© The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Design History Society. All rights reserved. 145 Advance Access publication date 26 June 2007 Metamorphoses of Formalism: National Identity as a Recurrent Theme of Design in Greece Artemis Yagou The tension between tradition and modernity occupies a fundamental position in the history of the modern Greek state. The discourse on national identity and the concept of ‘Greekness ’ has been central to this tension. Within this discourse, the design of locally produced objects has been endowed with a special national aura and products have been viewed as exemplars of idealized qualities. Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, examples of local design production reflect the continuing presence of national identity concerns in the production of three-dimensional artefacts. Such examples illustrate the controversial influence that the issue of national identity has had on the development of design in Greece. I argue that the long-term obsession with Greekness has limited many design endeavours within the realm of formalism. This is further elaborated by suggesting a critical rethinking of design classifications along national lines. The concept of national identity is questioned and it is suggested that it obscures the depth and complexity of design historical processes. Keywords: design—formalism—Greece—Greekness—national identity—nationalism the main axis around which modern Greek history has developed. 3 The issue of national identity in gen- eral has been extensively examined and analysed with reference to various domains of cultural production, such as literature, music, theatre, fine arts and archi- tecture. 4 It is of course a very wide and vastly compli- cated issue, with ramifications in practically every aspect of Greek culture. In this paper, Greekness will be addressed specifically with regard to industrial design. Through textual and visual evidence, my analysis will explore the role and implications of national identity concerns in relation to design for mass production. I will attempt to follow the re- currence of the national identity theme in pro- duct design, trace its sources and point to some of its consequences. The first signs of national identity concerns in con- nection with design had already appeared in the mid- dle of the nineteenth century, when the young state was struggling first of all to exist, and then to assert Since the formation of the independent Greek state in the 1830s, the institution of the state, together with other institutions imported from the West, had to operate in Greece within a certain system of collec- tive representations and worldviews. This system, resulting from the country’s historical trajectory, was totally different from those in the countries of the European West. As in other peripheral countries, imported institutions constitute in Greece the object of an almost anxious treatment. They become ideal- ized, perfect exemplars which have to be imitated and approached, an attitude which leads to strong cultural and ideological dependence from the original models, in this case from the West. 1 The feelings of insecurity regarding institutional underdevelopment may take many different guises. In Greece, these feelings have been primarily expressed by a long-standing, insis- tent, and often desperate quest for national identity. 2 It has been argued that this crisis of identity consti- tutes the central issue of the neohellenic society and Journal of Design History Vol. 20 No. 2 doi:10.1093/jdh/epm006