Stijl art and architecture movement—was applied around 1923. Hoping that much of his furniture would eventually be mass-produced rather than handcrafted, Rietveld aimed for simplicity in construction. The pieces of wood that compose the Red Blue Chair are in the standard lumber sizes readily available at the time.
Rietveld believed that there was a greater goal for the furniture designer than just physical comfort: the well-being and comfort of the spirit. Rietveld and his de Stijl colleagues—including the movement’s most famous theorist and practitioner, Piet Mondrian—sought to create a utopia based on a harmonic human-made order, which they believed could renew Europe after the devastating turmoil of World War I. New forms, in their view, were essential to this rebuilding."
Publication excerpt from MoMA Highlights: 375 Works from The Museum
of Modern Art, New York (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019)
