Famous Swedes
Portraits of some great Swedes. Who is your favorite Swedish celebrity?
5 questions for Jan Guillou
At the book fair in Göteborg, Sweden.se got a quick chat with Swedish author and journalist Jan Guillou, the man behind the spy fiction novels about Carl Hamilton and the historical fiction trilogy about Knight Templar Arn Magnusson.
5 questions for Jan Guillou
Jan Guillou. Photo: Peter Knutson
1. What made you start writing?
“You start thinking about it when you’re very young. Teenager dreams, like you want to be famous rather than rich… When I was a teenager, the prestigious writers were French. Like Claude Simon and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. So I imitated those guys. And I did quite well.
“In 1968 I was 24 years old, when the political indications for writing were obvious. The world was on fire. Portugal was involved in three colonial wars in Africa. Israel had been turned into an occupying power. Then writing became something else than art. It became an instrument that could be used to convince people of your political beliefs. That is what I’ve been doing ever since then.”
2. Where do you find your inspiration?
“I don’t need inspiration, because I’m a professional. Inspiration is for amateurs. It’s an excuse not to write: ‘I haven’t found my inspiration today. I could do the tidying up and the household instead.’ That’s rubbish. That’s amateurish. I just sit down and write.”
3. What image of Sweden do you think you convey to your readers?
“A democracy that is not flawless. My job is to find those little flaws and to describe them. And that’s a version of Sweden that our politicians would not like to be seen.”
4. Name a Swedish writer who has influenced your writing.
“The first Swedish writer who had an influence on me was Strindberg, when I was very young. He is the father of all modern literature in Sweden. Even as a 17-year-old school boy I read his novels and enjoyed them very much. He was the introduction to literature as an instrument, as a possibility, as a dream.
“Later I was influenced by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, because when I was sentenced to prison in 1973*, everyone except me read their books. In prison I had the chance to read all their stories. I realized that these guys had done something quite simple: They had transported the American hard-boiled style of writing into Swedish — just like that. And it works. While the American police novel in those days had a political tendency toward the right, or even worse, Sjöwall/Wahlöö turned their writing into communist propaganda.
“So, if they could do that with a police novel, I could probably do it with a spy novel. And that’s what I did. I could never have done that without the idea from Sjöwall/Wahlöö.”
5. What do you like most about Sweden?
“Probably the combination of democracy and nature. We’re very fortunate to have a beautiful country, no starvation, no overpopulation. We won’t be the first to drown when the sea level rises.”
*Guillou served 10 months in prison for espionage after having exposed a secret intelligence organization.
Reshaping Swedish craft
Designers Åsa Jungnelius and Anders Ljungberg discuss their different approaches to Swedish contemporary craft. Photos: Fina Sundqvist / Private
Silversmith Anders Ljungberg and glass artist Åsa Jungnelius mix the contemporary with the customary. While both work using traditional techniques and materials, the objects they create are surprising and inquisitive — a reflection of the modern Swedish craft scene.
Innovative tradition
Silver and glass have been the material of choice for generations of Swedish artisans. Silver has long been a symbol of wealth and status, used for decorative objects, while glass has primarily been used to produce household goods and, later on, art pieces.
Ljungberg says the modernist tradition that emerged in the early 20th century marked a shift from the creation of ornate items representing social status toward a more functional interpretation about the object’s purpose. Ljungberg draws on shapes from the modernist silversmith tradition in his work, although often in unexpected ways.
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"Tin" and "Bowl" (2003) by Ljungberg. Photo: Håkansson / Mannberg
For glass manufacturers, the fusion of art and industry became a survival strategy with the rise of mass production in the early 1900s. The focus on aesthetics rather than function paved the way for designers such as Jungnelius, who says her objects “comment on a function of the world, but are not so functional.”
A gray zone
Ljungberg and Jungnelius are hard to categorize. Ljungberg works as a silversmith, but also collaborates with Swedish houseware manufacturer BodaNova to design cutlery and other kitchenware. Jungnelius is a glass artist, but also designs for Swedish glass company Kosta Boda. The border between “designer” and “artist” is becoming increasingly blurred and is to some extent a matter of self-definition.
Ljungberg prefers to refer to himself as a designer and a silversmith, rather than an artist. He says that many companies still understand design as something to do with shapes and forms, rather than something more conceptual. But working with a company allows him to reach a wider audience, as well as explore how people react to his creations.
Jungnelius sees herself primarily as an artist. “There are probably lots of other people who would be much better designers, but I have something else,” she says. “I have an aesthetic language and a story that I want to tell with my objects, and now I have to force that into a production line.”
By creating objects like these giant glass lipsticks (2006) Jungnelius explores the connection between shopping and identity. Photo: Fina Sundqvist
Invisible and provocative shapes
Ljungberg and Jungnelius both question the ways in which we interact with objects, and use their work to say something about the world.
Ljungberg makes recognizable objects, but plays with their function by mixing up details or putting them into unusual situations, calling into question the expected order of things. “I’m very much working with everyday use and aspects that we take for granted,” he says.
One of his favorite pieces is called “Jug Looking for New Views,” which encourages us to think about the roles that objects play in our lives. The handle of the jug slides over the edge of the table, as if it is searching for something. “There is something going on under there. It has its own life under the table,” he says.
"Jug Looking for New Views" (2005) by Ljungberg. Photo: Håkansson / Mannberg
Jungnelius is interested in how objects provoke. Her work questions why it’s acceptable to play with some shapes and not others. Her final project as a student included a candleholder, “Storstake,” which was in the shape of a phallus.
“It’s an aesthetic shape that is off-limits,” she says. “I think it’s interesting to explore what shapes you’re allowed to use and why some things are provocative and others not.”
Jungnelius distinguishes between her own artwork and the projects she does for Kosta Boda. “’Storstake’ is actually a candleholder, but it’s very bad as a candle holder,” she says. “The function is to question something. Now I have to keep that element of questioning, but I have to make functional objects. For example, I might make a plate using very traditional techniques, but I don’t make it completely round so that the user sees the object in a new way.”
"Storstake" (2006) by Jungnelius. Photo: Fina Sundqvist
The contemporary craft scene
Both Ljungberg and Jungnelius see a shift in the contemporary Swedish craft scene. The division between fine arts and applied arts is narrowing as artisans are becoming more conceptual and experimental.
Ljungberg says there has long been a hierarchy between fine arts and applied arts, with the latter receiving less recognition. “But,” he adds, “there is something happening in the craft field in Sweden today. People are working the way they want to, and they are being accepted for that.”
Similarly, Jungnelius says that craft-based artists are moving closer to fine art. “Traditionally, crafts experimented with the material, but now it’s really about expressing yourself and the time you’re living in,” she says.
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Charlotte West, an American writer living in Stockholm, has written for design publications such as Icon Magazine and covers art and design for The Local, "Sweden's News in English." After talking to Anders Ljungberg, Charlotte wonders if her household items really do have a life of their own. If so, she hopes the dishes will learn to wash themselves.
The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
Classification: A229EN
Related publications
- Swedish industrial design turns stereotypes upside down — Article
- Swedish Design (pdf) — Fact sheet
- Swedish glass — a blend of artistry and craftsmanship — Article
- New design in Sweden— Publication on Sweden Bookshop
Related links
- andersljungberg.se — Anders Ljungberg
- www.asajungnelius.se — Åsa Jungnelius
- www.bodanova.se — BodaNova
- www.kostaboda.se — Kosta Boda
- www.konsthantverkscentrum.se — K.H.V.C. (Konsthantverkscentrum)
- www.sweden.se — Design & fashion links on Sweden.se
- www.dh.umu.se — Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå University
- www.hdk.gu.se — HDK, School of Design and Crafts, Gothenburg University
- www.konstfack.se — Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design
- www.kostaglascenter.se — Kosta Glascenter
Related event
- Stockholm furniture fair — Stockholm International Fairs, February 6–10, 2008
Astrid Lindgren
Available in Chinese, English, German, Korean, Russian and Swedish.
Order this publication at www.swedenbookshop.com
Carl Linnaeus
The Swedes, perhaps, look upon him primarily as a traveller and explorer of their own country, while to others he is the father of the modern classification of flora and fauna. But he was much more than this - an inspiring teacher, for example, who sent his students on voyages of scientific discovery all over the world.
Available in: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Japaneese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Order this publication at www.swedenbookshop.com
Carolina Klüft rises to new challenges in Beijing
Jumping for joy. Carolina Klüft is happy about her decision to change focus at the 2008 Olympics. Photo: Scanpix
The decision had been hinted at on many occasions, and in March 2008 the multiple heptathlon champion Klüft decided it was time for a new focus.
Explaining her decision to local Swedish newspaper Smålandsposten, Klüft said: “I’ve done the heptathlon for a number of years. I really want to try something new. I want to focus on one or two other events. I want to feel fit in my body and not be exhausted week in and week out.”
Simple decision, tough job
Will she not miss the event she has excelled in so much? “Both yes and no,” Klüft says. “I’ve always loved the heptathlon. Maybe I’ll try it again in a few years, but right now I don’t have the motivation for heptathlon necessary for competing at the top level. That’s why the decision was simple.”
But Klüft has a tough task ahead. Though she has respectable long jump marks indoors and outdoors, 6.92 and 6.97 meters, respectively, the event has only brought her the relatively meager reward of a World Indoor Championships bronze and a fifth on the World Outdoor Championships lists. What are her aims for the 2008 Olympics?
“The long jump is going to be my main event. I hope to go over 7 meters, and then we’ll see. But I need another event to give me variety in training and to have another challenge.”
With a personal best of 1.95 meters, Klüft has decided to abandon the high jump — at least in Beijing. Photo: friidrott.se
Less media focus
Klüft’s longest triple jump in competition, and a Swedish record, is 14.29 meters (set on June 8, 2008). This distance may not keep the elite awake at night, but there have been rumors of her jumping much further in training. “On the other hand, I’ve never given my full attention to the triple jump before,” she says. “It’s a difficult event, but great fun.”
It is assumed that with her decision to abandon the heptathlon, Klüft is sacrificing a certain second Olympic gold medal. But it’s not the medals that she’s thinking about; she wants to take pleasure in what she does. “I’ve made the right decision,” she says. “Enjoying sport is important for me and I already feel that concentrating on the long and triple jump is going to be really enjoyable. Apart from that, it’s going to be really nice to have less media attention on me.”
Disappointed fans
There has been some speculation as to the effect this decision will have on Sweden’s hopes for the Olympics and the disappointment that athletics administrators and the general public might feel.
“I’m aware that expectations will be let down,” Klüft says, “but in the final analysis I can’t let myself worry about it. I have to make my own decision, do it with all my heart and live with the decision I’ve taken.”
Even though gold is always the ultimate goal, Klüft also wants to have fun while competing. Photo: friidrott.se
European record
After three World Championship golds and an Olympic title in the heptathlon, Klüft is one of the greatest athletes of her generation. At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka she broke the 19-year-old European record to amass her highest heptathlon score ever of 7,032 points, a total only surpassed by American world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee with her 7,291 points. Osaka represented Klüft’s 19th consecutive heptathlon win since 2001.
But isn’t a second Olympic gold really tempting? “When in ten year’s time I come to look back on my career, I will definitely not be thinking ‘be damned that I didn’t get a second Olympic gold’,” Klüft says. “I shall only be glad that I made my decision with my heart and did not listen too much to everyone else.”
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy…
- Sweden’s young athletes poised on their marks — Article
- A nation against doping — Article
- Sports events put Gothenburg on the map — Article
Related links
- www.friidrott.se — The Swedish Athletic Association
- www.sok.se — The Swedish Olympic Committee
- www.ihs.se — The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
Related events
- The Olympics — August 8-24, 2008, Beijing, China
- Midnight Race — August 16, 2008, Stockholm
- Stockholm Triathlon — August 24, 2008, Stockholm
Michael Butcher
Michael Butcher is a freelance sports journalist, living in Worcester, United Kingdom. He specializes in athletics and will be reporting from the Beijing Olympics for the British press.
The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
Classification: A261EN
The original version of this article can be found on the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF’s) website: www.iaaf.org
