"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s
This paper explores the politics and ideology behind the Danish-led extraction of marble from western Greenland in the 1930s. Although quarried for only six years, the material became a conspicuous symbol in a state-sponsored vision of modernity that exploited exotic places and cultures for the form...
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ftreadpublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/5f367667-60f1-4a02-a179-f148c7cb6602 2023-09-05T13:19:42+02:00 "A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s Foote, Jonathan 2021-11-05 https://adk.elsevierpure.com/da/publications/5f367667-60f1-4a02-a179-f148c7cb6602 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Foote , J 2021 , ' "A noble Danish Material" : Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s ' . material imagination marble Greenland Grønland architecture /dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/artisticdevelopment/no No conferenceObject 2021 ftreadpublicatio 2023-08-11T06:21:50Z This paper explores the politics and ideology behind the Danish-led extraction of marble from western Greenland in the 1930s. Although quarried for only six years, the material became a conspicuous symbol in a state-sponsored vision of modernity that exploited exotic places and cultures for the formation of welfare state institutions within Denmark. In Copenhagen several landmark public buildings made prominent use of it, and in Greenland a significant step was taken toward the industrialization of society through state investment into mechanized resource extraction. This unity between colonizer and colonized, the individual and community, and society and technology, followed Thorvald Stauning's program of a pragmatic, consensus government in service to society. Architects' more skeptical view seems to have been driven by a competing vision of modernity that relied on new materials, such as poured-in-place concrete, and an architectural agenda that diminished classical monumentality in favor of functionalist spatial programmes, simple formal strategies, and unadorned building surfaces. Ultimately, the quarrying of marble by Danish interests in Greenland during the 1930s demonstrates how the perception of material qualities cannot be separated from the narrative surrounding the origin of the material. Conference Object Greenland Grønland Architecture, Design and Conservation - Danish Portal for Artistic and Scientific Research: Research Outputs Greenland |
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Architecture, Design and Conservation - Danish Portal for Artistic and Scientific Research: Research Outputs |
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language |
English |
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material imagination marble Greenland Grønland architecture /dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/artisticdevelopment/no No |
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material imagination marble Greenland Grønland architecture /dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/artisticdevelopment/no No Foote, Jonathan "A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
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material imagination marble Greenland Grønland architecture /dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/artisticdevelopment/no No |
description |
This paper explores the politics and ideology behind the Danish-led extraction of marble from western Greenland in the 1930s. Although quarried for only six years, the material became a conspicuous symbol in a state-sponsored vision of modernity that exploited exotic places and cultures for the formation of welfare state institutions within Denmark. In Copenhagen several landmark public buildings made prominent use of it, and in Greenland a significant step was taken toward the industrialization of society through state investment into mechanized resource extraction. This unity between colonizer and colonized, the individual and community, and society and technology, followed Thorvald Stauning's program of a pragmatic, consensus government in service to society. Architects' more skeptical view seems to have been driven by a competing vision of modernity that relied on new materials, such as poured-in-place concrete, and an architectural agenda that diminished classical monumentality in favor of functionalist spatial programmes, simple formal strategies, and unadorned building surfaces. Ultimately, the quarrying of marble by Danish interests in Greenland during the 1930s demonstrates how the perception of material qualities cannot be separated from the narrative surrounding the origin of the material. |
format |
Conference Object |
author |
Foote, Jonathan |
author_facet |
Foote, Jonathan |
author_sort |
Foote, Jonathan |
title |
"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
title_short |
"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
title_full |
"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
title_fullStr |
"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
title_full_unstemmed |
"A noble Danish Material": Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
title_sort |
"a noble danish material": greenland marble extraction in the 1930s |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://adk.elsevierpure.com/da/publications/5f367667-60f1-4a02-a179-f148c7cb6602 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Grønland |
genre_facet |
Greenland Grønland |
op_source |
Foote , J 2021 , ' "A noble Danish Material" : Greenland marble extraction in the 1930s ' . |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
_version_ |
1776200535634870272 |