Om Walther Nielsens stol /​ About Walther Nielsen’s chair

Walther Nielsens stol /​ Walther Nielsen’s chair.

Walther Nielsens stol

Det første offi­ci­elle billede lavet i 1983 for at markeds­føre Walter Nielsens efter min mening mest impo­ne­rende stol. Fotograferingen foregik i mit atelier den 15. februar 1983 kort før Walthers aller­første udstil­ling i Danmark.

Forskellige skri­benter hævder, at stolen blev produ­ceret fra 1973, og det er muligt, at den egent­lige markeds­fø­ring først begyndte med dette billede ti år senere. Det kan jeg ikke udelukke. Men det er mit indtryk, og vi boede kun få kilo­meter fra Walter, at serie-produk­tionen af hans højryg­gede stol, vist her, begyndte i hans private værk­sted i slut­ningen af ​​70’erne, og at de tre første stole af denne ende­lige udform­ning først blev færdige på det tidspunkt.

Det var vigtigt for mig at forsøge at formidle de kunst­ne­riske kvali­teter ved stolen. Jeg opfatter i høj grad denne stol som en smuk skul­ptur; designet er kunst­ne­risk og finishen er perfekt. Materialet var i dette tilfælde asketræ. Jeg ved ikke, om stolen senere blev produ­ceret i andre træsorter.

De smukke orga­niske linjer var ikke for enhver krop. Stolen var mest bekvem for gennem­snits­høje menne­sker, men så føltes formerne også som skræddersyet.
Ifølge Walter Nielsen selv gik en af de største ordrer på denne model til et byråd i Schweiz. De 20–30 stole fik sæder og ryg betrukket med polstret læder. Stolen blev aldrig frem­stillet indu­strielt. Jeg tror, ​​at komplek­si­teten og den eksklu­sive form var mindre egnet for masseproduktion.

Jeg har indtryk af, at alle eksi­ste­rende stole er lavet af Walther Nielsen selv, eller under hans direkte tilsyn. De første modeller frem­stil­lede han person­ligt i et meget lille værk­sted, og jeg har ofte undret mig over, hvordan en skønhed som denne stol kunne åben­bare sig fra så ydmyge tekniske omgi­velser. Walter Nielsens ideer og evnen til at skabe de særlige orga­niske former har altid impo­neret mig.

Desværre døde denne skabende person­lighed i 1990 kun 61 år gammel.

Nærværende billede er frem­stillet på grundlag af en scan­ning af et uskarpt Cibachrome positiv med blank over­flade, dvs. med risiko for uvel­kommen moire. Walter Nielsen fik mit origi­nale negativ til sin markeds­fø­ring, og jeg ved ikke, hvor det er endt.
Subtile detaljer gik tabt i Cibachrome og skan­nings­pro­ces­serne, men af senti­men­tale grunde ønsker jeg at dele mindet om en sand kunstner trods de tekniske begrænsninger.

Walther Nielsen’s chair

The first offi­cial picture made in 1983 to market Walter Nielsen’s in my opinion most impres­sive chair. The photo­graphy took place in my studio on February 15, 1983 shortly before Walther’s very first exhi­bi­tion in Denmark.

Various writers claim that the chair was produced from 1973. And it may well be that the actual marke­ting first began with this image ten years later. I cannot rule that out. But it is my impres­sion, living only a few kilo­me­ters from Walter, that the serial production of his high-backed chair, shown here, began in his private workshop in the late 70s, and that the first three chairs of this final shape were only completed at that time.

It was important for me to try to convey the arti­stic quali­ties of the chair. I perceive this chair as a beau­tiful scul­p­ture; the design is arti­stic and the finish is perfect. The mate­rial in this case was ash wood. I do not know if the chair was later produced in other types of wood.

The beau­tiful organic lines were not for every body. The chair was most comfortable for people of average height, but then the shapes also felt tailor-made.
According to Walter Nielsen himself, one of the largest orders for this model went to a city council in Switzerland. Those 20–30 chairs had seats and backs covered with padded leather. The chair was never manu­fa­c­tured indu­stri­ally. I think the comple­xity and the exclu­sive shape were less suitable for mass production.

I have got the impres­sion that all existing chairs were made by Walther Nielsen himself, or under his direct supervision.
He perso­nally produced the first models in a very small workshop, and I have often wondered how a beauty like this chair could emerge from such humble tech­nical surro­un­dings. Walter Nielsen’s ideas and ability to create the special organic forms have always impressed me.

Unfortunately, this crea­tive perso­na­lity died in 1990 aged only 61.

The present image was produced on the basis of a scan of an unsharp Cibachrome posi­tive with a blank surface, i.e. the risk of unwelcome moire. Walter Nielsen had my original nega­tive for his marke­ting and I don’t know where it ended up. Subtle details were lost in the Cibachrome and scan­ning processes, but for senti­mental reasons I want to share the memory of this true artist despite of the tech­nical limitations.