Scandinavian Design
roseroser Feature: Rosemaling
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contents: 3. carl larsson 4. scandinavian design 10.artists
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Snakehead printed cotton, William Morris, 1876.
Rosemaling
The word rosemaling is used to describe a form of decorative flower painting that originated in Norway in the 1700s. These graceful designs are derived from C and S strokes and are characterized by flowing lines and scroll, imaginative, fanciful flowers, and subtle colors. Rosemaling may also incorporate figures, scenes and script lettering. Several different styles of rosemaling exist, each named for the region in which it originated. The most common styles seen today are Telemark, Hallingdal and Rogaland.
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roseroser carl larsson Swedish painter Carl Larsson. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this supreme master of the blissful, love-infused domestic interior (and exterior) and celebrator of the joys of family living had a wretched start in life. He was born into poverty and lived his early years in squalor, thanks largely to his drunken, emotionally incontinent father, who rejected Carl with the words 'I curse the day you were born'. Amazingly, the young Carl was rescued by a teacher at his ragged school who spotted his talent and urged him to enrol in the art school of the Swedish Royal Academy of Art. He took a while to find his feet, but once he had married his beloved Karin, switched from oils to watercolours and found his theme, he never looked back. Larsson and Karin between them virtually created the 'Swedish style' that ultimately conquered the world under the name of Ikea. Carl's paintings have never lost their popularity, but there is more to them than their obvious and immediate charm. Larsson is a deft colorist and a formidable draughtsman, with an astonishingly sure line, and his composition and framing are often extraordinarily bold and original. His pictures remain fresh and even arresting, offering something much more interesting than a mere celebration of cosy gemutlichkeit.
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scandinavian design
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Shortly after 1880, William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, inspired by the social theories of John Ruskin, began expressing their distaste for the Industrial Revolution’s machine-made designs. They denounced the uniform and monotonous products that the machine stood for, and they revitalized traditional methods of manufacturing; in the textile arts, for example. (see photo p. 2) Defending and praising nature in art, human creativity and faithfulness to traditional materials, they upheld Romanticism and folk tradition in all manner of crafts.
Looking back to the beginning of the 20th century and the styles and movements that ruled the art world at that time, nfluences and ideas evolved into what has been known since the mid-20th century as “Scandinavian design”. This article also offers some thoughts on how to incorporate its principles design work today.
While the countries of Scandinavia have extreme differences, they do have some common cultural, geophysical and historical threads. Without implying that certain principles apply to all art and design in this area, this article gives an overview of the influences and state of art and design in the Nordic countries. Historical Context Modernism, a cultural movement that started at the end of the 19th century, was a break from the Realism that dominated the art world before. Realism’s source was the invention of the photograph and the artist’s desire to produce work that looked “real.” It was, hence, fairly conservative, and the art created in that movement was intended to be truthful and accurate. Modernism was an escape from this rigidity, and a multitude of cultural and aesthetic movements grew from it. Logos to the left by Thorvald Bindesböll for Danish football clubs, from 1876 and 1889. Art Nouveau, also known as “Jugendstil,” was the first widely popular art movement of the 20th century. It was conceived as a “new style for a new century.” With a focus on decorative and applied arts, the movement was a conscious resistance to the ruling art and design.
roseroser Left: Cover art for the Norwegian woman’s magazine Urd, Andreas Bloch and Olaf Krohn, 1900–1905. Fluid shapes were used in all manner of work, be it architecture, furniture, textiles, painting or print. The style was widely celebrated as a break from the past, incorporating new and exotic materials from foreign countries, and with so-called“Japonisme” becoming popular in Western circles. In Denmark, Skønvirke magazine started publishing in 1914. Its content was inspired by old Danish handicrafts and national Romanticism, with international influences appearing in decorations. The word “Skønvirke” became synonymous with Art Nouveau and Jugend. The delicate nature-inspired forms, graceful lines and colors fit the Scandinavian aesthetic well. These were highly volatile times in Europe, partly because of the First World War and the growing unease with the social order. In art, everything became revolutionary instead of evolutionary, a reaction to the upheaval of war. Prior social forms and arrangements were seen as hindering civil progress, and the artist became a social and political activist. The goal was provocation, upheaval and a break from old systems. Many art movements stemmed from these broad social changes.
Left: Poster from the Stockholm Exhibition, 1930. Right: Catalogue from the Helsingborg Exhibition, 1955
Such goals were greatly affected by social changes taking place in Europe at the time. Even though the designs were democratic and meant for the masses, they were not stripped of all beauty in order to make them as easy to use as possible; an inspiring thought. The importance of this balance was identified by Scandinavians early on and has been maintained ever since.
Part of the Design in Scandinavia exhibition, which ran from 20 April to 16 May 1954. The term “Scandinavian design” originates from a design show that traveled the US and Canada under that name from 1954 to 1957. Promoting the “Scandinavian way of living,” it exhibited various works by Nordic designers and established the meaning of the term that continues to today: beautiful, simple, clean designs, inspired by nature and the northern climate, accessible and available to all, with an emphasis on enjoying the domestic environment. Exhibitions like these played a big role in spreading the word about Scandinavian design and in influencing the development of modernism in North America and Europe in many ways. The aesthetic had been evolving for decades by that time and was strongly influenced by art and design in Europe. It combined the trends that had emerged around the turn of the century, the clean forms that followed, as well as existing traditions in Scandinavia.
The machine age was drastically changing living conditions, and the seeming futility and catastrophic loss of life from the First World War raised questions about the state of human morality. The world was changing, and this change was manifested in cinema, exhibitions, books and buildings for the public to soak up. Scandinavia here means the countries of Northern Europe: Denmark, Sweden, Norway. Design from there is described by many as being fairly minimalist, with clean simple lines. Highly functional, the style is effective without needing heavy elements; only what is needed is used. Survival in the north required products to be functional, and this was the basis of all design from early on. The subtle decorative qualities stemming from the early-20th century art movements and the simple lines deriving from the inter-war art movements gave this style its elegance. The concept of “beautiful things that make your life better” was highly regarded. Scandinavian design is often referred to as democratic design, because of its aim to appeal to the masses through products that are accessible and affordable. The goal of this association was to promote design that the general public could access and enjoy.
Several exhibitions of Scandinavian design were held throughout Europe and North America. One of the earliest was the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, where functionalism blossomed and artists and companies showcased their latest products. And concurrent with an official visit by the Danish Royal couple in 1960, the Arts of Denmark Exhibition was held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Arts.
Marimekko print, 1960
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Left: Composition With Red, Yellow and Blue, Piet Mondrian, 1937–4. Right: Red and Blue Chair, Gerrit Rietveld, 1917. De Stijl was a Dutch art movement in which Piet Mondrian and Gerrit Rietveld were among the principal members. De Stijl emphasized pure abstraction and the reduction of everything to the essentials of form and color. Everything was simplified to vertical and horizontal lines and primary colors. Unlike many contemporary movements, De Stijl was a collective project, not a political or social movement Social Consciousness In Art Movements From about 1916 onwards, more political and social art groups became prominent in the European art world. The centuries-old establishments, academies and guilds had a long history of being steered by the ruling bourgeois. They were deeply interested in maintaining the social order, and the art that they created and commissioned reflected that. Holding on to old methods in painting and afraid of the turmoil represented by new movements, the establishment favored work that didn’t disrupt the status quo. The new movements viewed their work as being stagnant and as holding back the progress of the arts. These new movements celebrated the machine and embraced manufacturing technologies in the creation of art. Among these were the Constructivists in Russia, the Futurists in Italy, De Stijl in the Netherlands, Bauhaus in Germany and the Dadaists in Switzerland. Bauhaus was a school in Germany that was famous for combining fine arts, crafts and technology; industrial and product design were highly regarded. The “Foundation Year” of many of today’s
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art and design schools has its origins here. It’s also where the field of modern furniture design started to take shape. Highly influential, even today, the school’s Dadaism was a fairly short-lived cultural movement that started in Switzerland shortly after World War I. But Dadaist methods and views were adopted by many and live on. Focused on ridiculing the meaninglessness of the modern world, their work encompassed literature, visual arts and theater. With Dadaism, abstract art started to find its footing, as well as performance art and what later evolved into Pop Art. Similar to Cubists, Dadaists made use of collage, assemblage and existing products to create new pieces. Against war, against the bourgeoisie and resembling an anarchist movement, Dadaists were active around the world, holding public demonstrations and publishing journals. Dadaism gradually mixed with surrealism and other cultural and artistic movements.
Scandinavia The styles and movements brewing in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century spread around the world. While they didn’t espouse the same message, they all contributed to the establishment of new forms and functions. Modernism’s scope was far and wide and developed differently in each country. The ideology spread throughout Scandinavia, with designers and artists interacting with their contemporaries throughout Europe, aided by fast-developing media such as film. In Scandinavia, the ideas gradually evolved into design principles and philosophies that eventually had international effects. Scandinavian designers were influenced by everything going on around them. With their tradition of craftsmanship and efficient use of limited material resources (due to their relative geographic isolation), they combined the best of both worlds. In line with prevailing democratic social views, everything was made to be available to everyone. The notion of enjoying the work you do was highly regarded, and the idea that beautiful things could enrich people’s lives was kept alive.
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As mentioned, the Swedish Society of Industrial Design was established in 1845 to uphold and raise the high standards in various crafts-related professions. The fact that industrialization took place in Scandinavia later than in neighboring countries helped to preserve the handicraft tradition there. Early in the 20th century, with more and more people moving from the countryside to cities, the Society broadened its scope and committed to raising standards of design in everyday life. The quest to make objects of high aesthetic quality available to the masses began in earnest during the 1920s and ’30s. Beauty, humanism and democratic ideals were the order of the day. Mass machine production did not dominate Scandinavia as much in the years between the two World Wars as it did in the US. The scale of the industry was much smaller, and after World War II more Scandinavian countries established institutions and schools to preserve the craft traditions. Processes derived from the crafts were integrated into commercial production, creating what became known as the industrial arts.
The thread running through Scandinavian design is functionalism. For hundreds of years, the need for products to just work was ingrained in the Scandinavian soul. It hadn’t been very long since this was a requirement for survival. The focus was on “need,” or function, not on decoration or beauty. Moving into the machine age, surviving became easier, and functionalism evolved into also meeting the emotional needs of people. Jacobsen’s iconic 7 chair, made of formbent wood and chromed steel legs. Arne Jacobsen’s timeless designs in furniture and architecture are well known, and his contributions to the creative fields are secure in history. After winning several architectural competitions, Jacobsen became known for designs that brought futuristic visions into a present-day context. His simple yet effective chair designs enjoyed worldwide success.
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The staircase and furniture in Aarhus Radhus (Aarhus town hall) were designed by Arne Jacobsen and his partners between 1937 and 1942.
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The long winters and few hours of sunlight inspired Scandinavian designers to create bright, light, practical environments. They tried to make the domestic environment as comfortable as possible with the materials at hand. These trends were picked up by neighboring countries and eventually spread all over the world. The high-quality designs live on today and are recreated continually in various fields, confirming their timelessness.
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Marimekko’s bold prints made the company’s products an international success in the 1960s. Today, the company produces a wide range of items, but it is instantly recognizable by its graphics.
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roseroser Carl Larsson. The Scandinavian style isn’t only form-bent wood furniture in various shades of white and nature-inspired patterns and shapes. Splashes of color have been a big part of Nordic interiors for a long time. Late-19th century Swedish artist and designer Carl Larsson is famous for his bright and colorful paintings. His watercolors of painted furniture and folk art have been highly influential in Scandinavia.
Scandinavian design has been perhaps most widely recognized in furniture, which spread the principles of its creators. Other fields, such as graphic design, followed these principles, particularly with regard to production and availability. Scandinavian design has evolved with the times, moving from mostly furniture and product design to an application of principles and processes to current problems and opportunities. Its change has been just as dramatic as the society it’s a part of. As mentioned, Scandinavian countries established institutions early on to promote and protect the various design industries. Svensk Form in Sweden demonstrates the benefits of good design for social development. The Danish Design Center highlights the value of design for Denmark-based businesses. The Iceland Design Centreorganizes lectures and exhibitions and facilitates collaboration between local designers and artists. The Norwegian Design Council promotes design as a strategic tool for innovation. And the Nordic countries are home to some of the most interesting conferences in art and design, such as Iceweb (the Icelandic Web conference),Copenhagen Fashion Week and the Stockholm Furniture Fair.
The feature article was written by: Katrín Eyþórsdóttir in The Story Of Scandinavian Design: Combining Function and Aesthetics
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roseroser Scandinav Sigmund Aarseth, 1950s During the long Norwegian winters the harsh climate prevents him from working outdoors, so during this time he has gradually developed a parallel career in the decorative arts. It is during these winter months that most of the interiors in his new book were created.
Carl Larsson, 1870s Swedish painter considered the father of the Arts & Crafts movement. Larsson and his wife Karin between them virtually created the ‘Swedish style’ that ultimately conquered the world under the name of Ikea. Carl’s paintings have never lost their popularity, but there is more to them than their obvious and immediate charm. Larsson is a deft colorist and a formidable draughtsman, with an astonishingly sure line, and his composition and framing are often extraordinarily bold and original. His pictures remain fresh and even arresting, offering something much more interesting than a mere celebration of cosy gemutlichkeit.
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roseroser vian Artists Marimekko, 1960s Marimekko’s bold prints made the company’s products an international success in the 1960s. Today, the company produces a wide range of items, but it is instantly recognizable by its graphics. Scandinavian design has been perhaps most widely recognized in furniture, which spread the principles of its creators. Other fields, such as graphic design, followed these principles, particularly with regard to production and availability.
Brittney Lee, 2010s The Disney movie Frozen and the art of Rosemaling: “Research is a huge part of what we do. Once the team had decided that Frozen would take place in a kingdom that was based on Norway, a group was sent to Norway to gather as much first-hand reference as possible. While there were many things learned on this trip, the one thing that the team came back with that directly affected my work on the show was the art of rosemaling.”
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roseroser Magazine Design by Shelly KK Š 2016