Wiggle Side Chair, Model No 10-361 1972

Curator: At first glance, it looks like a sturdy piece of cardboard furniture. Functional, but also... playful. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at Frank Gehry's "Wiggle Side Chair, Model No 10-361," held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Gehry challenged conventional furniture design by using corrugated cardboard, an everyday material, to create sculptural and surprisingly durable forms. Curator: The choice of material is fascinating. Elevating cardboard, typically seen as disposable, to an object worthy of display in a museum—it speaks to ideas of accessibility and re-evaluation of value. Editor: Absolutely. It’s a radical statement on consumer culture and the role of design, inviting us to rethink what constitutes “high art” versus utilitarian objects. It makes you wonder, who is this chair really for? And what does it say about our relationship to comfort and disposability? Curator: A thought-provoking piece, then, that blurs the lines between art, design, and social commentary. Editor: Precisely, and a catalyst for questioning established norms.