The bard celebrates two other fine practitioners of the art, and laments a lost brewer
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The democratic strategies of Scandinavian design
SIAN LEWIS draws attention to a tradition of design whose mass production was conceived for the greater good rather than the greatest profit
Arne Jacobsen, Model no. 3107 chairs for Fritz Hansen, 1955.
[© Fritz Hansen]
This right-wing conspiracy theory is used to justify the coercive measures against gender, race and labour rights that best serve capitalism, attests GAVIN O’TOOLE
KENNY MONROSE recommends a new exhibition that highlights the significance of Black British music
ANGUS REID is bowled over by an exuberant film about the making of Keith Jarrett’s legendary concert
MARIA DUARTE, FIONA O’CONNOR and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Savage House, Enzo, Madfabulous, and Erupcja
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a work of love and deep admiration for a great musician
Scandinavian Design
Charlotte & Peter Fiell, Taschen, £25
THE latest update of Charlotte and Peter Fiell’s 2002 Taschen book on Scandinavian design comes as part of the German art publisher’s 40th anniversary celebrations and is a weighty little brick of a book, 512 pages but with a footprint barely larger than a piece of A5 paper, perfect for the tiniest of minimalist coffee tables. The quality is as excellent as we have come to expect from the carbon-neutral publisher.
It’s always a tricky argument when defending good aesthetics against the purely functional, but why is it not possible to have both — and not just for the enjoyment of the wealthy?
In Sweden, 19th century socialist Ellen Key argued for “Skonhet at Alla” (beauty for all) and the Swedish Society of Craft & Industrial Design, set up in 1845 to oversee the quality of mass-produced goods, employed the slogan “Vackrare Vardagsvara” (more beautiful everyday objects).
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