Artist:

David Ireland was born in Bellingham, WA in 1930. Native to the Northwest Washington coast, it is not surprising that he would return to his hometown to create and install an artwork on the Western Washington University campus.

David Ireland’s younger years were adventurous. In no hurry to get from point A to point B in a linear fashion, after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the Applied Arts program at California College of the Arts, Ireland spent the next 20 years serving in the military, starting a family, and traveling overseas primarily to Asia and Eastern Africa. Taking time to develop his perspective and inner voice, Ireland eventually returned to school to complete his graduate studies at San Francisco Art Institute. After finishing his schooling, Ireland spent the rest of his life “creating” art on a daily basis. However, to Ireland, art was not something you create, but rather learn to see.

Image of David Ireland’s eclectic home and exhibit at 500 Capp St. in San Francisco, CA. Featuring found objects and refurbished items, bending the realms of what art is.

Pushing the boundaries of functionality and art, he challenged the idea that there is a clear line separating the two. One of Ireland’s most famous quotes, “You can’t make art by making art”, speaks through in many of his works, such as his blow torch chandelier in his house at 500 Capp Street, San Francisco. Refurbishing and incorporating unexpected, scavenged items into his artwork, he lived his mentality that everything can be art.
An artist of numerous mediums, Ireland worked with raw materials of iron and metal in the creation of sculptural and architectural works, as well as paint, and even composite works involving audio recordings and narratives.

Sculpture:

David Ireland’s Bigger Big Chair, originally designed to be placed outside of the Wilson Library, is symbolic of knowledge and learning. Due to the large size and materials of this architectural structure, it was decided that the work would be moved to a hill past the Fairhaven campus. Although not resting in Ireland’s desired location, the current location adds additional interpretation to the piece. Tucked in a wooded area on a hillside, nearly completely out of sight unless deliberately searching for it, the steal armchair acts as a silent guardian. Pointing into the heart of the Western campus, the chair seems to evoke a sense of authority, setting high expectations and educational standards for all of Western’s inhabitants.

Image showing a model for one of Ireland’s chairs.

David Ireland’s work on the WWU campus, Bigger Big Chair, completed in 2007, is the fourth of its kind. The first three sculptures were Big Chair (1997), The Big Chair (1999), and Big Chair (2000). In exhibitions, Ireland set the chairs up in a way that the viewer would first view them as an abstract figure, and then perceive it as a chair. He sometimes referred to his chairs as ‘paintings’ to add to the sense of mental dislocation. Interested in the phenomenon of illusion, Ireland explored Eastern cultures where religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism are prevalent, noting that people are prepared to believe that everything is an illusion. This interest lead him to pose the question, “So what’s the difference between painting being an illusion and some other object being an illusion, as well?” This idea manifested itself repeatedly in the history of Ireland’s work, including Bigger Big Chair. Richard Artschwager, another architectural artist of Ireland’s time, was also influential. They both created furniture-type works that embodied characteristics of sculptures.

The presidential election of George W. Bush occurred during the time Ireland was creating Bigger Big Chair. This of course brought on nationwide attention to political consciousness. Ireland shared this consciousness and it was visible in his end results of Bigger Big Chair. The sculpture’s unusual size and simple form presented “a visual catalyst for thinking”. Ireland’s influencer, Artschwager, even defined Ireland’s work as “thought experiencing itself”.

Although political and cultural mindsets of the time and artists, like Artschwager, had a great impact on Ireland’s work, he strived for uniqueness and focused on ‘real time’. This was to avoid producing art that was cliche. Not wanting his works to be perceived as simply art, he attempted to blur the lines between art and the everyday world. In the case of Bigger Big Chair, Ireland blurred these lines by creating a common object–a chair, out of a raw, organic material and putting it in a natural setting.

Spending most of his life along the West Coast, Ireland’s reverence for natural beauty inspired him to focus on organic silence and to be still in the presence of nature. Permanently planted in a quiet area surrounded by trees, Bigger Big Chair clearly emphasizes these two characteristics and embodies an appreciation for nature that is shared throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Bibliography:

Tsujimoto, Karen, et al. The art of David Ireland: the way things are. University of California Press, 2003.

http://www.sfai.edu/exhibitions-public-events/detail/david-ireland

https://wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/category/southcampus2/ireland/

http://500cappstreet.org/david-ireland

Video audio: Tyler, the Creator. “Enjoy Right Now, Today”

Group Members:

Kindra Neuman
Ashley Leaper