ERNST (Neufert) I
(2018)240 x 95 x 200 cm
timber, fabric and paint
shown at except for access only, Malta Contemporary Art
Dear Ernst, departing from a set
of normative rules I constructed something that is not so obviously evaluated,
measured, quantified nor categorized. Some have argued that the structure
turned a set of ‘recommended heights’ into an ironic illustration of industry
standards and an impossible piece of furniture. I hope you are not taking any
offence.
The incorporated recommended heights are 40 cm for a bench; 75 cm for a desk; 85 cm for an exhibition table; 110 cm for a desk counter; and 202 cm for the height of Ikea’s most sold bookcase ‘Billy’.
The world of architecture and furniture has been fascinated with normative rules for design and ergonomics since you first published your notorious reference book Architects’ Data in 1936. We all love them! Reference books for spatial requirements perfectly suit our world, with its focus on efficiency and its obsession to make mankind ‘work’ best and perform at all times. The books perfectly support our fetishization of work, and our life between a maximum and a minimum.
For your pleasure, I painted the structure in a blue reminiscent of the ‘blue-print’. After all, blue-print technology used to allow for the rapid and accurate reproduction of construction documents, immaculately spreading the use of norms and regulations for more and more production
The incorporated recommended heights are 40 cm for a bench; 75 cm for a desk; 85 cm for an exhibition table; 110 cm for a desk counter; and 202 cm for the height of Ikea’s most sold bookcase ‘Billy’.
The world of architecture and furniture has been fascinated with normative rules for design and ergonomics since you first published your notorious reference book Architects’ Data in 1936. We all love them! Reference books for spatial requirements perfectly suit our world, with its focus on efficiency and its obsession to make mankind ‘work’ best and perform at all times. The books perfectly support our fetishization of work, and our life between a maximum and a minimum.
For your pleasure, I painted the structure in a blue reminiscent of the ‘blue-print’. After all, blue-print technology used to allow for the rapid and accurate reproduction of construction documents, immaculately spreading the use of norms and regulations for more and more production
