Tuesday, April 2, 2013

CFP: The Influence of Scandinavian Design in America, 1900-1980

The Influence of Scandinavian Design in America, 1900–1980

This session explores the widespread influence of Scandinavian design
on twentieth-century American material culture by examining
Scandinavian attitudes about design, and the designs themselves.
Encompassing the countries of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway,
the session seeks to identify how qualities that are traditionally
associated with Scandinavian design, such as human comfort, organic
form, and the use of natural materials, were widely adopted by
American designers. By considering the impact of Scandinavians who
settled in America, Americans
who studied in Scandinavia, and the aggressive campaigns to market and
export Scandinavian design to the United States, the session will
trace how Scandinavian design became an integral part of what we now
think of as American design. Topics may include influential designers
and corporations, the role of exhibitions and world’s fairs, or the
ways that the countries used cultural diplomacy to align themselves
with the democratic, capitalist side of the Cold War divide. Papers
may also consider how expanding environmental awareness in the 1960s
and 1970s shifted design discourse to considerations of green design,
universal design, and the impact of consumerism.

Please send proposals to Bobbye Tigerman (tigerman@post.harvard.edu)
by May 6, 2013.

For more information, visit
http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/2014CallforParticipation.pdf (PDF).

Bobbye Tigerman

Associate Curator, Decorative Arts and Design
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
www.lacma.org

btigerman@lacma.org

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