An Era in Glass: Soviet Estonian Glass Factory Tarbeklaas and Finnish Glass Design
An Era in Glass: Soviet Estonian Glass Factory Tarbeklaas and Finnish Glass Design

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse the production of the factory Tarbeklaas, mostly the theory behind it, and to discuss the extent to which the Estonian and Finnish glass industries were connected in the Soviet period. Despite the differences in background systems, it is possible to find parallels in the political intentions of design, as well as in the designs themselves and in the reception of glass design. The idea is to examine why similarities in design discourses arose in the different societies, what the differences and similarities were, and to compare objects as consequences of various social and political processes. This article will try to avoid both strict opposition and equation, instead using comparison of facts and theories as a method. Used sources include both articles and books, mostly by Estonian and Finnish authors, as well as the archives of the Tallinn University library and the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design. The article is based on a master's dissertation presented at the University of Brighton in 2010.

• Details
• Contents