Design as Art - Bruno Munari

Bruno Munari (1907-1998), born in Milan, was the enfant terribleof Italian art and design for most of the twentieth century, contributing to many fields of both visual (paint, sculpture, film, industrial design, graphics) and non-visual arts (literature, poetry). Although he can be described as one of the last surviving members of the futurist generation Munari's repertoire was broad spanning from surrealism to concrete art rendering his body of work as a whole genre less. He was among the most inspirational designers of all time, described by Picasso as 'the new Leonardo'.

Originally published in Italian in 1966 and later translated into English by Patrick Creagh

'Munari re-establishes the long-lost contact between art and the public, between living people and art as a living thing' Munari insisted that design be beautiful, functional and accessible, and this enlightening and highly entertaining book sets out his ideas about visual, graphic and industrial design and the role it plays in the objects we use everyday. Lamps, road signs, typography, posters, children's books, advertising, cars and chairs - these are just some of the subjects to which he turns his illuminating gaze.
- Blurb

Bruno Munari's useless machines featured hanging objects in the style of Man Ray’s famous lampshade, he thought that instead of painting squares, triangles and other geometric forms which still had a realistic feel, why not free abstract forms from static paintings and suspend them in the air, joining them together so they might inhabit the environment with us. 

With the “useless machines”, he was interested in exploring the time-space continuum, how to make a work of art that could interact with the environment and change accordingly. To make art that is truly dynamic, so in a sense Munari is one of the first in Europe to make kinetic art, something which became a dominant trend worldwide in the 50’s and 60’s. What’s interesting about these sculptures is that they were built with very light materials like paper, thin wooden sticks and silk threads. Although they may look like something Calder might of produced, Munari said his were quite different and that Calder’s were “organic” in inspiration and possessed the same structure as a tree, where as his were structural and geometrical in principle. He loved to work with materials and with the tools of an artisan, he liked the texture of wood and the smell of varnish. 

Design idea - make a kinetic useless things sculpture that represents the three books as one 

Just like his ‘Useless Machines’, Munari’s ‘Unreadable Books’ were also functionally ‘useless’. His interest in books as objects goes back to his views on the functionality of design and its power to communicate. He interrogated the nature of what constitutes a book, removing its primary function as an object that frames textual information, instead transforming them into visual and tactile objects. Rather than being simply read, Munari’s books are designed to be playfully interacted with. Just as he challenged the concept of a book, Munari questioned the linear and prescriptive nature of children’s books. Munari created a series of children’s books that have games, tactile experiences and exploration at their core. Rather than narratives, the focus is on exploration. I will look into this books for potentially useable stories.