Shaker inspired Interplay
Instructors – Evan Farley and Nancy Nichols
Collaboration with Andrew Rushing
2022
Looking back at Shaker furniture, this project questions and provokes the interplay between furniture and art object. The assembly of objects is tied together by a 45° French cleat, which allows the objects to hang from the wall. How do the objects’ dimensions speak to one another while stored on the wall? How can their forms be engaged by the user for functional means?
The role of the vernacular and standardization is further questioned by the provocation of only using ¾” plywood and including an arc in every piece. This installation of proto-furniture along a hallway in the building that houses the department of architecture at RISD opens up opportunities for the end-user to engage with the work and aims to blur the line between art installation and practicality.