Artist Spotlight on William Chesser
William Chesser is a multi-hyphenate artist, designer, and educator whose passion for creating functional and aesthetically pleasing pieces is as evident as his love for soft sciences and philosophy. Moonlighting as both a science teacher and craftsman, Chesser brings a unique perspective and versatility to his work, infusing his designs with a blend of intellect and creativity with science and aesthetics. With a MA in Anthropology and eclectic background in construction, carpentry and philosophy, Chesser gives us a peek into his unique perspective on the intersection of form and function, the connectivity between science and art, and what it means to truly be an artist.
MIXD: Can you tell us a little about your background and your journey as an artist? There are many intersections and inspiration when looking at how you design your work.
William Chesser: When I was a senior in high school, I spent time with a wonderful mentor named Archie Schaeffer. We would drink German beer, smoke excellent cigars, and talk philosophy. Archie thought that the best people on earth were ‘Renaissance Men’. If I have a goal in life when thinking about my time on earth, then it would be to have qualified as a ‘Renaissance Man’ in the eyes of Archie. He passed away a long time ago so I will never be able to know for sure, but that’s the measuring stick I use.
I always loved science in school but mostly studied soft sciences in college and had intended to become a professor. Long story short, I decided a career as a college professor didn’t feel right. After a brief sojourn into construction, I became a high school science teacher. Though I was contracting and digging deep into car mechanics on the side, I still found myself continuing to design furniture. With this craft, part of the fun of this design was hiding all the hardware. That, in my opinion, is where the elegance comes from.
M: Could you share a pivotal moment or experience from your life that propelled you toward the intersection of art and design?
WC: I met my wife when I was working on my MA in Anthropology. My thesis was on internet dating, which was very new in 2002 when I met Alison. I was doing participant observation, meaning I had to actively participate in internet dating. She lived in Brooklyn at the time and I went to visit her early in our courtship. She took me to a furniture store that was literally built into the Queensborough Bridge on the Manhattan side called The Conran Shop. It was mind blowing. I suppose I had a sort of epiphanic moment in which my view of what furniture could be rapidly expanded in a manner akin to the Big Bang.
I was particularly enamored with a coffee table. It was very Japanese inspired–simply two slabs of wood, clean cut but not overly finished. Side by side with a gap between them laid on top of two smaller pieces running perpendicular to them on the ground. It was much lower to the ground than I was used to. I loved it. But it was way out of my price range.
I spent some time thinking about building something similar but then, I was introduced to CNC milling. Those merged and the Model 0 coffee table was born.
M: Which contemporary artists resonate the most with your design world, and in what ways do their works serve you as a source of inspiration?
WC: I tend to love Mid-Century Modern which is something my wife is partially responsible for. Back in the 80s, her father was a Herman Miller sales rep for a territory west of the Mississippi. Because of that, her family had several pieces that I really loved including an original rosewood Eames Lounger that we have in our living room today. It’s not necessarily directly inspirational but one of the key tests in my mind for whether or not my work is “good enough” is if it can sit in the room with the Eames Lounger and hold its own. I wouldn’t dare compare myself to Eames! If my work can comfortably be in the same room, then I feel like I have done something right.
M: When integrating your pieces into spaces, what are the main factors you consider to ensure a harmonious interaction between your art and the environment?
WC: One literal thing I have been trying to solve in terms of harmony is with the Model 6 Rocker. I designed the original Model 6 Rocker 15 years ago and thought it didn’t need to be improved upon. However, the minute I assembled it, it immediately rolled over on its back.
I was pretty devastated. I have killed six rocking chairs in my life and really wanted this to work. But this is a place where science and art have something very much in common; failure is a major part of moving forward. Both science and design are iterative by nature. Both support the notion that the most important thing that happens to you is when you believe something is absolutely certain and is shown with clear evidence to be absolutely incorrect.
One of the key tests in my mind for whether or not my work is “good enough” is if it can sit in the room with the Eames Lounger and hold its own. I wouldn’t dare compare myself to Eames! If my work can comfortably be in the same room, then I feel like I have done something right.
WILLIAM CHESSER
So, I started from scratch! The nice thing about utter failure is that it is very instructive. You may not know the right answer but you now have a VERY good idea of what is NOT the right answer. It took many iterations to get there but the fact is that the new Model 6 is far more elegant than the original.
The one going in the MIXD exhibit is not perfect, and nothing really is. But I am very happy with both the form and the function. It works exactly as it was created, a true rocking chair, and that matters to me.
M: You are introducing colors into your designs this year. Could you share how you select color palettes for your pieces in relation to the impact you want to create in a space?
WC: The colors are another example of personal problem solving. I was absolutely certain that I would get to a point where I offered three veneer finishes only for these pieces. Think: walnut, white oak, and cherry. The cost of those veneers on Baltic Birch plywood has skyrocketed and it already wasn’t cheap to begin with. It felt like the pieces were getting beyond the price point I wanted them to be at and I wanted my work to be a bit more accessible.
So I started to explore options. I didn’t want to just stain something like birch to look like another wood. I thought, “Why not make it more colorful?” So I tried it. The crazy thing is that when I was at The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in May earlier this year, the colorful pieces drew the most interest. I realized I was on to something. I am really excited to explore some whimsy by playing with color. I am not sure where it will take me exactly but I have really enjoyed mixing dozens of colors to see how I feel about them.
My wife has a super-human ability with color. At her architecture firms, she is almost always the person everyone goes to for color advice. I never move past “I like this” without running it by her. She’s really great to have in my corner.
M: How does function influence and affect your creative process, negatively and positively?
WC: The piece must function. Full stop. It also must be aesthetically pleasing. Those two things can be in tension, but when they can balance each other, you’re onto something good.
People say I should put a piece of glass on it. While I get that it would add to the function, to me it reduces the aesthetics. As a designer, I feel like it’s my job to try and get the maximum balance of form and function possible out of a piece. You have to both want it in your house and want to use it because it works.
Sometimes being “lived in” is what gives a piece the character that takes it from interesting to truly great.
M: Technology and innovation continually impact interior design. How do you see the integration of a classic piece as a rocking chair with a new craft such as the CNC machine?
WC: The “flaws” of made by hand items are a part of their character and charm. There’s a really interesting philosophical discussion to be had around this. Making something that way by hand is an aspect of my internal definition of “art” and is why I don’t really refer to my furniture as “art”.
It is not lost on me that there are people out there still putting in decades of work necessary to build things by hand in the analog world. That level of craft is something I really respect. I think that there are probably billions of people out there yearning to get their creative ideas out there in the world, but a lack of coordination, talent, time, effort, and life get in the way.
With opportunities for digital iteration of ideas ( like CAD and other digital design software) combined with precision controlled robotic tooling, this allows people to more easily get their voices out. I think that’s amazing and it’s what has allowed me the opportunity to exercise my creative voice. I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am without this kind of technology.
M: Finally, how do you envision the evolution of your work in relation to architectural design?
WC: Archie, among other things, talked me out of studying Architecture in school and pointed me toward Anthropology. At the time, architecture seemed to me to be almost the ultimate ‘Renaissance expression’ since it’s both form and function. But he was right. Studying humans and then coming back to things like architecture was a better path for me. The best part is I married an architect who is much better in that field than I ever would have been so I get the best of both worlds.
At one point in my career, I was a carpenter. I still love to build and hope that some of my design sense can go into projects like building my own house one day! When I think about the evolution of my work, solving a problem with design, whether it is furniture or an installation in a house, public space, or creating space itself is very appealing to me. While I am not quite ready to quit teaching, I do hope that I can find ways to bring my experience in this area into new areas. I’d love to take what I have learned while designing this project and use it toward making something unique for someone else. Maybe I might call myself an artist of sorts after all.
Special thank you to William for sharing his practice with us! You can learn even more about him HERE and shop his latest works at MIXD Gallery.
Article Credits
Artist Portrait by Tyson Banks; Interview Questions by Allison Hobbs; Words by Claire Ward.