Superdesign: Italian Radical Design 1965-75

Description

An eye-popping survey of an exuberant and epochal chapter in modern design, SuperDesign unveils the legacy of the Italian Radicals in unparalleled detail. SuperDesign is the only wide-ranging look at the short-lived but powerfully influential movement known as Italian Radical design. In numerous exclusive interviews, unreleased photographs, original drawings and artwork unearthed from personal archives, and newly commissioned photography of rarely seen works, SuperDesign casts new light on this tumultuous period of design. What started as a largely student-led rally against the establishment and a rejection of accepted design norms became a movement that brought together some of the most dynamic and avant-garde thinkers and creative makers across Italy. SuperDesign reveals how and why these designers changed the way we think about the objects that surround us during this short yet action-packed time. Through enigmatic, confrontational, and even distasteful objects, peppered with innovations in the interiors of youth discos and subversive performances, the Radicals projected design's new era as equal parts Pop Art, play, Surrealism, and futurism. Alongside the exclusive primary source material, SuperDesign features additional essays by top design scholars Deyan Sudjic and Catharine Rossi. This book demystifies these fantastic works and tells the stories behind the often contentious relationships between the key figures of the movement (some of whom remain at odds still, nearly fifty years later). Bridging Hippie Modernism and Memphis, SuperDesign is a lively document of how the iconoclasm and bold experimentation of the Italian Radicals continues to influence design today.

Maria Cristina Didero is a design professional, independent curator, and freelance journalist for Domus and Vogue Casa. She serves as Executive Director of the Fondazione Bisazza and has curated and organized numerous exhibitions, including the first solo show of Ross Lovegrove's work in Italy. Evan Snyderman is an artist, curator, and cofounder of the design gallery R & Company with Zesty Meyers. He has contributed to multiple publications, including monographs on designers Wendell Castle, Cees Braakman, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Poul Kjaerholm, Renate M3ller, Verner Panton, Jeff Zimmerman, and David Wiseman. Deyan Sudjic the director of the Design Museum, London. He is the author of numerous books on architecture and design, including The Language of Things and The Edifice Complex, and most recently, The Language of Cities. Catharine Rossi is a senior lecturer in Design History at Kingston University, London. She is a specialist in Italian design, author of Crafting Design in Italy- From Post-war to Postmodernism, and co-curator of Radical Disco- Architecture and Nightlife in Italy, 1965-1975 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (December 2015-January 2016). Author Residence- Milan, Italy (Didero), New York City (Snyderman) Author Hometown- Milan, Italy (Didero), Philadelphia, Penn. (Snyderman)

Against the backdrop of governmental and social unrest, a group of young architects and artists forges a politically resonant design movement. It could be a narrative of today, but the contingent in question is the subject of 'SuperDesign.' --Elle Decor Today's resurgence of maximalism-an eclectic mix of patterns, materials, colors, shapes, and textures-speaks to a desire to break from imposing authority. It's rooted in similar sentiments to Italian radicals and is materializing in a similar way aesthetically.... that [Italian radicals] remain relevant, somehow, speaks to the power of designers to process the sentiment of a time and give us something beautiful to behold, and, hopefully contemplate. --Fast Co.Design