Memphis

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Memphis
This presentation was produced by Mr Steve
Smith Bettws High School Newport As part of a
GTCW network project
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Memphis
School Improvement Service A GTCW project
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Memphis

• In 1980 the Memphis group led by Ettore Sottsass
  rejected the principle of functional design and
  the rules of good taste which was the
  cornerstone of the Modernism. They regarded
  design as being fashion, with outrageous styles
  appearing for a season then disappearing just as
  quickly.

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Memphis
Carlton Sideboard. Material Covered in Plastic
Laminate.
Part cartoon figure, part totem pole and part
bookcase, the Carlton embodies Ettore Sottsass
commitment to the joint stimuli of contemporary
pop culture and ancient cultures.
The Carlton Sideboard presents itself loudly as a
symbolic monument to all things Memphis.
Carlton 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Lamp The Bacterio laminate pattern used on the
base was first developed by Ettore Sottsass in
the late 1970s and was used in experimental
furniture developed by Studio Alchymia.
Material Plastic Laminate Metal Tahti
typifies the Disney-like naivety and impudence
associated with so many Memphis products.
Tahiti 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Memphis
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Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass was born in Austria in 1917. In
1935 he went to Turin to study architecture and
later became a freelance architect and designer,
and has since worked for companies such as
Olivetti and more recently Alessi. In 1981
Sottsass and a group of like minded designers and
architects formed the Memphis group which
experimented with design and reacted against the
modernist principle that form should follow
function. The group explored new ways of using
materials and combining different historical,
cultural and artistic influences in their work.
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Fibreglass Lamp
Martine Bedin also worked with the avante-garde
design group Superstudio in Florence before
joining Studio Alchymia.
The Glossy Art Deco look of the base is offset by
the lamps push along playfulness and bare-bulbed
simplicity.
Super 1981 Martine Bedin
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Material Metal This use of colour accentuates
the fact it is made up from an assortment of
component parts.
Lamp In contrast to the idea that Good Design
should be seamless and homogeneous each geometric
shape used in the design of the lamp is given a
colour of its own.
Treetops 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Material Wood, Plastic Laminate, Metal Fabric
Sofa
This squat Lido sofa mixes different historical
styles.
Lido 1982 Michelle De Lucchi
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Cabinet Despite its classical lines, the
DAntibes cabinet appears playful and fragile
rather than functional, thanks to the exaggerated
elongation of its spindly legs.
Material Lacqured and Silkscreen Wood. The
cabinet is painted in bright nursery colours.
DAntibes 1981 George Sowden
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Lamp
Material Enamelled Metal.
Sinerpica 1979 Michele De Lucchi
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Material Metal Lacquered Wood. The First
has proved to be one of Memphis best selling
furniture pieces.
Chair A simple stool with one steel tube added as
a backrest, the design of the first chair is
ideally suited to mass production. Lightweight
but stable.
First 1993 Michele De Lucchi
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Material Metal, Plastic Laminate and Pink
Chintz. Michelle De Lucchi worked with Studio
Alchymia and Sottsass Associati in Milan before
becoming one of the most active and versatile
members of Memphis.
Chair The Riviera chair is a deliberate
statement of bad taste.
Riviera 1981 Michelle De Lucchi
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Table The Kyoto elegant simplicity is offset by
the use of brightly coloured Terrazzo. This
material is not usually associated with domestic
furniture.
Material Metal Terrazzo.
Kyoto 1983 Shiro Kuramata
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Lamp
Material Plastic Laminate Neon.
Designed for Studio Alcymia.
Svincolo 1979 Ettore Sottsass
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Lamp
Material Painted Metal
Ashoka 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Material Plastic Laminate, Wood.
Cupboard The Casablanca showcases Sottsass use
of decorated plastic laminates, which he embraced
as a material with no culture.
Sottsass wanted to bring laminates out of the
kitchen, bathroom and playroom into the formal
rooms of the house.
Casablanca 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Material Plastic Laminate, Natural Briar Metal
Sideboard The Beverly Sideboard is one of
Sottsass more radical designs. The use of
plastic laminate contrasts with the rare natural
briar wood.
This piece is an example of Memphis practice of
using the rare and the commonplace together.
Beverly Sideboard 1981 Ettore Sottsass
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Lamp The form of this lamp gives the
impression of an advancing sea snake.
Material Metal
This is enhanced by the cable running through
each of the candy strip tubes.
Oceanic 1981 Michele De Lucchi
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Cabinet
Material Wood, Metal Plastic Laminate
Ginza 1982 Masanori Umeda
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Teapot
Material Ceramic
Cuculus Canorus 1982 Matteo Thun
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Table This table has been described as an
obedient dog waiting patiently besides its
masters chair or alternatively a waiter carrying
a tray high above his head through a crowded bar.
Material Plastic Laminate, Lacquered Wood
Metal.
Kristall 1981 Michele De Lucchi
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Vase
Material Blown Glass
Alcor 1983 Ettore Sottsass
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Fruit Dish Working in glass and ceramics Ettore
Sottsass enjoyed even greater freedom from the
modernist principle of form following function.
Material Glass The unusual combination of blown
glass and worked shapes demonstrates Sottsass
desire to create new and expressive products.
Sol Ettore Sottsass
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Ashtray Matteo Thuns designs are complex
sculptures whose function is secondary to their
appearance
Material Ceramic
Api 1981 Matteo Thun
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Vase
Material Ceramic
Carrot Vase 1985 Nathalie Pasquier
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Vase
Material Ceramic
Cucumber 1985 Martine Bedin
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Bowl
Material Lacquered Wood
Caravanserraglio 1979 Ettore Sottsass
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Vase
Material - Porcelain
Although often outrageous in appearance some of
the pieces like Titicaa demonstrated
extraordinary craftsmanship.
Titicaa 1982 Matteo Thun
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Pepper / Salt Shaker
Material Ceramic
Ontario Erie Superior Michigan 1982 Matteo Thun
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Material Plastic Laminate Wood.
Wooden Cabinet with Shutter
Shutter finished in Lacquer
Tindouf 1979 Paola Navone
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Material Aluminium Laminate Base
Table
Tavolino Primavera 1980 Ettore Sottsass
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Material Plastic Laminate Metal
Small Lamp
Gerald Taylor was born in Glasgow and moved to
Milan in 1982 after studying at the Royal Academy.
Piccadilly 1982 Gerald Taylor
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Tawaraya ring 1981 Masanori Umeda
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