Style Imitating Art: “Hey Chair Be a Bookshelf!”

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. I am this week’s curator with this quirky piece of furniture that is also art. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. I chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why I chose it here. Please send your photo to me by Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

About the artist…

Maarten Baas was born on February 19, 1978 in Arnsberg, West Germany.  In 1979, his family moved to Burgh-Haamstede so he’s considered a Dutch artist/designer.  Baas graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2002.  He works out of a studio in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (yes, I spelled that right) and lives in Utrecht.  Some of his influences include Jurgen Bey, Bertjan Pot, and Erwin Wurm.  “His work often relates to his youth, where Baas works to ‘balance skilled technicality with the purity of child’s spontaneity’ (source).” 

A little more…

Baas is considered “one of the most influential designers of the early 21^st century.  His works straddle boundaries between art and design. He occupies a unique position in the field, embodying conceptual art, craftsmanship, installation, public space and performance into his oeuvre. He’s known for his rebellious, intellectual, theatrical and artistic style. Baas’ most renowned works are Smoke, Clay and Real Time, that gave him instant worldwide recognition (source).” 

Even more…

While many consider Baas to be a designer first, his work verges on the Contemporary side of art.  “Characteristics of contemporary art include a diverse range of media and materials, conceptual approaches, exploration of social and political issues, rejection of traditional boundaries, and often an engagement with globalism and multiculturalism (source).”  Further, Baas uses materials not usually associated with traditional art.  In April 2009, Baas presented the first of his Real Time installations.  Different people paint “time” by hand in this series.  In that same year, Baas was named “Designer of the Year” at Design Basel/Miami.  Here are two videos showing two different installations. The first has no sound; the second has background noise.

This video gives you a little bit of a glimpse into the way Baas’ mind works!

Still more…

In addition to Real Time, Baas has become famous for both Smoke and Clay.  The first consists of different easily recognizable objects set afire with a blow torch.  They are then sealed with epoxy to preserve both the effect and the item.  Clay is a series of steel frames covered with industrial clay.  Some are then painted different colors.  Both of these were listed in the New York Times’ “Top 25 Design Classics of the Future.”  Real Time won a Category Award at the 2016 ArtPrize competition and festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

A skosh more…

Baas’ work is described as “rebellious, playful, intellectual, theatrical and artistic. He has gained an autonomous position in the design field, and his work varies from conceptual designs, limited editions, production design, installations, public space, architecture, interior design, theater design and performances (source).”  The entrance of the main public library at the Neude, Utrecht, features Intellectual Heritage, a neon lighting artwork.  It was installed in 2023. 

Finally…

Baas continues to work with his production partner, Bas den Herder, at the his studio. You can find (well, if you were invited) his art in the collections of Brad Pitt, Adam Lindemann and Michael Ovitz.  The following museums also have permanent collections:  MoMA (New York); MoMA (San Francisco); Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam); Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam); MAD museum (Paris); Victoria & Albert Museum (London); Die Neue Sammlung Museum (Munich); Victoria Museum (Melbourne); LACMA museum (Los Angeles), Indianapolis Museum of Art, and others.  In addition, Baas has worked with Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Dior, Gramercy Park Hotel, Dom Ruinart, and Berluti (source).

The art work…

Hey Chair Be a Bookshelf! bookcase is one of my favorite pieces of art/furniture at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Prior to my docent training, I would have just glanced at this and walked on by. Now, I know to look for certain things, like the elements of art and the principles of design. I did my first presentation on this piece so I guess it will always be special. Baas found all of the items in the piece at thrift stores or other places. Most, if not all, were destined for the trash pile. There are other iterations of this bookcase. They are all unique because Baas seeks out those pieces destined for the trash and upcycles them into furniture. Our particular bookcase was created in 2005 and measures 68.5 x 39 x 25 in. (174 x 99.1 x 63.5 cm). One of the first things you see is a chair followed, in no particular order, a trumpet, a table, a crucifix, a magazine rack, a stool, some gadget that looks like it came from a garage, a scoop, and some other things I can’t quite identify. Some of those items are reinforced with polyester. I couldn’t find anywhere exactly how he connects everything. He then painted the entire thing with, in our case, a black polyurethane. Hey Chair Be a Bookshelf is on display in the Design Gallery. It was purchased by the Ballard Fund in 2009 from the Moss Gallery of Art and Design, New York City.

My interpretation…

From the beginning, I was sure of wearing this Old Navy dress I bought last summer. You can’t even see the reason why I knew I would wear it, though! It’s the straps. The neckline is square with very thin straps. My initial thought was to wear a white tee under it so you could see them. But, I really wanted to add some green to my interpretation as there is that plant at the top of the piece. Between you and me and the doorpost, that plant really bugs me. It’s so obviously fake! Maybe, that was what Baas wanted, but it just looks cheap (like he cares, right)! When I was looking for something green, this old (and I mean years old) merino wool cardigan from Garnet Hill screamed, “Hey, look at me!” It’s perfect with those abstract leaves and the green color adds a needed punch of color. I tied it at the waist and folded the top sections down to form a vee.

The Lewk!

I really wasn’t sure about what to wear on my feet. If I wanted to be true to the art, I would have worn a pair of black tights with black boots, right? But, I’m done with tights (I hope) for a while. I decided to go with green so I pulled out my L’Artiste Waterlily boots. They don’t show up as green as they are IRL. I then added this really old necklace. I’m pretty sure it’s from Loft…but when it was called Ann Taylor Loft…remember that? The earrings? Who knows? I may have bought them with the necklace, but I don’t think so!

Wrap it up, Marsha!

It’s really hard to show this piece of art/furniture in photos. Each time I visit it, I see something new. Now that I’m looking at it with new eyes, I see different forms and shapes as well as positive and negative space. Depending where you stand, the shadows cast by it are also pretty cool. So, can we talk? Does this fall into that category of “I could do that” for you? What books would you put on this bookshelf? How does the green plant at the top strike you? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send me your photo by 10:00 pm EST Tuesday, April 22nd. Photos of everyone participating will appear on my blog on Wednesday, April 23rd! If you’re interested in joining us, consider all of your options…the colors, the objects, the memories they evoke! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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