Aarup 1960 and the poetics of materials

Abstract

All design has its own conditional modes of expression; however, these are realised through the maker’s sense of the possibilities of materiality. This essay was inspired by a reclaimed piece of 1960s furniture designed in the modernist idiom, and is based upon autobiographical experiences, original works from own and contemporary aesthetic practices, and associated thoughts in the present. A completely new artistic expression was developed, which questioned the strict, use-defined style ideals and let shape reveal other values and statements than function. The intention of this essay is to put into words some of the cognitive processes in which creativity, critical reflection and the senses’ experience-based insights may bring up something new. In creative work, the goal is not to reach a single result; every little discovery made by examining something specific could open up new worlds.