Materializing Modernism in Postwar Italy: Fausto Melotti, Gio Ponti, and the 1961 Esposizione Internazionale del Lavoro

In 1961, the Italian sculptor Fausto Melotti contributed a massive display of 800 handcrafted ceramic tiles meant to evoke the 'Evolution of Form in Craftsmanship' to the Esposizione Internazionale del Lavoro (International Labour Exhibition/EIL). The exhibition was one of the main feature...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Art history 2016-09, Vol.39 (4), p.720-743
Main Author: Sullivan, Marin R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art criticism
Art history
Modernism
Sculpture
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In 1961, the Italian sculptor Fausto Melotti contributed a massive display of 800 handcrafted ceramic tiles meant to evoke the 'Evolution of Form in Craftsmanship' to the Esposizione Internazionale del Lavoro (International Labour Exhibition/EIL). The exhibition was one of the main features of Italia '61, an even larger event occurring throughout Turin that summer, celebrating the centenary of Italy's unification. Under the supervision of the ruling Christian Democrats and the patronage of corporations like FIAT, the architect Gio Ponti designed the EIL to highlight the positive outcomes of industrialization in postwar Italy, while also situating the country within an emergent global, consumer goods-driven economy. Melotti's project materially manifested the lofty goals of the exhibition's organizers, but did so in a paradoxical manner - reflecting the possibilities of modern life while simultaneously suggesting the destabilization wrought by such rapid social and economic change.
ISSN:0141-6790
1467-8365
DOI:10.1111/1467-8365.12272