Please Sit on the Art

By Lara Ehrlich and Laurel Homer | Photo by Kamen Kozarev

“Whoever painted this desk made my day!” a Boston University student posted on Instagram with the hashtag #thechairproject and a snapshot of a rainbow-hued desk. Hila Landesman (CAS’13) is the artist behind this desk chair—and 21 more, which together make up the Chair Project, a site-specific installation that enlivens CAS classrooms one chair at a time.

Landesman, an economics and environmental policy major, embraced her lifelong passion for the arts by enrolling in CFA Professor Hugh O’Donnell’s site-specific design course during her senior year at BU.

“I wanted to be around different people with different interests and backgrounds,” she says. “The word ‘interdisciplinary’ caught my eye in the course description. Sure enough, the course was filled with students from various majors with different ideas and goals. It was very exciting.”

Inspired by the class, Landesman enlisted artists from CFA, CAS, COM, and SMG to paint the chairs, which students now use in every type of class, from art history to land use planning to Hindi. Students share their love for the chairs on Twitter and Instagram, and vie for the chance to sit on Landesman’s site-specific seats.

The Chair Project

Esprit talked with Landesman about her chair-painting process.

You enlisted the help of other students from a variety of majors and schools. Tell us about working with them.

It was inspiring. I loved seeing the ideas that each artist came up with and observing each artist’s process. I started out by asking two other students in site-specific design, both business majors, followed by two students in the sculpture studio course I was taking. After that, I was given a studio in the painting wing of CFA, where I was surrounded by talented painters whom I approached based on the work I saw in their studios. I also enlisted one student from site-specific design the following semester. Two of the artists are my very talented friends from outside of BU, and two other artists are my sisters, the younger of whom is 11.

What has been your favorite reaction to the chairs?

My favorite reaction so far actually came from the night-shift facilities crew when I was installing the project. They were so excited to see the chairs and were hoping this would be the first wave of many chairs to come. These chairs made their night of cleaning and organizing classrooms so much more exciting. One of the women told me, “There should be at least four chairs in every class!”

What was your greatest challenge?

The biggest challenge by far was finding motivation to see the project through to the end, despite what was happening in my life. Having great ideas and big visions is easy; actually finishing what you start takes a lot of discipline.

What surprised you the most about the project?

I was advised to test all my materials before using them, but I didn’t realize how very crucial that advice was. Knowing your materials—and a little bit of chemistry—is really, really important. For example, did you know what polyacrylic makes Sharpie marker run because Sharpie is alcohol-based? Well, now you do!

How has the Chair Project transcended art and become a metaphor for cross-disciplinary collaboration?

I have situations where my desire to connect two different interests or fields was met with resistance. For example, I’ve heard comments like, “Why are you studying environmental policy? That’s the opposite of economics.” I want to dispel the notion that one field of study is better than or at odds with another. Every field must use the knowledge acquired by those in other fields to advance and develop. Collaboration and communication across departments and schools should be the norm, not the exception, and I hope that the Chair Project can help start conversations about ways to increase teamwork and partnerships at BU.

How did the site-specific design course and the Chair Project impact your experience as an undergrad?

Taking site-specific design during my last semester at BU was perfect for me because it tied together so many different themes and gave me an opportunity to meet people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I definitely feel more connected to BU now and more invested in the improvement of students’ learning experiences.

Do you have a favorite chair?

I’ll tell you about the first chair of the project, which I made. It’s the white chair with the yellow, blue, and red legs. The designs on that chair are my signature doodles, which filled my school notebooks for years. If you look closely, I always embed words into the designs. One thing I wrote on this chair is, “What are you having for lunch?”

What would you tell someone thinking of taking a course outside their primary discipline?

Do it! After college, everything you do is interdisciplinary. Get ahead and start now.