Kaj Franck (1911 - 1989)
professor, designer
Kaj Franck graduated as an interior architect from the department of furniture design of the Central School of Applied Art in 1932. After graduating, he worked as a shop-window dresser and interior designer for the TE-MA department store in Helsinki and designed printed fabrics for the Yhtyneet Villatehtaat woollen mills and the Helsingin Taidevärjäämö firm from 1938 to 1945. In 1945, he was employed as a model designer by the Arabia porcelain factory in Helsinki, and was the head of Arabia’s model design department from 1946 to 1961. Franck also designed for the Nuutajärvi glassworks from 1950 to 1976 and served as the factory’s artistic director from 1951 to 1976. Kaj Franck was an instructor at the Institute of Applied Art from 1945 to 1960, and senior instructor and artistic director of the school from 1960 to 1968. He held the position of artist professor from 1973 to 1978.
In his work as a designer, Kaj Franck sought simple, practical and timeless forms. In his tableware, he used soft tones to let the food come into its own, but his uniquely designed pieces also employ bold bright colours. Franck was a protagonist of anonymity in design. In an article on anonymity from 1966 he noted that ”an object must survive upon its own conditions instead of the designer’s name, and design is an important part of those conditions.” In unique pieces, however, Franck felt that the designer’s name should be seen. Anonymity applied only to utility objects.
Kaj Franck renewed the Finnish tradition of tableware design with his Kilta service, which was made by Arabia from 1953 until 1975. Kilta reappeared in 1981, revised to meet current requirements as the Teema collection. One of the items of the Kilta service was a creamer from 1948, which could be used for both serving and storing cream. One of Kaj Franck’s best-known collections of glassware is Kartio (1958-1975), which is also in renewed production. In the 1950s, Franck was inspired by the old filigree technique and designed several filigree-decorated items between the 1950s and the 1970s. Interior designs by Franck include the Wärtsilä-Arabia shop and showroom in the centre of Helsinki, which he designed in 1952 in collaboration with Saara Hopea.
Franck participated in numerous exhibitions both in Finland and abroad, including Design in Scandinavia touring the United States and Canada in 1954-1957 and Australia in 1968-1969, the Milan triennials of 1951, 1954, 1957 and 1960, and the Brussels World’s Fair of 1958. He was the recipient of many prizes and awards, including the gold medal in 1951 and the Grand Prix in 1957 at the Milan Triennials, the Lunning Prize in 1955, the Compasso d’oro in Milan in 1957, the Prince Eugen Medal in Sweden in 1964, the Pro Finlandia medal in 1957, the Finnish State Design Prize of 1977, the Honorary Prize of the Svenska Kulturfonden foundation in 1981, the honorary award of the City of Helsinki in 1986. Kaj Franck was given the honorary title of professor in 1972 and he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Royal College of Arts in 1983.
Kaj Franck’s life’s work has been presented in retrospective exhibitions (Design Museum Helsinki 1991 and the Heinola Municipal Museum 1997). During the summer of 2003 the Arabia Museum in Helsinki featured an exhibition in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Kilta series of tableware and Design Forum Finland held a special exhibition on the theme ”Kaj Franck Today”.
In 1992, Design Forum Finland established the Kaj Franck Prize, awarded annually to a designer working in the spirit of Kaj Franck.
Auli Suortti-Vuorio
Bibliography
Kaj Franck. Muotoilija. Formgivare. Designer. Helsinki 1992.
Kaj Franck. Teema ja muunnelmia. Theme and variations. Heinolan kaupunginmuseon julkaisuja no 6. Lahti 1997.
Koivisto, Kaisa, Kolme tarinaa lasista. Lasitutkimuksia – Glass Research XIII. 2001 Suomen lasimuseon julkaisu. Vammala 2001. This book contains an extensive presentation of glass design by Kaj Franck.
Poutasuo, Tuula, Modern Glass Design: Artists and Designers. In: Visions of Modern Finnish Design. Ed. Anne Stenros. Keuruu 1999.
Räsänen, Liisa (ed..), Kaj Franck – Muotoilijan tunnustuksia. Form och miljö. Taideteollisen korkeakoulun julkaisusarja B 12. 2. p. 1991.
Räsänen, Liisa, Seeking Beauty: Utility Objects in Finland. In: Visions of Modern Finnish Design. Ed. Anne Stenros. Keuruu 1999.
Ateneum Maskerad. Taideteollisuuden muotoja ja murroksia. Edited by Pia Strandman. Taideteollinen korkeakoulu – UIAH 1999. Many of the articles in this book make reference to Kaj Franck’s work as a teacher and designer.
Articles on Kaj Franck in Form Function Finland:
Siltavuori, Eeva, The dream of a timeless object. FFF vol. 3/1987.
Periäinen, Tapio, The universal Kaj Franck. FFF vol 4/1997.
Enbom, Carla, Kaj Franck (1911-1989). A designer who practised what he preached. FFF vol. 4/2001.
Other publications:
Kaj Franck. Tänään. I dag. Today. Inform. Kesä. Summer 03. Design Forum Finland 2003.
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