Greetings from Greece

In her diploma work, Greetings from Greece, Xenia Fastnacht explores the contrast between the typical stereotypes and the new creative approaches in Greece, where a new design trend has been developing in the last few years. Its ancient aesthetics, history and tradition of the country serve as sources of inspiration, but they must be reinterpreted. The typical and recognizable "Greekness" is taken up and an attempt is made to interpret or supplement this in a modern way. The designers' desire to create something new and innovative succeeds only to a limited extent. The products of these efforts are diverse - from cheesy, failed new versions of old clichés to free and artistic works of high quality.

The aim of the work is not to evaluate the individual works, but to let the people behind them have their say. The book contains interviews in German and Greek with 13 Greek representatives from the fields of design, art, crafts, commerce and the cultural industry. The focus is on the everyday economic crisis, the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity and the discrepancy between a clichéd aesthetics and the attempt to reinterpret them in an innovative way.