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"Designpolitik" Well Received at Seattle Conference
Rising up to the top floor of the Seattle Public Library
Last weekend was filled with a lot of hustle and bustle as I presented my paper Designpolitik: Do the politics of design follow the political mood of a nation to a group at the annual Scandinavian Studies conference on Saturday. A great number of 88 papers were cancelled due to the only catastrophe to strike Scandinavia in recent memory: the eruption of Eyjafallajöull in Iceland whose ash clouds spread over Europe, canceling flights until late last week. Thankfully, a few of the attendees traveling from Scandinavia made it out before flights were cancelled.
The conference was held in both the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Seattle Public Library in downtown Seattle. The weather was beautiful and it only rained twice.
Quite fortunately, my panel was held in the famous Seattle Public Library designed by architect Rem Koolhaas (pictured above). My co-panelist was Lucy Creagh, Ph.D. of Architecture candidate at Columbia University. Ms. Creagh's paper entitled Personality and Standardization, the Individual and the Mass: Comparing Ellen Key's "Beauty in the Home" and "Acceptera" was primarily about the book Acceptera written by six Swedish architects in the late 1930s. My paper was a good fit to go after hers, as my introduction mentions Ellen Key's "design for all" ideology.
Both papers were well received and a lively discussion ensued after the readings. There was much debate about what Swedish design means today and a positive response to Creagh's reinterpretations of Key as an early proponent of reusing and recycling.
The panel on design was one of the last for the conference and directly afterward there was a banquet to relieve the stress from the weekend. There I was awarded a President's Grant for graduate students to aid in travel expenses. I received a lot of good feedback on my paper and had a great time.
Thanks to the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study and the MID department for the opportunity to present at this year's conference!
