JUNE 2008

HOW WE GOT IKEA - SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN 1880-1950

The FARNHAM DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS SOCIETY met on Tuesday 17 June 2008 at the Maltings for its Annual General Meeting where Chairman, Frances Ashworth gave her report, followed by the Treasurer’s report and President, Susan Filer led the election of the Committee members. Chairman Elect, Peter Duffy was duly elected to take over from 31 July 2008.  

The Chairman reported that bookings were being taken for the September Visit to Basildon Park.   The proposed tour in May 2009 to the Baltic capitals had been cancelled; however a tour to Istanbul, Turkey would replace it.    She then introduced Anne Anderson, Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design at Southampton Solent University to talk on “How we got IKEA: Scandinavian Design 1880-1950”.    This was a lively lecture which gave members a good insight into the many innovative designs.

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA is the richest man in the world (even more so than Bill Gates), who lives in Switzerland and now in his 80s.   Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd represent the farm and town in which he was born; thus the derivation of “IKEA”.    IKEA is a family business with 200 stores in 31 countries producing items of good design, quality and function at low prices - “socially determined”.   Everyone is familiar with the flat pack items which have wide appeal for being reasonably priced.

Anne Anderson spoke of the history of Scandinavia; the extreme climate and the effect on its inhabitants who like minimalist open plan homes at one with nature.  The cost of living in Scandinavia is very high and therefore people prefer to eat at home and take great pride in the interior design.

We were taken through a range of designs from art nouveau, arts and crafts and art deco with many pictures of leading Scandinavian designers’ works from chairs such as the womb, the egg and the bubble to vases, lamps, furniture and jewellery.  We were told how Arnold Krog revolutionised art and techniques at the Royal Copenhagen Company with his passion for Japanese patterns as a narrative.  

There was certainly a wonderful array of powerful designs depicted in Anne Anderson’s lecture.

TRIP TO ROMANIA

On the last day of May, 20 FDFAS members flew to Bucharest and then by coach to Sinaia,a delightful town known as the ‘Pearl of the Carpathians’. Our first visit was to Peles castle, large and impressive, built in the 19th century for Romania’s first monarch, King Carol 1 and resembles a Bavarian Schloss. Like many other places in Romania, Peles is full of superlatives, 800 stained glass windows, and first cinema in Eastern Europe etc.   A few hundred yards away is the much smaller and softer Pelisor Palace where art nouveau reigns.

A visit to ‘Dracula’s Castle’ at Bran followed; Vlad the Impaler never lived there but it is spooky and lives up to its name.

Next morning we walked around Brasov enjoying the Lutheran Black Church, the Orthodox St Nicholas Cathedral and a tiny School museum adjacent to the first printing press in Romania.

We were to visit a couple of fortified Saxon churches in the vicinity but only one was open – though it was very impressive so we did not feel let down.   The next morning we went north, close to the Ukranian border, noting villages that were bilingual Romanian/Hungarian and Romanian/Russian, to the outstanding Painted Monasteries at Voronet, Moldovita, Sucavita and Dragomima. We all had different views on which was the best but the paintings on the outside walls were quite incredible when you remember they have been exposed to the elements for 4-500 years. We should not forget the magnificent beauty of the Carpathian Mountains and the fantastic views that can be enjoyed.

In the Saxon town of Sibiu with its lovely painted houses we went to the Evangelic Cathedral (1520) with pre-reformation murals and the largest organ in Romania, then, by contrast, to the delightful Orthodox Cathedral with amazing icons.

The last two days were spent in Bucharest visiting the Royal Palace with the National Art Museum – a strong Hungarian feel here – the Stravopoleos Church and the beautiful, but quite small, Patriarchal Cathedral, the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Church. By contrast we also went round a very small part of the Palace of Parliament (or the People) – built by the communists it is the third largest building in the world and can only be described with superlatives.   It has the biggest, the highest, the longest and the most, of everything. And we were impressed.

A very good eight days greatly enhanced by our knowledgeable and outstanding guide, Vlad, known as ‘the Informer’!

Copy and pictures by Graham Parlett