Wind-Assisted Chair | Dawn Stetzel

Title: Wind-Assisted Chair
Place/Time: 2016
Coastal Oregon Artist Residency in Astoria, Oregon (Recology Western Oregon Artist-In-Resident)

Size: 7′ x 8′ x 9′ / chair 26.5″ wide
Materials: school desk, walker wheels and brake system, patio umbrella, 2 child carrier bike trailers: clear panel windows, canvas, straps and bolts, camp/beach chair carry case fabric and strap, wheeled foldable shopping cart canvas, garden hose, fish net handle, 2 tents: fabric and plastic piping, expandable wooden clothes drying umbrella, furniture wood

Details (condensed):
What if I had to use the wind in order to get around? I use Wind-Assisted Chair as a tool in which to explore adaptability, flexibility and my feelings about embracing mechanisms of assistance in my lifestyle. I sit in the chair, turn the crank and unfurl the 8’ umbrella that catches the wind; the chair begins to roll, but how fast, in which direction, and for how long? This method of travel requires patience, and forces me to embrace unpredictability as part of my path. I use Wind-Assisted Chair to practice skills that might assist me in engineering a lifestyle that pushes aside convenience and embraces the odd, awkward and seemingly ridiculous, in order to re-envision a more sustainable existence.

Details (expanded):
What if I had to use the wind in order to get around? I use Wind-Assisted Chair as a tool in which to explore adaptability, flexibility and my feelings about embracing mechanisms of assistance in my lifestyle. I sit in the chair, turn the crank and unfurl the 8’ umbrella that catches the wind, the chair begins to roll, but how fast, in which direction, and for how long? Will there be any wind or will there be too much wind, a huge gust sending me into a path of danger? I chose this method of travel, a method which requires patience, and that forces me to embrace unpredictability and a reliance on and acceptance of assistance.

To offset complete unpredictability, tools are engineered into Wind-Assisted Chair that aide navigation. A telescoping windsock provides an indication of wind direction and speed*. The brake system on the wheels assists with safety speed control. Clear windowpanes have been inserted into the umbrella to allow visibility. These tools offer moments of navigating the landscape with grace and cohesion.

Wind-Assisted Chair might be odd, awkward, and a tad ridiculous rolling down the road as a method of travel. At times this seems in alignment with how my lifestyle feels. However I will keep trying to navigate through life as a steward to my environment and those around me with as much grace and intention as possible. Many of my recent sculptures are training tools of sorts, workout machines, offering test run opportunities, and practice drills, allowing me to later feel more equipped to keep going, to keep engineering a lifestyle that works for me.

*As an approximation, the windsock orients itself to a breeze of 3.5mph, a bend near each stripe adds an additional 3.5mph, and at full extension indicates wind speed at 17mph or greater.

As an artist spending time in this place I acknowledge and pay respect toward the Chinook, Lower Chinook and Clatsop and honor them as the historical owners of this land.