Kasia visited a chair shop in Berlin

Kasia Krenz, Ulrich Fries

“THONET”

10.08.2014 02:11 Kasia Krenz wrote:

Dear Mr Fries,
I missed you on Saturday morning when I came to your shop to deliver the poem that I have promised to write for you. So I left it on your desk and do sincerely hope that you enjoy it.
It was so very nice meeting you, thank you.
With best regards,
K.K.

The Chair

by Kasia Krenz

For Ulrich Fries, 7th of August, 2014

Traditionally made of wood that was once a tree, a chair is a living object.

Hence a chair has a life of its own, a genealogy and roots,
and a role to play here on Earth. In the beginning it was an elm,
a chestnut, or perhaps an oak or an ash, and sometimes, rarely,
it might have been even a rose tree — a challenge in its own right.

On our demand a tree becomes an object apparently
inanimate and lifeless, or even dull and insensate.
Something to be set on fire, a shelter for our birth and death.
A witness to our love and betrayal. A place to sit and cry.

Neither its inventor Herr Thonet, nor the model’s number should you forget.
Better known as Konsumstuhl Nr. 14, a bistro chair, or simply: the Thonet,
this chair of chairs was made of bentwood with a unique steam-bending
technology that required years to perfect. With its affordable price and simple design,
it has become one of the best-selling chairs ever made. Some 50 million No. 14’s
were sold only between 1859 and 1930, did you know that?

Ever since it entered our social life, on 4 legs, in the year 1859, it has remained essential. Ave!

The tree was not prepared to serve our purpose — as a witness
to our wars and stories, a companion to our morning coffee-and-journal,
or to a letter written in solitude on a bleak Winter night.
It has experienced and learned so much, and thus became such an educated tree.

The chair: an actor on the stage of my life.

In front of the shop – Fotos Kasia Krenz

Re: The poem / Ulrich Fries / Aug 10 at 4:02 PM / To: Kasia Krenz
Dear Kasia,

…i was gone to a family meeting near Bremen. It is ok with the pics and the publication and i added a little material for it. First, there is a rebound of your poem:

To be
A chair
As heir
Of a tree

Needs me
To make
A fake
Of a she…

And second, here is the pic of the “She”:

You can see the No 14 chair upside down in the center of “She”. (By the way She is 2.6 meter high). A friend from the Scottish border, a devoted bird watcher, found the name “She” since she saw a “pregnant lady”- as she expressed it – in the sculpture.
I did not yet go to the shop, but i´ll read your poem tomorrow… …i just came back from Bremen and will have a nap now. When you have your poem published, you might suggest your sister to tell the whole story, that i´m doing sculptures from bentwood chairs… Third, here is me in front of the shop with another sculpture, “Jack And The Beanstalk”.

Have a nice time and enjoy the summer
XXXXXXXXXXXXUlrich

XXXXXXXXXXXXIn front of the shop – Fotos Ulrich Fries

xxxxxxxxxxxxBleibtreustraße 53, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Tel.: 313 46 05
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