Memphis: Research, Experiences, Failures and Successes of New Design

by Barbara Radice

Founded in 1981, the international group of architects, Memphis, shook the design world to its foundations. Based in Italy and led by Ettore Sottsass, it overturned and re-shaped the pre-suppositions on which the production of so-called Modern Design is based. It became the almost mythical symbol of the New Design. Laughing out loud at our culture and at itself, Memphis pulled out all stops when it came to colour, pattern, decoration and ornamentation. Written by a founder-member of the group, author of "Ettore A Critical Biography", this document is about the group and its designs. It sets out to contribute to the continuing dialogue on pop culture, the avant-garde and design.

Genres: Design, Art, Art Design

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[jw468 · Rating 5 out of 5]

With 21 pages of text you don’t so much read this book; you enjoy the numerous images of designs created by the Memphis Group. These images include sketches, hardline drawings, and photographs of finished pieces. Many of these are printed in color and all of the images are well-captioned. This book is also rather special because its author, Barbara Radice, was a member of the Memphis Group when she assembled it and eventually the wife of Ettore Sottsass, meaning she was very familiar with the intentions of the group. This book is also interesting because it was written while the development of Memphis was still ongoing. Of course, this also means that some of the later work isn't included.