L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY " There has to be irony, both i n d e s i g n a n d i n t h e objects. I see around me a professional disease of taking everything too seriously. One of my secrets is to joke all the time." Achille Castiglioni This year's Design Week, June 14-22, 2017, brought Casa Castiglioni to San Francisco, an exhibit that explores the work of one of the greatest industrial designers of the 20th century, Achille Castiglioni. The exhibit showcased nearly 60 years of the Italian designer's historical o b j e c t s . C o n c e i v e d b y t h e Castiglioni Foundation for the 2 0 1 1 A b i t a m i e x h i b i t i o n i n Milan, the exhibit was restaged i n R o m e , M a n t o v a a n d Palermo. The San Francisco exhibit m a r k s t h e s h o w ' s f i r s t U . S . appearance. It is one in a series of events as part of the initia- tive, "Vivere all'Italiana", devel- oped by the Italian Ministries of F o r e i g n A f f a i r s , E d u c a t i o n , E c o n o m i c D e v e l o p m e n t , Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism. In San Francisco, Casa Castiglioni was presented by the Italian Consulate General and San Francisco's Italian Cultural Institute. In addition to the exhibition, Achille Castiglioni's son, Carlo, and daughter, Giovanna, offered an interactive, informative, and thoroughly entertaining presen- tation describing their father's designs and decades of innova- t i v e p r o d u c t s , m o r e a p t l y described as functional works of art. Giovanna Castiglioni is pres- i d e n t o f t h e C a s t i g l i o n i Foundation located in Milan. Included in the presentation was the famous Mezzadro trac- tor stool, the pivoting Sella sad- dle stool, the Sanluca armchair, and the Gatto and Taccia table lamps, all striking examples of Castiglioni's illustrious career during which he designed and c o l l a b o r a t e d o n n e a r l y 1 5 0 objects, including lamps, stools, b o o k s h e l v e s , c a m e r a s , t e l e - phones and vacuum cleaners. Many Castiglioni's designs are still in production. Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918. He graduated f r o m P o l i t e c n i c o d i M i l a n o U n i v e r s i t y w i t h a d e g r e e i n architecture in the late 1930s a n d , s h o r t l y a f t e r , s e t u p a design office with his brothers L i v i o a n d P i e r G i a c o m o i n M i l a n . H e w a s o n e o f t h e f o u n d i n g m e m b e r s o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r I n d u s t r i a l D e s i g n ( A s s o c i a z i o n e p e r i l D i s e g n o I n d u s t r i a l e , A D I ) , established in 1956. After grad- u a t i n g f r o m t h e M i l a n A r c h i t e c t u r a l S c h o o l o f t h e Polytechnic in the late 1930s, the Castiglioni brothers, Livio, P i e r G i a c o m o , a n d A c h i l l e opened an office where they concentrated on designing inte- riors, exhibition installations, furniture and various objects such as the 1938 Caccia cutlery set. Their 1939 five-value radio r e c e i v e r , m a n u f a c t u r e d b y Phonola, was considered one of t h e f i r s t r a d i o s o r g a n i c a l l y designed and constructed out of plastic. The designer has won nine " C o m p a s s o d ′ O r o " a w a r d s , including a special mention as a n i n d i v i d u a l d e d i c a t e d t o industrial design who, by means of his incomparable experience, "elevated industrial design to the highest levels of culture." He fit his designs into cate- gories. The category of Ready- m a d e O b j e c t s i n c l u d e s t h e Mezzadro (1957) stool made from a tractor seat, and the Toio (1962) lamp made from a car reflector. Another group is the Redesigned Objects such as the CATHERINE ACCARDI Vivere all'Italiana – Casa Castiglioni Cumano (1979) small outdoor c a f é t a b l e s , a n d t h e S p i r a l e (1971) ashtrays. The Minimalist group includes the Luminator ( 1 9 5 5 ) f l o o r l a m p , a n d t h e Fuscia (1996) hanging lamp. In their presentation, Carlo a n d G i o v a n n a s h a r e d h o w Achille was, on one hand, their father, and on the other, a mas- ter of design. They explained that "He left us with a moral o b l i g a t i o n t o r e p r e s e n t h i s work." In 2006 they opened the studio as a museum and began to digitize the collection archiv- ing thousands of technical draw- ings, sketches, prototypes and m o d e l s . G i o v a n n a e x p l a i n s , "The museum is a special place with a special energy inside. People are welcomed from all over the world, from all walks of life. Visitors can follow the life of a project from beginning to end like a story. It is like keeping the story alive. It's not like a museum – it's more like a house." At this year's San Francisco Design Week, where Italy was the main partner country and Carlo and Giovanna Castiglioni had a large space where they rebuilt part of their studio muse- um with many extraordinary d e s i g n o b j e c t s , t h e I t a l i a n Consul General Lorenzo Ortona opened the exhibit together w i t h t h e E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r Dawn Zidonis, recalling how Italy still represents an inspira- tion worldwide for industrial design and how the link between industrial designers and artisans all over Italy is still very strong. "We are partnering with San Francisco because we believe that Italy can build strong rela- tions with the Capital of World Innovation in this field as well, we are here because we believe in our partnership and on the growth of San Francisco in the field of Industrial Design where Italy has a long and extraordi- nary history." Castiglioni's works are found i n p e r m a n e n t c o l l e c t i o n s i n museums all around the world, i n c l u d i n g 1 4 p i e c e s a t t h e Museum of Modern Art in New York. Others are in the collec- tions of the Victoria & Albert M u s e u m , L o n d o n ; t h e Kunstgewerbe-Museum, Zurich; t h e S t a a t l i c h e s M u s e u m f ü r K u n s t , M u n i c h ; t h e Uneleckoprumyslove Museum, Prague; and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. For more information about C a s a C a s t i g l i o n i , g o t o h t t p : / / f o n d a z i o n e a c h i l l e c a s - tiglioni.it/en. Even more exciting, when in Milan visit the Studio Museum located in Piazza Castello 27. Achille Castiglioni. Photo courtesy of the Castiglioni Foundation Italian Community Services provid Bay Area Italian-American seniors and famili with trusted rourc to help them live healthy, independent and productive liv. We are commied to honoring and prerving the Italian language and culture, with an emphasis on the strength and suort that com om family, community, education and goodwill. Casa Coloniale John F. Fugazi 678 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133 415 •362 •6423 www.italiancs.com . . • Translation for seniors /new immigrants • Community service coordination • Information and referrals Castiglioni designs including the Taccia & Gatto table lamps. Photo: Flavia Loreto Carlo & Giovanna Castiglioni. Photo: Flavia Loreto

• Cover