About the Artist

David Ireland was born in Bellingham, WA in 1930. He attended Western Washington University and studied industrial design and printmaking at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.

After serving twenty years in the United States Army, Ireland started an artifacts import business and traveled across the globe. Ireland then transported his business to San Francisco, and met his wife while subsequently committing himself to his practice while in his late 40s. Centering his works around the concepts of zen and the respect for the representations of everyday life and passage of time, Ireland created many works such as Broom Collection With Boom, South China Chairs, and Dumb Balls. His home and studio, 500 Capp Street, exemplifies Ireland’s practice in multiple aspects. Portraying Ireland’s eye for both art and architecture, 500 Capp Street serves as an analog for his mind: the value placed in preserving artifacts that are in themselves works of art is evident. It was here that Ireland’s artistic method came to fruition.

Rejecting traditional methods of creating art, Ireland opted for a creative process akin to that of Duchamp: taking preexisting objects and creating something new that held deeper meaning. Ireland passed away in 2009 at the age of 78.

About the Work

Bigger big chair is a twelve foot tall sculpture of a chair made from the sweeping curves of cut metal slabs. Due to this, looking at it the viewer cannot help but feel its weight: and in fact it is around 16,000 pounds.

This weight, that some say help to give it a sense of distinction and authority, like that of a throne, also posed an issue during construction. The chair was initially meant to be placed in front of the university’s library, but due to the immense weight and concerns for the underground infrastructure, was placed on a small hill far away from the center of campus.

Many say this hill, obscure and located between Buchanan Towers and Fairhaven College, would not have pleased Ireland or his vision. Yet, despite this, the work is exemplary of his practice. The sculpture is of an oversized chair, something that he was fascinated with, as Ireland walked the line between art and architecture in his work. Along with this, Ireland’s works often make the viewer think about reality. The chair is no exception. This, in addition to symbolizing education, learning, and authority, gives Bigger Big Chair its identity.

Our Experience

A piece like this is not about the artist or the work, but rather the viewer. It provides a mirror into oneself, which depicts the viewer as they truly are rather than what their superego wants to be. Do they see a sad, lonely, old, empty armchair? Or do they see a powerful, unapologetic, robust, stoic throne? Analyzing someone’s response to the question “what do you see when you look at this work” would be a fantastic personality test. Bigger Big Chair invites the audience to sit and contemplate beside it. It provokes no answers, only questions. The most important aspect of this work is what the viewer sees in it, because the work itself is just a few sheets of metal welded together; the actual art takes place within the viewers psyche.

Credits:

Website by Bev Winant, Addison Brock, and Will Jones

Collage by Bev Winant