Cecilia Vicuña, Artist

Nuevos diseños eróticos para muebles (New erotic designs for furniture) , 1971

New Erotic Designs for Furniture

Dreaming of a vast world

we have come to the definite conclusion

that physical positions

in a civilized world

are too constricting

therefore, we would eliminate

the position

“sitting in a chair”

and suggest instead a different kind of furniture

that allows for a multiplicity

of movements and physical situations

in line with each body's specific wiring.

This idea will be of special interest

to those who obsessively

or by obligation remain

immobile for long hours,

e.g.:

students

office workers

machine operators

meeting attendees

Models will be built for those

who hate to write while sitting,

allowing them to kneel,

lie on their bellies, squat,

or hang upside-down

This furniture will

promote the health

and beauty of all its users

thanks to the peculiar increase in blood circulation

and inevitable protuberance

of thighs and asses,

which are undoubtedly part of my plan.

1971

Cecilia Vicuña 

Translated by Rosa Alcalá

Translation from Cecilia Vicuña: The Selected Poems (1966–2015) (Kelsey Street Press, forthcoming).