Calls for papers
Nordiques N°44, 2022 - Nordic minimalism
(architecture, art, design and literature)

deadline for paper proposals: June 30th 2022
https://journals.openedition.org/nordiques/3851

In design, art, architecture and fashion, the correlation between minimalist aesthetics and the Nordic context is often obvious, if not commonplace. Thus, the sobriety of urban spaces, the purified style of interior decoration, the importance of cold and plain colours, the homogeneity of the layout, or the slower rhythm of audiovisual productions seem to be symptomatic of Northern Europe and of the topos of Nordic space, such as vast natural expanses, long, harsh, dark winters, short summers, sparsely inhabited spaces and taciturn people, etc. In short, here appears a cliché that wants the minimalist aesthetic to be justified by the conditions of life in the Nordic space. As Ursula Lindqvist rightly notes about Nordic Slow Cinema, “the muted colors, tempered light, and balanced geometry of the films’ images also evoke a distinctly Nordic tradition in painting, architecture, and design, one that is recognizable to anyone who has spent time in the Nordic region.” [Lindqvist, 2016] The apparently self-evident nature of this justification does not, however, allow for a precise definition of Nordic Minimalism, which thus demands a contextual analysis and the clarification of potential correlations with Nordic socio-cultural, geographical and imaginary conditions.
At the same time, the notion of minimalism is complex, as it varies across art, time and culture. Notwithstanding its many variations and « [i]n its simplest definition, Minimalism is a style distinguished by severity of means, clarity of form, and simplicity of structure and texture. » [Strickland, 2000] However, it is important to consider that minimalist art has as many different forms as it has diverse origins. Thus, the authorship of minimalism in music is attributed to Erik Satie and his Vexations (1893); in architecture, it is said to be from the Weimar Bauhaus; in painting, it oscillates between Alphonse Allais, Soviet constructivism, Kazimir Malevich and Ad Reinhardt; in cinema, it could be based on the trinity of Yasujiro Ozu, Robert Bresson and Carl Theodor Dreyer proposed by Paul Schrader [Schrader, 1972] ; etc. In the 1960s, Minimalism established itself as an artistic movement (especially in painting, sculpture, music and architecture), which - adopting the principle of architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe: "less is more" - asserts the search for the viewer's reflective and reflexive experience through a moment of suspension and formal simplicity. Today, this principle continues to exist in multiple modalities, such as, for example, Slow cinema, minimal techno or neo-minimalism. This quick overview shows that minimalism developed internationally following modernism and is concerned with bringing about a reflective and reflexive posture in the viewer by keeping only the essential evocative elements. In short, this aesthetic can be defined as maximum simplicity, carrying a stylistic principle that aims to represent a function.
In the Nordic context, the aim is to study whether and how this proposal is modulated and contextualised. Going beyond the strict definition of the American minimalist art movement, this dossier seeks to outline the contours, however heterogeneous, of a transmedial conception of Nordic minimalism. It seeks to explore its different conceptions, its origins and its functions. In this respect, the question of the identity function of Minimalism - which stems from the broader field of modernism and is based on self-reflexivity and contemplation (theorized by, among others, the modalities of the Deleuzian time-image, in particular the crystal- image [Deleuze, 1985]) - is to be approached according to the modalities specific to the Nordic space. The aim is first and foremost to identify the salient features of a minimalism that is quickly identifiable as Nordic, even though this aesthetic principle can be found internationally in several arts and in literature. Authors are thus invited to reflect on the specificities and formal and ideological devices, as well as the socio-cultural context in which the notion of Nordic minimalism is crystallized. Similarly, the question of minimalism in particular as it is modulated today invites trans-media and trans-national comparison. Finally, this dossier will consider both hypotheses of the origins of this aesthetic and the forms it takes in the Nordic arts today.

Potential proposition could be, for example (the list below is not exhaustive):
• Contemporary art productions, such as those by Paul Fägerskiöld, Ólafur Arnalds, Juhani Pallasmaa, Ulla Perdersen, Jon Fosse, or Ruben Östlund.
• The 'classic' traditions of Nordic minimalism (Carl Theodor Dreyer, Knud Holscher, Ingmar Bergman, Arvo Pärt, Alvar Aalto, Vilhelm Hammershøj, Hilma af Klint, etc.)
• The links between aesthetics and socio-cultural issues (Protestant tradition or welfare state)
• Minimalism and ecological sensitivity (ranging from trends in zero waste restaurants and sustainable audiovisual productions [Ekosetti] to Jaakko Pernu's sculptures and Sami artists' commitment to the protection of Sápmi)
• International comparisons, for example between Hungarian and Nordic slow cinema, between Japanese and Nordic design and architecture, between repetitive art and electronic music

Deadline for paper proposals (200 words approx.): June 30th 2022.
To be sent to aymeric.pantet[a]sorbonne-universite.fr and harri.veivo[a]unicaen.fr
Information on the acceptance of the proposal: August 31st 2022.
First draft of the article (max. 40,000 characters): November 30th 2022.
Manuscripts will be submitted for double-blind review.
For style guidelines, see https://journals.openedition.org/nordiques/343

References:
Ursula Lindqvist, « 25: The Art of Not Telling Stories in Nordic Fiction Films » in A Companion to Nordic Cinema, Mette Hjort et Ursula Lindqvist (éd.), Chichester, West Sussex; Malden, MA, John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 559.
Edward Strickland, Minimalism: Origins, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2000, p.4.
Paul Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film, New York, Da Capo Press, 1972.
Gilles Deleuze, Cinéma 2, L’image-temps, Paris, Éditions de minuit, 1985, p. 50-61 ; 92‐105.
Ekosetti, https://ekosetti.fi/, consulté le 16 avril 2021.