Denmark and Tokyo, The Cement Linking the Two.
Vol.3 “Design and Creative aspects”

I heard you were studying art history, so what was the trigger to join Kontrapunkt as a project manager in 2008?

How did you pick up your work skills?

Because I was learning art and history, I had to start from scratch and having no idea of even what ‘BtoB’ or ‘BtoC’ meant. I started off with small-scale projects and was gradually tasked with overseeing more significant work and during my involvement in creative processes, I honed my skills by ensuring each was successful and deepening my knowledge in the process. Every time I tackle something new, it was a case of facing up to the challenge of the work, while wondering how best to progress, but I think such experiences at the workplace, which stuck in my head, really helped me grow.

Do your personal interests, such as art and aesthetics, etc., have an impact on your work?

Yes, I think so, but not in the sense of a direct effect on the work – more bolstering an inspiration I find from within myself to qualify the design from a visual communication angle.
 
Design differs from art in the sense that clients come face to face with problems, which they then have to solve. However, if a product design appeals to you, you tend to buy it – and design incorporates certain elements that move people. Conversely, when they view fine art, people’s mind-set and the way they behave change and in that sense, the two have something in common.

Please give details of which artists have inspired you.

There is Marcel Duchamp, who stamped his imprint on 20th century art and the movement known as‘neo avant-garde and typified by the Fluxus activities of the 1960s, with Yoko Ono one of my favorite artists from the latter period.

The list can also include so-called ‘relational aesthetics’ from around 1990 to 2010 and the art theories written by French curator Nicolas Bourriaud also left their mark. Rather than just an art piece alone, work is spawned by relationships with people, one example of which is the ‘Injection room’; a public facility created by Danish artist Kenneth Balfelt in Copenhagen to help rehabilitate drug addicts. In other words, this resembles art that is, in essence, related to people.

The ‘Injection room’ is a project involving the City of Copenhagen. Drug addicts tend to inhabit unsanitary environments, often with needles scattered around. Preparing a safe and clean environment with a nurse present also paves the way to give them a shot at social reintegration and mostly put the facilities of drug addicts on the political agenda.

That means it is art in which society gets involved and is also linked to activities by Duchamp and Fluxus. One more example, namely art outside the museum, would be Poul Gernes, a Danish artist, who was engaged in making art as wall paintings in Herlev Hospital.

Are there any designs or products currently drawing attention in Denmark?

Countless is the answer. One example of a product I consider very Danish is the wooden potato peeler from Rådvad, which I use daily and which has become so ubiquitous and popular, you find you are no longer aware of who originally designed it.
 
As for others, I like the works by the architect and interior designer Arne Jacobsen, while the ‘PH’ series lighting by Poul Henningsen and the legacy after him is also an indispensable part of life in Denmark. My very own living room in Denmark has five mood lights by modern and contemporary scandinavian light designers and I like the way you can use light in various settings, like when reading a book, eating and having a cup of tea.

In Denmark, how are values nurtured to maintain a certain level of design?

There is little income disparity in Denmark, people live on a level playing field and do not prioritize getting money or power. Given that winter is very dark, Danish people alike have feelings of appreciation for summer weather and sun in general. There is an understanding that items in themselves do not instill happiness, but the environment and atmosphere surrounding them and no matter what circumstances people are in, they associate happiness with a link to nature and human relations and I think that is also reflected in design.
 
I think this embodies the spirit of “Less is more” (the smaller the item, the more value it may have). In other words, cherishing “quality” over “quantity”. While maximizing simplicity, Scandinavian culture and long-held traditions that have championed functionality are at the heart of the thriving design scene in Denmark.

What is at the core of good design or creativity?

For me, “a big idea expressed in a very simple way” is what constitutes good art and design.

For example, the American artist Joseph Kosuth’s 1965 artpiece ‘1 and 3 chairs’ featured a real chair, a photo of a chair next to it, and with a dictionary definition of a chair on the wall. Whereby symbolizing the same chair in multiple ways helps us conceptualize the key idea that actually all of them can be considered chairs if we simplify things and successfully conveys new values.

Similarly, the artwork ‘Socle du Monde’ from 1961 by Italian artist Piero Manzoni, utterly simple at first glance, featuring a stone with the text ‘Socle du Monde’ written up side down and placed on the ground, but centering on the key idea of making the earth an artpiece and make you think about your position on earth. In video work by Danish artistduo Hanne Nielsen & Birgit Johnsen, two women are crying side by side while cutting onions. In other words, watch the women crying because of onions hurting their eyes helps us reflect on other reasons for crying. The cutting paper artworks by Danish artist Peter Callesen, though very simple, also make you reflect on what is real and what is artificial in a very beautiful and poetic manner.

The essence of good design and creativity, as exemplified by these art works, centers on items which, though simple, give us new perspectives on our life.