Download Katalog - Designmuseum Danmark

BRANCHING OUT
SKUD PÅ STAMMEN
DANISH WOODEN FURNITURE OF
TOMORROW
“Germany sells design in the name of science, Italy
in the name of art, Scandinavia in the name of craft
and USA in the name of business …”
MORGENDAGENS DANSKE
TRÆMØBLER
“Germany sells design in the name of science, Italy
in the name of art, Scandinavia in the name of craft
and USA in the name of business…”
best of craftsmanship and the most intelligent of
design can lead to creative and convincing results
in wood. But a new generation of danish designers
and cabinet makers are on their way with new
ideas of how our objects will take form.
Today’s technology sets very few limitations in
the application of wood in industrial furniture
production. Danish furniture production is today
primarily industrial, and it is therefore natural to
design with industrial furniture production in mind.
It is the intention of »Branching Out« to continue
the tradition for intelligent design in wood,
with a view to developing furniture which will
be attractive to produce for the Danish furniture
industry. As in earlier exhibitions, cabinet makers
and designers have collaborated in creating prototypes,
but in this exhibition all furniture is designed
by recently qualified designers, and produced in
a workshop in July by cabinet maker apprentices
from Copenhagen Polytechnic.
The exhibition is not only intended as an inspiration
for the Danish furniture industry in the form
of a collection of accessible prototypes, but also
as an invitation to make use of the new talented
generation which is ready to carry on and develop
a strongl danish tradition of furniture produced in
wood.
all the benefits modern materials and production
methods provide there will always be a call for objects
manufactured in organic materials, which live
and are measured spiritually. As yet no synthetic
furniture material, no matter how beautiful it may
be, expresses the same sensuality as that of a piece
of well crafted wood.
Even though The Cabinet Makers Guild’s Furniture
Exhibitions ceased in 1966, and most cabinet
makers were forced to close down during the
1970’s, much of the wooden furniture and their
qualities lived on in the Danish furniture industry,
developing throughout the latter half of the 20th century. A number of initiatives have continued
to secure the tradition for exhibiting innovative
design in wood in recent decades. In 1981 a group
of furniture architects and cabinet makers met to
stage an annual event, The Cabinet Maker’s Autumn
Exhibition, SE, it’s purpose being to promote
experimental furniture types of high quality, with
respect to function, craftsmanship and art. Many
other important initiatives have strengthened and
developed the Danish wooden furniture culture. In
1999 and 2003 the exhibitions »Walk the Plank«
and »Walk the plank II« were staged at the Danish
Museum of Art and Design. A group of designers
walked the plank and had as they said, »created
furniture straight from the soul.« The furniture for
»Walk the Plank II« was made in collaboration
with Copenhagen Polytechnic.
»Branching Out« is a child of these exhibitions,
younger and unique. As with earlier exhibitions
the objective is to show that a meeting between the
The quotation is from the British design historian
Penny Stokes’ summary description of national
style in design during the 20th century. Scandinavian
and in particular Danish design is still synonymous
with excellent craftsmanship. In Denmark it was
furniture craftsmanship in particular which laid
down the foundations for the procurement of the
powerful brand »Danish Design«, from which the
Danish furniture industry continues to benefit. Denmark
was primarily an agricultural country during
the first half of the 20th century, not at all prepared
to compete with large industrial countries. German
furniture makers threatened to take over the
Danish market. The cabinet makers of Copenhagen
retalliated in 1927 by establishing an institution,
The Copenhagen Cabinet Maker Guild’s Furniture
Exhibitions, held annually until 1966 ; most often at
the Danish Museum of Art and Design.
During the 1930’s cabinet makers began to collaborate
with architects, and it was these meetings
between the cream of both craftsmanship and
contemporary design, which became the foundation
for Danish design’s international breakthrough
around 1950. While all other nations in the name
of rationalism unconditionally submitted their design
to modern production and material availability
in order to compete with costs, danish cabinet
makers chose to stand firmly by a strategy which
went against the grain in relation to the competition.
Further development and improvement of the
techniques and materials used in the ancient crafts,
and the addition of completely new forms turned
out to be a successful gamble, because in spite of
Vor tids teknologi sætter meget få begrænsninger
i anvendelsen af træ i industriel møbelproduktion.
Dansk møbelproduktion er i dag primært industriel,
og derfor er det også naturligt at designe til
industriel møbelproduktion.
Med »Skud på Stammen« er det intentionen at fortsætte
traditionen for begavet design i træ, men med
det formål at udvikle møbler, som vil være attraktive
at producere for dansk møbelindustri. I lighed
med tidligere udstillinger har snedkere og designere
sammen udviklet prototyper, men i denne udstilling
er alle møbler formgivet af nyuddannede designere
og fremstillet af snedkerlærlinge i en workshop i
juli måned på Københavns Tekniske Skole.
Udstillingen er ikke blot tænkt som en inspiration
til dansk møbelindustri i form af en række tilgængelige
prototyper, men er også en opfordring til at
gøre brug af den nye talentmasse, som står klar til
at videreføre og videreudvikle en stærk dansk tradition
for møbler fremstillet i træ.
Keld Korsager, Foreningen Dansk Møbelindustri
Ole Rømer, Københavns Tekniske Skole
Bodil Busk Laursen, Kunstindustrimuseet
Keld Korsager, Association of Danish Furniture
Industries
Ole Rømer, Copenhagen Polytechnic
Bodil Busk Laursen, Danish Museum of Art and
Design
lever og har en åndelig målestok. Endnu kan intet
nok så smukt, syntetisk møbelmateriale give samme
sanselighed som et stykke velforarbejdet træ.
Selvom Snedkerlaugsudstillingerne ophørte i 1966,
og selvom de fleste snedkermestre måtte dreje
nøglen om i løbet af 1970’erne, levede mange af
træmøblerne eller deres kvaliteter videre i den
danske møbelindustri, som udviklede sig i anden
halvdel af det 20 århundrede. En række gode
intitativer har videreført traditionen for udstillinger
af nytænkende formgivning i træ i de seneste
årtier. I 1981 gik en række møbelarkitekter og
møbelproducenter sammen og dannede den årligt
tilbagevendende begivenhed Snedkernes Efterårsudstilling,
SE, som har til formål at tilvejebringe
eksperimenterende møbeltyper af høj brugsmæssig,
håndværksmæssig og kunstnerisk kvalitet. Flere andre
vigtige initiativer har styrket og videreudviklet
den danske træmøbelkultur. I 1999 og 2003 vistes
udstillingerne »Planken Ud« og »Planken Ud II« i
Kunstindustrimuseet. En række designere var gået
planken ud og havde, som de sagde, »skabt møbler
frit fra sjælen«. Møblerne til Planken Ud II blev til i
samarbejde med Københavns Tekniske Skole.
»Skud på Stammen« står på skuldrene af de nævnte
træbegivenheder, men er yngre og helt sin egen.
Som i tidligere udstillinger er målet at vise, at
mødet mellem det bedste håndværk og den mest
intelligente formgivning kan føre til nyskabende
og overbevisende resultater i træ. Men en helt ny
generation af danske designere og snedkere er på
vej med nye ideer til, hvordan vore genstande skal
tage form.
Citatet er den britiske designhistoriker Penny Sparkes
summariske beskrivelse af national stil i design
i det 20. århundrede. Skandinavisk og i særdeleshed
dansk design er stadig synonymt med godt håndværk.
I Danmark var det især møbelhåndværket,
der lagde fundamentet for tilvejebringelsen af
det stærke brand »Danish Design«, som dansk
møbelindustri stadig lever højt på. Danmark var
primært et landbrugsland i første halvdel af det
20. århundrede ; slet ikke rustet til at w med store
industrilande. Tyske møbelfabrikanter truede med
at overtage det danske marked. De københavnske
snedkermestre svarede igen i 1927 med at grundlægge
en institution, Københavns Snedkerlaugs
Møbeludstillinger, der vistes hvert år frem til 1966,
de fleste i Kunstindustrimuseet.
Op gennem 1930’erne begyndte snedkerne at
samarbejde med arkitekter, og det var disse møder
mellem det bedste håndværk og nytænkende formgivning,
som blev fundamentet for dansk designs
internationale gennembrud omkring 1950. Mens
alle andre nationer i rationalistens navn betingelsesløst
havde underkastet deres formgivning moderne
produktions- og materialemuligheder for at kunne
konkurrere på bl.a. pris, valgte danske snedkere
at stå fast på en strategi, der gik i diametral modsat
retning af konkurrenterne. Videreudviklingen
og perfektionering af det ældgamle håndværks
teknikker og materialer og tilførslen af helt nye
tidssvarende former viste sig at være en helt rigtig
satsning, fordi der trods alle fordele ved moderne
materialer og produktionsmetoder altid vil være
et behov for genstande i organiske materialer, der
6