“Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980”

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Photo: Milwaukee Art Museum

Jan Wilsgaard, 1964 Volvo Amazon coupe

Jan Wilsgaard, 1964 Volvo Amazon coupe

The Milwaukee Art Museum’s current exhibition “Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980” is as much about the creation of myths as it is the fashioning of objects. According to the museum, the exhibition proposes an “alternative to the dominant narrative that cites Germany and central Europe as the primary influences of modern American design …” Even as it emphasizes the significance of Scandinavian design, the exhibition also challenges other enduring beliefs about it, finally leaving us asking deeper questions about the relationship between art, history and mythology. 

The exhibition opens by clarifying the most general of ambiguities: what does it even mean to be “Scandinavian” or “Nordic” in the first place? From there it offers a short but compelling background into the Scandinavian diaspora of the 19th century vis-à-vis a wide variety of handmade objects. We see everything from a rosemaled three-legged chair by Norwegian-born, Wisconsin-raised folk artist Per Lysne to a Medieval-revival tapestry by Frida Hansen. Considering the ethical and utopian associations projected onto Nordic design by the middle of the 20th century, the story turns out to be a pretty familiar one of traditional working class, preindustrial craft. It’s surprising to see how similarly eclectic Nordic folk art is to other ancient folk traditions in Europe. The galleries provide an abbreviated but irresistible account of the co-evolution of capitalism, globalism, nationalism and branding to create the IKEA-fied conception of Scandinavian design many still hold today. 

Tangible Concepts

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Photo: Milwaukee Art Museum

Per Lysne, Chair, ca. 1925

Per Lysne, Chair, ca. 1925

World’s Fairs, Trade expositions, and museum exhibitions were a large part of this winding story. The institutional and intellectual exchange between these organs led to a flourish of forms, fellows, and firms capitalizing on the finally tangible concept of “Nordic Design.” From early on this manifested in useful and practical things like the desk lamp by Olga Lee, the bowl set by Herbert Krenchel, and the chair by Hans Wegner that are on view in the galleries. These objects speak to the emergence of a clean and utilitarian sensibility that was being both invented and embodied at the very same moment. 

Educational reciprocity provides another fascinating chapter in the evolution of that wonderful Scandinavian essence. The exhibition offers an in-depth look at the chain of influence at the Cranbrook Academy of Art outside Detroit. In 1924 Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen was hired to design the school from the layout of its campus to its pedagogical groundwork. He recruited well-known Nordic designers that attracted future design luminaries such as Charles and Ray Eames and Florence Knoll to campus. And of course, Eliel’s son Eero would go on to be one of the most influential architects in the post-war world.

Cranbrook fed the Detroit-based American car companies with talent in much the same way CalArts did Disney, so it’s fitting that the final gallery in the show features a 1964 Volvo “Amazon” coupe designed by Swedish designer Nils Bohlin. It’s a cherry of a vehicle for sure, but it’s also the first car to deliver standard with seat belts and other safety features, reinforcing that ongoing connection–part manufactured, part legitimate–between Nordic social virtue and economical design. 

It seems that the seed of that form-and-function thing in Scandinavian production goes way back, but it grew over time into something more and more singular and self-reflexive. The Swedes have a word Jantelagen that is roughly defined as “subverting the individual will for the success of the group.” Its connotation is something more like modesty or social deference. That there’s a word for this says something about the deeper sensibilities at play in the culture. However, this exhibition illustrates that it took more than a few interests to shape and polish that sweeping concept we call Scandinavian Design. So next time you finish a castle out of Legos on your teak Danish coffee table, remember that their histories, like their forms, required hands, machines, and time to build.

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Photo: Milwaukee Art Museum

Frida Hansen, Sørover (Southward), 1903

Frida Hansen, Sørover (Southward), 1903

Openings, June 25 – July 1, 2023

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Tour: Architecture and Collection Highlights
• Sunday, June 25, 2–3 p.m.

Sculpture Milwaukee

• Skate with Roll Train, Live Music at Red Arrow Park, 920 N. Water Street
• Monday, June 26, 5–8 p.m.

Lynden Sculpture Garden

• Garden Work Day
• Tuesday, June 27, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Sculpture Milwaukee

• Sculpture Milwaukee at the Avenue, Next to Dear Nature
• Wednesday, June 28, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Museum of Wisconsin Art

• Movers and Shakers: Make a scarf and Dance to Wes Tank’s story rhymes 
• Wednesday, June 28, 10:30 am

Lynden Sculpture Garden

• Natural Areas Work Day
• Thursday, June 29, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Lynden Sculpture Garden

• Thursdays in the Garden (for children 1-3 years of age)
• Thursday, June 29, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Saint Kate–the Arts Hotel

• Gallery Hours with Bela Saresh Roongta
• Thursday, June 29, 4–6 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Member Mingle + Gallery Talk: “Scandinavian Design and the United States”
• Reservation Required (mam.org)
• Thursday, June 29, 5–7 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Gallery Talk: “Scandinavian Design and the United States”
• Thursday, June 29, 6–7 p.m.

Sculpture Milwaukee

• Sculpture Milwaukee at the Saint Kate-the Arts Hotel
• Friday, June 30, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

The Alice Wilds

• Opening reception, Grant Gill: “Glowing Images” 
• Friday, June 30, 5–8 p.m.

5 Points Art Gallery + Studios

• Opening Reception, “This is America”
• Friday, June 30, 6–9 p.m.

Arts @ Large

• Closing Celebration, “Sharing Space”
• Friday, June 30, 6–9 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-in Art Making
• Saturday, July 1, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Story Time in the Galleries
• Saturday, July 1, 10:30–11:30 a.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Tour: Architecture and Collection Highlights
• Saturday, July 1, 2–3 p.m.

Saint Kate–the Arts Hotel

• Gallery Hours with Bela Saresh Roongta
• Saturday, July 1, 1–3 p.m.

Saint Kate–the Arts Hotel

• AIR Time, Art and Studio Tour. Cocktail and studio tour with artist Jeff Zimpel
• Saturday, July 1, 5 p.m.

Lynden Sculpture Garden

• Home 2023: World Refugee Day Celebration
• Sunday, June 25, 11 a..m–4 p.m.