e t t o r e s o t t s a s s j r. D E S I G N E R
vase, model no. y34, from the 'yantra series,' 1970
PHILLIPS DESIGN LONDON 25 APRIL 2013
In the late 1960s Ettore Sottsass identified with design as an 'instrument of social criticism, paving the way to the season of radical design and the assertion of the need for a new aesthetic.' Memphis then emerged at the end of 1980 around its central figure, Sottsass, disregarding all academic convention and substantially influencing design. "The prevalent criterion for design was no longer the ability to solve technical problems, but rather the object’s capacity for communication. It was necessary to confront the multiplicity of Postmodern styles in order to capture the Zeitgeist in a fast-paced, experimental design idiom.” via.