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Place: Danish Museum of Decorative Arts,
Copenhagen Date:
September 2002
UTOPIA
and REALITY
in 20th century craft and design
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The
Danish Museum of Decorative Art's display presented works on the
basis of a contemporary approach to some of the general notions and
thoughts UTOPIAS that have been of significance to human existence and
society
throughout the last century, thereby also influencing designs. Emphasis
has
been given to placing decorative art within a wider context in terms of
architecture and ideals of interior design, even as the display is
exclusively based on the museum's own collections of craft and design,
all
acquired throughout the century.
The collections serve as the basis for the presentation, thus bearing
witness to the museum's assessment of the changing trends. The exhibits
are
mainly Danish, but have been supplemented by international designs
throughout the entire period. This facilitates identification of
differences
and similarities between Danish and international sensibilities.
”Utopian ideas in design and arts and craft”
Designing between modernity and tradition.
Design objects are
reflections of thoughts, ideas and visions of society; of how mankind
has dreamed of changing the world and create a new Utopia. Buildings,
chairs, tables, knives, lamps and everyday objects have all
materialised these ideas into concrete everyday objects forming a
semantic field of modernity.
Acceleration and Slowness
Acceleration: Utopian ideas rotate around acceleration as a major force
embodying the ongoing progress within society. Buildings and objects
materialise the dream of moving faster of changing times – the vision
of a new future. Acceleration and movement are incorporated into design
objects creating a newness and a sense of speed into the subjects
everyday life. Immaterial design processes are currently making way for
even more accelerating aspects of how architecture and design will
develop in the future. The development within design is now dealing
with a more holistic integration between the object and the user –
keywords are interaction – mobility – flexibility.
Slowness can be seen as a negation of acceleration. Handmade objects
work against the speed of time – proposing communication between
subject and the object and allowing us to dwell and contemplate. Arts
and craft reflects how mankind has felt an anxiety of technology and
the accelerating modernity. Instead artists and certain designers look
back at tradition seeking knowledge and stability. Organic materials
were essential as alternatives to steel and other high-tech materials.
Even today we feel the opposition of acceleration and slowness: Ecology
and recycling and the awareness of how we have to slow down on
consuming the world´s ressources. And the hypertechnology with
new design methods, new immaterial objects of communication. The Danish
Museum of Decorative Art will illustrate these complex questions in our
new presentation of design and arts and craft in the 20th century.
Here is a list of some of the designers included in the exhibition:
Zaha Hadid, Issey Miyake (Apoc), Bär & Knell, Gaetano Pesce,
Verner Panton, Eero Arnio, Ron Arad, Karim Raschid, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Ray & Charles Eames, Alva Aalto, Philippe Starck, Memphis, Wilhelm
Wagenfeld, Harley Davidson, Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Gerrit
Rietveld, Droog Design, Olafur Thordarson etc. |
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