About David Ireland

David Ireland was born in 1930. He grew up with three sisters in Bellingham, Washington. He first attended Western Washington University with a concentration in art and mathematics in 1948 and then went to California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. In 1953, Ireland graduated from CCAC with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and a minor in Printmaking. After being drafted into the United States Army and then travelling for a few years, Ireland returned to Bellingham and married Joanne Westford in 1961. The couple soon started a family and Ireland decided to move them to San Francisco because of his growing clientele base. In 1970 Ireland and his wife divorced and Ireland enrolled in graduate school at the San Francisco Art Institute to refocus on art.

About Bigger Big Chair

Ireland created the piece, Bigger Big Chair for Western Washington University. From creation to installation, Ireland worked on it from 2004 to 2006. The sculpture is a 12 and a half foot chair that is made out of painted steel plate. Ireland originally intended for the sculpture to be placed in front of Western’s Wilson Library but was due to it’s heavy weight and large size it had to be placed elsewhere. Bigger Big Chair is now in on a hill next to a walking path in between Buchanan Towers and Fairhaven College. This chair is meant to symbolize the gaining of knowledge and a symbol of ambition and the size represents significance and strength.

What Bigger Big Chair Means to Us

We chose to focus on the interaction between the sculpture and the students who walk past it every day. Being a part of a college campus means that it gets used for more than what it may have been originally intended, and we chose to show that through our video. Using simple surveillance techniques, we created a time-lapse film of ourselves and various other students interacting with this work of art.

As you can see, not many people noticed the large piece next to their path. Many times people are too caught up in their own world to recognize the beauty of art all around them. This chair provides a place for people to sit and relax, read or enjoy the sun. Instead many people pass by it without even acknowledging its presence.

Credits

Administrator and Video Editor: Lauren Hunnewell

Researcher and Videographer: Emily Keogh

Researcher and Videographer: Jack MacCleary

Music: Lands End by Underbelly

Gross, Jennifer R., and Karen Tsujimoto. The Way Things Are: the Art of David Ireland. University of California Press, 2003.

“Bigger Big Chair.” Bigger Big Chair | Western Gallery, Western Washington University.

Hughes, Josh. “Hidden in Plain Sight.” The AS Review, Admin, 22 Jan. 2018.