Core77

Mark Moskovitz's Future Perfect bench, currently showing at MOCA Cleaveland, is a nice collision of old skool techniques and modern materials. Essentially, he's used classic carpentry techniques on plastic lumbar, but designers have as much to say as artists do, so here goes:

The concept is to juxtapose antiquated and primarily obsolete technique with modern materials and technology in order to enhance how we think about objects both proactively and retroactively, hopefully creating a dialogue that can be at first hypersensitive and later blind to the linear history that created them. In theory, putting together conditions of different eras magically imagines other entire sets of questions, solutions, and aesthetics, perhaps one day helping to positively reinvent the wheel. This initial piece in the series features all hand-cut joinery (dovetails, mortise and tenon, butterfly joints) and is constructed without powertools, glue, screws or other such fasteners. Surfaces are milled with a combination of hand-planing, draw knife, broad axe, and finished with a cabinet scraper. It is made from 100% recycled HDPE Plastic (milk jugs, etc.) and Polyester cord woven in a traditional style commonly associated with furniture caning.

We're fans of Mark's work; check out his Writer's Cabin from back in 2005.