The Chair: Politics, Sociology and how to sit on one
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In this talk, Rachel Kelly traced the history of the chair through human evolution, the significance and symbolism of the chair, the chair as ‘object of desire’ and what makes a comfortable chair.
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The Chair: Politics, Sociology and how to sit on one
- 1. © The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations THE CHAIR Politics, Sociology and How to sit on one Rachel Kelly BA MSTAT Food for Thought Lunchtime Talk 5 Sept 2018
- 3. What are they? Evolving social purpose Display of hierarchy 3
- 4. In cave paintings? - no Up to 40,000 years ago In the New Stone Age - yes 10,000 – 4,000 BC Widespread in Egypt and Mesopotamia When did it all start? 4
- 5. Through the ages 5 The Romans The Greeks
- 6. Through more ages 6 afterwards… The medieval period
- 7. The Renaissance and beyond 7 Ostentatious and sumptuous Ease, luxury and flexibility, padding
- 8. C20 8 Social elite adopted physical freedom Style cf function
- 10. The Modern Office Corporate image The need for status The need to get rid of status Worker health Creativity 10
- 11. Sitting Today 11 Can we sit comfortably? Yes How we sit Why we sit as we do Sitting more + more
- 12. Moving at your seat 12
- 13. Think on your feet not your seat 13
- 14. 14 Your spine is your core • What’s your spine for? • Which is the most crucial joint? – where your head balances on top of your spine (rebalancing up to 11 times per second) • Standing on your sitting bones Sitting bones
- 15. The Use of the Self How we use ourselves as we work - affects how we function Unconscious Habits (slumping, pressing down and contracting) End-gaining versus paying attention to the process Peering forward towards a goal vs being in the moment Non-doing – Heightened awareness Thinking upward (non doing) Releasing by allowing muscles to lengthen 15
- 16. Everyday Constructive Rest 16 • Rejuvenating, creating internal space • NON-DOING: Semi-supine – alert, thinking, non-doing • 15-20 mins per day • Head on books, eyes open • Feet hip-width apart, knees up, not falling inwards • Hands on your belly, elbows outwards, space in your armpits
- 17. References Galen Cranz 1998 The Chair Norton University of California - Los Angeles. "Sitting is bad for your brain -- not just your metabolism or heart: Thinning in brain regions important for memory linked to sedentary habits." ScienceDaily, 12 April 2018. 17
Editor's Notes
- Inspired by a book: The Chair by Galen Cranz – prof of architecture at Berkeley and Alexander Teacher. Love of chairs – not unusual Chairs have become indivisible from us and so invisible. In this talk, I will trace the history of the chair through human evolution, the significance and symbolism of the chair, the chair as ‘object of desire’ and seek to begin a conversation around the epidemic of dis-ease around our increasingly sedentary behaviour – what does this mean for how we work and what we produce? and what can we as individuals, organisations and cultures do about it? SELF-REFLECTION: Awareness of oneself: Without moving or adjusting - What is your posture now? Turn 50% of your attention inwards Don’t “correct” yourself, this is your reality at the moment – your habits of tension which make up your posture Your posture expresses your attitude of mind – how you are thinking, its quality Where are you carrying your weight? Notice your sitting bones – can you feel them? Stay with your breath for a few moments Notice where you are in contact with the chair, the space between your buttocks/thighs and the seat; the space behind your back and the chair back; the space under your arms on the chair arms…
- Ostensibly the function of the chair is to hold a person, to provide support and comfort with a back, arms and legs. They are like us - we use the same words to describe a chair as we do our bodies. We have an intimate relationship but we know little about their effects. We shape them they shape us – unconsciously shaping the physical and the social. Not mere extensions of our bodies but a cultural artefact. We endow chairs with human values and each says something of the maker as well as the owner. The right chair for the right social message. Chairs are not a straightforward response to the bends at our hips, knees, ankles Not related to genetic, anatomical or even physiological forces. Few alternatives to the chair – we’re locked into it. We shape chairs and they shape us. Metaphors – for position, social role and power. chairperson. University profs hold ‘Chairs – positions funded for research and teaching a particular subject. Country seats, district seats, seats on the stock exchange A hot seat Empty chair in christian ceremonies, represents Christ. each has a different character, a different history and it is immediately resonant of the person to whom it belongs.
- An evolving social purpose a short cut to display hierarchy in complex societies Can only be understood in their cultural context Between 1/3 and ½ of the world sits in chairs regularly – all around the world – symbol of westernization and can be a signifier of prestige and power. Status; Beauty; Comfort Cultural considerations: Japanese tatami mats for sitting, sleeping etc. Japan’s economic miracle is equated with its rise from the floor to chairs Cross-legs, squatting, kneeling – all near the floor Standing on one leg with the sole of the other foot near the knee of standing legs Low wooden platforms – divans, in Turkey Cross-legged or kneeling on richly carpeted floors (barefoot – stimulates nerves in soles of feet) Bending/stretching ritually in prayer – good for the spine Doing things whilst squatting – is aerobic exercise People who can afford chairs through out Middle east, Asia, Africa and Polynesia don’t necessarily buy them Chair introduced to China in 2nd century AD – the Chinese called it the barbarian bed (their word for anything foreign. It had association with military camps, temporary travel furniture – more like a cot, never used indoors. It was sat on cross legged to show contempt? 900 years later a new seating type evolved, a folding chair with a back. This chair became acceptable used by all – but called a mat rather than a chair. In contemporary mainland China – a lot of people sit on stools. On a parent’s 60th birthday they dine in a chair. Sitting, like other postures, is regulated around the world according to gender, age and social status. squatting toilets in middle east – revulsion/excitement Architecture influenced by chairs – window openings – we sit at 18 inches high We mock the lowliest chair of all, the toilet by calling it the throne.
- Just how far back does chair sitting go? We don’t know 40,000 years ago Not in cave paintings in the Old Stone Age (paleolithic). Humans lived in caves/ tents as nomadic hunters and gatherers and revered the animals they hunted – depicting actions and movement. Humans sticklike, hardly any tools, no chairs. After the Ice Age, Neolithic Age – New Stone Age – 10,000 – 4,000 BC Flint tools and permanent stone houses – benches and ledges for sleeping/sitting. A large number of pottery models of human figures, all of them female, some reclining on chairs – earliest evidence of chair use. Were these societies matrifocal? Women doubly fertile, producers of babies and agricultural products. Female fertility symbols dominate the representations of this period. Chair sitting already widespread in ancient Egypt of 2,850 BC Oldest actual chairs from Tutankhamen’s tomb around 1352 BC – wood encased in gold in a dry climate. Explicit messages worked into the decoration – providing stories about war, domestic life, gods. Used by many people not just royalty (from hieroglyphs). Thrones for royalty Chair sitting continued into Islamic, medieval Egypt Mesopotamia – humid climate, no chairs have survived. Carvings show frequent chair use by kings and in domestic scenes with attention to rank.
- Greek chairs – adopted a good deal of science and culture from the Romans Word chair comes from the Greek – a contraction of cathedra – in turn a compound of kata meaning down and hedra from to sit. Word throne comes from Indo-European base dher meaning to hold or support. SIT DOWN or SUPPORT. Throne – being carried on a palanquin. Only a privileged few can be carried. From the beginning 2 types of chairs developed, the upright throne and the more relaxed Klismos, a chair with a curved seat and modestly inclined back. Upright – spiritual aspiration - being connected with a higher plane – Pharoahs were supposed to perfect themselves as evidence of connectiion with universal forces – the cultivation of self-awareness. Keeping the spine erect and self-supporting – like the Buddha’s posture. Klismos – earthly comfort and ease – reclining backwards slumping – general domestic use Popular with the ladies – high class, reposing languidly. 2 competing ideas about comfort – one about alertness, the other about rest? Roman furniture followed Greek types Roman chairs –little furniture few but very high quality Roman chairs rare decorative items of luxury 2 types of chair – upright back for governmental, scholarly and religious Reclining to eat, read, write and socialise on a triclinia – couches with pillows for eating from – symbolising freedom For all classes– the surface might be a pallet on a built in masonry shelf Dining - master on the couch, mother on a chair, children on stools – status of gender, and age. Later both parents would recline. The Last Supper would have been a couch affair, not table and chairs.
- Visigoths and Germanic nomads no interest in Roman furniture. Furniture development atrophied Medieval period – squatting, sitting on cushions, on benches with backs to the wall, storage chests. Chairs evolved from this storage furniture or 3-legged stools. Political insecurity in feudal households meant scarce furniture, either heavy and built into the architecture or light and transportable to take with you as you travelled, The medieval foldstool Folding X-Chair. People went to bed at sunset and lived outdoors as much as possible. Perhaps one chair for the master of the house – too heavy to move. Trestle and board set up in front of this chair – Chairman of the Board. Reflection of patriarchal style, power and authority Chairs in church life – major decisions from special chair – ex cathedra – from the chair By C15 social conditions more stable, chairs changed – chairs moved from the walls into the centre - freedom Medieval fold stool evolved for kings, iimportant laymen and ecclesiastics. Perhaps on a dais. More common – the evolution of the 3 legged stool into three legs with slab like back
- By the 1600s – chairs and furniture- carving and inlaid decoration. Foreign influences and decoration from India via colonists and traders. Lacquering from Japan. By 1700s the term armchair to distinguish chairs with arms from backstools – also known as side chairs or single chairs. Chairs became more common., Upper classes had time for social life – conversation, card games, music. Chairs became lighter and some specifically designed for women’s dresses. The Baroque style - ostentatious and sumptuous Attention paid to comfort and artistic unity – everything had to match wall hangings, including the chairs – fitting into the wall panelling, placed symmetrically Chairmaking became a distinct craft: Heppelwhite, Chippendale, Robert Adam Traditional European styling = taste and prestige Uprightness For the working classes – dual purpose furniture – chairs into beds By the 19 century: industrial revolution – factory manufacture, cheaper chairs – more sitting. Mass production – revivalism – earlier styles from England, France, Green and Roman and Gothic Revival, Elizabethan etc Industrial work – done sitting. Patent furniture in US, In Victorian England – chairs became bloated./ arts and crafts reacted to this obsession with padding . Art Nouveau Most chairs conservative cf mass social change going on. . Elite markets concentrated on ‘revival’ furniture. Lack of technology – style winning out.
- Twenties – social elite adopted physical freedom – women’s corsets rejected. Modernists – sculptural originality rather than tradition C20 designers interested in the new rather than improvement in form and function. Is mimicking the human form the best way to support it? Until social elite adopts new ideas about posture and comfort, chair design will not emphasize physical and practical needs Chair design expresses claims to superiority, in art, education, money and power. How we furnish our home is where people communicate their social identity – the home became the female domain by the C19 Style is how we communicate social identity for the last 200 years – we can be status blinded Expresses - how one chooses to spend money What work one does Gender differences – velvet or leather upholstery Seating is becoming more feminized because women buy the seating. Women also now designing chairs – media likes to differentiate but – these designers may be interested in relatedness and physical ease.
- The chair acknowledges the individual – one person at a time (cf benches, divans, sofas, platforms) Chair backs display decoration Frame the sitter Turning chairs in one direction or another – the chair back. One has the option to rest, with a back. Style – a work of art – shape, line and decoration Modernists – form follows function – a unification of style, function and status. Style has shared meaning but we are encouraged to be individual, whatever that means. – to be insecure, therefore spend more. Lifestyle – more than just economic choice. Handmade, mass produced, craftsman, designer and artist – 5 types However, trends towards taking us away from concerns of the body. Perhaps these needs have already been met?
- Corporate image – luxury No variation in carpeting, lights, telephones, desks chairs Ergonomically correct chairs Chained to the seat What is considered professional? Can you lie down to ease your back? Is there space? What would others think? Can someone visiting your office tell who the boss is without being told? Are there differences in partition height – amount and location of work space, access to a window Quality of furniture, upholstery, number of chairs, thickness of carpet? Subtle ways to differentiate Clear expressions of status is directly related to worker satisfaction – this may be because it is traditional The more chairs in an office – more status. Chairs now – very adaptable – to do with movement. These are more expensive to produce but are associated with clerks. Executives get the cheaper chairs Creativity – stifled by sitting for long periods. Eye strain back pain, repetitive strain injury – in front of screens. Integrative complex of chair, keyboard, person and screen – we now part of this machine To tap into the creativity potential everywhere – companies will have to change their static and status ridden ways. Home office – could be based on personal physical patterns and rythyms. Could herald the advent of the comforts of home in the office
- Sitting is the new smoking Backpain costs NHS 1000 million per year – low back pain £500 million per year 1m years of lost productivity per year for organisations About 80% of Americans are expected to suffer from at least one episode of lower back pain in their lifetime, and millions with chronic pain are already lost in the industry, subjected to pseudo-interventions, or taking unnecessary and addictive pain killers. There is an assumption that sitting at the edge of a seat, upright, without support, is too tiring to sustain. In other cultures, people sit upright by the hour. We’ve grown accustomed to chair backs. The C-shape – leaning back, pushes the pelvis forward and down – C-shape slouch. Uncomfortable – everything constrained. What is the perfect chair, there isn’t one School – seedbed for sitting badly. Trained to sit for hours at a time – rise of ADHD. The April 2015 study, “The Effect of Stand-Biased Desks on Academic Engagement: an Exploratory Study," from the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health found that students who used standing desks performed better in school than their seated classmates. Sitting up straight, Settle down Process of passivity – creating a docile population – sedate – comes from Latin verb to sit 20 years ago - outside school – children were never sitting Children learn early that wide chairs, leather chairs symbolise status. Now with technology, children for the first time are sitting, lying, looking at phones etc for long periods Height of children increasing over the years – desks and chairs remain the same or decreasing. International standard adhered to by school furniture manufacturers Montessori/Steiner – incorporates activity into learning. Desks could be sloped. Are sometimes too high. – seats tilted slightly forward – perching Can we squat? Movement
- In the 1st - Startle reflex leading to collapse Head back and downChin forward Shoulders drawn upTorso slumped and collapsing Hips thrown forwardSagging knees In the 2nd, - Over-corrected head back and down; spine ‘straightened’; pelvis tipped, lower back scrunched; hips thrown further forward, knees locked, ankles locked In the 3rd, all the weight-bearing joints are on a plumb line down the vertical axis of gravity Muscles are now able to release – be in dynamic tonus, internal organs function efficiently and the spine is lengthening and not compressed downwards (which places pressure on the spinal cord and disrupts the nervous system) We are constantly balancing: not a static posture - we are moving all the time. look at baby learning how to sit up / stand
- Think on your feet not your seat. Sitting up to 14 hours per day. Sitting as dangerous as lifting weight – sick leave higher amongst admin workers than any other sector. Going to the gym 3 times per week for a couple of hours doesn’t compensate Going between your seat and your feet is good for your heart, bones and muscle. Sitting – more pressure 30% more when sitting than standing. Not sitting for more than 30 minutes Our human need to move doesn’t disappear with adulthood – logic movement and memory are in the same part of the brain Adjustable chairs There needs to be space for the bottom at the back, to stop the C-shape Knees lower than hip sockets Sitting without chair backs. Tilted chair seat, slightly forward to encourage Perching Tall adjustable stools to encourage perching Standing desks that can move up and down for different sized people Foot rests/ bars Expense – Guerilla ergonomics Treadmills Moving meetings – as in The West Wing walking circuits – trails. Outside space. The ancient Greeks understood the link between walking and optimizing cognitive function for students. Based on the principle of maintaining a Sound Mind in a Sound Body, Aristotle founded the famous Peripatetic School where teaching took place while walking on pathways around the Lyceum. Options: so people can move between the different ways to work Getting back to earth Lying down and moving around – the best relief for back pain. Crawling and squatting – in Japan tatami mats provide springy surfaces for movement We lose our ability to squat from childhood – easy to get back Squatting prevents spine going into a C – spine can lengthen Floor surfaces – should be sensitive to knees Rugs/matting encouraging movement on the floor Underfloor heating Working while reclining? Le Corbusier recliner – supports head and back – phone calls / interviews Narrow platforms to encourage lying down in constructive rest. Peter Opsvick – toadstools at different heights – for leaning on, forwards backwards, perching – all at the same eye-level Education – job design and health education as part of hiring and induction Raising consciousness
- The spine is either being compressed or ideally lengthening Coming back to your back What are the functions of the spine? A living changing framework of support - structural support and balance Protects the spinal cord carrying the central nervous system / protect internal organs, nerve roots Allows flexible movement Curves of spine – what they are for?Shock absorber; protection of organs;stabilizer ‘STANDING’ on your sitting bones – Exercise: Have a sense of your sit bones – rockers at the bottom of your pelvis - biofeedback Track the sensations in your back Explore thoughts that may change your back: “Sit up straight” “I’ve not eaten and feel weak” Notice if your back is aiming up. Feel as though you are falling upwards Aim your head up – allow your neck to be free, moving away from spine Allow your belly to drop into your back as you exhale.
- How we use ourselves affects our function Habits: - we build up habits of tension over the years in response to our environment – a big city in the 21st century, full of technology; sedentary lifestyles etc etc End-gaining – acting immediately without thinking. Heightened awareness for a moment – bringing your attention back to yourself Non-doing Accurate sensory appreciation We have a mental bodymap of what is used for what, where we are and how are doing something which can be more or less accurate Eg without looking or moving! Are both your feet facing forward? Have a look and see if they are exactly where you expect Means whereby – the key to stopping over-hasty reactions caused by endgaining – paying attention to the process of doing something. Directions – a thinking upward (non doing) are the mental instructions we can learn to give ourselves before and during an action, in order to bring about changes in the way we use ourselves whilst performing the action. The instructions that are given also indicate the ‘direction’ in which we wish to release and allow muscles to lengthen– for instance, allowing our knees and thighs to release out and away from our hip joints.
- How to practise UNDOING Semi supine: 10-20 minutes per day Head on books your eyes open Feet hip-width apart Knees up, hip-width apart (don’t let them fall inwards) Hands on your belly, elbows outwards Orient yourself, look around (eyes only) Observe yourself – your inner milieu; what you can see; your peripheral vision Become grounded - let the ground support you, wherever you are in contact with it Greet your thoughts and let them pass Embrace your feelings, see how they change Be with yourself Undoing restores the muscular system – by thinking of allowing the neck muscles to release, the back muscles to lengthen and widen, and the knees to point to the ceiling, the support system can be restored to a condition of elastic toned support. Looking for the path of least resistance… Expanding Field Exercise: Find your left hand, where is it exactly? Expand your attention to take in your whole arm, then your arms and torso. Include your head and then your legs so that all of you is in your awareness Close your eyes and have a full sense of your whole self Let your awareness include your whole skin and then 1 inch around your whole self, including your back Open your eyes and notice any difference, still having a sense of 1 inch around you Expand your awareness to include 30 cm or 1 foot around you Include the people around you and then the whole room Expand further to outdoors, the streets around The limits of London The UK The whole world including the stratosphere The cosmos, expanding outwards… faster and faster What did you notice as your consciousness expanded?
- University of California - Los Angeles. "Sitting is bad for your brain -- not just your metabolism or heart: Thinning in brain regions important for memory linked to sedentary habits." ScienceDaily, 12 April 2018.