Ambasz Emilio (red) - Italy: The New Domestic Landscape

Ambasz Emilio (red) - Italy: The New Domestic Landscape -

In the summer of 1972, an exhibition on Italian design showed at MoMA in New York. Although short-lived, it has formed a seminal moment in design history. Tonight the Architecture Foundation screens a series of films about the exhibition, followed by a Q&A with Gaetano Pesce at the Barbican in London. Here we revisit a feature on the show from Disegno No.2 with exclusive interviews with the exhibition curator, Emilio Ambasz, and Pesce. “When I visited the factory to see how the construction of the project was coming along, the workers told me that they didn’t like spending time inside the installation; it had a bad atmosphere. To me, that was a great compliment – it demonstrated the true function of architecture, to provoke emotional responses from people.” Gaetano Pesce is recalling the moment he visited the Cassina factory in Italy, in early 1972, to check on the progress of his new work Project For An Underground City In The Age Of Great Contaminations. The piece was about to be shipped to the United States to form part of a landmark exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Curated by Emilio Ambasz, Italy: The New Domestic Landscape was to become one of the most provocative shows in the history of contemporary design. “When I started the exhibition I knew nothing about Italian design,” confesses Ambasz, who is Argentinean by birth, from his office in Bologna, Italy. Ambasz was only 25 at the time and had just submitted a proposal to the MoMA board of directors. “I had read a few magazines and seen beautiful products, so I said we should have an exhibition. It was only when I got to Italy that it became evident to me that the designers were making objects but thinking of environments.” To demonstrate this, Ambasz commissioned a series of prototype environments, installations that would reflect upon changing domestic living patterns within contemporary society, while also facilitating the explorative use of new materials and multimedia technology. “As I felt that the industry was not able to offer an opportunity to make such environments, because they wouldn’t be able to sell them, I invited a number designers to take part in the exhibition and many of them came up with pretty extraordinary ideas,” says Ambasz. In total, 12 Italian designers and architects participated: Ettore Sottsass, Joe Colombo, Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Alberto Rosselli, Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso, Gaeteno Pesce, Ugo La Pietra, Gruppo Strum, Archizoom, Superstudio and 9999. These environments were to be presented alongside a selection of examples of Italian industrial design produced during the previous decade, to act as a historical counterpoint for American audiences. ! Uwagi: Oprawa lekko zarysowana i zabrudzona. Brzegi stron nieznacznie zakurzone, stron pożółkłe.