Design, Nostalgia & the Meaning of the ‘RM58’ Armchair in the Victoria & Albert Museum

prototypy_prace_8_roman_modzelewski.jpg, default, Roman Modzelewski in his innovative polyester-glass laminate armchair, source: https://www.vzor.com/roman-modzelewski/, bottom, #000000

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Many of us are fascinated by design from the time of the Polish People’s Republic. There is a growing number of advice literature, research and TV programmes being produced about Polish post-war design. People are eagerly searching through vintage markets, auction sites and even rubbish bins for objects from this period. Many companies are putting into production Polish design icons as well as lesser-known designs. But why?

Let’s delve into why it’s important to remember people, ideas and objects from a bygone era and how the idea of nostalgia helps to connect the past with the future.

What is nostalgia & how does it relate to design?

The word ‘nostalgia’ comes from the Greek nostos, meaning ‘return home’, and algia, ‘longing’. For centuries its meaning evolved from a medical diagnosis resulting from a deep yearning for home to the contemporary understanding, which is the missing of a time or a place that does not exist anymore or never actually existed. The phenomenon of nostalgia can be thought of as the synthesis of one’s memories, emotions and history. But where did the idea of nostalgia even come from?

In the 17th century, nostalgia was related to a curable medical diagnosis and appeared when one was missing one’s home. Soldiers were the most prone to feeling the effects of nostalgia as they were often sent to fight away from their homeland. Not to worry though! Doctors in the 17th century believed nostalgia could be cured. According to Johannes Hofer, a Swiss medical student, leeches, warm hypnotic emulsions, opium or a trip to the Alps could eliminate the feeling of nostalgia. Did this very intriguing doctor’s recommendation work? Apparently, but not always.

Johannes Hofer’s dissertation exploring ideas of nostalgia, 1688, source: https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2021/06/when-and-why-johannes-hofer-wrote-about.html

As the 18th century approached, developments in the notion of nostalgia related to the then-growing ideas of patriotism. It was still most often soldiers sent away to fight who felt the deep effects of longing for home, their motherland. If you thought the 17th century cure for nostalgia was extreme, think again. Doctors in the 18th century thought of even more intense cures for it. For example, during the French Revolution in 1789, a French doctor believed that pain and terror would cure nostalgia. This now laughable remedy seems very excessive, but we cannot forget this was a time when physical and mental health were treated together rather than separately.

As the 19th century began, the meaning of nostalgia changed into something incurable, simultaneously beginning to lose its medical connotations due to the developments in medical research. Sometimes it was even considered a creation of one’s imagination. It was not until later in the century – in particular during the American Civil War – that the medical ideas of nostalgia were considered again. Its definition once more changed, this time into the absurd desire of going back to a bygone era that it was impossible to bring back, making nostalgia perceived as an incurable mental illness. Towards the beginning of the 20th century, the symptoms of nostalgia were often associated by medical professionals with better-studied illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (at the time referred to as shell shock).

Nostalgia was previously believed to be an individual phenomenon, but this changed in the 20th century. In 1979, Fred Davis, an American sociologist, published the first sociological research on nostalgia. His discovery was crucial for the types of nostalgia discovered later – specifically those related to design from the times of the Polish People’s Republic – as it stated that this phenomenon is a collective feeling rather than just an individual one. Personal stories were important, but they formed the memories and histories of the larger group.

According to Svetlana Boym, a cultural theorist, the phenomenon of nostalgia reappears during times of revolution, conflict and big changes. Such a momentous event took place in 1989, when there was a drastic change in the political system in Central and Eastern Europe. Coined in the 21st century as post-socialist nostalgia, it swept through the countries of the former Soviet Union and its satellite states, including Poland. Along with the political changeover, there were clear visible material changes: the newly opened Eastern and Central European states were flooded with Western brands, ideas and products, which soon led to forgetting socialist material culture. For example, in 1990 the first IKEA shop opened in Poland, transforming furnishing possibilities for Poles and making it possible to break away from the dull work of state-controlled furniture manufacturers.

First IKEA opened 19 September 1990, Warsaw, source: https://haloursynow.pl/pl/11_wiadomosci/15615_pierwsza-ikea-byla-na-ursynowie-to-byl-kosmos-towary-nie-z-tej-ziemi-foto.html

However, the sudden break from the past made people miss what once was and the items associated with it. The possible emotional attachment to the products that filled everyday lives for years and decades led to feelings of nostalgia. Most likely placing an ideal in the past made it possible for only the good aspects of life to continue being honoured and remembered. Perhaps some people are even nostalgic for the unrealised dreams of the period.

The RM58 armchair designed by Roman Modzelewski in 1958 is one such example of those unrealised dreams. Roman Modzelewski (1912–1997), considered the Polish Charles Eames, was an important artist, designer and teacher. His innovative furniture design was made from polyester-glass laminate – one of the earliest Polish examples of the use of this material. Unfortunately, his very forward-thinking design was way ahead of its time, both technologically and stylistically, particularly considering the realities of post-war Poland and the restrictions implemented by the socialist regime of the time. There were only a hundred made in five colour variations, and despite patenting the design in 1962, no more armchairs were produced until the 2010s. Although manufacturing the furniture piece was not considered again until after Modzelewski’s death, he did utilize the technology developed for the armchair in other projects, most notably in the design of yachts.

In 2012, the idea of the armchair was reborn. Jakub Sobiepanek, as part of his master’s degree at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, manufactured Modzelewski’s armchair. His project focused on utilising contemporary manufacturing possibilities to produce historical designs, with a key case study being the polyester-glass laminate furniture piece. As the project proved to be successful, he soon co-founded Vzór and put the armchair into production, this time using the process of rotomoulding, enabling past, present and future generations to enjoy this timeless design.

Special thanks must also be given to Modzelewski’s wife, Halina (Wera) Modzelewska, from whom Sobiepanek acquired the design license for the important armchair design. The pairing of Wera’s will to keep her late husband’s memory alive with the feelings of nostalgia of the Vzór founders led to the company’s overarching goal of renewing the production of forgotten Polish designs (as well as those never put into production) using contemporary manufacturing techniques. We are now able to enjoy the design in numerous materials and colour variations, including a soft upholstered version.

'RM58' armchairs, design: Roman Modzelewski, photo: Vzór Ltd./https://www.vzor.com

This fusion of knowledge and experience resulted in the joining of personal and collective memories. Through companies such as Vzór, the memory of times gone by, the ones we are so nostalgic about, is kept alive, celebrated and popularised. Scholars have highlighted that nostalgia might not be about the reenactment of the past but rather about the creation of the desired present, and the past is reimagined by companies such as Vzór to suit the needs of the modern consumer.

Who is allowed to feel nostalgic?

As demonstrated by the above example, everyone has the right to feel nostalgic, and it is not only people who lived through the times of the Polish People’s Republic, or any period of the past, who strive to bring back the material remnants of the time. It is also young people who never lived through that period but rather know it only from family stories, books, programmes and museums. Despite not having lived through the times they are feeling nostalgic about, they can have a more objective perspective on the events of the period. They have the ability to get a broader view of history by immersing themselves in research.

Younger generations want to celebrate the achievements of others, who at the time might not have been correctly rewarded for their work. These generations also have a duty to remember what once was, creating a continuity between the past, present and future. Through feelings of nostalgia, they are keen to act on immortalising the memories, histories and products of people who soon will not be here to pass on their stories.

Designs such as the RM58 armchair act as a bridge between various generations, in this case also showcasing a positive aspect of a failed political system. Named as an icon of Polish design, the armchair is now displayed in numerous museums and galleries all around the world. One of the original models made by Modzelewski is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. What is its significance within the museum’s vast collection, and what is its role in maintaining intergenerational relationships based on feelings of nostalgia?

‘RM58’ armchair in the Victoria & Albert Museum

One of the first prototypes of Modzelewski’s RM58 armchair was displayed at the Cold War Modern: Design 1945–1970 exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Museum) in London in 2008 to 2009. One of the exhibition curators, David Crowley, found out about this furniture piece during his research trip to the National Museum in Warsaw. Wera Modzelewska lent the V&A Museum a prototype with a white shell and with this loan allowed Polish post-war design to be showcased for a varied international audience. This exhibition again demonstrates how several generations of people came together to celebrate an object from a time about which some are so nostalgic.

Exhibition of works by Roman Modzelewski at the Art Propaganda Centre in Łódź, photo: Marcin Stępień /AW

Being a key part of the exhibition, the RM58 armchair was presented in a room dedicated to the idea of the race towards modernity between the USSR and the USA. Its exhibition label highlighted that ‘it is most probably the first chair to be made of fiberglass in Poland’. The exhibition was not only displayed in London but also toured to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto and the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius. A total of around 200,000 visitors enjoyed the exhibition, demonstrating its popularity and importance.

Soon after the exhibition closed, the V&A Museum acquired the armchair and added it to its permanent collection. Part of the justification for the acquisition was the pioneering technological and formal work completed by Modzelewski. In addition to this, in a book published to accompany the exhibition, Cold War Modern: Design 1945–1970, edited by David Crowley and Jane Pavitt, the design was placed alongside the following world-famous pieces: Garden Egg Chair by Peter Ghyczy, 1969; Blow Chair by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi and Carla Scolari, 1967; and the DAW armchair by Charles and Ray Eams, 1950. Therefore, there is no doubt that the Polish design played a meaningful and important part not only in the exhibition but also in the field of design history. But what is the current meaning of Modzelewski’s armchair in the collection of the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance?

Conversations with the curators and searches through the museum archives revealed that the RM58 armchair has not been part of any display since the 2008–2009 exhibition closed. In fact, it just got put away into museum storage. The only way it can be accessed is through the museum’s Explore the Collections website, where the V&A Museum’s whole collection of artefacts can be searched virtually. Basic information about the piece can be found, such as its name, the name of the designer, the place it came from, the date, as well as a short description written by the curator cataloguing the piece. This online database does not get updated regularly, and often the descriptions are incomplete or inaccurate. Therefore, recent findings about the artefacts usually do not get added to the product’s page in the museum’s Collection Management System. Consequently, it can be said that the current meaning of the RM58 armchair in the collection of the V&A Museum is minimal. And yet, the inclusion of Roman Modzelewski’s chair design – groundbreaking in its time – in the permanent collection is very important as it is the only Polish furniture piece and one of the few Polish pieces in their collection.

Roman Modzelewski’s armchair on V&A Museum’s ‘Explore the Collections’ website, source: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1156386/armchair-modzelewski-roman/

The Furniture Gallery in the V&A Museum contains a section dedicated to furniture made using the process of casting liquids, which would be the perfect place for displaying Modzelewski’s armchair. Yet instead of this iconic Polish design, we see furniture pieces such as Verner Panton’s Panton Chair from 1960 or Charles and Ray Eames’ DAW armchair from 1950. This is understandable because many of us want to see pieces acclaimed by numerous sources as ‘design icons’. But why do some designs become icons of global design history and others do not? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to think of Modzelewski’s armchair as an icon of a positive outcome from the time of the Polish People’s Republic, a time characterised by a failed political system.

The history of nostalgia paired with the example of the intriguing ‘life’ of Roman Modzelewski’s renowned armchair makes it obvious that it’s important to remember people, ideas and objects from a bygone era. Nostalgia is not a mental illness as was thought over a century ago but rather a feeling connecting generations. We might realise it or not, but the history of design surrounds us on an everyday basis and has a monumental impact on various aspects of our contemporary lives. The display and inclusion of historically significant objects within museums enable various generations to share experiences, opinions and stories, simultaneously building continuity between the past, present and future.

At times of unprecedented changes, economic uncertainty and social recession, the bonds between the past and the present as well as the material culture associated with them prove to be especially strong. People yearn for slower rhythms of life in addition to more social interactions, and being nostalgic might just be an answer to some of the problems we are facing in our ever-evolving world!

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