Category Art
Published November 26, 2024
Enzo Mari, The Design Museum, photo by Asya Mkh
When it comes to art, no matter what time and place, it always signifies some sort of shift. It is constantly affected by the environment around it. Whether it’s the intensity of French Romanticism or the elegance of the Italian Renaissance, art has always been the most honest history teacher. However, modern art sometimes struggles to keep up with the fast-moving world, often becoming a caricature of itself. When there are so many things to comment on simultaneously, they often muddle together and become confusing rather than educational. That being said, not all modern art faces this problem. You can usually clearly see what a particular work is trying to say, even if you need help understanding it. That is how I felt walking around the exhibit (curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli at The Design Museum) dedicated to the life and work of Italian designer Enzo Mari. I needed a bit of help.
Although I saw several great pieces, I struggled to understand their meaning. I sometimes get slightly annoyed by galleries displaying large paragraphs describing each piece and its meaning. I feel like these descriptions lead your mind to think about art in one specific way and leave little room for interpretation. This time, however, I don’t think I would have understood the importance of the work without those carefully curated descriptions. When I read about the artist studying different types of design and incorporating them into his work while being affected by the political movements of the time, I got a full picture of what his work represents.
I have always been a person who looks for double or triple meanings in all things creative. A song is never just a mix of music and lyrics, a painting is never just brushstrokes on a canvas, and a book is never just a collection of words and sentences. In this case, however, even though I was trying my best when looking at a plastic bowl, I just saw a plastic bowl. It wasn’t until I read the descriptions that I realised the artist, influenced by the changing tides of production in Italy, focused on quality over mass production and aimed to reflect consumer needs back onto the consumers. For him, it was a significant career move made due to productional and social change. For me, it was a plastic bowl. With that in mind, I do have to admit that perhaps I was not the target audience of this particular exhibition. Those who are more well-versed in the subject and know more about design might see Mari’s work and understand the layers of creative and manual labour. All I had to rely on were the descriptions on the walls.
Enzo Mari, The Design Museum, photo by Asya Mkh
I did find a couple of pieces particularly interesting, though. When I first saw the picture of the artist’s installation titled ‘Modulo 856’, I questioned the meaning of modern art again. But do not worry; the carefully curated descriptions were there to help me once more. As I read, the exhibit was initially described by the writer Umberto Eco as a device to ‘test the reactions of a contemporary art exhibition viewer.’ This made perfect sense, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. Creating something that will, instead of leaving the viewer questioning the deeper meaning behind the piece, make them question the boundaries of modern art itself. But once again, I was working from the opinion of a man who interpreted the work his way.
More than making me understand the art, some of the pieces exhibited made me think of the world, or more specifically, the world the artist lived in. While looking at pieces that highlighted his work’s versatility and durability, I understood how the artist was trying to protest the growing culture of overconsumption by creating work that lasts long and pushes the consumer to focus on quality over quantity.
Enzo Mari, The Design Museum, photo by Asya Mkh
I don’t think I fully understood the artist himself until later in the exhibition when I began to read about his later life. Everything from the card game he created to teach his students to break boundaries, to the exhibits he organized later in life to showcase his work, helped me understand. He wanted to educate, but more importantly, just like anyone who has created something bigger than themselves, he wanted to be remembered and his work immortalised. Well, I guess he succeeded in that regard. Maybe a girl who knows very little about 20th-century Italian design and is trying to make sense of his life’s work through gallery descriptions wasn’t who he had in mind, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
His work started to come into perspective more when I saw pictures of his studio, with pieces carved out of marble and books on the table. I understood his desire to blend the old and traditional with the new while navigating the changes in product manufacturing. In the last room, I saw works created after the artist’s passing, honoring or inspired by his work. A warmth took over my heart. Even if artists spend their lives fighting through art and portraying the world’s injustices, a tiny part of them just wants to be remembered. It’s always nice to see someone’s work be recognised.
Enzo Mari, The Design Museum, photo by Asya Mkh
In the end, I saw a quote by Mari himself:
“I suggest looking outside the window: if you like what you see, there’s no reason for new projects. If, on the other hand, there are things that fill you with horror… then there are good reasons for your project.”
As someone who adores simple yet profound quotes, I felt a sense of motivation. However, it did give me another thought that I think I should share. As a male artist in 20th-century Italy, an artist who found recognition quite early in life, Mari was given room to create. Although I don’t know what challenges he faced or how difficult his process was, it’s important to note that the art world at the time was more welcoming to him and his work than it would have been to people with different backgrounds.
With all that in mind and a dirty look from the gallery curator who saw me making notes on my phone instead of looking at the actual art, I went through the exit door, eager to return home and share my reactions and realisations.
