Ettore sottsass per blumhelman gallery, piedistallo coming back from darkblue maupiti oh. How ettore sottsass brought the poetics of painting into. Sottsass and the memphis group were making a political statement. So much of this sentiment in design is owed to the vanguarding italian architect and designer ettore sottsass. Jul 31, 2017 inaugurated in july at the met breuer in new york, the exhibition ettore sottsass. So could the dining table, and the book shelves, and. Oct, 2011 ettore sotsass 1980 factotum bookcase uses laminate designs that sotsas created for abets print laminate in 1978. The designs in this book make me feel proud to be italian. What you need to know about design icon ettore sottsass artsy. While italian architect and designer ettore sottsass is best known for his work with the memphis group throughout the 1980s, his prolific career actually spanned more than six decades, resulting in a number of highly influential designs that still resonate today. Ettore sottsass 14 september 1917 31 december 2007 was an italian architect and designer during the 20th century.
A seminal figure in 20thcentury design, the italian architect and designer ettore sottsass 19172007 created a vast body of work, the result of an exceptionally. An italian architect and designer known for his large oeuvre including furniture, jewelry, glass, lighting, and office design, ettore sottsass was also the founder in the early 1980s of the memphis group. Now available in a new format, this book, packed with beautiful images taken from the extensive sottsass archives and including drawings and sketches from the designers countless sketchbooks, explores his entire career from the 1940s to the 2000s, covering everything from his architectural projects and product design to his jewellery. When italian architect ettore sottsass launched the controversial collection of furnishings known as memphis at the milan furniture fair in 1981, the design world was shocked.
George nelsonan experience that led him to shift focus from architecture to design. I have been obsessed with the italian architect and designer sottsass and the memphis group he found all my life. Memphis was a reaction against the slick, black humorless design of. A radical look at a radical designer, this book locates sottsasss work within the larger. The importance of being ettore sottsass friedman benda. Dec 11, 2015 ettore sottsass devoted his life and work to dismantling the past in his various roles as artist, architect, industrial designer, glass maker, publisher, theoretician and ceramicist. The past to him was the rationalist doctrine of his father, ettore sottsass sr. Visualizza altre idee su architettura, architetti e pittura esterni casa. In 2008, i went to the university library and found some books about sottsass. Ettore sottsass and the poetry of things design phaidon. Ettore sotsass 1980 factotum bookcase uses laminate designs that sotsas created for abets print laminate in 1978. Italian architect and designer ettore sottsass only built three homes in the united states throughout his illustrious career. Most commonly remembered as the founding member of memphisthe fleeting postmodern design group that injected bright colors, exuberant patterns, and cartoonish forms into the cultural psyche of the 1980ssottsass many contributions to the field of design. Sottsass was born on september 14, 1917, in innsbruck, austria, and grew up in.
When creating it in the 1960s, sottsass proposed leaving out the bell to signal the end. Ettore sottsass is one of the leading members of the memphis group founded in 1981 with barbara radice as public relationsart director. Contradictions of designerarchitect ettore sottsass. Pdf ettore sottsass download full pdf book download. One hundred years after his birth, and a decade after his death, austroitalian designer ettore sottsass is finally getting his due. To some, this concept was alien but to others it offered freedom. The book is designed in the style of ettore sottsass works, who was one of the founders of the memphis group.
Ettore sottsass and the social factory by gean moreno. The austrianborn designer ettore sottsass has been described as a forwardlooking designer who is also mischievous. Design radical it irked sottsass, who died in 2007, at the age of ninety, that he might be best remembered for a crowdpleasing blip in his sixdecade careerthe red plastic. Ettore sottsass, who worked with knoll on three collections between 1983 and 1988, wanted to be everything that modernism wasnt. A polymathic italian designer, with muses and friends the. Ettore sottsass, italian industrial designer born sept. One of those homes, in silicon valley, was for the family of david kelley, cofounder and chairman of the design firm ideo, which has developed projects for the likes of apple, cocacola, and ford. Ettore sottsass 19172007 is ettore sottsass 19172007 is regarded as one of the most significant and influential postwar architectdesigners, whose idiosyncratic and highly. The totemic carlton, which sottsass created in 1981, is his most identifiable furniture design. In 1929, the family moved to turin, italy, where sottsass sr.
May 06, 2017 when italian architect ettore sottsass launched the controversial collection of furnishings known as memphis at the milan furniture fair in 1981, the design world was shocked. Memphis was a reaction against the slick, black humorless design of the 1970s. Sottsass was the oldest member of the memphis group a design collective, formed in milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included alessandro mendini. The book is about postmodern, a direction in graphic design, and the memphis group. Ettore sottsass valentine typewriter was famously attractiveand gave the designer lots of trouble. Ettore sottsass 19172007 is ettore sottsass 19172007 is regarded as one of the most significant and influential postwar architect designers, whose idiosyncratic and highly. This biography explores sottsass s work in all his many fields of activity. Jul 31, 2017 one hundred years after his birth, and a decade after his death, austroitalian designer ettore sottsass is finally getting his due.
Superbox cabinet, 1968 superboxes were conceived as prototypes for exhibition, as dramatic statements stimulating debate about the social and philosophical functions of design. See more ideas about memphis design, memphis milano and design. Take a glimpse inside the archive of the founder of the memphis group and designer of the olivetti valentine typewriter in ettore sottsass, a lavishly illustrated monograph chronicling the life and works of the unparalleled italian designer and architect a gorgeous object in itself, the unique design of the book allows it to either be read covertocover as a narrative history, or by. Born in 1917 in innsbruck, austria, sottsass teethed in proximity to one of the founts of modernism as the devoted son of ettore sottsass sr. Memphis style was anarchic, and one of its goals was a free expression of the designer. Click download or read online button to get books by ettore sottsass book now. Sottsass was the oldest member of the memphis group a design collective, formed in milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included alessandro mendini, michele. Dec 07, 2014 ettore sottsass 19172007, the italian architect, designer and provocateur, was one of the first to grapple with the character of these new objects in the office landscape. A last chance to celebrate ettore sottsass, the design.
He established a working relationship with the glass makers on the venetian island of murano during the 1940s, exhibiting glass works at the 1948 venice biennale and continuing to work with the citys craftsmen over the following decades, producing murano glass. Design radical, curated by christian larsen, borrows the word radical from 1960s and 1970s avantgarde art the radical architects and expands the meaning to include the italian designers entire practice. Italian designer ettore sottsass is celebrated internationally for his contribution to architecture, industrial and furniture design, ceramics, jewellery, crafts, graphic design and photography. Ettore sottsass laminates from 1978 retro renovation. One of the most significant counterforces to modernism in design history, ettore sottsass made monumental artistic contributions to every decade of his working life since starting his practice in the late 1940s. In 1947, living in milan, he set up his own architectural and industrial design studio, where. Ettore sottsass was an architect, industrial designer, painter, writer.
His body of work included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home objects and office machine design, as well as many buildings and interiors. Early on the seeds of the craft were planted in the young sottsass, who would watch his father work with fascination. Design radical, installation view photo by the author for hyperallergic. Colors and forms are evocative, sensory triggers for nostalgia and emotion, interacting intimately with our cultural experiences. Celebrating italian architect ettore sottsass architectural. Most commonly remembered as the founding member of memphisthe fleeting postmodern design group that injected bright colors, exuberant patterns, and cartoonish forms into the cultural psyche of the 1980ssottsass many contributions to the field of. The late, legendary italian architect and designer ettore sottsass has been to paraphrase yogi berra. Works from a private collection will be held in new york from december 720, 20. Associati, the book explores everything from his architectural projects and product design to jewellery, sculpture, and graphics. Sottsass was a radical, someone who broke all the rules and offered alternatives. It reads as a bookcase, a room divider and a dresser, depending on.
This biography explores sottsasss work in all his many fields of activity. From the book ettore sottsass architect and designer by ronald t. The designer ettore sottsass was never a mere stylist, according to deyan sudjic. An exhibit on italian designer ettore sottsass highlights his.
When i began designing machines i also began to think that these objects, which sit next to each other and around people, can influence not only physical conditions but also emotions, he once reflected. She described growing up in a house where books and art were freely available, and. Ettore sottsass 14 september 1917 31 december 2007 was an italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Ettore sottsass devoted his life and work to dismantling the past in his various roles as artist, architect, industrial designer, glass maker, publisher, theoretician and ceramicist. Memphis style was anarchic, and one of its goals was a. But they were all taking cues from one radical italian designer and architect. An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, ettore sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. Sep, 2017 while italian architect and designer ettore sottsass is best known for his work with the memphis group throughout the 1980s, his prolific career actually spanned more than six decades, resulting in a number of highly influential designs that still resonate today.
His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design. The late ettore sottsass, who in the 1980s joined the popculture firmament as the founder of the memphis design group, once quipped that being. Ettore sottsass 19172007, the italian architect, designer and provocateur, was one of the first to grapple with the character of these new objects in the office landscape. As a consultant 195880 for olivetti, he designed some of his most memorable products, including the.
Books by ettore sottsass download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass. A new monograph highlights the prolific career of architect. The founder of a half dozen design collectivesincluding giuseppe pagano, memphis group and sottsass associatisottsass became known for his asymmetric forms and, perhaps most of all, his flamboyant use of color, often in bold, clashing combinations. I love everything about sottsasss work its modern, optimistic, humorous, functional and intelligent. At the crossroads of art, design and architecture, the work of ettore sottsass represents the birth of non. The brilliant architect and designer ettore sottsass 19172007 designed glass wares from 1947 until the end of his career. Inaugurated in july at the met breuer in new york, the exhibition ettore sottsass. They attempted to break down the barriers between high class and low class.
A look inside an ettore sottsassdesigned home in silicon. Jul 26, 2017 born in 1917 in innsbruck, austria, sottsass teethed in proximity to one of the founts of modernism as the devoted son of ettore sottsass sr. Ettore sottsass was an italian architect and designer who helped found the memphis group, a postmodern design collective that produced unconventional furniture. Italian architect and designer ettore sottsass is celebrated internationally for his contribution to architecture, industrial and furniture design, ceramics, jewelry, crafts, graphic design, and photography. Ettore sottsass achieved international stardom in the early 1980s as a founder of memphis. Tactility and aesthetics are as essential and critical to truly successful design as functionality. What you need to know about memphis design pioneer ettore. Originally an architect, sottsass became a consulting designer for typewriter manufacturer olivetti. Ettore sottsass italian industrial designer britannica.
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