Operated by the Calgary Contemporary Arts Society

June 12 - July 12, 2003

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Organized by Svensk Form (Swedish Society of Crafts and Design), the world's oldest design school and Konstfack (the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design) in Stockholm, Design For Every Body...

Ranging from the Electrolux vacuum cleaner that filters the air simultaneously as it vacuums and the world's smallest pacemaker by Microny, Ergonomi Design Gruppen's ergonomically designed body care products that enable arthritic and disabled people to groom themselves through the trapeze-like "do swing" lamp from Droog Design that provides both light and the means to get in and out of a chair or bed to Staffan Preutz's revolutionary eyeglasses which do not require an earpiece - all objects are utilitarian, purposefully designed and yet overtly conscious of an aesthetic.

DESIGN FOR EVERY BODY
Swedish Design For An Active Life

Presented by Svensk Form, Konstfack and the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa in partnership with the Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts .

BEAUTY FOR ALL: Swedish Design for an Active Life

For over six decades modern Swedish design has been acclaimed internationally by art critics, collected by leading museums and enjoyed by an astonishingly large international audience. The democratic Swedish approach, a historical peculiarity that has developed over decades of political and financial independence, drew the designers' attention automatically to the objects of everyday life and the home as the focal point of society. With their focus on affordable modernism for the home, the Swedish designers have taught the world the significance of good design.

Organized by Svensk Form (Swedish Society of Crafts and Design), the world's oldest design school and Konstfack (the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design) in Stockholm, Design For Every Body: Swedish Design For An Active Life not only presents a wide gamut of the objects designed for every-day life by the eminent contemporary Swedish designers, but also reflects the principal philosophy of Swedish design: the endeavor to enhance quality of life through appropriate and affordable technology. Quintessential to Design For Every Body is the basic principle that makes Swedish design exceptional. The objects presented in this exhibition are not so much objects d'art but the products designed with the main aim: to enhance the quality of everyday life and to give expression to the notion that 'good design' enables freedom. Many of the products selected for this exhibition are designed with the disabled, infirm and aged in mind. Ranging from the Electrolux vacuum cleaner that filters the air simultaneously as it vacuums and the world's smallest pacemaker by Microny, Ergonomi Design Gruppen's ergonomically designed body care products that enable arthritic and disabled people to groom themselves through the trapeze-like "do swing" lamp from Droog Design that provides both light and the means to get in and out of a chair or bed to Staffan Preutz's revolutionary eyeglasses which do not require an earpiece - all objects are utilitarian, purposefully designed and yet overtly conscious of an aesthetic. These considered designs could bring freedom to the lives of everyone, whether one is disabled or not - freedom to live better, to participate in everyday activities and freedom to access the same rights. This philosophy of improving the way of life for all is integral to any design proposition from Sweden.

Says Pernilla Abrink, the Editor of Form Design Magazine in Stockholm and a co-curator of the Design For Every Body exhibition in the exhibition catalogue: "… Design gives freedom. An object can make our life easier, can give us new possibilities and can encourage us to take on new challenges. An object can have a decisive effect - as an extended arm, or something that makes us smile, whatever our own personal situation in life. Because we are all different: tall, short, old or young, with one arm, paralyzed legs, or impaired vision. We are all unique. The exhibition Design For Every Body displays carefully designed objects intended for us all …"

Jacek Malec
Director, Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts

1. Lamp "Do Swing" ; designed by Thomas Bernstrand. Droog Design. Photo courtesy of Svensk Form.
2. Screwdrivers; designed by Ergonomi Design Gruppen for Sandvik Belzer. Photo courtesy of Svensk Form.
3. Silicon Lamp; designed by Monica Forster for David Design. Photo courtesy of Svensk Form.
4. Wheel Chair Act; designed by Etac. Photo courtesy of Svensk Form.
5. Fragment of the exhibition Design For Every Body at the Objects Galleries in Sydney, Australia during Sydney 2000 Para-Olympic Games.
6. Fragment of the exhibition Design For Every Body at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Czech Republic.