Postmodernism in the Works of Ettore Sottsass

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Table of Contents

Ettore Sottsass’s works and Postmodernism
The red plastic Olivetti Valentine typewriter
Ettore Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase
The Tahiti lamp
Works Cited

Modernism and Postmodernism are the most vivid movements in art and design of the 20^th century.

Modernism with its concentration on the exact forms and lines appeared as the reaction to the traditional vision of art and design of the 19^th century with references to interesting forms and luxurious objects.

Postmodernism which developed in the post-war period rejected the main principles of Modernism and combined all the lines and forms to make the imaginative product of art and design.

The era of Postmodernism in art and culture is associated with the middle years of the 20^th century when the top point of its development in design is the 1980s.

It is the period when the representatives of the Memphis Group in Italia shocked the public with their postmodern vision of objects and products.

Ettore Sottsass is discussed as the most prominent figure of the Memphis Group, and he designed the most provocative elements of furniture which are considered the vivid examples of the postmodern design now.

The success of Ettore Sottsass’s Olivetti Valentine typewriter, Carlton bookcase, and Tahiti lamp can be explained with referring to the fact that developing his works, the designer followed the major principles of Postmodernism which attracted the public with their controversy and presented his specific vision of the space and role of objects in it.

Ettore Sottsass’s works and Postmodernism

To analyze the peculiarities of Ettore Sottsass’s works effectively, it is necessary to pay attention to the major principles of Postmodernism in the sphere of design.

It is also important to note that the discussion of Postmodernism should be realized with using the notions of ‘principle’ and ‘tendency’ rather than ‘rule’ or ‘norm’ because the ideology of Postmodernism rejects the idea of using any rules for creating the object of art and design.

The objects of the postmodern design astonish the public with their expressive visual characteristics and with the combination of the lines, forms, and materials which are not traditionally used together.

The ideologists of Postmodernism often state that this movement is based on the freedom of expression and evokes a lot of people’s emotions. Those combinations which can be perceived as absurd contribute to creating the specific harmony of Postmodernism.

Thus, the forms and colors of the objects are rather radical and too vivid, and they can seem to be exaggerated by the designer or their contradiction can be used to accentuate the controversy of the designer’s idea.

Moreover, the style of postmodern designers including the representatives of the Memphis Group is based on the principle to see something extremely unusual in ordinary things.

Ettore Sottsass and the other Italian designers organized the Memphis Group in 1981. The members of the group specialized in working out the pieces of furniture, the glass products and ceramics with the help of urban technologies.

The main characteristic features of the objects were the vivid fluorescent colors and strange forms based on the asymmetrical lines. The works of the designers were considered quite original, and it was rather difficult to combine them with the traditional elements of the interior.

The red plastic Olivetti Valentine typewriter, Carlton bookcase, and Tahiti lamp designed by Ettore Sottsass became the symbols of the postmodern era in design which are familiar for the public because of their recognizable bright colors and rather ‘ironic’ shapes. Furthermore, the material which was mainly used for producing the objects was bright plastic.

The red plastic Olivetti Valentine typewriter

In spite of the fact the red Olivetti typewriter was designed before organizing the Memphis Group in 1981, it is possible to say that this object significant for the development of the postmodernist movement (“Olivetti Valentine Typewriter”).

The famous red plastic typewriter was released in 1969. Ettore Sottsass was working for Olivetti Company during several years in order to develop the models of the portative typewriters and the other office machines.

The red plastic model which was presented on Valentine’s Day made the revolution in design of the everyday items for offices and personal use because of the unusual combination of the material, shape, and color.

It was the real success due to the fact today the red Olivetti Valentine typewriter is discussed as the design icon and the symbol of pop art as the reflection of the trends of Postmodernism.

This typewriter is also successful because now it is one of the most famous models of typewriters in the world which are exhibited in museums all over the world.

Moreover, it is necessary to note that the Olivetti typewriter was also presented in grey and green colors, but the designer made the accents on the red color because of its extreme attractiveness for the public and symbolic meaning.

The theoretical principles of Postmodernism are realized in developing the Olivetti typewriter in many aspects.

From this point, it is necessary to concentrate on the unusualness of the idea to design the special typewriter for Valentine’s Day with using the red color as the symbol of the day for realizing the idea.

The technical characteristics and features of the typewriter are also significant to be discussed with references to the concepts of Postmodernism. The red Olivetti Valentine typewriter is not as powerful as the other models of the Olivetti typewriters, but it is ease in use and light because of being made from plastic.

A lot of postmodern designers used such urban materials as plastic to create the definite items in order to accentuate the shape, surface, and colors of the object in their opposition to the everyday ‘grey’ reality.

The main postmodern ideas which are manifested in the red Olivetti Valentine typewriter are vivid and intensive color and lightness which contradicts with the complexity of the shape (“Olivetti Valentine Typewriter”).

Ettore Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase

The Carlton bookcase was presented in 1981, and it became the sensation because of the traditional public’s vision of bookcases (“Carlton Bookcase”). This construction seemed to be rather unusual and irrelevant, and irrational with references to the design of bookcases.

However, rationality is not the principle of Postmodernism that is why the Carlton bookcase became the famous item of the furniture and the most extraordinary bookcase in the history of design which is now the trigger for the collectors’ pride.

Working out the Carlton bookcase, Ettore Sottsass achieved his aim and presented the element of the furniture which followed all the ideas of the postmodernist culture and was rather cheap because of the peculiarities of its production.

Nevertheless, today it is one of the most famous and expensive examples of the postmodern art and design.

The postmodern design is based on the idea of paradoxes where the things which cannot be combined in usual circumstances are combined because of the designer’s will.

Moreover, the accents are made on the usual functions of the unusual in their shapes and colors things. Ettore Sottsass was also good in combining the contrasting elements while creating a new object.

Thus, the Carlton bookcase is produced with the help of rather cheap plastic the usage of which meets the requirements of Postmodernism to concentrate on the elements of urbanism even in using such urban materials as plastic laminate, acrylic, and aluminum.

The gleaming surfaces of these materials reflect the light and produce the necessary effect for creating the atmosphere of the postmodern world.

The elements of the construction which should be perceived as the Carlton bookcase are playful, and this effect makes the bookcase not the item of the furniture, but the real object of the postmodern art and design (“Carlton Bookcase”).

It is rather difficult to consider the Carlton bookcase as a case or a shelf which can be used for placing books or the other functions because it is an independent art object which attracts the public’s attention with vivid intensive colors which are not combined with each other, but create the specific effect of dividing the space of the bookshelf.

Moreover, the platform of the bookcase is spotted, and its color creates the contrast with the basic colors of the bookcase. This contrast also accentuates the ideas of Postmodernism where contrasts are perceived as the origin for creating something new and original.

The banality of the basic forms and lines of the Carlton bookcase is in opposition with the general presentation of the object as the whole which is rather impressive and colorful.

The Tahiti lamp

Ettore Sottsass’s Tahiti lamp is often discussed as the designer’s most eccentric work because of its style and combination of materials (“Tahiti Lamp”). The success of this lamp is supported by the detail that in spite of the fact the lamp was firstly produced in 1981, today it is one of the most recognizable desk lamps in the world.

The shape of the lamp is rather ordinary, but the idea is fabulous because with using the imagination, the audience states that this desk lamp resembles the exotic bird.

It is possible to determine the details of the work which are the long neck of the bright yellow color, the pink head, and the red beak. The metal brown detail can symbolize the wings of the tropical bird (“Tahiti Lamp”).

It is important to note that the success of all Ettore Sottsass’s can be explained by the active usage of bright colors and especially red tones which attract the public’s attention to the work, and they are associated with some inclination.

The Tahiti lamp can be discussed as the successful example of the postmodern design because its aesthetic was reflected in many items created by the other designers who were inspired by the provocative and astonishing works of Ettore Sottsass.

The theoretical ideas of Postmodernism are realized in producing the Tahiti lamp with references to using the combination of different materials which are wood, metal, and plastic laminate.

Ettore Sottsass follows his style and the bright colors of the item’s details are mixed with the speckled laminate base of the desk lamp. This detail became one of the characteristic features of the designer’s style.

In spite of the bold and random shapes of the lamp, it draws the attention of the audience, and it is discussed as the remarkable object of art and design.

The representatives of the Memphis Group made the accents on combining the extremely vivid colors with the ornamented surfaces which seemed to emphasize the texture of the material visually, but the designers used the urban materials with the luminous surfaces.

The play of contrasts is one of the main distinctive features of the postmodernist movement which ideas were followed by Ettore Sottsass.

The designer’s Tahiti lamp is developed for the active use personally and in offices, but it cannot be perceived just as an item on the desk because of the complexity of its design and the status of the ‘classical’ Postmodernism.

Ettore Sottsass organized the group of the Italian designers in 1981, and this period was significant for the development of the ideas of Postmodernism in art and design.

The success of the Memphis Group’s representatives is based on the fact that they originally started producing the items and elements of furniture which depended on the combination of such different materials as plastic, wood, and metal, the combination of vivid colors, and the combination of functions.

The designers of the Memphis Group did not only work out the elements of furniture but also experimented with glass, ceramics, and lightning in order to provide the interesting and amazing visual effects with their products.

Thus, Ettore Sottsass and the other designers from the Memphis Group did not only follow the ideas of Postmodernism in their work but also manifested these principles by themselves with creating the vivid world of paradoxes.

Some critics can state that the works of Ettore Sottsass are bold and rather absurd, but this thrilling freedom in representing the objects is often discussed as the characteristic feature of the postmodernist movement.

That is why, the figure of Ettore Sottsass can be referred to as prominent in the sphere of the postmodern design because all his works are successful, and his style has a lot of followers.

Works Cited

“Carlton Bookcase”. n.d. JPEG file. Web.

“Olivetti Valentine Typewriter”. n.d. JPEG file. Web.

“Tahiti Lamp”. n.d. Web.

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