学術雑誌論文

本学関連学会

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The Journal of the Asian Conference of Design History and Theory. 2024, 5, p. 66-74

‘Rescued’ Furniture : Reviving and Reutilising Kyushu University’s Historical Furniture

The ACDHT 2023 TOKYO Executive Committee

英語

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2024-03

Session IV : Crafts as Cultural Resources

This paper discusses ‘rescuing’ objects, focusing on furniture, and examines how this idea reflects and can contribute to ‘ideal truth’ of design in relation to consumption/use, disposal and reuse/reutilisation. The paper begins by seeking the basis of the notion of ‘rescuing’ objects, looking at the definitions of the English words ‘rescue’ and ‘salvage’, as well as the Japanese word ‘resukyu’. Referring to customs in material culture and folklore, this paper explores the possibility of analysing furniture from the viewpoints of personification and sanctity. The paper then analyses the language used by the Kyushu University Museum and its supporters. When Kyushu University (established in 1911) began to move to a new campus in 2005, many pieces of historical furniture that had been used were discarded. The museum started to ‘rescue’ them in 2008 and has conducted a project of ‘open preservation’: reuse of them not only on campus but also in shops and other facilities outside the campus. When the museum appealed for the costs of transport and repairs of discarded pieces of furniture through cloud funding in 2018, the word ‘rescue’ was used to describe them. The personification of the furniture was also seen in the donors’ comments. The paper concludes with an examination of some shops outside the campus that use the furniture loaned by the museum, conducting interviews concerning their views on reviving and reutilising it. The example of Kyushu University’s historical furniture demonstrates that the furniture that has literally supported people’s lives was saved by people, including those who are not related to the university, and is reutilised in other places. This also indicates that objects can be ‘rescued’ and deserve to be treated with respect, which ultimately leads to long-term use of products and even exemplifies eternal life.

10.18910/95347

95347

‘Rescued’ Furniture : Reviving and Reutilising Kyushu University’s Historical Furniture

The ACDHT 2023 TOKYO Executive Committee

英語

2024-03

The Journal of the Asian Conference of Design History and Theory

5

66

74

https://hdl.handle.net/11094/95347

10.18910/95347

https://doi.org/10.18910/95347