Coming out of college in 2006 Aslak Gurholt Rønsen and his partner in Yokoland Espen Friberg published their book “Yokoland – As we go up, we go down”. Yokoland, which they started together sometime between 2001 and 2006, was a multi-disciplinary studio functioning partly as a design studio and partly as an art collective. Since then new inhabitants have arrived, while Espen Friberg left the studio and emigrated to the US in 2007. The studio now consists of Thomas Nordby, Martin Lundell and Aslak Gurholt Rønsen, as well as a French newcomer, Yorel Cayla. We spoke with founding member Aslak Gurholt Rønsen.
Work, work, work (and a little bit of progress)
They know I’m a designer, and know very well what I do. My father is a carpenter, so we’ve even had help from him on certain projects where it’s been needed. I guess my parents are kind of surprised that I’m able to live from what I do, which is understandable. It’s quite a privilege working with something you love.
Don’t know. My father maybe?
Sight. Lost it at some point because of a brain operation, and it took half a year before it was back to normal. I got quite afraid I couldn’t work as a designer at that point, so I know to appreciate it.
I’ve started on an education three times, but dropped out twice, and in both cases with the same teacher in charge. But he’s actually been the best teacher I’ve ever had.
It did, but I learned just as much from projects outside college. College should be a place for new ideas and experimentation (but of course in a reflected and relevant way). In my case it felt opposite … it was too much about getting people ready for the working life.
I know it when I see it.
Happy people live longer.
Getting our website up. It’s taken ages, and someone probably thought the studio ran out of business or something, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve just been way too busy for the last two years.
Start all over again.
Norwegian photographer Morten Spaberg has more or less been the in-house photographer of Yokoland for the last three-four years… the results wouldn’t have been the same without his expertise. Our most recent collaboration is Aki Books, a small publisher on photography fanzines. The name of the publisher is taken from Morten’s dog, which looks a bit like Nipper, the famous dog painted by Francis Barraud and later used for the HMV logo.
On a recent trip to Milano I got to visit Studio Museum Achille Castiglioni – the old studio of the famous Italian designer. Achille Castiglioni started his design studio together with his two brothers, and together they made some fantastic designs like the Mazzadro-chair, the Sella-chair and the Sleek-spoon. I’ve always enjoyed studio visits, there’s something very inspiring and rewarding about it, but this was especially interesting. Not only did I get to see the finished products, I was also introduced to some of the process and thinking behind them… not to mention Castiglioni’s huge collection of everyday objects.
In recent time I have been reading up on Norwegian design history (it’s incredible how little I know about this compared to how much I know about the international history of design). Not long ago I finished a book on Harald Damsleth, which was one of the greatest Norwegian graphic designers in the 1930s, but became the Nazis designer in Norway during the Second World War. When the war ended he sat two years in jail, and went out of business. After this he only made harmless children’s books and Christmas cards, but he’s as close as you get to a Norwegian Herbert Bayer.
Fortunato Depero (1892-1960) was probably the one person of the futuristic movement that experimented most with commercial art, typography and photo collages. One of his most known works is the small Campari bottle designed in 1932. The bottle is still in production, and if you buy the eight pack you will get it with a new cardboard box which looks pretty much like any other soda packaging these days. The bottle is nice though.
Louis Riel (1844-1885) was a Canadian politician, founder of Manitoba and leader of the Métis people. He also led two resistance movements against the Canadian government. From 1999-2003 cartoonist Chester Brown created a series based on Riel’s life. The stories has later been collected in a book simply called “Louis Riel”, and is a fantastic story… a bit like a dark version of Tintin.
