Angry chair is a blow up of a slingshot – an ancient weapon or a children’s toy. Bartal sculptural creation presents a new use for the weapon as a rocking chair. The piece presents both a child’s fantasy (a game that can make whoever plays it fly high into the air) and a dangerous weapon (an object through which large stones can be thrown). The name of the piece references the popular iPhone game “Angry birds”, thereby linking an old object with a contemporary and advanced technological development.
The design is inspired by a familiar ancient object, which can be made from found materials – a weapon accessible for all. The design brings the “weapon of the proletarion” into the leaving room, thus creating a dialogue between its original purpose and its “non design”, the sophistication of bourgeois design and its collectors.
The design uses elements of “gestalt” – an object is created using its own original materials. Similar to the use of language in the texts of the work “The Walking Man”, here too Bartal employs techniques of deconstruction and reinvention.
Evident in the work is the bold juxtaposition of the materials that comprise the slingshot: on one hand, the wood, leather and rubber, materials from which basic slingshots are made. On the other hand there is the base on which the piece is placed, which is made of polished stainless steel. This juxtaposition helps in disconnecting the object from its original use, charging it with a new meaning and function.