Memphis (design) – Wikipedia

Memphis , also known as Memphis group , Memphis Design O Memphis Milano , was an Italian collective of design and architecture founded by Ettore Sottsass, active between 1981 and 1987. ^[first]

The group emerged as one of the greatest exponents of the postmodernist scene of the 80s of the 20th century, ^[first] Thanks to bold projects that drew inspired by past and present design; Its distinctive features were the use of bright colors and geometric shapes, with a wise recovery of the kitsch. ^[2]

Origin [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Memphis Genesis had its roots in the experimental approach to the industrial design that Ettore Sottsass and Michele De Lucchi had carried out, at the end of the 70s of the twentieth century, during their experience within the Alchimia studio and the simultaneous proximity to the concepts of radical design. The real collective was born from an informal meeting organized by Sottsass in his Milanese home on 11 December 1980, to generally discuss new forms related to design; Together with De Lucchi, colleagues Aldo Cibic, Matteo Thun, Marco Zanini and Martine Bethin participated in the invitation. ^[2] Together, they decided to create a working group as a reaction to the style that had characterized the design of the 70s, very minimalist, considered without personality and characterized by a glossy appearance as well as by unrelated colors, black first . ^[first]

The group name was inspired by a Bob Dylan song, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again , several times listened to in the evening, and that during reproduction it had jammed precisely on the phrase “with the memphis blues again”; ^[2] This was chosen for its different implications, given that it was the name of the hometown of Elvis Presley (Memphis) but also of the capital of ancient Egypt (Menfi), thus evoking the ironic suggestions between high and low culture. ^{[first] [3]}

Success and impact [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

At the next meeting, which took place in February 1981, the members of the group presented themselves with a hundred proposals inherent in furniture and other objects, all with bold and very colorful lines. ^{[first] [2]} The inspiration came from movements such as the Art Déco and the pop art, the kitsch of the 50s and by futurist themes, ^[3] as well as by mass society and daily life: ^[4] Their concepts were clearly contrasting with the so -called good design . ^[3] Among others, architects and designers such as Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Shirō Kuramata, Javier Mariscal and George Sowden were part of the group, in addition to the journalist Barbara Radice. ^{[4] [5]}

Memphis, who in the meantime had elected Ernesto Gismondi its president, then came into contact with companies producing furniture and ceramics and, on September 18, 1981, he held his first exhibition at the Arc ’74 Gallery in Milan, in which watches, furniture were exhibited, furniture, ceramic lamps and objects; Among the best known, the bookstores Carlton It is Casablanca as well as the wardrobe Beverly of the same subsass, the chairs OBEROI by Sowden and the lamp Super lamp Di Bedin. ^[2] In the same year the group also published a book, Memphis, The New International Style , which illustrated its activity and philosophy, ^[3] And at the same time he began to exhibit in exhibitions organized all over the world by root, in the meantime he became artistic director of the group. ^[2]

Many of the objects were covered in plastic laminate, a material considered poor and chosen specifically for its “lack of culture”; ^[3] The collective also made wide use of glass, and combined everything with bright and bright colors, textures and decorations aimed at generating optimism. His objects were deliberately “non -intellectual”, but a celebration instead of normality and banality in a mass society. ^[6]

Among the insiders, the path taken by Memphis produced conflicting reactions, while the public positively welcomed its postmodernist manifestations, in perfect harmony with the post-punk culture of the early 80s who also found germination in the art and architecture of that decade. Unlike the cold “good taste” prevailing with modernism, the new and lively language of Memphis affected public opinion, gaining attention and covers of the major magazines of the planet. ^[2]

Inheritance [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Despite success, the movement had been conceived from the beginning as something fleeting and without a future. ^[2] Sottsass left the collective he founded already in 1985 ^[5] and, once its purpose has been exhausted – that is, to combat the minimal design of the time with a very aggressive style, influencing the development of the modern one ^[7] -, the group melted definitively in 1988. ^{[3] [5]}

However, Memphis’ short experience remains an important stage in the internationalization process of postmodern , having given “the” to an entire generation of designers then remained in the fore in the following decades. ^[2] The objects produced by the collective are still coveted by collectors, including the Karl Lagerfeld designer, ^[7] And the design of his objects continues to be a source of inspiration in the most varied fields, in particular in the fashion design – as happened for the collections of Christian Dior (2011), ^[8] Missoni (2015) ^[9] and Valentino (2017). ^[ten]

• Lakshmi Bhaskaran, Memphis , in The time of design: currents and styles in contemporary design , Modena, Logos, 2006, pp. 10-1 224-229, ISBN 88-7940-460-1