Bruno Munari's tongue
Bruno Munari. Artist, graphic designer, industrial designer, writer and pedagogue – few figures have crossed the span of the 20th century leaving behind such a profound trail in Italian culture and public imagination.
Bruno Munari
Born in Milan in 1907. He spent his early days in a small town in the provincia of Veneto, nearby the beautiful nature of the Adige River. His experiences playing by the river, the waterwheel, in the grass, and trees - in the heart of nature - evidently greatly influenced him.
In 1927, Munari returned to Milan and began following the futurist movement. Futurism is an art movement that praised speed and machinery; the movement attempted to destroy all stereotypes and traditional sense of values. While the futurists acclaimed machinery and cars, Munari saw things from quite a different perspective - he believe that "human beings shall be masters of machinery." At the exhibition featuring futurism in 1935, he presented his artwork, "the useless machine."
It will be difficult to talk about everything he has done and achieved; he was extremely active in various fields - bookbinding, graphic design, product design, space design, sculptures, paintings, motion picture, poetry, and writing - until his death in September, 1998.
Like "the useless machine," every one of his pieces are humorous and witty. They are simple in shape, yet clearly spoke to and stirred people's souls. What he continued to communicate throughout his life was that "art shouldn't be complicated, rather, it should be something that enriches our minds." Munari's artwork - which evokes laughter, yet clearly and straightforwardly communicates their meaning - brought art close to us and touched our hearts.
An artist, a designer, an author of illustrated books, a design theorist, a sculptor, a poet. The way you see Munari differs depending on what work of his you're familiar with. If I had to give him a title, I would describe him as an artist loved by all in Italy. That is Bruno Munari.
Born in Milan in 1907. He spent his early days in a small town in the provincia of Veneto, nearby the beautiful nature of the Adige River. His experiences playing by the river, the waterwheel, in the grass, and trees - in the heart of nature - evidently greatly influenced him.
In 1927, Munari returned to Milan and began following the futurist movement. Futurism is an art movement that praised speed and machinery; the movement attempted to destroy all stereotypes and traditional sense of values. While the futurists acclaimed machinery and cars, Munari saw things from quite a different perspective - he believe that "human beings shall be masters of machinery." At the exhibition featuring futurism in 1935, he presented his artwork, "the useless machine."
It will be difficult to talk about everything he has done and achieved; he was extremely active in various fields - bookbinding, graphic design, product design, space design, sculptures, paintings, motion picture, poetry, and writing - until his death in September, 1998.
Like "the useless machine," every one of his pieces are humorous and witty. They are simple in shape, yet clearly spoke to and stirred people's souls. What he continued to communicate throughout his life was that "art shouldn't be complicated, rather, it should be something that enriches our minds." Munari's artwork - which evokes laughter, yet clearly and straightforwardly communicates their meaning - brought art close to us and touched our hearts.
An artist, a designer, an author of illustrated books, a design theorist, a sculptor, a poet. The way you see Munari differs depending on what work of his you're familiar with. If I had to give him a title, I would describe him as an artist loved by all in Italy. That is Bruno Munari.
