Haenke x Designblok 2021
Nature Inside: In Conversation with Penny Sparke
Saturday 9 October, 11 CET | online
Penny Sparke is a Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London and the Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre. Her latest book, Nature Inside: Plants and Flowers in the Modern Interior came out in early 2021. Spanning two centuries, Nature Inside explores the history and popularity of indoor plants, revealing the close relationship between architecture, interior design, and nature. While architectural and interior design styles have evolved alongside the popularity of various plant species, the human need to bring nature indoors has remained constant.
with special guest speaker:
Penny Sparke,
Professor of Design History, Kingston University, London (United Kingdom)
Penny Sparke is a Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London and the Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre.
She studied French Literature at the University of Sussex from 1967-1971 and was awarded her PhD in Design History from Brighton Polytechnic in 1975. She taught Design History at Brighton Polytechnic (1975-1982) and the Royal College of Art (1982-1999). She has given keynote addresses, curated exhibitions, and broadcast and published widely in the subject of Design History, with a special interest in the areas of interiors, identities, gender and taste. Her past publications include Italian Design from1860 to the present (1989); The Plastics Age (1990); As Long as It's Pink: The Sexual Politics of Taste (1995); An Introduction to Design and Culture, 1900 to the present (3rd edition 2004); Elsie de Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration (2005); and The Modern Interior (2008). Her latest book, Nature Inside: Plants and Flowers in the Modern Interior came out in early 2021.