Modern Swedish Design
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Creagh Kåberg Modern Swedish Design Lane Three Founding Texts Lucy Creagh (coauthor and coeditor) is an architect and PhD candidate in Architectural History and Theory at Columbia University, specializing in twentieth- century Swedish architecture and consumer culture. Her dissertation on the archi- tecture of Kooperativa Förbundet was awarded the Graham Foundation’s Carter Manny Award for 2004. Her work has been published in Domus M, Transitions, and Architecture Australia, and her essay on Asger Jorn and Swedish architectural debate in the 1940s is included in Art + Architecture: New Visions, New Strategies (Alvar Aalto Foundation, 2007). Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts Helena Kåberg (coauthor and coeditor) is a curator at the National Museum of Edited and with introductions by Lucy Creagh, Fine Arts, Stockholm. She holds a PhD in Art History from Uppsala University, which Edited and with introductions by Lucy Creagh, Helena Kåberg, and Barbara Miller Lane Helena Kåberg, and Barbara Miller Lane published her dissertation, Rationell arkitektur: Företagskontor för massproduktion och Modern Swedish Design masskommunikation (Rational Architecture: Corporate Offices for Mass Production Essay by Kenneth Frampton and Mass Communication), in 2003. She has lectured on the history of architecture Essay by Kenneth Frampton and design at institutions including Uppsala University, Konstfack, and the Cooper- 352 pages; 14 color and 246 black-and-white illustrations Hewitt National Design Museum. Kåberg has written extensively on Swedish design history, as well as on Swedish corporate design and national identity. Modern Swedish design has exercised an extraordinary influence on interna- tional architecture and interior furnishings since the early twentieth century, yet Barbara Miller Lane (coauthor and coeditor) is Emeritus Professor in the the generative writings on the subject have never been widely translated, Humanities, History, and Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College, and leaving the movement’s intellectual background less well known than its material has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and at the Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for production. Modern Swedish Design presents three founding texts on the subject, Advanced Study) in Berlin. Her publications include Architecture and Politics in translated here for the first time into English. In “Beauty in the Home” (1899), Germany 1918–1945 (Harvard University Press, 1968; revised 1985), National the philosopher and critic Ellen Key (1849–1926) argues for simplicity and Romanticism and Modern Architecture in Germany and the Scandinavian Countries clarity of purpose in domestic architecture and design as a means to social (Cambridge University Press, 2000), and Housing and Dwelling: Perspectives on reform. Art historian Gregor Paulsson (1889–1977) expands on Key’s example; Modern Domestic Architecture (Routledge, 2007). in Better Things for Everyday Life (1919), he contends that design should be true to its time and available to all, and calls for a modern design language Kenneth Frampton (essayist) is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the reflecting new materials and methods. Finally, acceptera (1931), cowritten Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University. His books include Modern Architecture: A Critical History (Thames & Hudson, by Paulsson and the architects Uno Åhrén, Gunnar Asplund, Wolter Gahn, Sven 1980; revised 1985, 1992, and 2007), Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Markelius, and Eskil Sundahl—who together planned the famous Stockholm Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture (MIT Press, 1997), Exhibition of 1930 from which the manifesto emerged—promotes the virtues and Labor, Work and Architecture (Phaidon, 2005). of mass production over imitation of past styles, urging the reader to “accept ******************************the reality that exists.” Lively illustrations and design offering a near facsimile of Code Type: EAN Version A Customer: 1258-THEthe MUSEUM texts’ OF originalMODERN ART publications, extensive scholarly introductions by the editors, Order #: P44809-001 MAG: 0.80 P.O. #: and an essay by architectural BWA: 0.0020 historian Kenneth Frampton, who proposes the Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York Ordered By: Symbol Width: 1.1752 Polarity: Positive“untimely Up timeliness”Symbol Height: of 0.9200 Swedish modernism, accompany the translations. 11 West 53 Street, New York, New York 10019 Date Run: 4/22/08 Flexo Width: 0.0000 BUREAU OF ENGRAVING INC. The Museum of Modern Art Web site (www.moma.org) provides information about the Museum, including a complete list of its books in print Distributed in the United States and Canada by D.A.P., New York Distributed outside the United States and Canada by ISBN: 978-0-87070-722-3 Thames & Hudson Ltd, London Printed in Italy MoMA The Museum of Modern Art Modern Swedish Design Modern Swedish Design Three Founding Texts By Uno Åhrén, Gunnar Asplund, Wolter Gahn, Ellen Key, Sven Markelius, Gregor Paulsson, and Eskil Sundahl Edited and with introductions by Lucy Creagh, Helena Kåberg, and Barbara Miller Lane Essay by Kenneth Frampton The Museum of Modern Art, New York Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts is made Published by The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53 Street, possible by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, New York, New York 10019 Kerstin and Pontus Bonnier, Stockholm, and The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. Additional support © 2008 The Museum of Modern Art, New York is provided by the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, Estrid Ericsons Stiftelse, and the Department of Art History, Copyright credits for certain illustrations are cited on this page. Uppsala University. All rights reserved Produced by the Department of Publications, The Museum of Modern Art, New York Distributed in the United States and Canada by D.A.P./ Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., New York Edited by Jennifer Liese Distributed outside the United States and Canada by Designed by Amanda Washburn Thames & Hudson Ltd, London Production by Elisa Frohlich Printed and bound by Editoriale Bortolazzi-Stei s.r.l., Verona This book is typeset in Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk (front and Library of Congress Control Number: 2008925655 back); Consort Medium Condensed and Century Book (Key); ISBN: 978-0-87070-722-3 Caslon Old Face and Adobe Caslon Pro (Paulsson); and Bauer Bodoni, Poster Bodoni, and Fette Fraktur (acceptera). Cover: Kurt von Schmalensee. Model apartment no. 6, The paper is 120 gsm Planoplus Stockholm Exhibition, 1930 Page 10: back cover of acceptera (Stockholm: Tiden, 1931) Printed in Italy Illustration Credits Every effort has been made to clear rights for the visual Jansson, 21 left; E. Lundquists bokförlag, Stockholm, 132 left; material contained in this work. For certain materials Oscar Ellqvist in the Swedish Museum of Architecture, 64 bot- reproduced here, the editors have been unable to trace the tom; Florman and Halldin/The Archives of Swedish Society of copyright holders, and would appreciate notification of such Crafts and Design, 128 bottom; Hedda Jansson 2003, © Bilda information for acknowledgment in future editions of the book. Mening HJ, 26 left; Hedda Jansson 2007, © Bilda Mening HJ, 26 right; Reproduction from published picture by Hedda Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm, 24 all, 27 right; Marie Jansson, curator at Ellen Keys Strand, 18; Photo: Edward Andersson, Skansen, 21 right; The Archives of Swedish Manning, © The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 32, 72, Society of Crafts and Design, 64 top, 132 right; Bröderna 140; Bertil Norberg in The Swedish Museum of Architecture, Lagerströms förlag, Stockholm, 136 left; Bukowski Auctions, 128 top; Edvin Ollers, Vine glass and lidded bowl, © The 66 left and right, 67 top; Co-operative Union Sweden, Library National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm, 68; Hanna Hirsch and archive, 67 bottom; Co-operative Union Sweden, Library Pauli, Vänner (Friends), © The Nationalmuseum of Fine Art, and archive. Photo by Carl Gemler, 129 left; Gustaf Cronqvist/ Stockholm, 23; Sissy Sjöberg, © Nordiska museet, Sweden, The Archives of Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, 132 21 top; Stockholms-tidning, 135; Unknown photographer, top; D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B., Gothenburg, 58; Hélène Nordiska museet, Sweden, 25 all, 27 left. Unknown photo- Edlund, Nordiska museet, Sweden, 21 bottom; From the grapher in The Swedish Museum of Architecture, 65, 126, 129 archive at Ellen Keys Strand, reproduction by curator Hedda right, 136 right Preface Peter Reed 7 Acknowledgments 9 General Introduction Lucy Creagh, Helena Kåberg, and Barbara Miller Lane 11 The Untimely Timeliness of Swedish Modernism Kenneth Frampton 15 An Introduction to Ellen Key’s “Beauty in the Home” Barbara Miller Lane 18 “Beauty in the Home” Ellen Key 32 An Introduction to Gregor Paulsson’s Better Things for Everyday Life Helena Kåberg 58 Better Things for Everyday Life Gregor Paulsson 72 An Introduction to acceptera Lucy Creagh 126 acceptera Uno Åhrén, Gunnar Asplund, Wolter Gahn, Sven Markelius, Gregor Paulsson, Eskil Sundahl 140 Selected Bibliography 348 Index of Names 350 Trustees of The Museum of Modern Art 352 Preface The history of architecture and design opment of modern Swedish design. The encompasses far more than bricks and Swedish design movement has exercised mortar, drawings