Where's the 'him'?

Words cannot describe how much I hate this.

I'd like to have the girl in my house, but not the chair.

Why, AT.......Why?

the picture of the chair being caressed is too much.

ridiculous and tacky

seriously.

antimatt-- no kidding.. and what's up with that last pic? the naked woman walking away? he should be caressing that woman, not a plastic chair. CREEPY!!

creepy, sexist furniture is really not ok.

I agree. While the chair is heinous the accompanying ad photo is pretty funny!

sexist and weird. this is something i'd expect to see in Spencers, or a neon-accented strip club. seriously, he's making the WRONG kind of name for himself.

Not just future landfill - but trashy too...
...would be perfect for a Japanese "Love Hotel" or a Nevada bordello.

It sounds like he thinks he made it androgynous, but it's really not. I'm not sure a separate man version would make this any better.

whoa

I thought the "him" would ...um...be sticking out when she stood up. Which would have made it sort of hot...but its just a boring and kinda cheesy not.

Tacky, tacky, tacky. And no "kitsch" factor, like that sexy fishnet stocking leg lamp from "A Christmas Story."

Yuck. Enough already, AT!

Norbert Youngwood probably has these as dining chairs.

Sigh. More gratuitous disembodied female parts. Tacky *and* sexist, all at once.

K T G: word!

Him & Her are born directly from the ideas behind the Panton Chair. An evolution of the hermaphroditic original, declined into the harmony of the two sexes. They assume sculpted forms like naked models of seduction but they feel no shame.

I must have missed this passage in Genesis?

Ugly, childish, tacky, and offensive.

Who buys this crap? I'd love to have so much money that it makes me stupid enough to want ugly ass furniture because someone figured out how to market it to pretentious people.

ew

What has happened to AT??

I just read all the comments above and have to say that I think the chair is GREAT! What other chair has made anyone here have such an emotional response? Like it or not, he's got you thinking about it....

That chair makes her butt look big.

"Oh my gosh what is the world coming to, AT how could you, I'm so offended, I feel so embarrassed, this so tacky and tasteless....yadayadayada..."

Please. Get. Over. It. It's a naked plastic bum. Everybody has one, everybody's seen one, and everybody most assuredly appreciates one.

However, I could easily do without the side breast view. Plastic and flesh are two different things.

Wow, congrats to the designer for managing to make a chair, of all things, sexist and offensive.

He should make a 'male' version with a scrotum cut-out. Now that's classy.

can AT people please explain WHY they persist in posting this junk? there has been enough negative feedback from viewers to show we aren't interested.

This chair is ridiculous and juvenile.

Please post more!

;-)

curves like these are so beautiful on a young woman, so absurd on a chair

Bring on the chair porn!

Man, that must be one uncomfortable whether you are clothed or not.

The color lime green.
Bring on the sunshades, too!

Can't...stop....laughing....

Helmut Newtons spirit lives on in the black and white photo.
He would be proud!

i just showed a coworker and he said toilet paper should be stuck to the back to make it more realistic

How about a side frontal of the guy and have the woman keep her clothes on?

One of those pictures that you hope the boss doesn't walk by when you are on AT!

Enough already.

This chair is decidedly hideous, but all the "AT needs to stop posting things like this!" commenters need to develop a sense of humor.

I think the last photo is showing how the mold was made perhaps...?

I'd imagine this wouldn't look half as tacky if it weren't plastic or lime green.

plain jane, I was thinking the same thing. "Does this chair make my butt look big" um... YES! hahaha.

As for the arrogant artist stroking the chair, I can't stop laughing. It looks like something on an S&L skit. You know that designer thinks his chair is just sooooo edgy, smart and fab! Should we send him all the AT love posts???

LOL @ everyone's comments! You guys made my day!

Its not so much the shape that bugs me (although it does) but the color. Neon green? ...

How about a clear plexi version?

it is what it is, that's all that it is.

it's a chair designed by a person, who probably happens to feel that the female form is much more pleasant to look at than a male "version". those of you who would argue that fact should know that it's a well-known statistic that the majority of both men and women find that the female form is much more pleasant to look at, even if the male form is sculpted and built to "perfection".

and then those of you who scream and rail against it for being "sexist" or it must have been designed by a "straight man", are the same tards who go see the statue of David and "ogle" at its beauty. or do you stand there in Florence picketing the statue, crying out, "it's an exploitive piece of trash! this person obviously wants to evoke male dominance with that penis!"

many of the comments I see regarding this post are lame. how would most of you feel if I had said, "gay men should not be designing anything for the majority of us who are straight, because they just 'don't get it." or even worse, "gay men and women should not be able to comment at all on such matters because they're far too dramatic and emotionally unstable to make level-headed decisions."

I'd probably get strung up or run out of town before I could eat my chow mein, with a lox bagel, collard greens and chitlins.

I, for one, see it as an amusing chair that I won't buy. but don't go spouting your hypocritical statements, drawing conclusions that aren't necessarily there. you can have your own opinions, and that's fine, but to draw the lines of a sexual conspiracy underneath a piece of furniture is a straw man argument at best.

this is about design, not gender or sexual politics.

:P

p.s. no, I'm not angry. I'm just sort of disappointed that people who love art and design are filled with so much close-minded hypocrisy.

Why are people so offended by this? It's a CHAIR that happens to have a butt and a half naked lady----it's about as offensive as HBO at noon. It's just retarded and funny---the joke dies about 10 seconds after you see it.

actually i looked on this page...and it isn't called a "him-her chair". it's just called the "her chair"
http://cubeme.com/blog/2008/04/18/the-%E2%80%9Cher%E2%80%9D-by-fabio-novembre/
novembre's favorite artist is fellini...
i'm guessing by the chair...that he was also a fan of Jeff Koons during the time that JK was married to a porn star. he made alot of stuff depicting in graphic detail various sexual positions. this chair reminds me of that.
knowing a little more about the guy who created this...now i'm not so surprised by the product.

21 questions answered by designer of this chair...

http://www.ontoeurope.com/features/2004/dec04/fabio.html

This question doesn't even deserve a click on the options, and I won't participate in future quizzes that are tasteless. I encourage everyone to abstain from the quizzes like this one that are just. plain. stupid.

The only people I can see having something like this, other than the aforementioned brothels and sex hotels would be drunken dorm boys to giggle over.

The current mission statement reads:
======
The Apartment Therapy Mission

Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.

What We Believe

A calm, healthy, beautiful home is a necessary foundation for happiness and success in the world.

Creating this home doesn’t require large amounts of money or space. It requires inspiration, connection to resources and motivation to do something about it.

The basic elements of good home design can be learned and achieved by all.

Simplicity and luxury are not mutually exclusive.

Our Goal

To connect people to the resources they need to improve their homes, while reducing their reliance on stuff.

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan
November, 2007
======

What part of the mission statement applies to this chair?

It might be time to start looking for new bloggers for that L.A. area that have some idea of "good home design".

Emotional knee-jerk reactions? Yes. Of course. It's crap. People are wondering why there is crap on AT.

A lot of people browse this site from work. A boss glancing over the shoulder of an employee might wonder exactly what KIND of site the employee is browsing on company time.

It also might be good to pass on to the site creator that this is NOT what many of us come to AT for, and to do this via email.

Another idea is to abstain from visiting the site for the rest of the day, anytime this kind of thing is posted. If they are doing this to try to attract more advertisers, by saying we have this many hits a day, we, the readers, do not have to give them those hits.

There are a ton of other sites linked on the front page, maybe we should wander over to those sites and see what they have to offer.

Abstain!! This post was funny and completely worthy of being on here. Its furniture. Someone is designing this stuff and some are even buying it. Whether you like it or not, its worthy of discussion. I actually have clicked on this one post today 3 times just to read all the funny comments. AT'ers usually have a sense of humor. This chair has a sense of humor. Life should not be so serious.

This chair would be hotter if there really was a "him" part sticking out so the "her" part could sit on it. ha! I am not a frat boy, I do not live in a sex hotel, or visit brothels. I am a female designer. I think this chair is funny, albeit ugly, and not exactly something I would purchase but Gregory THANKS FOR THE POST! You made me laugh

the model must have had a sweaty butt after sitting on that chair for a while too - eeeewww
lmao

@TRUE BLUE

you don't need to participate in any quizzes which you find tasteless. it's a good thing that most people have minds of their own instead of being drones or lemmings.

let's see if you can follow this.

differing thoughts and opinions are good. the diversity of ideas and the human beings that make up that kind of diversity is good. all these differences generally help people grow and learn about new things, new ideas, and new ways to view things.

it's people like you who are so myopic and shortsighted that you fail to realize that just because people might like/dislike something that is different from yourself, doesn't make them wrong. we're all human, and we all have our preferences. design isn't about what you like vs what I like. it's what it is...and we all have different interests when it comes to design, not just the kind that evokes your typical "warm, fuzzy, cuddly good feelings."

you can stop trying to hijack threads intended for other purposes. this isn't a forum to discuss your personal likes/dislikes/politics. in fact, not discussing things at all is ignorant, stupid, and in-line with how politics works today. I would have expected something more open-minded from you, seeing how you claim to be from san francisco. you disappoint me. this could have been something to expand on...maybe some sort of free-flowing discourse.

oh, and to answer your question on how the mission statement applies to this chair? that's easy. "Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online."

the chair is an idea. this is a resource. and we are supposed to be a community. you don't have to like the idea. you don't even have to like your community members. but where do you have the right to step into my playground and turn this into a political forum? what are you, the an arm-chair activist?

stop posting so much and go outside. there is a world out there that beckons.

or wait, do you hate most people cause they don't seem to like you very much?

I bet he got his inspiration from the furniture in the movie A Clockwork Orange!
If, he REALLY wanted to make a statement, he wouldn't have used such a shapely creature, what is she a size 2 ,0,-2? can ANYONE fit into that chair except for starving models?...he should have used as his muse an average person off the street....

I fear that man is about to hump the chair.

Postings like this make me think AT bloggers need to review the goals of the site.

things like this don't offend me - i just find them amusing. if there is something i don't like on here, i won't boycott AT...i'll just look for other posts on here that do appeal to me. this doesn't exactly appeal to my taste for interior design but it cracks (no pun intended) me up immensely.
there is a museum of pre-colombian pottery in Nazca, Peru with a whole section of huacos excavated archaelogists (thank God not by thieves)....all these figurines are extremely perverted and i must say very very funny. it's not for everyone though if this blog indicates anything --- alot of purists and uptight, very easy to offend people tend to comment here. anyway, anyone walking through that section of the museum all end up getting hushed by serious security guards after too many fits of laughter. (i think it's El Museo De Oro....i have to look that up to be sure though)

nobody got hurt hundreds of years ago by the pornographic precolombian pottery in Peru....they actually make many people laugh hysterically. nobody will be hurt by this chair either. we just move on
**shrug**

As art, this serves a purpose as it evokes strong responses. It invites one to consider how women are viewed by men as objects or an assembly of sexualized pieces rather than as humans beings. It also carries mild overtones of the "support" and strength in the female form.

As a piece of furniture though, it's about as appealing as a planter shaped like a pair of breasts.

it just appears as if its the ass end of someone about to sit on the toilet.
hehe

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! I had a feeling this design would stir up some heated opinions.

The really amusing thing about this post is all the assumptions about the poster, the designer, and buyers who might find this design of interest (we'd certainly be excited if there was an increased interest in decor in the fraternity demographic). It wouldn't be fair to assume anything except that the designer seems to love the female form...and perhaps is a bit floral about his inspiration. A friend mentioned it would be the pinnacle of hilarity if we discovered the posterior actually belonged to the designer.

The fact is, I wouldn't even want the chair for my own home, unless I was trying to recreate a "Clockwork Orange" decor. But I did find it an interesting piece nonetheless, as it's amusingly, if not blatantly, ergonomic (it follows the curvature of the human form!). The design evidently strikes a nerve about issues of beauty, inspiration, gender and opens the discussion about "tasteful" choices in the home. Isn't it amazing how a piece of furniture can evoke all these emotions and opinions? I think so.

"Hot or not" posts are a forum for people to share what they believe is great or poor design, and elaborate further about these opinions. Sometimes we'll post benign or universally adored objects. Other times we'll post designs that will polarize. That's why we love the world of design and the dialogue it creates. The world would be a most ho-hum existence if we were all so "tasteful" and worried whether others thought what we find interesting or have created was "crap". Here's to people who keep "crossing that line"...because honestly, there aren't many really out there.

it's too bad that the chair doesn't have an ass crack on the inside part of the chair, the part you sit on. wouldn't that be a bit more comfortable? like wearing a snug fitting thong? each section would be gently cupping each of your ass cheeks, until you sweat so much that you stick to the chair.

the chair actually makes me self-conscious about my own ass, or possible lack of ass.

ok, time to hit the gym.

Is this the knee-jerk reaction to nudity around here?
No wonder our European friends view our culture as hypocritically obsessed with sexuality but afraid to express nudity. Some people seem unable to distinguish one from the other.

I think many here conclude that a representation of the female form is a de facto statement of female oppression via objectification. It can be if there is an explicitly erotic component that is gratuitous and demeaning, but I don't see that here.

'Nudity' is not (necessarily) 'sexuality', nor is it necessarily demeaning.

To me, this chair is purely about design.. it clearly references Verner Panton and presents a visual pun (as much modern design does) showing the form-function analog but blurring the demarcation between two. To some degree, it is also a straightforward celebration of the human form.

The latter is not lewd or offensive, but if you believe that it is, then it says more about you than it does about the chair.

Wow, the puritanical viewpoints of the visitors to this site astound me. I find it hard to believe many here studied art and design. Art history is filled with sexually charged themes. If this is insulting, well, I'm at a loss for words.

Secondly, I'm actually bothered by the fact it is so blatantly based on a Panton chair.

That last photo with the guy manhandling the chair? Hilarious!

This chair is great, I'd want it to go with my "ass-pinata" from the other day! But really, why is this sexist? The female form is more pleasing than the male form, and the fact that they put it on a chair,which already has kind of a female shape just takes it a step further. I'm not offended by the chair, I don't feel "the man" is trying to "keep me down". Do I personally like it?- It's not for me. Do I find it visually funny?-Yes.

I also think it's funny people are offended by an adults naked bottom! They're probably the same people who have those naked-baby-on-a-bear-skin-rug photos of their own kids.

Umm...could someone please pass the Clorox Disinfecting Wipes?

***still laughing my ass off***

I'm not bothered by it. I can't say I'd like it in my home, but in a way it is beautiful, kind of like appreciating a beautiful nude portrait. I'd prefer if it were a portrait, but what can you do.

And yeah, that last picture is HILARIOUS!

I don't see anything closed-minded about viewing a butt ugly chair, recognizing it as a butt ugly chair and saying, "hey, that's a seriously butt ugly chair!"
I have a good sense of humor, but I'm not laughing at this because it's just not funny. I'm not offended by it, either. I really don't feel anything for this chair except mild disdain.

THIS is funny:
http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=1308

That's a bit hypocritical...so, the Russian chairs are funny but the one above is not because there is a nude female model sitting on it and a little side boob?

The chair above seems thought out, interesting, causes reaction, material/form/color have interest...whether we all like it or not, isn't the point. It has merit as design. I really don't feel like the Russian chairs have any of those things. They are the equivalent of "arts and crafts" to me personally, and not design. At the least, they are similarly "Funny", leaving design out of it.

I am not picking on True Blue, I value your opinion and those of all the posters, but I feel in this instance you are being hypocritical. I do not see how you can be so offended and want to boycott the site because of the above picture but the Russian pic is somehow so funny??

yeah - is it THIS funny only because there are men (not women) sitting in them?

One is funny because it's not meant to be taken seriously. It is put forth as a joke. It's supposed to be funny. And silly. Watermelon butt. Bug butt. No one is standing around pretending that it's serious art. Watermelons do not wear pants. Not that I've noticed anyway. It's just foolishness.

This chair above though is supposedly to be taken seriously. And I can't take it seriously.

I came back to this site when I got a fast internet connection. For years I was unable to load the pages, because I had dial-up.

It got harder and harder as more ads were placed, especially the animated ads, around the first Small, Cool contest.

Not only that, but I couldn't do much of anything else. Like try to find things in a timely manner for the "Good Questions" because it was so slow for me.

Now I can load faster, and I did find some things that people were looking for. Except people don't come back. They don't even know if their question has been posted.

I find things that might be of interest, and I have sent them in, but I don't think anyone reads the mail. Or reads my mail anyway.

I tried.

I don't go outside so much because I'm disabled. It hurts to walk. I make myself walk to the store twice a week for groceries. I've got nothing but time and nowhere to use it.

Oh, was there a chair in the pics?

perhaps you should ask Fabio Novembre why the chair is lime green. don't just come to your own conclusions based on your own opinion.
i'm sure you could contact him...umm the site is in italian though.
http://www.novembre.it/
All the comments on here made me curious about the designer and how he ended up making this idea a real object, so I looked him up.
who knows - you might learn a little something about art & design. there is something for everyone out there. there are lots of ideas and not everyone shares the same aesthetic. and not every artist or designer has to cater to only what pleases the you and some others. have you noticed the postings that AT has put up after this HOT or NOT topic? They have posted the one about the Bad Art Museum... then there is the quote by Paul Rand about the things that design can be. Then there were postings about artist's homes. There was one artist who had sculptures of penises in his home. All of these subtly point out that everyone has different opinions...ideas....and they are free to express themselves. AT has made it clear that this is a forum for ideas on design....including products that people either love or hate.
To say "this object just panders to people who like kooky stuff on the premise of calling everyone else a prude if they don't like the looks of it" is a generalization of a bunch of people you know nothing about save whatever comment they post on AT.
It's very lame.
I wouldn't want this chair in my house because it's not my style but I find it funny - as funny as a big ass pinata.
It made me and all my coworkers laugh. None of us took it seriously at all. I have some friends and family who I think would be offended....I guess I'll have to show them to be sure...but I know they would not be so condemning or make unreasonable assumptions about me just because i laugh or joke about it.
Anyway, it seems that AT maintains that they will continue to do HOT or NOTS to get people's opinion...get people talking....and get many free ideas flowing. Somewhere out there...there are people who may want or already have this lime green chair in their homes..
There is something for everyone on AT as long as someone - anyone - can find a place for it in their homes whether it is just humorous, beautiful or utilitarian to them.

I cannot speak for everyone out there but from what I have observed on this site, AT is not into posting things like this only to polarize and keep hits up. I think that is very unfair to say that about the people at AT. Give them a little more credit for just having open minds and wanting to find out what people think. They are not going to post only about things that are universally acceptable. Playing it safe and never taking risks so you don't get rejected are not good whether you are a stand-up comic telling jokes....or a designer or an artist. Sometimes you will miss with alot of people.

I thought this chair was just funny but now especially after reading all the condemning remarks here, I actually admire this particular designer even though I would never use this chair in my home. And I don't think the ideas whether I agree with them or not are stupid.

The several last comments from KTG and little flower really illustrate why it is important to discuss these sort of designs, whether polarizing or "offensive". This sort of discussion happens a lot between the editors at AT and within design circles (as someone who has designed furniture, the whole discussion of taste is really moot), and we're bound to occasionally post items or ideas that may cross the line of the norm into the realm of the exceptional. Whether it's exceptionally bad or good, we leave that to our readers to decide, and that to me is very much in tune with the goals of Apartment Therapy. Because if you think about it, whether we're posting house tours, products or solutions, any and all these things are deemed "inspiring" or "lame" depending upon each reader. Thus, instead of posting this as a normal entry, I made sure to post this as a hot or not, inviting everyone to share their opinion, and out of it has been born a very heated and thoughtful discussion about human form in design and related topics about designer's intention, the message reflected in choice of colour, and cultural mores of what is and is not shocking (something tells me that in much of Europe, this design would hardly elicit such concern about the human form).

The subjective quality of design invites this sort of dialogue, and we'd hope you'd give our editors, including myself, the benefit of the doubt that we post things we think our readers may find interesting. I know I personally do not post 90% of the things or topics I consider; there is heavy editing to stay in tune with AT's demographic and aesthetic to a certain extent. If you peek inside my own house tour from the past, it's evident I don't have chairs shaped like nude women or other shocking avant-garde designs. But I personally find them interesting in the same way I enjoy a Harmony Korine film or a Saatchi exhibit. Some people think both those are extremely contrived and lame also. So be it...we live in our own niches within our realms of convention. I'm glad there are people who loved and hated this piece. To me, it's ultimately these type of creations that elicit such polarized opinions that matter so much in a time when "safe" design or art is cultured.

I'd hit it.

I'd sit it.

OMG, the chair is meant to be a conversation piece. It's playful and interesting. Design isn't supposed to be so darned serious unless you're designing a mortuary.
GET OVER YOURSELVES!

Can I have the development costs of the mold to do something else with?

I kinda like it. :-)

I think this chair is pretty cool and it could totally work with somebody's decor. I don't understand how some people find it so offensive and sexist? Granted, I think the ad is sort of a turn off (mostly because of the naked woman). But I think if I saw the chair just on it's own I'd be like "Yeah, that's a pretty awesome chair. I want that."

I have one. Not the glossy one. Just a plain white, with a male ass.
It's really comfortable. And trust me, of my many chairs, this is the one people want to try first, even though it's in an unassuming corner. It's a hit. But of course, people who might regard this chair as something offensive instead of funny - or who get offended by whatever is related to the human body - are not the ones who get invited to my place.