Nordic Design in Translation: The Circulation of Objects, Ideas and Practices

Nordic Design in Translation: The Circulation of Objects, Ideas and Practices is an exciting and necessary addition to the discourse on material culture, bringing together fresh approaches to the transnational character of Nordic design. The contributors take the reader outside the established frameworks of national, institutional and disciplinary boundaries and offer us a way to think about the circulation of objects, ideas and practices and their interconnection with wider influences and cultural contexts.

(Professor Juliette MacDonald, Chair of Craft History and Theory, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh)

With the ambition to go underneath the veneer of "Scandinavian Design", this volume offers original perspectives on artistic and cultural transfer. Case studies spanning the twentieth century challenge canonical trajectories of unidirectional influence and demonstrate how design and its ideas translate across nations. It is a vital contribution to contemporary scholarship and an inspiring read for everyone interested in design history in the Nordic region and beyond.

(Christina Pech, Senior Lecturer, History of Art, University of Oslo)

Scandinavian Design as a myth, a brand and a shorthand for a range of design ideas has proved an enduring and adaptable construct. Its export around the world has ensured that it has touched and transformed design cultures from Europe to Australia. At the same time, the Nordic design it draws on has been shaped and reshaped by influences from beyond the Nordic countries and by reflection on its own global success. This collection of essays considers Nordic design from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day within transnational dynamics of cultural interaction, circulations and cross-border flows that highlight exchange and reciprocity. Engaging with a range of Nordic and Nordic-inspired material objects, techniques, practices and concepts, the essays assess both the impact they have had on new cultural contexts and the ways they themselves have been fashioned and refashioned in response to foreign influences.