Personside - 188

Fra Dansk Biografisk Lexikon:⁴

Carl Otto Herman Tryde Kalkar er født i Odense 9. Juni 1837. Efter at have gaaet i Borgerdydskolen i Kjøbenhavn blev han Student 1854 ved privat Dimission. Skjønt tiltrukken af det sproglige undlod K. at studere Filologi, nærmest af Ulyst til Lærergjerning, især for Børn. Cand. theol. 1859. Som Student og som Alumnus paa Borchs Kollegium (1859-60) lagde K. sig efter semitiske Sprog, men Studiet afbrødes af en stærk Øjensygdom.

K. var i nogle Aar Huslærer, paa et Par Herregårde. Han deltog frivillig i Krigen 1864 og udnævntes i Forsommeren d. A. til Lieutenant i Reserven. 1865 blev K. Forstander for Oddense Folkehøjskole i Salling, 1866 Andenlærer ved Lyngby Skolelærerseminarium, 1870 forflyttet til samme Stilling ved Jonstrup Seminarium, 1884 Inspektør og Overlærer ved Viborg Kommunes Skolevæsen og 1886 Sognepræst for Himmelev og Roskilde adelige Jomfrukloster. 2. Avg. 1866 ægtede K. Ursula Glud (f. 2. Maj 1843 d. 30. Nov. 1875), Datter af Sognepræst Hans Jacob G.; 14. Dec. 1877 ægtede K. Ida Augusta Nielsen (f. 14. Dec. 1845), Datter af Sognepræst Peter Frederik N. — Stærkt paavirket af Rask og N. M. Petersen begyndte K. 1868 at samle Stof til en Ordbog over det gamle danske Sprog, hvoraf 1. Hæfte udkom 1881. K. har, til Dels under meget besværlige Forhold, fortsat Arbejdet, og der foreligger nu af hans ”Ordbog til det ældre danske Sprog (1300-1700”) Bogstaverne A-N (Begyndelsen af 3. Bind). Ordbogen indeholder særlig det i det gamle Sprog fra Nutidens Sprogbrug afvigende.

Fra Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon:³

Olivia Norrie (1869 - 1945)
Norrie, Olivia Johanne Margrethe

1869-1945, skuespiller.

*22.11.1869 i Kbh., †7.11.1945 smst.

Forældre: instrumentmager Jørgen Adolf Jørgensen (1822-1900) og Christiane Pouline Engelund (1835-90).

~30.6.1896 med skuespiller, teaterdirektør Jacob Jørgen Jacobsen, *24.5.1865 i Kbh., †12.11.1955 på Frbg., s. af overretsprokurator Johan Herman J. og Adelgunde Georgine Marie de Svanenskiold. Ægteskabet opløst 1908.
~29.5.1909 med forfatter, teaterdirektør William Good N., *27.5.1866 i Kbh., †30.9.1946 smst., s. af bogbindermester John Richard N. og Louise Augusta Jacobsen.

ON startede sit teaterliv i 1879, da hun ti år gammel kom på Det Kgl. Teaters balletskole sammen med søsteren Valborg (g. Borchsenius). De to søstre nåede at stå på scenen sammen som de to kadetter i August Bournonvilles ballet Fjernt fra Danmark. Men mens Valborg fik en betydelig position inden for balletten, valgte ON skuespillet. Efter en egentlig debut 1885 som Puk i Shakespeares En Skærsommernatsdrøm, kom hun på teatrets dramatiske elevskole. Efter endt uddannelse blev hun engageret ved Folketeatret 1891, hvor hendes yndefulde skikkelse, store, runde blå øjne og charmerende smilehuller gjorde hende selvskreven til rollen som den unge pige, ingenuen. I 1895 kom hun til Dagmarteatret, og bortset fra enkelte kortere afstikkere til andre scener forblev hun her til 1930.

I lighed med andre skuespillere, der havde en fortid ved balletten, måtte også ON i starten kæmpe med de tillærte bevægelser og attituder. I 1902 spillede hun Cathinka i Edgard Høyers Familien Jensen. Her lykkedes det hende at fremstille et ægte lille menneske, og rollen må betragtes som hendes egentlige gennembrud. Det var især farcer som Gurli og Loute, hun medvirkede i. Og som Cyprienne i det franske lystspil Lad os skilles anlagde hun en helt ny vinkel på den unge kone, som hun i stedet for den sædvanlige verdensdame spillede som en forkælet, urimelig og ganske bedårende skabning. Det var den første af mange pariserinder, ON skulle komme til at lægge krop til, men uanset hvor frivole rollerne var tænkt, mistede de i hendes fortolkning aldrig præget af smag og takt, og de fremstod i den blanding af dansk vaudeville og “Moulin Rouge”, som datidens publikum yndede. De stærkere lidenskaber lå ikke for hendes temperament, men alligevel viste hun nye sider af sit talent, da hun med ildfuld hengivelse fremstillede den krænkede og forsmåede kunstnerhustru i det franske skuespil Malerskolen. 1905-06 deltog hun i gruppen De Ottes skandinaviske turné sammen med bl.a. Anna Larssen Bjørner, Asta Nielsen og Peter Fjelstrup og med sin senere mand William N. som økonomiinspektør. En halv snes kunstnere havde forladt fædrelandet i en art protest og ville i et år spille i Kristiania, det nuværende Oslo. På Tivoliteatret fik de succes med opførelsen af bl.a. Gustav Esmanns Alexander den Store. Ægtefællen kom siden til Det Kgl. Teater, hvor han i 1924 af den nyudnævnte undervisningsminister Nina Bang udpegedes til enedirektør. ON vendte tilbage til Dagmarteatret. I 1921 havde hun endnu et vigtigt gennembrud i Min Fa’r havde Ret, idet hun på udramatisk vis gik fra de unge roller til de modne og ældre kvinder. Hun viste ligeledes fin lystspilkunst og humor som frk. Proserpine Garnett i Shaws Candida, 1926. I 1930 forlod ægtefællen chefstolen på Det Kgl. Teater, og ON sluttede samme år sin virksomhed ved Dagmarteatret efter 51 år som Thalias tro tjener.

Viben Bech

Fra Dansk Biografisk Leksikon:⁴

N.s anden Hustru, Olivia N. f. Jørgensen, kom 1879 til Balletskolen paa Det kgl. Teater, hvor hun debuterede 1885 som Puk i »En Skærsommernatsdrøm«; hun frekventerede den dramatiske Elevskole og fik 1891 Engagement ved Folketeatret, hvor hendes elskværdige Ingenuefremstillinger vandt Publikums Sympati. Fra 1895 tilhørte hun Dagmarteatret og spillede her i en halv Snes Aar et fremragende Repertoire (Cathinka i »Familien Jensen«, Titelrollen i »Gurli«, Skovmærkelil i »Klokken, der sank«, Cyprienne i »Lad os skilles«). Kunstnerisk set naaede hun ikke sine samtidige, Betty Nansen og Anna Larssen, men Fru N. var smidig, teknisk dygtig i sit Spil, der støttedes af et udmærket Sceneydre. Hun deltog i »De Otte«s skandinaviske Tourné og tilhørte siden paa ny de københavnske Privatscener, indtil hun 1930 sluttede sin Virksomhed ved Dagmarteatret. I sine senere Aar spillede hun mest komiske Roller.

^{Om Olivia N.: Teatret, XXV, 1926, S. 82 ff.}

Robert Neiiendam.

Fra www.risom.org:

One of the first designers to bring the Traditional Scandinavian values of function and craftsmanship to the United States, Risom was part of a new vanguard that helped establish post-war America's leadership role in the world of modern furniture design and manufacturing. Born in Copenhagen on May 8, 1916, Risom was highly influenced by his award-winning architect-father who encouraged Jens to pursue academic studies in business and contemporary design. After completing two years at the Business College of Niels Brock in Copenhagen, Risom worked briefly for Danish architect Ernst Kuhn and he created several furniture designs for Gustav Weinreich of A/S Normina in Copenhagen. Risom's early designs for Normina were shown at the Cabinetmaker's Guild Exhibition in 1937. The young Risom also worked for a small design studio/shop in Stockholm that specialized in residential furniture. While in Sweden Risom also worked with Nordiska Kompaniet—NK, where he was further exposed to the designs of Bruno Mathsson and others including the Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto. Risom began his formal studies in furniture design under the direction of Ole Wanscher at Kunståndvaerkerskolen, the School for Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen. From 1935–1938, along with classmates Hans Wegner and Borge Mogensen, Risom learned the value of simplicity and utility from master craftsmen like Kaare Klint who also headed up the furniture school at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The enduring influence of good Danish design can be traced back to the efforts of dedicated craftsmen and designers who firmly believed in the value of sharing the techniques and aesthetics of their crafts to aspiring young students.

Early Free-lance Years

In 1938, after a chance meeting with the American Ambassador to Denmark, Risom decided to go to New York to further his studies while familiarizing himself with contemporary American furniture design. Arriving in 1939, Risom soon discovered that there were no real opportunities for study or work in his field. Instead, Risom was given an introduction through the Museum of Modern Art to the fabric and interior designer, Dan Cooper. Risom's original textile designs, created solely for his interview with Cooper, landed him his first free-lance project in America. More work followed, including original furniture designed and built for the Collier's House of Ideas, a model house built on a terrace at Rockefeller Center overlooking Fifth Avenue. Designed by Edward D. Stone, who personally chose Risom to design all the furniture, the Collier's House project created a wider interest in Risom's ability to design furniture that fit perfectly into the new homes being built by architects like Stone. In 1941, having recently completed plans for a new furniture department for Georg Jensen in New York City, Risom joined forces with Hans Knoll, a young energetic entrepreneur who, though he understood the basics of the furniture business, was not a designer. Finding they made a good team together, the two set out on a cross-country tour visiting modern architects while simultaneously gaining a better understanding of the potential market for a new line of modern furniture that Risom would design and Knoll would sell.

In 1942 when the Hans Knoll Furniture Company was launched, 15 of the first 20 pieces—the "600" line—were pure Risom in design and construction with a subtle Scandinavian sense of modernity that created even more interest in the young designer's abilities. These were the first and last pieces Risom would design for Knoll.

Married and with a young daughter, Risom, like many others, was soon drafted into the U.S. Army. Initially planning to work within the Army's Industrial Design Unit at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, Risom eventually joined the Army's Civil Affairs Department. Arriving in Great Britain, he was then assigned to the Headquarters of Third Army under General George Patton where he began training for the upcoming European invasions.

Risom stayed with the Third Army as it made its way though France and Germany until the end of the war. Returning to New York, Jens briefly continued his free-lance consulting with Hans Knoll, but he had also decided that it was time to form his own concern, Jens Risom Design, Inc. (JRD), which he launched on May 1st, 1946.

JRD

At that time, there were very few companies in the States that specialized in good quality modern furniture. And while Knoll would continue to rely on a wide variety of designers, JRD always had just one, Jens. In this way Risom clearly established a niche for his new firm by focusing on the Risom name as the answer to America’s search for well-designed and well-crafted contemporary furniture. Although Knoll continued to produce Risom-designed furniture, they agreed to remove his name from their products in 1952 so that Jens would not be competing against himself with his new company’s designs.

According to Risom, “In order for us or for anybody to establish a reputation for high quality, you have to fully control the entire process. Doing business that way we were fairly certain that we would always be known not only for design but also for good construction and detailing (the designer’s job), good manufacturing reflecting solid craftsmanship, and good follow up in sales and service. And we were willing to pay for that.”

In the early 1950s, Risom created a series of bold new advertisements with the tagline: The Answer is Risom. Featuring uncompromisingly direct photographs by Richard Avedon, Risom’s subtle new designs were shown in use against a white seamless background with no extraneous details. The response to Risom’s new furniture was tremendous, forcing JRD in 1954 to expand its manufacturing facilities to a large new site in Connecticut.

Late in the 1950s, JRD began to shift away from residential furniture to designing and producing non-residential furniture, focusing primarily on office management furniture but also producing hospital, and library furniture.

By the 1960s, JRD had showrooms in all the major U.S. markets as well as overseas where the company had licensed their designs with respected local manufacturers to reduce the high cost of exporting goods.

By 1970, after nearly 25 steadfast years of design and manufacturing control, Risom had begun exploring the idea of freeing himself from direct control over JRD’s manufacturing and production responsibilities so that he could spend more of his time designing, collaborating with architects, and watching over production from a higher level.

A short time later, the Dictaphone Corporation, an office machines company that traced its roots back to Alexander Graham Bell, presented their proposal to purchase JRD as a way to quickly add upscale executive office furniture to their respected office product line. Shortly after the purchase, the president of Dictaphone passed away. Unfamiliar with their new acquisition and the industry, the new management team changed direction once again and eliminated furniture from their line. A series of sales to poorly selected companies not familiar with either the furniture business or the values of good design eventually led to the sad and ultimate demise of JRD.

But even after 30 years, the spirit of JRD lives on. Each year JRD’s manufacturing employees and managers meet for a reunion and celebration of their glory years in furniture design, manufacturing, sales and service.

Design Control

By 1973, Jens was once again pursuing several new interests through his free-lance design service, Design Control, located in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he currently resides with his wife, Henny.

New clients have included the Howe Furniture Company, Do-More, Gaylord (library furniture) and many others for whom Risom has developed designs quite different from his work at JRD but incorporating the same high standards for clients who were eager to upgrade their product lines – in furniture, interiors and buildings.

Recently, (March, 2005) Ralph Pucci International introduced a new line of Risom-designed furniture – some totally new and others inspired by older designs, including a sofa, a slipper chair, dining tables, side tables and a classic Risom armchair.

Awards and Achievements

Risom has received a variety of architecture and design awards both here and in Europe. His chairs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Yale Museum of Art & Design, the Brooklyn Museum, the R.I.S.D. Museum in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution in New York City.

In 1970 Risom was appointed as a trustee of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and is still active on the Board. During their 120th Commencement Ceremonies on June 7, 2003, RISD conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree on Risom, noting he was “one of the most influential furniture designers of the 20th century.”

In November 1994 Risom became the third recipient of the Brooklyn Museum/Modernism Design Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Museum’s permanent collection contains designs by Risom as well as by Ettore Sottass, Frank Gehry and Eero Saarinen, among others.

In 1996, Queen Margrethe of Denmark knighted Risom with the prestigious Danish Knight’s Cross.

Having designed the first chair for Knoll in 1941, Risom was honored by the company in 1997 when Knoll reissued a collection of Risom-designed side and lounge chairs, stools and tables that remain today a successful part of the Knoll Studio line.

In 2004, Risom was honored with the annual Russel Wright Award, presented to today’s leaders who carry forward one or more dimensions of Wright’s legacy in design.

In March, 2005 Ralph Pucci International introduced a new line of Risom-designed furniture – some totally new and others inspired by older designs, including a sofa, a slipper chair, dining tables, side tables and a classic Risom armchair.

JR Philosophy

Risom once summed up his philosophy this way:

"Good design means that anything good will go well with other equally good things – contemporary or traditional."

“Furniture is not sculpture, nor is a particular design created only for visual appearance. Furniture clearly satisfy all requirements: It should be used, enjoyed and respected.”

If the Answer Is Risom, what are the questions?

The three most-frequently asked questions of Jens:

1. Is furniture Functional or Decorative?

2. What does Contemporary really mean?

3. What is Good Design?

Risom’s Answers:

1. Furniture is primarily functional. A chair has to be comfortable and support one’s body although Frank Lloyd Wright once told me that he did not agree with this because, as he said, “God did not intend for man to be seated!” Furniture should also look attractive and express the designer’s ideas and taste.

2. Contemporary means that the design is created in our time for today’s people, environments, habits and activities. Antique styles we all admire now were also once contemporary and undoubtedly were questioned when new just as ours are today.

Many of my designs from 60 years ago are now categorized as Mid-Twentieth Century, which of course makes me feel rather old! People ask me if I think these designs will still be around in another 50 years. Well, I won’t be around then so I’m too concerned about that!

3. Design is Problem Solving. Good design therefore is a good solution that satisfies many requirements. While furniture must be attractive in appearance, the detailing, materials, execution and craftsmanship that go into the overall design must also be of a very high standard, whether the product is mass-produced or made by hand.

While the names Chippendale or Hepplewhite suggest a chair, and – to get away from the Eighteenth Century – the same applies today to Breuer, Eames, Risom, and many others.