Side Chair c. 1936

Editor: So this is Rolland Livingstone's "Side Chair," around 1936, a drawing on paper. I'm really struck by the design of the chair back. It’s like a shield or even a stylized flower. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The "shield" back is fascinating, isn’t it? It speaks of both protection and display. Notice the floral arrangement, like a blossoming scepter—evokes regality, doesn't it? There's an interesting tension between domesticity and symbolic power, a functional object elevated through heraldic and organic motifs. Have you noticed other objects in the past use this approach to communicate with viewers? Editor: Hmm, I guess it makes me think of how coats-of-arms used to denote lineage and authority in domestic items. Curator: Exactly! And think about the shapes used. Do they conjure other familiar images or architectural details? That palmette at the crest is like a crown or ancient capital. The tapering forms perhaps reference classical Greek klismos chairs. Rolland seems to draw from different periods to subtly build this hierarchy within a simple chair. Editor: It’s like a hidden language built into the design, then. A sort of visual history! Curator: Precisely. Each curve, each carefully placed line is imbued with potential meaning, drawing upon collective cultural memory to shape our understanding and experience of this everyday object. It becomes more than just a chair, but an icon. Editor: I never would have seen all that just looking at it initially! It really does transform a basic object. Curator: And isn't that what makes design so powerful? The ability to encode so much within the seemingly mundane.