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Scandinavian design - Beyond myths

07.11.2003 to 29.02.2004

Kunstgewerbemuseum
Kunstgewerbemuseum

The Council of Ministers of the Scandinavian countries is organising a major touring exhibition which looks at Scandinavian design. All five countries of the community -Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - are taking part in this exhibition, to be shown first at the Museum of Applied Art in Berlin. The exhibition comprises some 250 works, of which 150 are absolutely contemporary and 100 are from the 20th century.

The look of the modern world, after the Second World War, followed standards set in large part by Scandinavian designers. Their works and ideas still have a powerful resonance today. The exhibition deals with the successes of Scandinavian design, but also opens discussion on the myths and clichés which have developed among critics and consumers over the years. Criteria formed by the Italian philosopher Italo Calvino are useful current measures of good design: lightness and speed, precision and recognition, versatility and lastingness. These criteria avoid outdated classification and valuation according to country, and encourage Nordic designers to see themselves as part of global developments in design for many years to come

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