Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Furniture
First Advisor
Christopher Specce
Second Advisor
Harry Allen
Third Advisor
Lukas Bentel
Abstract
If spicy ramyun is spicy for others but not for me, is it still spicy
ramyun? This question begins Useful Useless Object, my investigation
into furniture as a site where function, perception, and value are
constantly negotiated rather than fixed. From this question, I
explore how meaning is shaped by the unstable relationship between
object and user. In furniture, usefulness is often treated as an
objective standard, measured by comfort, efficiency, or practicality.
However, this project argues that usefulness is never universal;
it is subjective, relational, and dependent on individual experience,
expectation, and desire.
Through making objects that sit between furniture and sculpture,
function and dysfunction, attraction and resistance, I challenge
conventional assumptions about what furniture is supposed to do.
These works do not reject utility entirely, but instead complicate
it, asking whether an object can remain “useful” even when it
resists use, or whether uselessness can itself become a form
of meaning. By embracing contradiction, ambiguity, and humor,
Useful Useless Object proposes furniture as a space for questioning
established definitions of purpose. Ultimately, this thesis suggests
that an object’s identity is not determined solely by its intended
function, but by the shifting perceptions, expectations, and embodied
experiences of those who encounter it.
Recommended Citation
Jung, Jisu Han, "Useful Useless Object" (2026). Masters Theses. 1611.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1611
Creative Commons License
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