Scandinavian Design: Beyond the Myth
The Lighthouse, Glasgow
19 June 2005-28 August 2005
The Danish Museum of Art and Design, Copenhagen
16 September 2005-20 November 2005
'Scandinavian Design: Beyond the Myth' makes
two assumptions: first, that there is a myth regarding Scandinavian
design; and second, that there is now something beyond that myth
(assuming that is possible). The 'myth' about Scandinavian design
is, presumably, that it is homogeneous and democratic, based upon
a love of natural materials and an aversion to applied decoration,
with an ability to use highly sophisticated techniques in a very
modest and unassuming way.
The 'myth' - if there is one - is established at
the beginning of the exhibition. Titled 'Symbols of Modernity',
it shows a small selection of products that immediately established
the special identity of Scandinavian design at exhibitions held
by Heals in London in 1951, at the Triennales in Milan from 1951-1968,
and the 'Design in Scandinavia' exhibition that toured America in
1954. The products include Hans Wegner's 'Round Chair' (1949), or
'The Chair', as it is called in the USA, Jacob Jensen's red plastic
Margrethe bowls (1954), Poppy fabric by Marimekko (1964) and Eero
Aarnio's Pastiili red plastic chair (1967). The latter, along with
Verner Panton's red plastic stackable chair of 1959-1962, demonstrate
how Scandinavian designers were enlarging their modernist aesthetics
to take account of Pop and Op Art, and the organic forms and colours
that were then coming into play.
Later, of course, came Memphis and the postmodern movement, which
is when, one assumes, post-Second World War Scandinavian design
became a myth, only to be revived from the 1990s onwards when many
of the original designs became collectors pieces, and products like
Arne Jacobsen's 'Ant chair' (and its derivatives) once again took
over the world. What the catalogue to the exhibition claims is that
such products were part of an extremely clever marketing strategy
and that Scandinavian design at that time owed a lot to American
influences (Florence and Hans Knoll, and Charles Eames, for example)
while also influencing, in its turn, post-war design in East and
West Germany.
If the 1970s and 1980s marked a watershed in Scandinavian design,
its recovery in the 1990s follows, the exhibition says, the guidelines
laid down by Italo Calvino in his 1980s Harvard lectures, Six Memos
for the Next Millennium. These rejected the notion of linear progression
and, instead, can be interpreted - in the case of Scandinavian design
- to suggest that its objects are light in every aspect ('lightness')
in order for them to be simple to use ('quickness'). 'People have
formulated their design ideas with the greatest clarity ('visibility')
and preciseness ('exactitude') in order to fulfil many functions
('multiplicity'), designed for a long life for a sustainable society
('consistency'), in the catalogue's interpretation of the lectures.
Thus, the exhibition gives contemporary examples of Scandinavian
design that express these attributes. A videoconferencing unit designed
in 2001 is one of those representing 'exactitude', while very sophisticated
rescue clothing designed in 1999 represents 'multiplicity'. Similarly,
a range of children's boots designed from 1998-2003 demonstrates
'consistency' and a dress fabric featuring circular and molecular
patterns in yellow, blue, grey and white of 2003, 'visibility'.
'Quickness' is demonstrated, for example, by a necklace in paper
of 2002, and 'lightness' by a laminated wooden tree that serves
as a coat rack, designed in 2003.
However, in this exhibition it is possible to find designs that
typify those identified with the Scandinavian 'myth', such as Lasse
Baehring's beautiful silver tea infusers of 1998 that recall the
best of Georg Jensen's silverware, or Widex's integrated door handle
with a built-in key unit, which is little different in its concept
and apparent simplicity from Arne Jacobsen's taps designed in the
1960s. And then there is Wenche Lyche's 'Zip Me Up' wedding dress
of 2000, an amazing design made out of innumerable elements held
together by zip fasteners, whose bodice echoes the structure of
whale bone corsets.
In fact, most of the contemporary products look little different
in their concept, use of materials, technology and colour from those
shown as 'Symbols of Modernity'. So, perhaps Scandinavian design
is not a myth after all. But, as in the 1970s and 1980s, its future
may be under threat. The global economy now means that some of the
products made by the Orkla Group (which includes Royal Copenhagen
Ceramics, Georg Jensen silver and Orrefors Kosta Boda glass) may
now be made outside Scandinavia, while some Finns have already expressed
fears that their economy has become too dependent upon Nokia. What
would happen if that company were to fail? Thus, things may be less
settled for Scandinavian design in the 21st century than they were
in the second half of the 20th.
'Scandinavian Design: Beyond the Myth' can also be seen at The Rohss
Museum of Design and Applied Art, Gothenburg from 3 December 2005-26
February 2006; and at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and
Design, Oslo, from 18 March-14 May 2006.
Richard Carr