Big Data / Small Finds
Custom designed CNC routed birch wood, painted in the Etruscan color range
Made in collaboration with artists and fabricator Kevin Cook
This chair is a reinterpretation of the American Empire style Klismos designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe - for James & Dolley Madison’s White House (Latrobe also designed the city hall clock tower visible through the window).
The surface designs reflect the historical research surrounding Centennial of the Everyday, from the borders that mimic the woodwork at Gadsby’s, to Martha Washington’s shell embroidery pattern. Other images include the DAR wheel, architectural schematics from Gadsby's, the Female Stranger's tomb, abolitionist and masonic historical imagery, and a Google Drive folder which held hundreds of documents shared collaboratively between the artists.
Finally, the image on the seat is a mixture of early American eagle and shield crests. The eagle is clasping a two pronged fork, a spoon, and a pencil reflecting the tools of the historic tavern and the artists themselves.
Centennial of the Everyday is a collaboration of Lauren Frances Adams and Stewart Watson
images courtesy Vince Lupo
