In the book "Design Matters" (1976), Bernat Klein analysed the role of design, claiming that design can change people's lives for the better. As he wrote, "Design means to enjoy the exploration of new possibilities. It means to take pleasure in finding new solutions to old problems; or to have fun juggling with a number of old solutions until they suddenly click and coalesce into one, beautiful, new solution."
Throughout the decades, finding new possibilities and solutions while adding a healthy dose of irony and a playful attitude to a product, allowed interior designers to come up with timeless pieces.
Let's think for example about cabinets or storage units: we tend to see them as pieces of furniture, often rectangular, with shelves inside, but such a basic piece of furniture can be radically and significantly transformed.
In 1980 Aldo Rossi (1931-1997) presented at Milan's Salone del mobile, his Cabina dell'Elba (Elba Cabin or Elba Cabinet), inspired by his childhood memories and by a trip to the Elba Island.
During this trip Rossi did sketches of the beach huts he saw, realizing that the humble beach cabin was like a small house, a rectangular structure with a pediment and a roof, painted in basic colours such as white and pale blue or white and red.
Rossi came to the conclusion that these "small houses" represented the idea of a house, and were actually universal constructions, perfect architectures that could be spotted all over the world. Besides, the cabins also represented the embodiment of a form of happiness evoking childhood memories and youth.
The architect therefore designed four prototypes of the cabin as a cabinet with Italian company Molteni and then made the final version in collaboration with the artisanal workshop of Bruno Longoni.
The cabin turned into an exemplary model of Rossi's design method, of his research on scale, and his desire to transfer architectural features built in open spaces into domestic spaces, transforming an exterior element into a decorative interior piece that created a theatrical summery atmosphere. In this way, the domestic landscape ended up mirroring the urban space, while still offering practical and functional design solutions for everyday living.
In 1992, explaining his inspirations for the cabin, Rossi stated, "Seeing is not enough: you have to watch till you take possession of the image and through the image of the thing."
This dichotomy between "seeing", that is perceiving something visually without necessarily giving it much attention or focus, and "watching," which implies a more deliberate act of observation, and hints at paying attention to something carefully and with a specific purpose in mind, is often the simple secret behind the creation of something iconic.
Take Cinzia Ruggeri (1945-2019)'s "Rocco" (1998) a cabinet that looks like an anthropomorphic futuristic piece. The cabinet has a rectangular black body topped by a triangular shape reminiscent of a head and stands on two golden feet, while a pair of golden arms protruding from within act as functional handles or knobs. There is only one decorative motif on the black lacquer, a heart pierced by a dagger, while an opening, similar to a slit, represents the eyes (lit from within by a bulb producing a red light as it shines on the internal red walls of the cabinet).
"Rocco" could be intended as a post-human figure or maybe a robot, but the origins of this piece may actually come from traditions. At a certain point in her career, Ruggeri took a voluntary break from fashion and moved to Puglia where she refocused on interior design; the Italian region is known for its traditions and religious celebrations like the Good Friday processions.
During the latter you can usually see the incappucciati, members of religious brotherhoods wearing long robes in the distinctive colours of their brotherhoods with their faces completely covered by hoods with small eye-holes; besides, they often walk barefoot as a sign of penance and humility (View this photo). The heart pierced by a dagger is also a symbol that appears during such processions (carried by the sorrowful Virgin during the Good Friday procession in Taranto View this photo).
The hooded figures are meant to represent penitents who are seeking forgiveness for their sins. The anonymity of the hood allows the penitents to focus on their own individual introspection and repentance, while preventing individuals from seeking attention or recognition for their piety. In a nutshell, the incappucciati represent penance, humility, and self-reflection.
While Rocco is not a piece about religion, its configuration with that triangular head and the feet sticking out evokes the attire of the incappucciati. Besides, the anonymity of these figures is reflected in the cabinet in a clever way: Rocco can indeed be conceived as a neutral portal, a humble and anonymous container that preserves items, objects, accessories and garments that allow the user to build their identity. The design is therefore the result of a visionary mind capable of observing an image and of "taking possession" of it, like Rossi stated, twisting traditions, taking them into another reality and reinventing them through basic geometries and irony. The disquieting incappucciato turns indeed into a creatively decorative and functional piece where somebody can store all the tools needed to build their own identity.Contemporary designer Elena Salmistraro also moved from a traditional inspiration to produce an extremely modern piece: her Chhau Donna Cabinet from the "Dancers" series is a plywood, brass and nautical resin cabinet (produced by Scarlet Splendour) that looks like a doll or a robotic figure borrowed from Oskar Schlemmer's Triadisches Ballett.
Actually there is a connection with dance in this piece: Salmistraro's inspiration comes indeed from Ethnochoreology, that is the study of ethnic dance and in particular the costumes of the Chhau performers. The handcrafted sculpted cabinet with those pastel pinks, blues and golden accents evokes the classic dances of India and the grandeur of the dancers' costumes.
But while in Ruggeri and Salmistraro's cases the human form clad in a specific costume inspires the shape of the cabinet, Bethan Laura Wood often moves from insects for her pieces.
The multidisciplinary artist who has a passion for investigating materials, colours and extravagant details, produced several iconic limited-edition pieces such as the Meisen Caterpillar.
Inspired by the famous caterpillar from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and referencing in the name Wood's passion for Meisen kimonos, the cabinet incorporates a multi-draw structure inspired by the curvaceous concertina-like body of the insect (a shape that Wood also adopted for other piece in the Meisen series, including her desk), with shimmering psychedelic patterns of bespoke ALPI veneer (reproducing the weft and warp in Ikat weaving, used to produce Meisen fabrics) cascading down from its head to torso, evoking the colourful swirls and curls of the magic and hallucinatory smoke of the Caterpillar talking to Alice.
For those who prefer plants to people and animals, Italian artist and designer Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba explored the relationship with nature in a variety of interior design pieces (that are maybe less conceptual than the other ones featured in this post) forming an enchanted forest, from a gorilla-shaped armchair and log bench and stool to a leaf rug. Among the other pieces, there is a Tree Cabinet coated in nautical resin, and featuring brass interiors and stylized leaves.
Some of these pieces can be admired in the next few days during Milan Design Week: Salmistraro's Chhau cabinet and Marcantonio's forest are part of a showcase at 10 Corso Como, while Wood is a constant presence at the Milanese event.
Wood's print are available from the Wrong Shop pop-up store (Spazio 44, Corso Di Porta Nuova 44), she is launching her mirrors for Barbini Specchi Veneziani at Alcova, while her glass sculpture "Chain" can be admired at the Abrakadabra exhibition by Wonder Glass at the Istituto dei Ciechi (Via Vivaio 7; Salmistraro is also exhibiting a piece here) and her Meisen Cartepillar at the Nilufar gallery. But, if you are going to miss Milan Design Week, don't despair, use instead these examples of cabinets to get inspired and, remember, never stop looking at the world with new eyes and always "observe" rather than just "see".
Comments