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Reassessment of Values and Aesthetics in Contemporary Nordic Design Skou, Niels Peter; Munch, Anders V

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Reassessment of Values and Aesthetics in Contemporary Nordic Design Skou, Niels Peter; Munch, Anders V University of Southern Denmark New Nordic and Scandinavian retro Reassessment of values and aesthetics in contemporary Nordic design Skou, Niels Peter; Munch, Anders V. Published in: Journal of Aesthetics & Culture DOI: 10.3402/jac.v8.32573 Publication date: 2016 Document version: Final published version Citation for pulished version (APA): Skou, N. P., & Munch, A. V. (2016). New Nordic and Scandinavian retro: Reassessment of values and aesthetics in contemporary Nordic design. Journal of Aesthetics & Culture, 8(1), [32573]. https://doi.org/10.3402/jac.v8.32573 Go to publication entry in University of Southern Denmark's Research Portal Terms of use This work is brought to you by the University of Southern Denmark. Unless otherwise specified it has been shared according to the terms for self-archiving. If no other license is stated, these terms apply: • You may download this work for personal use only. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying this open access version If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details and we will investigate your claim. Please direct all enquiries to [email protected] Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 Journal of AESTHETICS & CULTURE Vol. 8, 2016 New Nordic and Scandinavian Retro: reassessment of values and aesthetics in contemporary Nordic design Niels Peter Skou and Anders V. Munch* Department of Design and Communication, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark Abstract Anders V. Munch, Dr. Phil., is a The ‘‘New Nordic’’ label has spread in the design world professor in design culture at the Depart- since 2005, but it is quite difficult to distinguish from the ment of Design and Communication, Uni- image of ‘‘Scandinavian Design’’ and the heritage of values versity of Southern Denmark, Kolding. and aesthetics from the 1950s. Many designer statements He received his PhD in art history with and promotional texts are eager to mention both designa- the dissertation Den stilløse stil. Adolf Loos, tions. This survey sketches the background and asks, Copenhagen, 2002 (German version Der ‘‘What is ‘New’?’’ and ‘‘What is ‘Nordic’?’’ with a focus stillose Stil. Adolf Loos, Wilhelm Fink on the Danish firm Muuto, which has been a central actor Verlag, 2005) and Dr. Phil. on the dissertation Fra Bayreuth in establishing the term ‘‘New Nordic Design.’’ We focus til Bauhaus. Gesamtkunstwerk’et og de moderne kunstformer, on the interplay between the storytelling around the Aarhus University Press, 2012. Further publications include products and designers on webpages and in marketing, Design as Gesamtkunstwerk. The art of transgression,Rhodos, popular literature, etc., and the actual design objects. Copenhagen, 2012. His research focuses on design history and Reoccurring themes from the 1950s are how it relates to Danish design culture and he is part of the Design Studies nature and climate, social models of welfare and equality, group at the University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, which and pure, minimalist forms. They are, however, more is the largest Nordic research team on the cultural perspectives present in the high expectations of an international of design. audience and in promotions than in the objects them- Niels Peter Skou is an associate pro- selves. The new products of Nordic Design are close to the fessor at the Department of Design and current international neo-modernism in the form of Communication, University of South- digitally designed and industrially produced items in often ern Denmark, Kolding. He has a back- thought-provoking minimalist forms and are directed at an ground in intellectual history and elitist, international audience that wants to engage with received his PhD on a dissertation on these demanding aesthetics and the ideal picture of Nordic Poul Henningsen, a Danish designer, cultures*as a nice design and gourmet destination. New architect and cultural critic, and his view on design and Nordic Design shows that the image and ideals of democracy. Furthermore, he has worked as a research Scandinavian Modern are still living, as a subtle version consultant at Kolding School of Design 2011Á12 on design of Scandinavian Retro, a reimagination of the lifestyle and projects for sustainable energy consumption. He is part of values of Scandinavian Modern. the Design Studies group at University of Southern Den- mark and his current research focuses on Scandinavian design history and the present role of design in connection to Scandinavian political values and identity, both in relation to product design and social design. His recent work includes co-editing of Designkulturanalyser, University of Southern Denmark Press, 2015. Keywords: Scandinavian Design; Nordic identity; design values; neo-modernism; minimalism *Correspondence to: Anders V. Munch, Department of Design and Communication, University of Southern Denmark, Universitetsparken 1, 6000 Kolding, Denmark, Email: [email protected] #2016 N.P. Skou and A.V. Munch. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. Citation: Journal of Aesthetics & Culture, Vol. 8, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jac.v8.32573 1 (page number not for citation purpose) N.P. Skou and A.V. Munch With the designation ‘‘New Nordic,’’ design from New Nordic Design must be seen as (part of) a the Nordic countries has once again entered the lifestyle trend, where the designed items represent international scene as a broad trend in the last 10 accessories for the good life of a conscious citizen years. This is part of a general fascination for with personal surplus for the practicality of smart ‘‘Nordic Cool’’ discussed in this volume that details, authentic values or environmental con- seems to be fuelled by different global, political, cerns. It often consists of minimalist gadgets or and economic trends and the reactualisation of the small luxuries for everyday life, though of course it Nordic welfare states as historical role models. In offers the whole package of a Nordic interior*or the 1950s and 1960s, design products for domes- personal lifestyle. This is similar to the earlier tic interiors, from furniture to kitchenware, from wave in the 1950s: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and, on rarer occasions, Iceland, had great international [F]ar from representing a cross section of Nordic design culture, the products pro- success as ‘‘Scandinavian Design.’’ This regional moted under the catchphrase*or brand* brand was not least consolidated by the grand ‘‘Scandinavian Design’’ formed a particular travelling exhibition, Design in Scandinavia, 1954Á and carefully orchestrated blend of gourmet 1957, in North America, where Finland, a bit objects selected from a very narrow segment 6 confusingly, was included under this label without of the region’s design practice. being part of Scandinavia in the strict geographi- Just like Scandinavian Design in the 1950s, the cal definition. But Finland is part of ‘‘Norden’’ products are today predominantly domestic items. and was invited to the political and cultural And despite ideals of environmental or social collaboration in the Nordic Council that was concern, New Nordic is seldom associated with 1 established in the 1950s. In markets such as the other Nordic designs, like outdoor equipment, UK, the USA, and Germany, the Scandinavian ergonomics, participatory design, or the reverse Modern style was praised as a modern, functional vending machine for bottle recycling that the design with a human touch and as a more subtle Norwegian design historian Kjetil Fallan has in- modernisation of traditional values than the inter- cluded as editor in his ‘‘alternative histories’’ from 2 national style of Central European modernists. 2012.7 Though many items from that period are now praised as ‘‘classics,’’ Scandinavian Modern went out of fashion in the late 1960s. The Cooper Hewitt Museum exhibition, Scandinavian Modern Design 1880Á1980 in New York in 1982, was definitely looking at past glory, despite the attempt of the authors of the catalogue to re-invoke the inherent ideals and values.3 However, in the late 1990s, the interest in Scandinavian Design rose again, and it was partly fuelled by a renewed appreciation of modernist design icons or classics, partly by a retro cult of mid-century modern. Retro, meaning the fascination of a ‘‘recent past’’ revived in collective memory through both cloth- ing and home design items, had developed from countercultural statements in the 1960s to becom- ing mainstream around 1990.4 And with its huge, Life Style inspiration from the Muuto Homepage international success, Scandinavian Modern was with the caption: ‘‘Choose natural wood and white part of the period style of the 1950s, though some tones for a Nordic Dining experience.’’ (Muuto. items stayed in production as ‘‘classics.’’ This com). means that the current wave of New Nordic Design grows out of or is, at least, interwoven New Nordic Design seems foremost to be tokens with new receptions of ‘‘timeless’’ design classics, of a dream picture of the Nordic countries as as well as trends of Scandinavian Retro.5 harmonious societies
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