This e-book explores the growth and development of Nordic modernisms in a European context. Concentrating on and yet not limiting itself to the study of literary texts, the book shows that the emergence of modernism in the Nordic countries is linked to, and inspired by, the innovative works published in Western Europe and the USA towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century. Presenting Nordic art as multi-dimensional and dynamic, it also shows that, while responding to aspects of these innovative works, Nordic modernism itself contributed to modernism as a complex international trend. The plural form “modernisms” in the book's title indicates that the contributors adopt an understanding of modernism that, while recognizing the importance of the modernist movement between circa 1890 and 1940, is sufficiently elastic to include various forms of extension and continuation of Nordic modernisms in the post-war period. The book shows that the experience of crisis--cultural, political, moral, aesthetic--that underlies modernist artists' invention of radically new forms of expression was by no means limited to just one country or one identifiable group of writers; nor was it, as modernisms' global relevance makes clear, restricted to just one continent. At the level of historical reality, the First World War represents the culmination of a crisis which had its beginnings several decades earlier. The Second World War, along with the Holocaust, represents a second culmination of the crisis, and there is, this book suggests, a sense in which the experience of crisis has continued to influence and shape Nordic literature written in the post-war period. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the experience of crisis has increasingly been extended to include a growing uncertainty about the future prompted by the reality of climate change.

Modernism is a truly international movement that cuts across many boundaries - territorial, political, cultural, and linguistic. Its geographical and temporal scope make it one of the most prominent fields of literary study. The essays in this book compare Modernist features of the Nordic literatures with the modernizing works and movements of the rest of twentieth-century Europe. The contributors situate the concept of Modernism in a pan-European context, and discuss how a range of texts respond to, and thus represent, facets of European Modernism at widely different moments - not least in the period following the second world war. In addition to studies of individual Nordic authors, the aspects of Modernism explored here include its response to war, the relationship between verbal and pictorial art, and Modernisms impact on later Nordic and European writers

This book explores the growth and development of Nordic modernisms in a European context. Concentrating on and yet not limiting itself to the study of literary texts, the book shows that the emergence of modernism in the Nordic countries is linked to, and inspired by, the innovative works published in Western Europe and the USA towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century. Presenting Nordic art as multi-dimensional and dynamic, it also shows that, while responding to aspects of these innovative works, Nordic modernism itself contributed to modernism as a complex international trend. The plural form “modernisms” in the book’s title indicates that the contributors adopt an understanding of modernism that, while recognizing the importance of the modernist movement between circa 1890 and 1940, is sufficiently elastic to include various forms of extension and continuation of Nordic modernisms in the post-war period. The book shows that the experience of crisis—cultural, political, moral, aesthetic—that underlies modernist artists’ invention of radically new forms of expression was by no means limited to just one country or one identifiable group of writers; nor was it, as modernisms’ global relevance makes clear, restricted to just one continent. At the level of historical reality, the First World War represents the culmination of a crisis which had its beginnings several decades earlier. The Second World War, along with the Holocaust, represents a second culmination of the crisis, and there is, this book suggests, a sense in which the experience of crisis has continued to influence and shape Nordic literature written in the post-war period. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the experience of crisis has increasingly been extended to include a growing uncertainty about the future prompted by the reality of climate change.

Scandinavia is a region associated with modernity: modern design, modern living and a modern welfare state. This new history of modernism in Scandinavia offers a picture of the complex reality that lies behind the label: a modernism made up of many different figures, impulses and visions. It places the individuals who have achieved international fame, such as Edvard Munch and Alvar Aalto in a wider context, and through a series of case studies, provides a rich analysis of the art, architecture and design history of the Nordic region, and of modernism as a concept and mode of practice. Modernism in Scandinavia addresses the decades between 1890 and 1970 and presents an intertwined history of modernism across the region. Charlotte Ashby gives a rationale for her focus on those countries which share an interrelated history and colonial past, but also stresses influences from outside the region, such as the English Arts and Crafts movement and the impact of emergent American modernism. Her richly illustrated account guides the reader through key historical periods and cultural movements, with case studies illuminating key art works, buildings, designed products and exhibitions.

A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1925-1950 is the first work to consider all the arts and to discuss the role of the avant-garde not only in aesthetic terms but in its cultural and political context.

Modernism was instrumental in the development of twentieth and twenty-first century Scandinavian architecture, for it captured a progressive, urbane character that was inextricably associated with, and embraced the social programmes of the Nordic welfare states. Recognized internationally for its sensitivity and responsiveness to place and locale, and its thoughtful use of materials and refined detailing, Nordic architecture continues to evolve and explore its modernist roots. This work covers the romantic and classical architectural foundations of Nordic modernism; the development of Nordic Functionalism; the maturing and expansion of Nordic modern architecture in the post-war period; international influences on Scandinavian modernism at the end of the twentieth century and finally, the global and local currents found in contemporary Nordic architecture.

This transnational volume examines innovative women artists who were from, or worked in, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sápmi, and Sweden from the emergence of modernism until the feminist movement took shape in the 1960s. The book addresses the culturally specific conditions that shaped Nordic artists’ contributions, brings the latest methodological and feminist approaches to bear on Nordic art history, and engages a wide international audience through the contributors’ subject matter and analysis. Rather than introducing a new history of "rediscovered" women artists, the book is more concerned with understanding the mechanisms and structures that affected women artists and their work, while suggesting alternative ways of constructing women’s art histories. Artists covered include Else Alfelt, Pia Arke, Franciska Clausen, Jessie Kleemann, Hilma af Klint, Sonja Ferlov Mancoba, Greta Knutson, Aase Texmon Rygh, Hannah Ryggen, Júlíana Sveinsdóttir, Ellen Thesleff, and Astri Aasen. The target audience includes scholars working in art history, cultural studies, feminist studies, gender studies, curatorial studies, Nordic studies, postcolonial studies, and visual studies.