Kumu Documentary: Arne Jacobsen’s Modern Denmark
Location: Kumu auditorium
Dir Lars RØnnow Torp
Denmark 2021, 58 min
In Danish, with English subtitles
Introduction by Lars RØnnow Torp and art historian Karin Paulus
Arne Jacobsen’s designs have gained a certain ubiquity. The Series 7 chair and the voluptuous Egg chair not only occupy space within our interiors, but also within our collective mental archive. It is therefore easy to take for granted the impact of Jacobsen’s work not only on Denmark, but on the design discipline as a whole. This comprehensive documentary, told chronologically, charts Jacobsen’s career from his playful 1929 design for a House for the Future, to his once-derided design for the iconic SAS hotel in Copenhagen. We are made aware of the extent and depth of his practice. Though the film focusses primarily on Jacobsen’s work, we do get a sense of who he was. The footage Jacobsen took on his many travels reveals an eye for detail, and an ability to find the beauty in the mundane. Arne Jacobsen’s Modern Denmark implicitly implores its audience to take stock of Jacobsen’s work, which was once revolutionary, but has now become mundane to our collective eye.
We thank Lars RØnnow Torp
