Design and Politics: The Public Promotion of Industrial Design in Postwar Belgium (1950-1986)

摘要

Design and Politics: The Public Promotion of Industrial Design in Postwar Belgium (1950-1986) by Katarina Serulus is a fascinating and highly informative book. Belgium is a small country and one that is not, generally, well known for its design. Yet, it has consistently punched above its weight in international design networks, particularly within the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). The specific focus of this study—design promotion by the state—thus promises to be an instructive lens through which to examine this episode of Belgian design history. It also offers an interesting perspective on identity construction, which is often tied up with state design promotion, thereby contributing to current debates among design historians about the significance of national identity in the age of globalization.1 Belgium's lack of a strong national identity and its consistent supranational gaze, manifesting itself in a succession of political and economic alliances with its neighbours, such as the Benelux or the European Union, are well documented by Serulus. What kind of design does a state promote in a country, where national identity might not always be as meaningful as regional or supranational identities?