to Memphis’ loud and sometimes programmatic design, Uglycute’s furniture comes across as low-key and dry. It may even look rather clumsy. A reason for this may be the uncomplicated manufacturing methods they use, as well as the fact that other people may have been involved in the process. For the design of the interior for Projekt Djurgårdsbrunn, for example, the group invited friends and colleagues to a ceramics workshop where they designed salt and pepper stands. Every table was equipped with a unique object; some of which looked professionally made while others were reminiscent of amorphous clay blobs. Even when they are working without invited guests, the result can go in different directions. The members are trained in different disciplines – interior architecture, visual art and architecture – and they are four individuals with their own views, which is a “problem” that Uglycute has turned into an advantage and a method. Working collectively requires collaboration, discussion and mutual concessions. And it gives rise to questions: What happens when you let go of the control? Are the solutions improved by compromise? In other words, theirs is a more probing, equal and democratic approach to the work. The art world has long been concerned with deconstructing the myth of the male modernistic master who uncompromisingly thrusts his unique and ingenious vision on the world. A similar investigative and reflective approach has not been present in the design world. Here, the focus has been on the importance of utility and function in the design process, a somewhat uncritical approach which Uglycute quite rightly takes to task. From the ceramics workshop it is a short step to Modern Talking at Gallery Enkehuset in Stockholm, an exhibition proj-
ect organised by Hans Isaksson, Ylva Ogland and Rodrigo Mallea Lira in spring 2003. Uglycute was commissioned to create a physical environment that would work for a number of artists and designers, who exhibited during the exhibition period. Their solution was both pragmatic and affordable. Using blocks of polystyrene they created an interior that was flexible and adaptable, since the blocks could be moved about easily. The fact that both artists and designers participated in Modern Talking is telling. At the time, many people questioned the idea of a lone, expressive artist behind the work and the hierarchical concept of art which valued art higher than design. The traditional exhibition space was often transformed into a meeting place for discussions and participation in which art, design, graphic design and fashion joined forces on equal terms. However, Uglycute’s open attitude extends beyond galleries and is a central feature of the group’s activities. The members have always written texts, taught at schools, conducted evening classes in offices, and arranged a great number of workshops in galleries and museums. A fundamental idea has been to raise questions – around materials, craft, quality, design and function – rather than to deliver ready answers and solutions. Instead of consuming the market’s pre-packed offerings – a pat style – one can employ one’s creativity and produce furniture by simple means. People are thus encouraged to take control and do it themselves. The idea of encouraging people to use their creativity goes back to the antidesign movement of the 1960s and 1970s. An example is Riccardo Dalisi, professor of architecture at the University of Naples, who, in the project Tecnica povera, let street children produce everyday objects such as chairs and