CC Tapis, Hello Giò, Himalyan wool and silk hand knotted rug

Ponti’s love of surface treatments is exemplified in Hotel Parco dei Principi. The field of blue and white surfaces inside and out echo what Ponti saw on arrival; blue heat, blue sky, blue sea, and the “blue volcano” Vesuvius. He declared the 100 guest rooms would each have a different floor pattern. Public areas are similarly tiled and augmented with walls of tactile ceramicised pebbles and various sized quadrilateral ceramic “plates” by his friend Fausto Melotti. The tiled repetitions in Hello Giò (above) are a distinctive but familiar homage to Ponti’s Principi legacy.

Ponti’s theory of “finite form” influenced all his work and was signified by his continuous employment of the diamond or lozenge shape, similar to CC-Tapis’ Diamond rug below. (cont)

CC-Tapis, Diamond, Himalyan wool and silk hand knotted rug

On the fiftieth anniversary of Hotel Parco de Principi in 2012, Domus magazine (founded by Ponti) declared Hotel Principi captures “un momento glorioso del design italiano degli anni ’50.” It does. And so too CC-Tapis’ designs in honour of Ponti remind us that Italian design has been “glorioso” for millenia. Long may it continue. DJ

CC-Tapis, Lost in the Fifties Himalyan wool and silk hand knotted rug

CC-Tapis, Lost in the Fifties, Himalyan wool and silk hand knotted rug, hand finishing detail in workshop

text and photos via domus

during the recent inaugural edition of the art13 london art fair, chinese abstract artist zhu jinshi presented boat, an installation for pearl lam galleries composed of bamboo, cotton and 8,000 sheets of rice paper in a striking 12 metre-long structure.                                                                                  .zhu jinshi began creating abstract works in the late 1970s. in order to exhibit in an “official” capacity, he joined the stars (xingxing), a group of chinese artists that included ai weiwei and ma desheng, and participated in their seminal beijing exhibition in 1979. at art13, zhu jinshi’s work was represented alongside another major chinese abstract artist, su xiaobai. the work of both artists attempts to illustrate that chinese abstract has been a major, undiscovered force in contemporary art.

“Zhu Jinshi and Su Xiaobai are radically different artists, yet each exemplifies the essence of contemporary Chinese abstract painting,” stated abstract art expert Paul Moorhouse, former curator at Tate Britain and now Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London, who visited the artists’ studios last year said. “Working spontaneously, Zhu creates impossibly dense, sensuous fields of colour. Su develops his paintings patiently, slowly refining their exquisite, veneered surfaces. This profound feeling for evocative materials, and their shared emphasis on creating an abstract physical reality, is entirely distinctive — and completely compelling.”

“Zhu Jinshi and Su Xiaobai are Chinese artists who deconstruct Western theory of art and visual language by rooting them to Chinese traditions and philosophy,” said Pearl Lam. “This year, both artists have important solo shows at Pearl Lam Galleries and I am proud to bring this selection of works for their London debut. Zhu Jinshi’s rice paper Boat, which is instilled with cultural resonance and embodies the artist’s personal voyage, will be journeying from Shanghai to London for the first time.”

Like Domus Magazine it was founded in 1928, the heyday of Italian Modernism. Under the direction of the writer, art lover and critic Guido Marangoni, it started off very modestly focusing on all things around the house dealing with both its interior and exterior aspects. This is well illustrated in an article describing a modern apartment in Milan.(shown below)

The big news items covered in this issue are the Murano glass and other items sent to the famous Barcelona Exhibition where the world would see a completely new type of furniture by Mies van der Rohe in tubular steel in the German Pavillon.

The first numbers of this new magazine carry little advertising,

but they are obviously geared to an up scale clientele, like the one (top of post) for the Lenci dolls. We can show you also a simple color illustration here by the popular graphic and poster designer Marcello Dudovich who exalts the slim female figure so loved during those Belle Époque years.

Some of the ads have a distinct graphic design and what we would today define as an Art Deco feel to them, especially when they depict  fabrics or items for interior decoration like the one below.

The magazine designed to inform the somewhat elite reader was in the first few years of its existence  certainly not a real competitor to Domus Magazine that was edited by the architect Gio Ponti. Gio Ponti with his towering figure added a much more dynamic presence to the dull art and architectural press scene in Italy of that period that was led by Emporio Magazine and older but small publications focusing more on the fine arts. Below, the only advertisement with a modernist graphic feel comes from the town of Torino that was much more a hotbed of modernism in those years than Milan.

The focus of Casabella Magazine changed in the mid-thirties under the direction of the architect Giuseppe Pagano  and the new focus, approved by the fascist Mussolini regime, was decidedly more architectural. A new magazine format, a better graphic layout largely due to the Torinese graphic artist and writer Eduardo Persico gave the magazine a more “modernist” not wanting to use the word Bauhaus influenced look . Milan had by now overtaken Torino as the place to be for architectural work and study and had also affirmed its rightful place as Italy’s business center. Rome would always remain the center of government.These new editorial and graphic criteria put it at par with architectural magazines in other countries especially so after the various Triennale Fairs of 1933 and 1936.

The proliferation of new e-zines, glossy magazines on design and “way out” architecture often makes one forget that these “noble” (or cream of the crop) magazines have an illustrious history to which few people pay attention, sometimes not even the publishers do!  Without mentioning these wonderful historic magazines every once in a while, we might tend to think that these Italian greats like Casabella, as well as, Domus have sunken into oblivion! In my opinion, the rapid succession of editorial staff in both have not contributed to any real growth in both these magazines.

I’ve never thought about whether I have a design hero as such. But if I had to pick one, I think I might pick Gio PontI. This is one of Gio PontI’s rooms. Ponti was considered one the godfathers of Italian design during that very busy time in the life of Italian design – from the 1930′s to the 1970′s. His prolific output resulted in the production of many things that are still being manufactured today, but one of the things Ponti did better than anything or anyone, was pattern. He made it ooze all over the place. Pattern that creeps like ivy over walls, floors, ceilings, everything.

Gio Ponti working in his studio. Seeing this makes me want to get out my pencil crayons and a pile of beautiful paper.

In 1929, he designed and became editor of his own magazine, Domus. His typography was beautiful.

Gio Ponti [Photo: woont.com

This diningroom makes me think of Ponti. I’m sure he’d have approved. Designed by the Elle Deco team using products by Freeworld Coatings for The Room, ‘Outdoor Issue’ Dec 2012. The trippy perspective is clever. If you defocus your eyes, the table and the wall appear to melt into each other.

Jenna Lyons' bathroom. Photo: http://www.lonnymag.com

This bathroom also looks Ponti-inspired. From the buzzy eclectic New York home of J Crew President, Jenna Lyons.

Review published by DOMUS magazine 09.2011

Cory Arcangel descrive il suo lavoro come ‘una forma di mutilazione umoristica del software’. Pro Tools, la sua mostra personale in corso al Whitney Museum, s’inoltra nell’analisi delle strategie di promozione utilizzate per lanciare nuovi prodotti nel mercato. Arcangel si appropria del sistema dei ‘demo’ e della pubblicità, che manipola e sovverte per farci riflettere sul ruolo dei prodotti tecnologici nella cultura contemporanea. L’artista ci avverte sull’effetto ‘adesivo scintillante’ della tecnologia, sull’assurdità del ciclo vitale dei prodotti e sulla tensione tra il readymade e il processo creativo. Le opere in mostra sono generate al computer, sculture in bronzo, sculture cinetiche, stampe e disegni a plotter, video e videogiochi alterati. Di particolare interesse la monumentale installazione Various Self Playing Bowling Games (2011) che consiste in 14 videogiochi di bowling, dal 1970 al 2000: dallo statico Atari, i bips e blups del Nintendo, fino alle più realistiche simulazioni 3D della PlayStation.

Cory Arcangel describes his work as “a form of humorous mutilation of software”. Pro Tools, his solo show at the Whitney Museum, delves into an analysis of the promotional strategies used to launch new products on the market. Arcangel uses the “demo” and advertising, which he manipulates and subverts to help us think about the role of technological products in contemporary culture. The artist warns us about technology’s “scintillating adhesive” effect, about the absurdity of products’ life cycles and the tension between the readymade and the creative process. The works on show are computer generated, bronze sculptures, kinetic sculptures, prints and plotter drawings, videos and altered video games. Particularly interesting is the monumental installation Various Self Playing Bowling Games (2011) made of 14 bowling video games, from 1970 to 2000: from static Atari to Nintendo bips and blups, to reach more realistic 3D PlayStation simulations.

Quietly good designs include Wasara‘s eco-friendly plates, which are biodegradable and chic

The astute, perceptive, sensible and persuasive design critic and journalist Alice Rawsthorn has written “Four Examples of Quietly Excellent Design” another fine article, in the Arts section of The New York Times.  Rawsthorn’s sharp perspective on the excess that is the design world’s annual Salone del Mobile in Milan, once again inspires a more calmly thoughtful, nevertheless rigourous, look at what is so aptly called “Quietly Good Design” or a bit more intensely, “Quietly Excellent Design”, as is the case this year.  Rawsthorn cites four examples of what could, certainly, fit at least the first category: 1. Penguin Great Food books; 2. Wasara eco-friendly dinnerware; 3. Domus magazine and 4. Jaime Hayón’s tableware for Maruwakaya, and offers convincing reasoning for why each should be thusly considered.  We, of course, find Domus truly marvelous, and the Wasara dinnerware quirkily, engagingly eco-modest.  We’ll certainly take a closer look at the Penguin Great Food books collection, finding daily life turning (or not) as often as it does on the successes and failures of graphic design.  As for Jaime Hayon’s tableware for Maruwakaya, well, we’re awfully glad his over-exuberant use of color has been tamed.

In any case, click through to Rawsthorn’s article, always a pleasure to read.  And for more by one of our favorites observers of the design world, click here.

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, here, where you’ll find really much more on design, architecture, product design, graphic design, architects, designers, ….

Here’s a link to Alice Rawsthorn’s official site: Alice

image: wasara.jp /The New York Times

nothingisinvisible@live.fr

Long texts on the web doesn’t have mean that the text has to be tiny or spread across several pages. Domus sets type huge, with a comfortable column width; they break the text flow often with the liberal use of photos. Domus’ designers didn’t fret that there’d be too much “under the fold” or too much scrolling. Good for them. The daring design is well worth it.

There’s also some good art reporting from around the world. Here’s three of my favorite things together: a review of Dan Graham’s exhibition at Eastside Projects (Birmingham, UK) in Domus Magazine. I love that there’s a Google Map at the end of the review for viewers’ convenience.