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www.designmuseum.dk
Designmuseum Danmark
Bredgade 68
1260 København K
Åbningstider / Opening hours:
Tirsdag til søndag 11-17 / Tuesday to Sunday 11am - 5pm
Mandag lukket / Monday closed
08.04. – 02.10. – 2011
Plakat / Poster: Rasmus Koch Studio | Fotos / Photos: Pernille Klemp
08.04. – 02.10. – 2011
Christian Holmsted Olesen
Jasper Morrison om dansk design
og det at forbedre ting
Det danske Kunstindustrimuseum skifter navn til Designmuseum
Danmark i 2011, og i den anledning iscenesætter og kuraterer
den verdensberømte, britiske designer Jasper Morrison (f. 1959)
en udstilling om dansk design. Udstillingen er fra museets side
et forsøg på at synliggøre nogle kvaliteter ved dansk design
set gennem et udefra kommende blik. Dansk ”kunstindustri” er
med betegnelsen Danish Design for mange år siden blevet et
internationalt succesrigt fænomen, og i dag er der et behov for
at gøre status over, hvad det egentlig indeholder.
Jasper Morrison har, som det fremgår af udstillingstitlen, et nært
forhold til dansk design, og han har igennem flere af sine egne
værker ladet sig inspirere af dansk design. Udstillingen er et
samarbejde mellem museet og tekstilvirksomheden Kvadrat,
som fremstiller Hallingdal, der er anvendt på en række af de
bedste polstermøbler i verden. Hallingdal er designet af den
danske designer Nanna Ditzel i 1965, og i dag har Kvadrat
produceret mere end 5.478.000 meter af det slidstærke tekstil.
Morrison anvender selv Hallingdal flittigt på sine polstermøbler,
i denne udstilling udgør det baggrunden for de øvrige
­udstillingsgenstande.
Jeg ved, at du er blevet inspireret af nogle af de danske
­designere, f.eks. Børge Mogensen og Poul Kjærholm. De var
begge to designere, som stræbte efter at fortsætte en lang
tradition for at forfine møbelarketyper. Er det relevant i dag
at basere design på eksisterende idéer?
Det er det i hvert fald for mig! Jeg mener, at det er nærmest
instinktivt og er foregået til alle tider. Ligesom jeg netop nævnte
den første håndlavede gryde, kan vi jo prøve at forestille os,
hvor den anden kom fra! Vi kom ikke til månen i et eneste
blændende glimt af inspiration. Og det er ikke anderledes med
stole; der findes tusindvis af typer, som alle er i stadig udvikling,
og jeg er ret sikker på, at de alle sammen har deres oprindelse i
ægypternes første stole eller de første udhuggede stentroner til
konger. Det ligger i menneskets natur at blive inspireret af det,
andre mennesker har frembragt.
Kunstindustrimuseet blev grundlagt af Industriforeningen i
København og Ny Carlsberg Museumslegat i 1890 inspireret
af tilsvarende institutioner i udlandet. Ligesom det første
”designmuseum”, Victoria & Albert Museum , i London skulle
Kunstindustrimuseet styrke befolkningens kvalitetsbevidsthed
og virke som inspirationskilde for erhvervsliv og designere.
­Kunstindustrimuseet blev omdrejningspunktet for udviklingen
af en dansk designkultur. I det 20. århundrede foregik store
dele af danske designuddannelsers undervisning i museet
og en hjørnesten i dansk design blev videreudviklingen og
­forfinelsen af de historiske genstandstyper, som forefindes i
museets samlinger.
Dansk design fik sit store internationale gennembrud, da den
udenlandske presse besøgte Københavns Snedkerlaugs
­Udstilling i Kunstindustrimuseet i 1949. De efterfølgende
årtier blev begrebet Danish Design et anerkendt varemærke
i udlandet. Dansk design er præget af historiske forbilleder,
enkelhed, stor grad af detaljebearbejdning, en særlig forståelse
for sansningen af materialerne, en meget pragmatisk tilgang
til designopgaven og en demokratisk og fornuftspræget
­holdning til det at formgive til hverdagen.
Designeren Jasper Morrison er kendt for at designe ting til at
blive brugt i hverdagen, og i modsætning til mange af hans
samtidige er hans fokus ikke rettet mod at skabe spektakulære,
opmærksomhedskrævende objekter. Hans designs har ofte et
beskedent, velkendt, nærmest arketypisk præg.
Grafisk design / Graphic Design: Rasmus Koch Studio
Oversættelse / Translation: Annemette Fogh
Fotos / Photos: Pernille Klemp
I 2009 lancerede den italienske møbelproducent Magis hans
stol Trattoria, som parafraserer en simpel bondestol, der har
fået plasticsæde- og ryg. Den ligner, bortset fra plasticsædet
og –ryglænet, Børge Mogensens kendte folkestol, J39, som
blev tegnet til FDB i 1944. Trattoria er et godt eksempel på
Morrisons arbejde med at bearbejde og forbedre de historiske
arketyper og gøre dem tidssvarende, hvad angår produktion,
­anvendelse og udtryk. Og på den måde ligner Morrison
­Mogensen og flere af de danske designere. Mogensen
­hentede ligesom Morrison inspiration i fortidens hverdags­
genstande og søgte at ”rense” og raffinere dem til perfektion.
Dengang begrebet Danish Design opstod var man ikke
flov over at genbruge former og ideer fra tidligere perioder,
og det ­adskilte dansk design fra centraleuropæisk, som
også var r­ ationelt tænkt ligesom dansk formgivning, men
ønskede at bryde med fortiden. Møbeldesigneren Hans J.
Wegner har ­engang sagt, at ”Danish Design var en vidtgående
­renselsesproces”. For Morrison drejer design sig om at
forbedre hverdagens genstande. I dag er det svært at tale om
national design, det er Jasper Morrison et godt eksempel på.
Han har tegnestuer i London, Paris og Tokyo og formgiver for
­virksomheder i mange lande.
Salatskål/Salad bowl
1979
Designer: Kay Bojesen, Magne Monsen
Manufacturer: Kay Bojesens tegnestue
Jasper Morrison er blevet betegnet som en hovedeksponent
for den nye bølge af rationalisme inden for design, som vi
har set i de seneste årtier. Hans design af alt fra vinglas
til sporvognssystemer forener asketiske, elegante former
med opfindsomhed, humor og følsomhed. Morrison er tilhænger
af det klassiske modernistiske designideal, hvor designerens
primære rolle er at tjene industrien og forbrugeren ved at gøre
ting nemmere at producere og bedre at leve med i hverdagen.
Han skaber ikke som mange andre af samtidens store designere
konservationsstykker til museer, der primært skal overraske med
provokerende æstetik. Tværtimod har han i de udstillinger, han
har vist på andre museer fremhævet design, som er anonymt
eller ”Supernormal”, som hans udstilling kurateret i samarbejde
med Naoto Fukasawa på Triennalen i Milano 2007 hed. ”Special
is generally less useful than normal”, mener Morrison. Og
netop brugen af tingene, livet med dem er det helt centrale for
­Morrison, som med begrebet ”Uselessnism” gør op med design,
der ikke kan bruges til noget og kun er skabt for underholde folk
og give designerne en personlig profil. Morrison ser i det, han
kan kalder ”Utilism”, som på mange måder svarer til det, man
har kaldt den ”den funktionelle tradition” i Danmark, en proces,
som er drevet af nødvendighed, men er alt andet end tør og
giver masser af rum for humor, ironi og charme.
Mange af de danske produkter, du kan lide, er formet i hånden,
og man kan føle de naturmaterialer, de er lavet af. Tror du,
det gør en forskel at designe i hånden i stedet for f.eks.
på en ­computer, og er det lettere at værdsætte eller forstå
­produkterne, når de er lavet af naturmaterialer?
Det er jeg ikke længere sikker på. I begyndelsen af computertegningens historie tror jeg, at vores manglende dygtighed til at
bruge teknikken betød, at visse designs blev oversimplificeret.
Men i vore dage kan man lave meget komplekse former med
3D-programmer, der kan reproduceres meget nøjagtigt som
prototyper, som derefter kan blive modificeret osv. Så selv om
vi har mistet den intuitive formgivning, som kommer af dygtigt
håndværk, så har vi vundet en meget højere grad af kontrol.
Jeg tror, at vi snart vil komme til at se former, som det ikke
var muligt at fremstille med håndværk alene. Og så alligevel
– ­kombinationen af dygtigt håndværk og naturlige materialer
tilføjet den skønhed, som kun tiden kan give, er svær at overgå!
Du har engang sagt, at design er et middel til at forbedre
atmosfæren, og når du opbygger udstillinger, prøver du altid
at fremhæve de udstillede genstandes sande værdi. Du har
brugt Nanna Ditzels stof Hallingdal fra Kvadrat som baggrund i
denne udstilling, og jeg ved, at du ofte bruger Hallingdal i dine
møbler. Hvorfor det? Hvilken form for atmosfære har du forsøgt
at skabe i denne udstilling?
Jeg har brugt Hallingdal i mange år, efter at jeg opdagede totone-vævningen. Det er et stof med en sådan dybde og klarhed,
og som i den grad er identisk med den danske stil, at det var et
helt naturligt valg som baggrund for denne udstilling.
Hvilken fremtid ser du for dansk design? Er det stadig relevant,
eller er det bare en nostalgisk stil fra gamle dage?
Jeg er sikker på, at dansk designs guldalder vil give yngre ­
generationer af danske designere en masse inspiration;
når vi ser alle de udvalgte genstande udstillet sammen, håber
jeg, at de vil virke friske og vise vej fremad mod en ny guldalder.
Morrisons praktiske syn på designopgaven har mange
lighedspunkter med beskrivelser af den danske designtradtion.
Arkitekten Steen Eiler Rasmussen skriver i en artikel i tidsskriftet
Dansk Kunsthåndværk 1960 om forskellen på Bauhaus og den
danske brugskunst, at den danske brugskunst er mere o
­ rienteret
mod brug end Bauhaus-traditionen, som ”­ interesserede sig
mere for formens æstetiske virkning, for at skabe en ny stil”.
Rasmussen argumenterer for at dansk design ”ikke får sit
værd ved synsmæssige oplevelser, men ved at være gode
redskaber”. Nogle vil nok være uenige med Rasmussen i hans
syn på ­centraleuropæisk design, spørgsmålet her er, om danske
designere har en særlig evne til at skabe holdbare, brugbare,
redskaber, der gør hverdagen nemmere, sådan som også
Morrison mener design bør være. I forbindelse med Morrisons
arbejde med udstillingen fortæller han:
Min bedstefar arbejdede for Danish Bacon i England, og
han blev interesseret i danske møbler, fordi han ofte rejste til
­København i 1950’erne og 60’erne. Han boede på et typisk
engelsk landsted, som var fuldt af antikviteter med undtagelse
af én stue, som han moderniserede med danske møbler,
hvide gulvtæpper og trægulve. Den stue var fuld af lys og så
forskellig fra alt, hvad jeg tidligere havde set, at den gjorde et
uudsletteligt indtryk på mig, og den har sikkert været stærkt
medvirkende til, at jeg blev designer. I dag beundrer jeg dansk
designs skønhed og holdbarhed (både fysisk og æstetisk). Der
er noget meget menneskeligt og hensynsfuldt over formerne,
som giver a­ tmosfæren en enkel gavmildhed, som jeg er en stor
beundrer af.
Kunne du prøve at forklare de menneskelige og hensynsfulde
former og holdbarheden i nogle af de ting, du kan lide?
Termokande/Thermos
1976
Designer: Erik Magnussen
Manufacturer: Stelton
Vi lever i en verden fuld af designede ting. Giver det mening
at blive ved med at designe flere ting af samme slags? Hvad er
en designers vigtigste opgave i dag?
Designerens opgave er at skabe det bedste hvad-som-helst,
som skal designes, hvad enten det er et dørhåndtag, en sko,
en telefon eller en stol. Man kunne måske godt argumentere
for, at der bliver designet for mange nye ting, men det er en
udviklingsproces, og hvis vi ikke hele tiden havde designet
nye stole, så ville vi alle sammen sidde på flade sæder med
lodrette rygge eller på sten. Designerens opgave er at gøre
noget for det menneskeskabte miljø ved at designe ting, som
forbedrer ­dagliglivets atmosfære. Et design, som ikke medfører
en forbedring, må siges at være en fiasko. Du kan sige, at
dette er subjektivt, men der er en almindelig konsensus styret
af p
­ raktiske hensyn og iagttagelse, som, hvis den blev gjort
gældende, desværre ville konkludere, at der er omkring 99
fiaskoer for hver succes.
Hvordan bærer en designer sig ad med at skabe en ”objektiv”
succes? Hvad er din egen metode? Hvordan begynder du, og
hvordan ved du, om et design er rigtigt?
Jeg tror, en objektiv succes kan opnås på flere måder. Det kan
ske ved et tilfælde, ved hjælp af en inspiration i øjeblikket, eller
gennem langvarig erfaring og øvelse. De to første er ret sjældne,
men er som regel rene eksempler på værdien af design, mens
den sidste er en mere nyttig, mindre spektakulær ”tjeneste”
over for samfundet. Den tager form af en slags instinkt for,
hvad der er rigtigt, eller hvad der er en passende løsning på
det foreliggende problem, støttet af en mængde erfaring med
hensyn til at gennemføre projektet, og med en balance mellem
de ingredienser, som tilsammen udgør en god genstand:
praktisk anvendelighed, økonomi, holdbarhed i struktur og form,
og endelig det mystiske og usynlige ”je ne sais quoi”, som gør,
at vi rækker ud efter en bestemt yndlingsstegepande, sætter os
i én stol frem for en anden, eller sætter lapper på albuerne af en
gammel jakke.
Gourmeta Tepotte/Teapot
1991
Designer: Jan Trägårdh
Manufacturer: Iwachu
Som designer er du rationel og sensitiv i din tilgang, i
lighed med mange af de store danske designere fra den
såkaldte g
­ uldalder for dansk design, funktionalisterne, og du
­argumenterer for, at vi skal gå tilbage til designets historiske og
idealistiske formål og tjene industrien og de glade, forbrugende
masser på samme tid. Er der sket nogen ændringer, siden de
postmodernistiske designere proklamerede, at forbrugerne
havde behov for irrationelt design, hvor det sjove var vigtigere
end formen, osv.? Ser du en forskel mellem den måde, du
designer på, og de modernistiske designere?
Min udtalelse om de glade, forbrugende masser blev skrevet for
10-15 år siden, og siden da er jeg blevet klar over, at design er
betydelig mere kompliceret, end jeg troede, da jeg skrev den
artikel. Selv om det stadig er et nydeligt, idealistisk mål at sætte
for design, så er vi allerede kommet ind i den postmoderne
æra, ikke den, vi måske kunne forestille os, hvor alt er skæg og
ballade, men en, hvor vi er mere åbne over for menneskelige
behov i stedet for naivt at tro, at design og industri sammen
kan løse alle verdens problemer med en blanding af rationel
tænkning og nye maskiner. I vore dage er forbrugertilfredshed
en mere sammensat størrelse, som kræver balance mellem
egenskaber som strukturel og visuel holdbarhed, aktiv og statisk
ydeevne, skønhed, ironi, humor og sjov (i meget omhyggeligt
afmålte mængder) samt en rimelig pris. Så ja, jeg synes, tingene
har ændret sig temmelig meget.
Da du blev bedt om at kuratere denne udstilling om dansk
design, tøvede du ikke med at sige ja, og den titel, du har valgt
til udstillingen, antyder, at du har et særligt forhold til dansk
design. Hvad er det, du kan lide ved dansk design?
Grand Prix bestik/Cutlery
1938
Designer: Kay Bojesen
Manufacturer: Kay Bojesens værksted
Beolit 600 transistorradio/transistor
1972
Designer: Jacob Jensen
Manufacturer: Bang & Olufsen
PK 22, stol/Chair
1955
Designer: Poul Kjærholm
Manufacturer: Fritz Hansen
Der er mange at vælge imellem, men lad os tage den
rustfri s­ tålkasserolle og foden på PK22-stolen (tegnet af
Poul K
­ jærholm) eller Y-et på Y-stolen (tegnet af Hans J.
Wegener). Det er alt sammen former, som er holdbare, fordi
de er a­ lmindelige og smukke på samme tid, og menneskelige,
fordi de svarer til vores fysiske og mentale opfattelse af
komfort. Det er ikke så let at forklare, men vores øjne kan føle
disse former, når de ser dem, og de udstråler noget meget
­menneskeligt, en menneskelig tilgang til fremstillingen af ting,
som ikke har ændret sig ret meget, siden den første gryde blev
formet i hånden.
Hogla glas/Glass
1928
Designer: Jacob E. Bang
Manufacturer: Holmegårds Glasværk
Suppose stol/Chair
2000
Designer: Søren Ulrik Petersen
Manufacturer: PP Møbler
Vola armatur/Fittings
1969
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Manufacturer: Vola
Vindmølle/Windmill
1995
Designer: Jacob Jensen Design
Manufacturer: Nordtank – NEG Micon
Christian Holmsted Olesen
Jasper Morrison on Danish design
and on improving things
The Danish Museum of Art & Design changes its name to
Design Museum Denmark in 2011, and to mark this occasion
the world-famous British designer Jasper Morrison (b.1959) will
stage and curate an exhibition on Danish design. The exhibition
is an attempt by the museum to highlight some of the qualities
of Danish design, which only an outside view can give. Many
years ago, Danish “art industry”, together with the term Danish
Design, became an internationally successful phenomenon, and
today there is a need to take stock of what it actually means.
As the exhibition title indicates, Jasper Morrison has a close
relationship with Danish design, and he has, as shown in
several of his own works, been inspired by Danish designs.
The exhibition is the result of a collaboration with the textile
company Kvadrat, which produces Hallingdal – a fabric used on
some of the best upholstered furniture in the world. Hallingdal
was designed by the Danish designer Nanna Ditzel in 1965,
and Kvadrat has today produced more than 5,478,000 meters
of the durable textile. Morrison uses Hallingdal extensively on his
own upholstered furniture, and in this exhibition it provides the
background for the other exhibits.
Portex stol/Chair
1945
Designer: Orla Nielsen Mølgaard, Peter Hvidt
Manufacturer: Fritz Hansen
Lego hus/Lego bricks
1960
Manufacturer: Lego A/S
Knivsæt/Kitchenknifes
1946
Kay Bojesen
Manufacturer: United Steel Company
Klædeskab /Wardrobe
1945
Designer: Børge Mogensen
Manufacturer: FDB
Inspired by similar institutions abroad, The Danish Museum
of Art & Design was founded by the Industrial Association in
Copenhagen and the Carlsberg Museum Foundation in 1890.
As with the first “design museum”, the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London, the Danish Museum of Art & Design was
established to enhance the public’s awareness of quality and
serve as an inspiration for the development of a Danish design
culture. In the 20th century, a major part of Danish design
education took place in the museum, and a cornerstone of
Danish design was the ongoing development and refinement
of the historical items that exist in museum collections.
Danish design achieved its first major breakthrough when the
foreign press visited the Copenhagen Cabinet Makers Trade
exhibition at The Danish Museum of Art and Design in 1949.
In the decades to follow, the concept of Danish design became
a recognised brand abroad. Danish design is influenced by
historical precedent, simplicity, a highly detailed finish, a special
understanding of the nature of the materials used, a highly
pragmatic approach to the design task, and a democratic and
common sense approach to what is designed for everyday
living.
The designer Jasper Morrison is known for his design of objects
for use in everyday life, and unlike many of his contemporaries,
his focus is not on making spectacular, attention-grabbing
objects. His designs often have a modest, familiar, almost
archetypal character.
GM80 støvsuger/Vacuum cleaner
2010
Manufacturer: Nilfisk
In 2009, the Italian furniture manufacturer Magis launched
his Trattoria chair, which paraphrases a simple peasant chair,
which has received a plastic seat and back. It resembles, apart
from the plastic seat and back, Børge Mogensens famous
popular chair, J39, which was designed by FDB in 1944.
Trattoria is an excellent example of Morrison’s work in editing
and improving historical archetypes, and modernizing them in
terms of production, use and expression. And it is in this way
that Morrison resembles Mogensen and a number of other
Danish designers. Just as Morrison does today, Mogensen
drew inspiration from everyday objects from the past, while
seeking to “purify” and bring them to perfection.
At the time the Danish Design concept arose, there was
little embarrassment about reusing shapes and ideas from
earlier periods, and it was this that separated Danish design
from Central European design. Like Danish design, it was
also rational, but wanted to break with the past. The furniture
designer, Hans J. Wegner, once said that “Danish Design was
an extensive purification process”. For Morrison, design revolves
around improving everyday objects. It is difficult to talk today
about national design, and Jasper Morrison is indeed a good
example of this. He has design studios in London, Paris, and
Tokyo and designs for companies in many countries.
MK 16, Foldestol/Folding Chair
1932
Designer: Mogens Koch
Manufacturer: Interna
I know that you have been inspired by some of the Danish
designers such as Børge Mogensen and Poul Kjærholm.
They were both designers who tried to continue a long tradition
for refining furniture archetypes. Is it relevant to base design
on existing ideas today?
Påfuglestolen/Peacock chair
1947
Designer: Hans J. Wegner
Manufacturer: PP Møbler
Jasper Morrison has been described as a leading exponent
of the new wave of rationalism in design, such as we have
seen in recent decades. His designs of everything from wine
glasses to tram systems combine aesthetic, elegant shapes
with ingenuity, humour and sensitivity. Morrison is a follower
of the classic modernist design ideal where the designer’s
primary role is to serve industry and consumers by making
things easier to produce and easier to live with in everyday life.
Unlike many other leading contemporary designers, he doesn’t
make exhibition pieces for museums whose goal is to astonish
with radical aesthetics. In the exhibitions he has mounted at
other museums he has opted rather to feature designs that
are anonymous or “Supernormal”, this being the title of his
exhibition curated in collaboration with Naoto Fusakawa at the
2007 Triennale in Milan. “Special is generally less useful than
normal” believes Morrison. And it is precisely the use of things
and life with them that is central for Morrison who, with the term
“Uselessnism”, covers designs that cannot be used for anything.
They are created merely to entertain people and give designers
a personal profile. Morrison sees in this what he terms “Utilism”,
which in many ways corresponds to what is known as “the
functional tradition” in Denmark, a process which is driven by
necessity but is anything but dry and provides plenty of room
for humour, irony and charm.
Morrison’s practical approach to the task of design bears many
similarities to descriptions of the Danish design tradition. In
an article in the Dansk Kunsthåndværk journal in 1960 on the
difference between Bauhaus and Danish design, the architect
Steen Eiler Rasmussen writes that Danish design is more
oriented towards use than the Bauhaus tradition, which is “more
concerned in the form’s aesthetic impact on creating a new
style”. Rasmussen argues that Danish design does “not find
its value through visual experience, but by being good tools”.
Some will no doubt disagree with Rasmussen in his view of
Central European design, but the question here is whether
Danish designers have a particular ability to create long-lasting,
useful tools that make everyday life easier, such as Morrison
thinks design should achieve. In connection with Morrison’s
work on the exhibition, he says:
F78 bordtelefon/Telephone
1978
Designer: Henning Andreasen
Manufacturer: GNT Automatics
It is for me at least! I think it’s almost instinctive, and has been
going on for ever. As I just mentioned the first pot formed by
hand, let’s try to imagine where the second one came from!
We didn’t get to the moon in one blinding flash of inspiration.
And chairs are no different, there are thousands of typologies
that are all in permanent state of development and I’m pretty
sure they all have their origins in the first chairs of the Egyptians
or the earliest carved stone thrones for kings. It’s human nature
to be inspired by human achievement.
Many of the Danish objects you like have been formed by hand
and it is possible to sense the natural materials they are made
from. Do you think it makes a difference designing with the
hand instead of with, for example, a computer? And is it easier
to appreciate or understand the products when they are made
from natural materials?
I’m not sure anymore. I think in the early days of computer
drafting our lack of skill with it meant that designs were
oversimplified, whereas these days you can achieve very
complex shapes using 3D programs, which can be very
precisely reproduced as prototypes, then modified and so on.
So although we may have lost the intuitive shaping that comes
with skilled handwork, we have gained a huge amount more
control. I think the time will come soon where we start to see
shapes which were not conceivable by hand methods alone.
Having said that the combination of skillful handwork and
natural materials, with the added beauty which only time can
bestow is hard to beat!
You once said that design is a tool to improve atmosphere and
I know that when you design exhibitions you try to bring out the
true value of the things you exhibit. You have been using Nanna
Ditzel’s textile Hallingdal from Kvadrat as a background for this
exhibition and I know you often use Hallingdal on your furniture.
Why? What kind of atmosphere have you tried to create in this
exhibition?
I have been using Hallingdal for several years now, since
I discovered the two-tone weaves. It’s a fabric with such
depth and clarity, and so much identified with the Danish style
that it was a natural choice for the background of the exhibition.
What future do you see for Danish Design? Is it still relevant
or is it just a nostalgic style from the past?
I’m sure that the Golden Age of Danish Design will provide a
lot of inspiration to younger generations of Danish designers,
when we see all the selected pieces on exhibition together I’m
hopeful it will seem fresh and point the way forward to a new
golden era.
My grandfather worked for Danish Bacon in England and
developed an interest in Danish furniture as he often travelled
to Copenhagen in the 1950’s & 60’s. He lived in a typical
English country house full of antiques, except for one room
which he modernised with Danish furniture, white carpets and
wooden floors. That room was full of light and so different to
anything I had ever experienced before that it made a lasting
impression on me and probably had a big influence on my
becoming a designer. These days I admire the beauty and
the durability (both physical and aesthetic) of Danish Design.
There’s something very human and considerate in the shapes
which translates to a simple generosity of atmosphere which
I greatly admire!
We live in a world full of designed objects. Does it make
sense to design more objects of the same kind? What is the
most important task of the designer today?
The goal as a designer is to design the best ‘whatever’ is
being designed, whether it’s a door handle, a shoe, a telephone
or a chair. There may be a case for arguing that too many new
objects are being designed, but it is an evolutionary process
and if we had not continually redesigned chairs, we’d all
be sitting on flat seats with vertical backs, or on rocks. The
designer’s job is to take care of the man-made environment,
designing things which improve the atmosphere of daily life.
A design which fails to make an improvement can be considered
a failure. You can argue that this is subjective, but there’s a
general consensus directed by practicality and observation
which, if it were counting, would unfortunately conclude that
there are about 99 failures for each success.
How does a designer create an ”objective” success? What is
your own method? How do you start and when or how do you
know if the design is right?
I think an objective success is possible in different ways.
It could happen by chance, by momentary inspiration or by
long term experience and practice. The first two are quite
rare but usually rather pure examples of the value of design,
while the last one is a more useful, less spectacular ‘service’
to society. It takes the form of a kind of instinct for the right, or
an appropriate solution to the problem at hand, supported by
a lot of experience in how to realise the project, balancing the
ingredients which combine to make a good object: practicality,
economy, durability of structure and longevity of shape, and
finally the mysterious & invisible ‘je ne sais quoi’ which makes
us more likely to reach for a certain favourite cooking pan, sit
down in one chair and not another, or have elbow patches
sewn onto an old jacket!
Den gravide and/Jug
1952
Designer: Henning Koppel
Manufacturer: Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie
The quote of mine about the happy consuming masses was
written about 15-20 years ago, and since then I have come to
see that design is much more complicated than I thought when
I wrote that essay! Though it’s still a nice idealistic purpose
for design, we have already entered the post-modern era, not
the one we might think of, where everything is a joke, but one
where we are more open to human needs rather than naively
believing that design and industry together can solve the world’s
problems with a mixture of rational thinking and new machinery.
These days the equation of the satisfied customer is much more
complex, needing a balance of qualities like structural and visual
longevity, active and static performance, beauty, irony, humour
and wit (in extremely delicate measures) and a fair price. So,
yes, I think things have changed quite a lot.
Could you try to explain the human and considerate shapes
and the durability in some of the objects you like?
Måge/Seegul
Designer: Kay Bojesen
Manufacturer: Kay Bojesens værksted
Kirkestolenl/Chair
1937-1938
Designer: Kaare Klint
Manufacturer: Fritz Hansen
You are a designer who is rational and sensitive in your
approach to design, very similar to many of the great Danish
designers from the so called Golden Age of Danish Design,
the functionalists and you argue that we should go back
to the historic and idealistic purpose of design and serve
industry and the happy consuming masses at the same time.
Has anything changed since the post-modernist designers
proclaimed that there is a need among the consumers for
irrational design where form follows fun, etc.? Do you see any
difference between the way you design and the modernist
designers?
When you were asked to curate this exhibition on Danish
Design you didn’t hesitate in saying yes and the title you have
chosen for the exhibition indicates that you have a special
relationship to Danish Design. What is it that you like about
Danish Design?
There are many to choose from, but let’s take the cast iron
casserole and the foot of the PK22 (Poul Kjærholm’s chair),
or the Y of the Y-chair (Hans J. Wegner’s Wishbone Chair).
These are all shapes which are both enduring because they are
common and beautiful at the same time, and human because
they match our physical and mental perception of comfort.
It’s not an easy thing to explain, but our eyes can feel these
shapes when we see them and they communicate something
very human, a human approach to making things which hasn’t
changed much since the first pot was formed by hand.
J 39 stol/Chair
1959
Designer: Børge Mogensen
Manufacturer: FDB
X-line, stol/Chair
1977
Designer: Niels Jørgen Haugesen
Manufacturer: Bent Krogh
Købenstyle gryde/Pot
1954
Designer: Jens H. Quistgaard
Manufacturer: Dansk Designs