In the comments following the link, logruszed successfully predicted that a "predictable retard" at Feministing would pick this up. I have no idea how he predicted that, I mean, it's such a subtle piece . . .

Um...that position is not possible to hold. 125 pounds all on your toes? Come the eff on!

though rather artistic, this is kinda creepy. i think it's interesting how very idealized the 'impression' of the female form is. does the artist/designer make other chairs made with women's shapes of other shapes? (sorry, couldn't figure out a better way to word that...i'm rather sleep deprived >.

I actually think this is kind of cool. I don't think it's a kneeling form as much as sitting...like sitting on someone's lap...and I'm all about art that celebrates the female form, skinny or no.

I can't tell (there's no front view), but it looks like sitting in this will give you one hell of a wedgie.

And if you wanted to shift around after sitting for a while, it would be uncomfortable.

If it's about function, I don't think it will work very well. If it's just about form, it's tacky as hell.

"I can't tell (there's no front view), but it looks like sitting in this will give you one hell of a wedgie." - ellestar

Especially if it turns out to be a guy. ;)

Who's to say it's a woman? I've seen some men with pretty shapely bums and narrow waists!

Disembodied female or male can be actually in good taste.

I think this chair is OK. Unlike, say, pencil sharpener and other shocking pieces from this series.

This is, um, creepy.

Yeah I was also alot more offended by the pencil sharpener and some of the others we've had on here then this. Especially since you can't really tell if this is a man or a woman, could be either really.

biancamarisa:
Ha ha! I liked this guy's comment: "Think of this as a Jell-o mold for women. Just make them sit in there a few hours a day and they can maintain that shape for a lifetime. At least from behind. It might get tragic if they puffed out the front like a muffin in a bakery."

You know, because women are just like food too.

I've never seen a man with hips like that, personally...

Also, you guys, one way to think about this is not "is it tacky" but rather simply that when you look at so-called "fine art" as presented in our particular culture, something like 90% of nude representations are women, whereas only like 4% of artists in museums are women. The Guerilla Girls have those stats, so I've just estimated from memory.

I guess I've just not seen enough naked men to think this looks like anything other than a woman. :P Seriously, that's pretty darn feminine.

At the same time, the color and symmetry of it is rather pleasing. Plus I really like the feet for some reason.

If this was a sculpture, then I think I'd rather like it. But since it's just supposed to be functional... it does seem to commodify the feminine form. Plus, imagining four of them situated around someone's dining room table gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's like having a rotating heart-shaped bed with a leopard print mattress.

yeah, at first i was a bit offended. but then i got over it and i think its sort of a neat idea.

"hey check out my sweet-ass chair"

doesn't look very comfortable, though.

balthazar- are you by chance a xkcd fan?

http://www.xkcd.com/37/

Who's to say it's a woman?

The chair is named "Her." So, yeah, clearly supposed to be female.

This thread made me think about all of the disembodied male parts for sale... penises... and... uh... thats about it.

Dont get me wrong, you can find penis is almost any form: wood, glass, plastic, ceramic, rubber, latex, synthetic composite, metal... I'm quite amazed at the variety.

Why is it that only the penis is objectified? are there not any naked men statues, any naked men artwork? It seems women's objectification of men seems to focus on one single part of the body.

I guess men objectify thier own bodies when you think about it. It seems like all they ever care about is the size of thier dongs...

They seem to really enjoy sex. I wish women could enjoy sex that much!

KabataÅŸ: are there not any naked men statues, any naked men artwork?

Surely you're joking, Kabatas?

I was being sarcastic, btw.

"They seem to really enjoy sex. I wish women could enjoy sex that much!"

Most of us do. Sex isn't just a man's pleasure.

I'm not particularly offended by the chair itself, but that squatting position looks terribly uncomfortable.

This chair seems like a fun start to a series, and if you track waaaay back to the original source (casamania.it, under "prodotti"->"sedie") there's also a male version in the same position. They're both highly idealized, so that's not great, but it's a fun concept.

I really like the insights and the commentary at this site. But...I do react very strongly to images like these. They are just too painful, stick in my head (sort of haunt me )for days.
It is IMPORTANT to spread awareness of the existence of type of thing, but I would appreciate a link with a warning.
Keep up the good work.

Wow...

There is like a major void in critical/analytical thinking on this thread.

This is not, is it pretty? Is it tasteful? Or can nude women be represented in respectful, positive ways? That's not always the issue.

The issue is rather that, no matter how beautifully or tastefully nude women are represented, why /in our culture/ are the vast majority of most represented nudes women?(David is like, hella old, btw. And which old/ancient art is displayed in our museums is totally skewed per gender representation, in comparison with how many male nudes were created by the ancients)

It has to do with how our culture treats women's and men's bodies differently, and that's very much a feminist issue...

I like this. I like the aesthetics, I like the reference to Verner Panton's chair... and it's not squatting, imagine yourself sitting on a chair with your legs just folded under the chair. I sometimes sit like that. To me it's a captured moment of sitting. And compared with all the pencil sharpeners and stuff, this is a totally different level. Like comparing porn with, say, Cranach's painting of Adam and Eve. You know, it's all about naked people so there cannot be any differences:D

"They seem to really enjoy sex. I wish women could enjoy sex that much!"

Duh....maybe they simply dont enjoy sex with you? Cuz most of the womyn on this forum enjoy a nice rumble in the sack 9with men or womyn). How embarrassing for you!

"Why is it that only the penis is objectified? "

If you check on amazon.com, they have a crap load of books about every part of the mans body that is depicted erotic books. Pick your preferance. Gay men also like penises BTW. Its not ONLY about the penis.

When a man objectifies a woman he is communicating to her oppressive misogynistic implications about her as a woman. He is also perpetuating and acting as an extension for the societal statius quo of disrespecting her. You seem to be implying from a false believe that men like sex (or are more sexual) than women, that somehow this is acceptable behavior and we as women simply misinterpret as offensive when in reality (according to you) men are simply acting naturally. You seem to be confused about this.

"You know, it's all about naked people so there cannot be any differences:D"

Way to ignore my posts and totally miss the point of the thread...

You know, there are muliple levels to objectification... something can be beautiful and tasteful, and still be problematic when you look at the big picture...

This is not unlike the argument many male chauvanists use, who say they just want to be able to "protect" and "care" for women, who are "beautiful" and "delicate" creatures...
Yes, it's phrased in positives, and it's not obviously hateful towards women. That doesn't mean it doesn't have some negative repercussions...

I happen to work as an art model, btw.

Most of my experiences working with artists have been positive. They've been respectful, and even called me beautiful.

Of course, by telling me this they are assuming that their opinion will hold weight with me. Think about the implications... Sometimes they call me their muse... bear in mind I'm not doing much besides standing there, naked. (Although some /do/ actually talk to me... that's always nice)

You know what else? Somewhat to my disappointment, nearly every artist who's contacted me for work was male. Wonder why that is? Do you know in the field of art women artists have a comparitively more difficult time reaching success?

I don't find the chair particularly offensive. I can certainly see why some might. I support celebrating the female form, but not exploiting it. I despise the pencil sharpener, the bike, and the urinals. I take insult to the fact that this is a chair, meant for sitting in, but as an art piece, it could be lovely. That said, I would also like to say that I would definitely not have it in my house.

Nina: I guessed that the irony of the sentence was quite apparent in the context of m post. I even added the smiley. I meant to say that (a) I don't find this chair annoying (b) there are much worse things, this has at least some aesthetic values and (c) the artistic values of this chair are way above the pencil sharpeners and what else there was. You don't call any artistic representation that uses nudes porn only because it uses nudes. I picked Adam and Eve as an example because in Medieval art, there was a good amount of really awful sexism added to it and yet the theme could be depicted in very powerful and beautiful ways.

Thinking of it, there's always some meaning and perception in the mind of the artist and another in the eye of the beholder that might be totally different. I'll skip a line of thoughts, I'll make a final conclusion that life is subjective which enables us to discuss, argue and yell at fellow humans. Life would be terribly boring if we were all the same

Peace.

"You don't call any artistic representation that uses nudes porn only because it uses nudes. "

No one is calling the chair "porn". People were saying that the chair is an example of the objectification of women...
That pretty significant difference seems to be lost on you, somehow...

it doesn't strike me as demeaning like some of the other products that have been posted on here. I like it, its very pretty

whoever sits on it though would look ridiculous though.