this is not a chair: reimagining magritte’s iconic pipe as seating object
By Taekhan Yun
This Is Not a Chair by Taekhan Yun examines the relationship between form, function, and perception through an object that takes the shape of a pipe while functioning as a chair. Referencing René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This Is Not a Pipe), the project explores how objects are identified and understood beyond their visual appearance.
While Magritte’s painting highlights the distinction between an image and the object it represents, Yun’s work shifts the discussion toward the relationship between image and function. Designed as a chair, the object does not conform to the conventional visual characteristics typically associated with seating. Instead, it occupies an ambiguous position between what it resembles, what it does, and how it is perceived.
Magritte’s pipe drawing reimagined as a three-dimensional chair | all images courtesy of Taekhan Yun
The project originates from a broader investigation into what defines a chair as an object. Chairs are commonly recognized through a familiar set of formal characteristics, yet they are equally defined by their function, the ability to support the body in a seated position. By separating these two conditions, the work by designer Taekhan Yun questions whether the recognition of a chair depends primarily on its appearance or on its functional capacity.
To develop the piece, Yun translated the two-dimensional image of Magritte’s pipe into a three-dimensional object. The structure was constructed using styrofoam as the primary material, then reinforced with layers of paper pulp. Acrylic paint and varnish were applied as a final finish, creating a surface that reinforces the visual reference to the original image while emphasizing the object’s transformation into a functional form.
Rather than presenting a definitive answer, This Is Not a Chair proposes a framework for considering how objects acquire meaning. The work suggests that the identification of a chair is not determined solely by form or function, but emerges through the interaction between physical properties, intended use, and the ways in which objects are interpreted by their users.
the work was created by hand-carving styrofoam and covering the surface with paper pulp for protection
one of Magritte’s symbols, the apple, exists together with the pipe
a chair is an object defined through the interaction of image, function, and perception
designer: Taekhan Yun | @taekhannn
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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom
This article was originally published by Designboom.