Poul Henningsen
Encyclopedia
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and critic, was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
between the World Wars. In Denmark, he is often referred to as PH.
Early life and education
Poul Henningsen was the illegitimate son of author Agnes Henningsen and satirist Carl Ewald. He spent a happy childhood in a tolerant and modern home which was often visited by the leading literates. Between 1911 and 1917 he was educated as an architect, but he never graduated and tried himself as an inventor and painter.Architecture and design
His most valuable contribution to design was within lamp design. He invented the so-called PH-lampPH-lamp
The PH-lamps are a series of light fixtures designed by Danish designer and writer Poul Henningsen from 1926 and onwards. The lamp is designed with multiple concentric shades to eliminate visual glare, only emitting reflected light, obscuring the light source. The lamps are still in production today...
in 1925,which in various incarnations used the breakings of light. It was manufactured by the company Louis Poulsen. His most well-known models are the PH Artichoke
PH Artichoke
The PH Artichoke Pendant is a designer Light fixture manufactured by Louis Poulsen. It was designed by Poul Henningsen in 1958. A chrome inner diffuser also assists in the proper even reflection of the light source...
and PH5. The lamps created the economic foundation of his later work. Other notable designs include the PH Grand Piano
PH Grand Piano
The PH Grand Piano, or simply the PH Piano, is a piano model designed by Danish architect and writer Poul Henningsen.The design was the result of a commission from the Andreas Christensen manufacturing company who wanted a piano which was both functional and modern...
which is included in several notable 20-century design collections, including that of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.He also designed Glassalen for Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
Literary career
During the 1920s Poul Henningsen had his literary breakthrough. He edited the polemic left wing periodical Kritisk Revy (1926-1928, "Critical Review") in which he and his colleagues scorned old-fashioned style and cultural conservatism, linking these themes to politics. At the same time he began as a revue writer praising natural behaviour, sexual broad-mindedness and simple living. He was the man who made the DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
revues a political weapon of the left wing without giving up its character of entertainment (the so-called PH-revues 1929-32). 1933 he edited his most famous work Hvad med Kulturen? ("What About Culture?") a polemic, audacious and urgent criticism of Danish cultural life and its snob
Snob
A snob is someone who believes that some people are inherently inferior to him or her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, taste, beauty, nationality, et cetera. Often, the form of snobbery reflects the snob's personal attributes...
ism and passion of the past in spite of all the efforts of the Modern Break-Through. He tried to make parallels between prudery, moralizing
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
and fascist leanings and he also accused the Social Democrats of lacking a firm and consequent cultural line. This book together with his activities as a whole made him a reputation as a semi-communist ”fellow traveller”. In this period he in fact stood near the communists without joining them. He took part in the anti-fascist propaganda, always trying to connect culture and politics.
Among his other initiatives of this period was Danmarksfilmen 1935, (English: The Film of Denmark) also known as PH’s Danmarksfilm. It is an unpretentious and untraditional film portraying the life in contemporary Denmark in a lively and slightly disrespectful way in which the visuals are supported by jazz rhythms. It was condemned and torn apart by most critics but later on it has become rehabilitated as one of the classic Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
documentary films. He also wrote some movie manuscripts.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the German Occupation of Denmark
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
he kept a lower profile and fled to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1943 but tried to keep the spirit going by camouflaged resistance poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. After the war he dissociated himself from the communists who were criticizing him for flabbing humanitarianism
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
in his attitude to the settlement with the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and for his growing scepticism about the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and in many ways he was isolated. However he kept writing and debating, and during the 1960s the new generation in many ways made him something of a guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
. In his last years he became a member of the Danish Academy
Danish Academy
Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedlund, the former home of author Karen Blixen who was...
and supported the new movement of consumers.
In many ways Poul Henningsen is the man who completed the work of Georg Brandes
Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes was a Danish critic and scholar who had great influence on Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind the "Modern Breakthrough" of Scandinavian culture...
. He is somewhat superficial and light but more modern and less elitist in his views. Being a tease and a provoker who often tried turning concepts upside down (like George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
) and whose conclusions might be both somewhat unjust and exaggerated, he was however a man of firm principles and ideals of a democratic, natural and tolerant society.
PH Quotations
- ”It sounds fine that one must not hurt other people’s feelings—but perhaps this world would be a better place to live if it were the reason that must not be hurt.”
- ”All political art is bad – all good art is political.”
- "Faith has never moved anything at all. It is doubt that moves".
- "Future comes by itself, progress does not."
- "The only thing which separates man from child is all the values he has lost over the years."
Works
- PH Grand Piano & Pianette 1931 www.phpianos.com
- 7-point(1933)
- Bedside table lamp(1936)
- The ArtichokePH ArtichokeThe PH Artichoke Pendant is a designer Light fixture manufactured by Louis Poulsen. It was designed by Poul Henningsen in 1958. A chrome inner diffuser also assists in the proper even reflection of the light source...
(1958) - PH-lampPH-lampThe PH-lamps are a series of light fixtures designed by Danish designer and writer Poul Henningsen from 1926 and onwards. The lamp is designed with multiple concentric shades to eliminate visual glare, only emitting reflected light, obscuring the light source. The lamps are still in production today...
(1958)