Chair Graffiti

Some people check out cars, I check out standpipes. A couple of months ago I saw a real beauty on Henry street near Montague. Look at it - clean, shiny and just perfect for sitting. In the way of street structures, it is really something to see.

My initial thought was that there should be more of them. If the whole side of the building was lined with standpipe-style seating, it would give people a built-in place to sit back and watch the world go by.

When I mocked it up I realized that more of a good thing is not better. Plus, installing multiple standpipes onto a building is a bit impractical.

I must have had standpipes in the back of my brain since then and the other day an idea came to me. Now, I am not a graffiti artist and I don't plan on blazing that path, but in the vein of functional street art, what about chair graffiti? The graphics wouldn't have to be permanent (think chalk, or decals, ala the Droog subway cars) but they would provide a nod to the potential dual function of the street structures around us.

This one is simple and based on a Thonet-style chair but the designs could vary by standpipe. Some could be really ornate and over the top, others could live in a more modernist vein. It is a really fun idea, and useful. It isn't about creating more things but about creating awareness.