Core77

View Chair: A new perspective by design

By Niti Bhan - September 14, 2008

in Object Culture

DaeKyung Ahn, who goes by DK Ahn, has a unique chair - View - on display at the 100% Design show, one that he has designed to teach us about how we make social judgements.

He makes a profound observation about how people see each other by their most obvious characteristic at a certain time or in a certain situation. Even when circumstances change for the other and his behavior changes accordingly, we don't tend to allow that second impression to enter or last in our minds as another "view" of the person. So, if a strong impression is made on us during a person's moment of anger, we will see that person as angry, despite a subsequent meeting in which the person is rational and calm.

In the material world, though, Ahn observes, people are more willing to accept different perspectives; they perceive, for example, that a table's legs are not perpendicular to the floor when seen from above, and they allow that vision to stay in their minds.

"It is very ironic that it is difficult to see the physical world through a particular view point without changing that view point in our mind," Ahn writes.

Ahn designs the View to teach social perspective, using his obvious mathematical skills to create a chair that is a perceptual puzzle. It is only through use of the chair that all of its views can eventually be seen, but even then the totality of the View will remain a mystery.

Another 'View' of the same chair after the gap. Text and photo credit InventorSpot

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eliot

16 years ago

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where is the definition of design does it say "if an object takes an artist statement to bring the message to the masses it is not design"
it may not be design as it may be seen in your head, but in the end you can't define that for everyone, and core77 doesn't have a social responsibility to present to us only good design. maybe, in the end, they only showed it because it was on display at at DESIGN show

hmmuhaha
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velodesigner

16 years ago

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This is not design. This sort of thought piece is what is wrong with Core77. If I wanted to see contemporary art I would not be visiting Core77. This underscores my conviction that if an object takes an artist statement to bring the message to the masses then it is not design. This is sad.
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