Dressing Down

Paintings with mirrors oblige the viewer to become a part of the painting thereby making the paintings interactive. The painting of a piece of furniture functions as a piece of furniture because of the real mirror, but this is not a piece of furniture; it is a painting of a piece of furniture - with a built in mirror - but since the mirrors are functional then they become furniture: Functional Art. Perhaps it would be best to describe them as 'functional trompe l'oeil' - if that's not a contradiction. The shoes are a separate painting placed beneath the furniture - as shoes normally are.