Nordic Modernism at Opera City, Tokyo



Scandinavian objects from the 1950s and 1960s are on display at the Opera City Art Gallery in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Nordic designers tend to take environmental considerations into concern. For me, these things are both familiar and nostalgic, having grown up with the Tetra Pak milk cartoons and Marimekko curtains (that my mother loved).

Nordic Modernism

3 November (Saturday) 2007 - 14 January (Monday) 2008 Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
Open hours: 11:00 - 19:00
(to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, entry up to 30 minutes before closing)
Closed on Mondays (except December 24 and January 14), 29 December - January 3
Admission: Adult 1,000 (800) yen, University and High School Students 800 (600) yen, Junior High and Elementary School Students 600 (400) yen

Some of these chairs and lamps that my grandparents took for granted are now very expensive collectors' items...

Comments

vegetablej said…
I like Scandinavian design. The lines are clean and beautiful and always so functional. In fact the "form follows function" aesthetic is maybe the best one for me. I guess the artichoke lamp is more elaborate, but still beautiful. Wish I were close enough to go to the exhibit.

I wonder if the picture on the far left is indeed a plywood sculpture? It looks more like glass bottles.
10:58 am, December 13, 2007
Pandabonium said…
My parents were into "Danish modern" furnishings in the 50's and 60's. I liked it too. Clean lines and natural wood grains with a "form follows function" design premise.
8:26 pm, December 13, 2007
Martin J Frid said…
Wow, you guys know more than I do about this topic. Thanks!

V, I think you are correct, that photo doesn't match the description at all.

If you have any old stuff like that back home in an attic, it might be worth some money.
6:28 pm, December 14, 2007
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe and Japan, con
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting
Read more