Mogensen 100 years 1

Transcription

1 Mogensen 100 years 1

2 2 Børge Mogensen

3 1 Mogensen 100 years Børge Mogensen was born in Aalborg, Denmark in 1914 and embarked upon his career in the world of design as a cabinetmaker in 1934, before entering the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts in It was there that he studied under his mentor, Kaare Klint, who he would work extensively with in his early years, before progressing to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in It was evident from early on that Mogensen was an extremely productive and ambitious person, as he became head of design at FDB soon after graduation, as well as simultaneously spending several years as Kaare Klint s teaching assistant at his alma mater, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, before establishing his own design studio in Functional is the word which best describes Børge Mogensen s design. The majority of his furniture was designed with industrial production in mind and is characterized by strong and simple lines. His method of scientifically studying measurements for everyday objects such as clothing and household utensils in order to establish protocols for furniture always resulted in genius in the finished product. Scholars of Danish Modern often refer to Mogensen s methods in their studies and written works. Over the course of his life, Mogensen created hundreds of designs, many of which came to him at all hours of the day and night, which prompted him to grab a pen and sketch on the backs of envelopes, cigarette packets, napkins, etc. Other than receiving the Eckersbergs Medaille 1950, Mogensen was really only recognised for awards later in life, winning the Furniture Prize in 1971 together with Andreas Graversen, and the C.F. Hansens Medaille and the distinction of Honorary Royal Designer for Industry in London He died in the same year, only 58 years old, although his spirit continues to be celebrated not just in the year of his 100th anniversary, but will be for many more generations to come.

4 2 Børge Mogensen was often criticised for stubbornly insisting on tradition instead of exploring new materials, methods and trends

5 3 Thankfully Børge never gave a damn The Spanish Chair

6 6 Børge Mogensen s home

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8 8 Børge Mogensen s summer residence

9 7 Jasper Morrison on Børge Mogensen It s interesting that a designer of Børge Mogensen s talent should be such a well kept secret. As a design student I knew about Jacobsen, Wegner, Kjærholm, Panton and some others, but not Mogensen. It was not until relatively recently that I found out that he designed so many of the classic Danish furniture pieces that I admired. Many of his designs had infiltrated my reservoir of references without my being aware of their author. If I ask myself how this could have happened the only answer I can find is that Mogensen designs are intentionally discrete, he didn t set out to design anything eye catching or iconic, although some of his designs are quite radical. I believe that s the clue to understanding and appreciating the quality of his design. It s not so much about the chair or the table as objects, though they are certainly beautiful, but about the effect they will have on their environment. You need only look at photos of Mogensen s own home to appreciate how skillful he was at tuning the architecture and interior design to amplify the effect of his designs. Discrete objects are more successful in building good atmosphere than eye catching ones. It took me a long time and a lot of effort to understand that, and part of the understanding involved the making an exhibition called Super Normal, which I curated with Naoto Fukasawa in Looking at his work now I think Mogensen was instinctively Super Normal, he understood the beauty of very normal things and appreciated how they benefitted everyday life. He took a lot of care in refining and simplifying the lines of his designs to the point where the spirit of the object becomes more evident than the form. I believe that s what design is all about and also why his designs are so enduring.

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12 10 The Børge Feeling What sets Børge apart from others was his uniquely strong feeling for materials. Take The Spanish Chair the thick vegetable tanned butt leather, the hand stitching, and the feeling of the expertly treated solid beautiful oak when you sit down and one can t help but fall in love every time. It s this special feeling that is evidently clear in all of his designs. In fact, you could even say that it s this indisputable quality in the choice of materials that carries his name and image more than the form itself. When you acquire a Spanish Chair, it is like buying a pair of Lloyd s shoes for their beauty and love more and more each day as the stiff leather gives way to the form of your foot and becomes a fantastic natural extension of your feet. The more you sit in a Spanish chair, the more it patinates and molds to your own body s curves and eventually the story of you and your chair becomes an inseparably treasured relationship. It is this relationship, the one created between human and object, that is uniquely The Børge Feeling. Thomas Graversen, owner

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15 In 1958, Børge Mogensen and his family travelled to Spain. For the hardworking designer, the trip became more than just a holiday. In Andalucia he fell in love with an old chair with a wide seat and broad armrests. Once back in Denmark, he created The Spanish Chair. The chair he fell in love with is a traditional type of chair and is very common in areas influenced by ancient Islamic culture from Spain to northern India. Børge Mogensen modernised the design by removing the elaborate carvings, and thus he created his own version with his customary geometrical precision. Yet he retained the most important feature: the broad armrests that give the chair its distinctive character. The broad armrests also serve as a practical place to place a cup or a glass. By designing The Spanish Chair Mogensen proved that he did not need to use steel or plastic to be innovative. Like The Hunting Chair, it is made of oak and butt leather. This gives it a strong, masculine character, and ensures that the chair ages beautifully. The straps allow that the back can be tightened as the leather expands, which means that you can sit securely and comfortably in this chair from day one and for the rest of your life. 13

16 14 The people s chair It is believed that it was a surplus of wooden pins and dowels in the factory stores that led Børge Mogensen to design J39 in Perhaps that was a fortunate coincidence, as today it is one of Denmark s most sold wooden chairs, and has been in uninterrupted production ever since it was launched. J39 is the obvious choice for everything from canteens to conference halls, churches to private homes, and is popularly known as the People s Chair. This simple, yet unique chair was inspired by Mogensen s mentor, Kaare Klint, as well as American Shaker furniture. The curved backrest and hand-woven seat make the J39 a comfortable dining chair in an aesthetically pleasing quality. The subtle design language means that it can be added to an existing interior, or serve as a room s visual hub. J39 has a solid beech or oak frame; in untreated, soaped, lacquered, or black or white painted finishes, and seat corded with black or natural paper yarn.

17 The People s Chair is truly deserving of its name it is one of the most sold wooden chairs in Denmark. 15

18 18 To this day, the J39 seat is corded by hand. One chair requires 144 metres of paper cord.

19 Since the J39 was introduced, the seat height has been raised 2 centimetres, as people today are taller on average than they were in

20 18 THE LUXURY OF MODESTY Christian Holmsted Olsen, head of collections and exhibtions at Design Museum Denmark speaks of Børge Mogensen as a bone dry designer, a stubborn disciple of Kaare Klint s design ideals, especially in the treatment of wood so that the owner of the furniture could appreciate not just the design, but also the tree from which it came from. In keeping with this tradition, FreDerICIA has become one of the crown jewels of Danish design, says Olesen. From the 1950s, when FREDERICIA started working with Børge Mogensen, Danish furniture design has become what us Danes are best known for internationally in the twentieth century. There is no published work on design that doesn t feature Denmark, along with Børge Mogensen and FREDERICIA s contribution to the establishment of modern Danish design.

21 In contrast to FREDERICIA s design principles, where they choose new designs based on gut feeling, Mogensen would never speak about the subjective human mentality, he referred exclusively to the objective physical proportions of a person when he worked on a design. It was this process that made Mogensen known as a very dry designer. He stood for the outspokenly frank, the even keeled, feet planted firmly on the ground, which is the same philosophies and traditions that the Shakers stood for in their furniture design, which Mogensen took inspiration from. It was this matter-of-fact outlook that made Børge Mogensen s furniture border on the anonymous, which is precisely what made it also very noble. Mogensen s work came wholly from studying the type of object he was creating how could he refine an older object of the same type into a better version. It was this focus that created his unique relationship with furniture design. A quote from Mogensen s mentor, Kaare says that a designer stands on the shoulders of others in creating new designs, which is evident in Børge s J39 chair in which he found inspiration in Klint s own church chairs. Klint himself was influenced by the old church chairs from the Middle Ages. So when Jasper Morrison modeled the Trattoria chair after the J39, with a plastic seat and back that could be removed for shipping ease, he was also standing on the shoulders of his predecessors, both as an attempt at improvement and a tribute to Mogensen at the same time, as well as proving a love for a chair that is actually already more than 100 years old. Børge Mogensen did not have the recognition that he deserved in the heyday of Danish design, but he will get his renaissance. FREDERICIA has a finger on the pulse of global trends, and the world s demand for quality materials, modest luxury, and attention to detail all but guarantees that Mogensen s time is fast approaching. 19

22 22 Danish secretaries of state have furnished their offices with 2200s since the sixties, so today they have an image of power

23 The politicians that is The 2200 series 23

24 Børge Mogensen graduated from the School of Architecture with a clear mission. He wanted to create quality furniture that everyone could afford. Yet 20 years later, he designed the sofas and chairs that now furnish cabinet ministers offices and Danish embassies around the world. The first of the iconic sofas were released in 1962, followed by many different variations, evolving them into Danish institutions is a high-backed wing chair with the 2202 as matching footstool. The set was designed in 1963 and is regarded among the most comfortable furniture Mogensen created. The chair envelops the body, the wings shut out the world, giving one the peace to read or relax. The chair and footstool are part of the 2200 series that also includes an easy chair and two and three-seat sofas.

25 Quality takes time a 2204 chair takes 4 hours to upholster. 23

26 A little herring, a little warm and cold smørrebrød, a little schnapps, a little beer, a little coffee, and a good nap on the Mogensen sofa became an institution in Danish homes in the sixties, and was immortalised in the above quote by Leif Panduro, describing a typical Danish New Year s celebration

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28 Another signature Mogensen material is the use of hides from bulls rather than cows. Cowhides are the general skins of choice for furniture production, but the form of a Mogensen sofa requires a more structured skin, which is only found in the more expensive bullhides. While this might be seen as an unnecessary expense, it is the less elastic bullhide that provides the sturdy structure to keep a Mogensen sofa true to it s form for all the generations that will enjoy it. Just one of the many details that make a Børge Mogensen sofa a precious investment that appreciates in value over the years. Thomas Graversen 26

29 2213 is exactly 222cm in width, long enough to stretch out fully between the two end cushions. This generous size was important to Børge, who used the sofa in his daily life. 27

30 30 Børge Mogensen s winter garden

31 In the 1940s, the trend was to craft furniture from expensive imported Cuban mahogany, Burma teak, and Brazilian rosewood. Børge felt that this was ostentatious and unnecessary, and felt that the Danish designers should be using Nordic woods instead. Beech, which was in generous local supply was one of his favourites, as well as oak, which turned out to be instinctively genius, as no other woods patinates as beautifully as oak. Thomas Graversen 31

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33 By rejecting everything that is old, one foregoes the help there is in being able to build on the experience that has been acquired for centuries

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35 Model 201 was designed in 1955 by Børge Mogensen as the first sofa for Fredericia Furniture, and remained in production for 10 years. Mogensen used loose cushions, which would be precedent for his later leather sofas. The three separate cushions give the sofa a unique character, as well as a practicality for cleaning. In 2014, FREDERICIA has re-released the sofa as No.1 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Børge Mogensen. 35

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37 The Søborg Chair 35

38 38 The Søborg Chair

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40 38 The Gatekeepers of Mogensen s Legacy Rasmus Graversen, 25, and Elizaveta Friedman, 41, have come from, literally, very separate worlds. Rasmus is Danish and the grandson of Andreas Graversen, and Liza is FREDERICIA s Russian-American export director. Although these two have come from different worlds, they share a common love for Børge Mogensen that they both strive to keep alive for future generations across the globe. Rasmus grew up surrounded by Mogensen furniture, both in his grandfather s home and his own family s as well. His favourite piece is a Hunting chair, which he acquired at a young age and has been a constant in his life ever since, following him to university in Berlin and now has a featured spot in his 38sqm apartment in Copenhagen that he shares with his girlfriend. Liza s father was a collector of antiques, especially American Shaker furniture, and as a child, it was that furniture she lived in because it was sturdy and kid-proof, and the more expensive and elaborate European pieces were off limits. It was when she began designing restaurants and other venues in Moscow in the 1990s that she started to use Mogensen in her designs, as it spoke to her of a more modest luxury, which set her designs apart in a city that had a trend for overstuffed, gold gilded, and flashy furniture sought after by the New Russian money.

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42 42 Early in his career, Børge Mogensen designed an extensive range of wooden chairs. The aim was to create good, high-quality functional furniture that was modest in appearance. The use of single dowels in the construction of the J49 back would later be seen in the celebrated Spokeback Sofa.

43 Although the global trends for Danish design come and go, both believe that Mogensen is a constant. In Liza s opinion, this is because when you acquire a piece of Mogensen furniture, it is because you are investing in not just a lifestyle, but your life as well. When you buy a sofa, you re buying it with the thought that this will be part of your home and will be something passed on to your children. It becomes a part of your own family s DNA. Both of them admire Mogensen for many reasons. Rasmus says, What I admire so much about him is that he had such a logical approach to designing, looking at the scientific approach of the human body and fitting designs for ease of production. Even more so, that the starting point for his designs were for his own home, and not for public space. To which Liza quickly adds, which is exactly why I always feel that Mogensen is perfect for public space use, because it makes the space much more personal. In modern times where people are becoming more anonymous, we can all use a bit more of a personal touch in our public lives. For both Rasmus and Liza, it s a wood and leather lounge chair that is dear to their hearts. Rasmus Hunting Chair is his favourite piece, which he took from the family s living room as a child and put into his own bedroom. At the time, he didn t have any real knowledge or opinion of design, but it was a chair that spoke to him and became his. Over the years, it has become a permanent fixture in his life. Rasmus says, It s impossible to describe how it feels to sit in The Hunting Chair, but the best way I could explain it is that because of it s odd shape, it forces you to just sit and relax, since eating or drinking in it is rather awkward. When you sit in it, you instantly feel it s a good time chair, and it creates a space for itself and the person using it. At the same time, it is very functional, as you can move it to different areas of a home in a way that you couldn t do with a sofa or heavy lounge chair. For Liza, her favourite is The Spanish Chair. While writing a paper in high school, a book was lying open on the table next to her with a photo of Børge sitting in The Spanish Chair. She was instantly smitten with the chair, and embarked on a search for one. It took over a year to find a shop that had one, but when she sat in it, she knew that she d have a lifelong relationship with the chair, and it became her signature piece in the venues she d later design in Moscow. As Liza explains, I agree with Rasmus, in that it s impossible to describe the feeling of sitting in a Mogensen chair. For me, when I saw the photo of The Spanish Chair, I could tell straight away that the massive oak and thick leather was something special, but it was when I finally sat in one that I truly felt an emotional connection with a piece of furniture and the thought process behind it, and I m sure that I m not alone in that kind of feeling. As I studied more about Mogensen as a designer and his methods, I found it to be almost amusing how this very methodical, logical, and no nonsense designer produced furniture that people feel very emotional towards. In my daily work at FREDERICIA, I receive many letters and photos from people who have a special bond with their Mogensen furniture, and it kind of makes the world a bit more intimate for me, because I know exactly how they feel. When asked If you could have any piece at all for your own homes, space and money no object, what would it be?. Both laugh and answer simultaneously 2192!. With gatekeepers like Rasmus and Liza, clearly the Mogensen legacy shall be carried on in many more generations and worlds to come. 41

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45 The Spokeback Sofa looks like The Spokeback Sofa 43

46 44 The Spokeback sofa The Mogensen family spent the summer of 1945 in a summer cottage with the Wegner family. This first summer after the Occupation years was wet and damp fortunately, for Børge Mogensen spent the time designing his first classic item of furniture. With its unpretetious design, The Spokeback Sofa is completely bared from every angle - even the cushions are attached with visible straps. Typical for Mogensen, the joints are extremely fine, needing closer inspection to see how the different parts are fused together. The sophistication is in the detail. With its reclining side, and the characteristic leather straps, the sofa in time became one of Mogensen s most popular models. The inventive combination of a classic two-seater sofa with the English daybed and the French chaise longue was too sophisticated for post-war tastes, however, and the sofa was not put into production until Since then, it has been copied endlessly. The cushions are easy to replace when worn, or fashions change. Once you have a Spokeback Sofa, you own a sofa for life. It is available in oak or beech, and with white or black-pigmented lacquer.

47 When The Spokeback Sofa was released in 1945, it was considered too avant-garde for the times and only 50 of them were sold. When it was re-released 20 years later, it was hailed as a triumph and is considered a beautiful statement piece for any Danish home. 45

48 46 Designed in Built in 2014.

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51 Fiskebaren by Space Perfected in The Hunting Chair The Hunting Chair s rounded armrests, seat, and back that adjust to the body s weight make it a very comfortable chair. Despite the front seat edge height of just 30 cm above the floor, the armrests make the chair easy to get up from. The frame is made of oak, while the seat and back are of butt leather, with adjustable straps. This rustic and masculine combination of materials, which give a very special patina, was further developed by Mogensen in other pieces such as The Spanish Chair. The Hunting Chair is a sculpture that only becomes even more stunning with time.

52 52 50 The theme of the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild s autumn exhibition in 1950 was The Hunting Lodge. Børge Mogensen used this as an opportunity to create one of his more extraordinary pieces of furniture. Like several of his classics, the idea was conceived late at night in the company of good friends and in this case on a matchbox.

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54 Børge Mogensen was a very productive man during his short life, with hundreds of designs to his credit. Below are models which are today produced by FREDERICIA. J J C18 table The Spokeback Sofa The Hunting Chair 1950

55 No.1 Sofa The Søborg Chair Bench 3236 Chair 1956

56 2226 The Spanish Chair , 2204

57 2207, Coupé sofa The Shaker Table 1964

58 Who s your Danish favorite designer? Let s skip fashion and talk about furniture instead. I am absolutely mad about Børge Mogensen, who confirms my picture of sexy Denmark. It s the most beautiful furniture in wood and leather in a chunky look which I love. Jonny Johansson, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Swedish fashion brand Acne 58 References / quotes Page 24: Hedebo Olsen, Lars. Børge Mogensen. Denmark: Aschehoug, 2006 Page 31: Kaare Klint Page 56: Cover Magazine 2012 Fredericia Furniture 2014 Interviews by Anders Krag Text by Elizaveta Friedman Design by Rethink Copenhagen

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60 60 FLAGSHIP Store: Frederiksborggade 22, DK-1360 Copenhagen K, Tel Fredericia Furniture A/S, Treldevej 183, DK-7000 Fredericia, TeL