Radical: Italian Design 1965–1985

Radical: Italian Design 1965–1985, from The Dennis Freedman Collection / ISBN 9780300247497 / 224-page hard cover, about 9.75 x 12 inches / published by Yale University Press

Read a nice review in Curbed.

***

An essential new look at the design philosophy that interrogated modern living against the turbulent political landscape of 1960s Italy

In the mid-1960s, reacting to contemporary social and political upheaval, young Italian architects and designers began developing a new style that openly challenged Modernism. Known as “Radical design,” this movement probed possibilities for visually transforming the urban environment. Radical design’s proponents also applied it to items such as furniture and lighting, utilizing alternative materials and an innovative formal vocabulary. Radical: Italian Design 1965–1985 surveys the work of these pioneering designers through nearly 70 objects and architectural models—including rare prototypes and limited-production pieces. Cindi Strauss insightfully explores the aesthetic inspiration and changing cultural mores that informed the movement, and her research is complemented by an essay from Germano Celant, the acclaimed author and curator who coined the term “Radical design.” Importantly, the book includes seven interviews with Radical designers and architects, offering fresh insights into the individuals who were at the vanguard of this groundbreaking movement.

“The 1960s didn’t just send cultural reverberations through the U.S.—it was a decade that catalyzed and kicked off systemic change the world over. . . . For those looking to learn why and how, and to see bold and specific object-based examples, this book is the bullet train you need to get on.”—Madeleine Luckel, Architectural Digest