Beyond Function: Radical design:
Design Essay
I want to talk about an art/design movement that I appreciate the most because it was kind of a rebellion and rebels love rebellions right ? Post Modernism came up as a raging opinion about the world that has suffered war, famine, diseases and just collective bad decisions. —
World War 2 brought down numerous things including the European economy and with it the idea of ‘Modern man’. The inflated idea of a futuristic society was struck down and instead replaced by the need to put food on the table and the need to purchase commodities. The stagnation of the economy brought criticism of modernism.
A house isn't just a box with a pipe providing for all functions of the human body or just a collection of all functionalities. The postmodern era widely promoted individualism - what you can do, what you can purchase, capitalism, and the dismissal of consumerism. The rejection of ornamentation by modernism wasn't what people wanted anymore. In the 1970s, the designers started using the form of objects to send this particular message, to represent the contradiction that was taught in the design schools -standardization, and what was promoted in the real world- individualism. The radicals knew that the function centric approach of modernism isn't solving the problems in society but creating a few more. They thought that to solve the problem they needed to indicate the problem. This intent wasn't to be achieved only by designing till the function of the objects was met but going much further than that.
Microenvironment by Superstudio, 1972
Ornamentations were considered to be an art that was otherwise useless. They are frequently ignored and taken for granted, only looked at to be enamored by craftsmanship. Instead, ornamentations are windows to the culture, they are the bridge between intangible beliefs. In the postmodern era the relationship between humans and objects was rapidly changing. They were utilized to symbolize individualism; ornaments took on the part of a window into someone's thinking.
The decor did not resemble the traditional form, but rather a contemporary idea of enrichment and used to state society’s issues. Designers created products to generate discussions. A group of designers like Gufram, Archizoom, Superstudio, Ettore Sozzas, Ugo La Pietra, Gaetano Pesce, and others began to actively plan to spread radical design throughout the world.
The nordic pratone by Gufram
An unconventional seat, an exaggerated piece of grass, on which we can lie and lounge in the new domestic landscape. This Scandinavian design product is outside of traditional codes. The elastic and flexible material gives the expression of temporary and unstable rest. The design relies on the contradiction of grass being a biological reference and then as a material for industrial production.
‘Bocca’ Lip sofa by Studio 65
The lip sofa was designed by Franco Audrito in 1970 for an upscale fitness center. The sofa was designed based on the ideas of surrealist Salvador Dali and attributed to Marlyn manroe. This furniture piece bluurs the line between art and design, function and form.
The blow chair by Johnadtyhan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi
The blow chair became a symbol of a new, free design and lifestyle. A furniture piece supported by a column of air was a realization of utopian design of the postmodern era. This experimental design was the first inflatable furniture to mass produce.
The rebellion against modernism was fuelled by superficial but bold decor elements, re-establishing the meaning and emphasis of ornamentation in design. Using nature as raw material to design better products that go beyond their functional existence has given the post-war world hope and freedom of expression.
Let me know if you enjoyed this small (or big) morsel of design thinking. I hope now you believe a little more into design movements having the power to change the world mostly for the better.
See you soon.
