Ettore Sottsass and the Poetry of Things

by Deyan Sudjic

The incredible life story of one of the 20th century's most important designers, who knew everyone from Hemingway to Picasso.

Ettore Sottsass and the Poetry of Things chronicles the life and times of one of the most important, prolific, and, above all, interesting designers and architects of the 20th century. Sottsass (1917-2007), originally trained as an architect and worked as a design consultant for Olivetti, where he developed the iconic Valentine typewriter, before going on to found the Memphis Group in the 1980s, ushering in an era of influential designs in furniture, ceramics and lighting that continue to inspire design minds today with their flamboyance and use of color.

Author Deyan Sudjic (Director of London's Design Museum) does not limit his narrative to an examination of Sottsass' iconic designs. Though a native son of Italy, Sottsass cast a shadow of influence on the entire world, traveling extensively over the course of his life and interacting with some of the 20th century's most iconic figures, including Picasso, Hemingway and Allen Ginsberg. Sudjic's writing, complemented by unpublished personal photographs from Sottsass' archive, offers a unique view of Sottsass from the perspective of the world that surrounded him, recounting anecdotes of encounters between the designer and his famous contemporaries. The result is a unique and comprehensive portrait not only Sottsass but of the last 100 years of design in Italy and around the world.

Features anecdotes of his encounters with the biggest creatives of the time, and details of his influences and inspirations, documenting the contemporary design scene both in Italy and abroad.

Genres: Design

216 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2015

About the author

Deyan Sudjic is Director of the Design Museum. He was born in London, and studied architecture in Edinburgh. He has worked as a critic for The Observer and The Sunday Times, as the editor of Domus in Milan, as the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale, and as a curator in Glasgow, Istanbul and Copenhagen. He is the author of B is for Bauhaus, The Language of Things and The Edifice Complex.

Reviews

[JASON LEMPIERI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sottsass has written his own memoir and other authors have written extensively about his work. Here, Sudjic provides cultural background to the major events in Sotssass’ life from beginning to end. The coverage of the war period is fascinating as well as his involvement with Olivetti. Anecdotes by people around Sottsass are sprinkled here and there adding personal insights. Sottsass was a complex figure and this book does well in providing context. Would have liked to know more about his life changing illness and subsequent cure. I used the internet often to reference products and people referenced.

[Mathieu Dionne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je ne m’attendais pas à ce que la moitié du livre porte sur le 2ème guerre mondiale. On a l’impression d’assister à un cours d’histoire sur l’Italie faschiste de Mussolini. Pas inintéressant mais c’était pas vraiment pour ça que j’avais signé… Le chapitre sur Memphis est trop court.

[Ian]

"The Valentine is an object that says a lot about Sottsass and about his passion for colour. It demonstrates his imagination and his ability to take a humble everyday object churned out in tens of thousands by factory workers and give it an identity. It reflects Sottsass's life-long exploration of the tension between the ostensible commercial purpose of an industrial object, and its ability to be shaped in such a way as to call into question the values and the culture of the society that brought it into being" (Sudjic, pg. #15).

[Vuk Trifkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tight, focused biography of Sottsass. Yes, it could have covered more, but it does plenty to focus on the background behind a fascinating figure and fascinating times.

[Avşar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sudjic has a fluid and captivating style as always, but I could not entirely comprehend why certain parts were covered to such extent, if not at all. For instance, it goes without saying that WWII has an impact on Sottsass, but is a history of Eastern European conflicts really necessary to understand Sottsass?