Swedish Design

An Ethnography

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Graphic Art & Design, Furniture Design, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Swedish Design by Keith M. Murphy, Cornell University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Keith M. Murphy ISBN: 9780801455797
Publisher: Cornell University Press Publication: June 22, 2019
Imprint: Cornell University Press Language: English
Author: Keith M. Murphy
ISBN: 9780801455797
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Publication: June 22, 2019
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Language: English

Swedish designers are noted for producing distinctive and elegant forms; their furniture and household goods have an especially loyal following around the world. Design in Sweden has more than just an aesthetic component, however. Since at least the late nineteenth century, Swedish politicians and social planners have viewed design as a means for advocating and enacting social change and pushing for a more egalitarian social organization. In this book, Keith M. Murphy examines the special relationship between politics and design in Sweden, revealing in particular the cultural meanings this relationship holds for Swedish society.

Over the course of fourteen months of research in Stockholm and at other sites, Murphy conducted in-depth interviews with various players involved in the Swedish design industry—designers, design instructors, government officials, artists, and curators—and observed several different design collectives in action. He found that for Swedes design is never socially or politically neutral. Even for common objects like furniture and other household goods, design can be labeled "responsible," "democratic," or "ethical"— descriptors that all neatly resonate with the traditional moral tones of Swedish social democracy. Murphy also considers the example of Ikea and its power to politicize perceptions of the everyday world. More broadly, his book serves as a model for an anthropological approach to the study of design practice, one that accounts for the various ways in which order is purposefully and meaningfully imposed by designers on the domains of human life, and the consequences those impositions have on the social worlds in which they are embedded.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Swedish designers are noted for producing distinctive and elegant forms; their furniture and household goods have an especially loyal following around the world. Design in Sweden has more than just an aesthetic component, however. Since at least the late nineteenth century, Swedish politicians and social planners have viewed design as a means for advocating and enacting social change and pushing for a more egalitarian social organization. In this book, Keith M. Murphy examines the special relationship between politics and design in Sweden, revealing in particular the cultural meanings this relationship holds for Swedish society.

Over the course of fourteen months of research in Stockholm and at other sites, Murphy conducted in-depth interviews with various players involved in the Swedish design industry—designers, design instructors, government officials, artists, and curators—and observed several different design collectives in action. He found that for Swedes design is never socially or politically neutral. Even for common objects like furniture and other household goods, design can be labeled "responsible," "democratic," or "ethical"— descriptors that all neatly resonate with the traditional moral tones of Swedish social democracy. Murphy also considers the example of Ikea and its power to politicize perceptions of the everyday world. More broadly, his book serves as a model for an anthropological approach to the study of design practice, one that accounts for the various ways in which order is purposefully and meaningfully imposed by designers on the domains of human life, and the consequences those impositions have on the social worlds in which they are embedded.

More books from Cornell University Press

Cover of the book The Good Wife's Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris) by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Critical Terrains by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Monastic Reform as Process by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Living Weapons by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Too Few Women at the Top by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book The Consumption of Justice by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Muslims and Matriarchs by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Modern Hatreds by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book I, the Citizen by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Drawing the Lines by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Fifty Early Medieval Things by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book A Duterte Reader by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book The Electrification of Russia, 1880–1926 by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Accidental Activists by Keith M. Murphy
Cover of the book Privatizing China by Keith M. Murphy
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy