"Bruno Munari and the Invention of Modern Graphic Design in Italy

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 19 mei 2011 klokke 13.45 uur

door Alessandro Colizzi geboren te Rome (Italië) in 1966 Promotiecommissie Promotor: Prof.dr.h.c. G. Unger Co-promotor: Prof.dr. T.M. Eliëns

Overige leden Prof.dr. R. D’Alessandro Prof.dr. W. Crouwel (TU Delft) Prof.dr. P.G. Hoftijzer Prof.dr. T.R.A. de Rijk (VU Amsterdam) Prof. F.C. de Ruiter Bruno Munari en de oorsprong van de moderne grafische vormgeving in Italië, 1928–1945

Ondanks de moeilijke omstandigheden de stijlontwikkeling van Munari poogt deze 3 onder het fascistische regime, ontdekte Ita- studie de wisselwerking te onderzoeken lië zijn eigen vorm van Modernisme in het tussen de Futuristische visuele vormtaal en prille begin van de jaren dertig. Het was het de ideeën ontleend aan architectuur, foto- resultaat van een veelzijdige wisselwerking grafie, abstracte schilderkunst en de func- tussen een aantal factoren: de opkomst tionele typografie uit Noord Europa. Deze van de reclame, de druk en vitaliteit van studie plaatst de ontwerper in zijn tijd en het Futurisme en het debat rond de ratio- omgeving door zowel aandacht te schenken nalistische architectuur. Deze studie on- aan het bredere culturele kader als aan het derzoekt het werk, tussen het eind van de eigenlijke werk. jaren twintig en het midden van de jaren De studie onderzoekt en beoordeelt veertig (eind van de tweede wereldoorlog), ook de basis van Munari’s reputatie tegen van Bruno Munari als grafisch ontwerper, de achtergrond van een grote hoeveelheid met de bedoeling om de oorsprong van die bronnenmateriaal. Het is de eerste uit- modernistische beweging in Italië en zijn gebreide en gedetailleerde presentatie en eigenheden, beter te begrijpen. Deze eigen studie van Munari’s grafische productie ontwerpcultuur die zich aanvankelijk in en is zodoende een belangrijke basis voor Milaan ontwikkelde bracht op een eclec- een beter en vollediger begrip van zijn werk. tische manier twee verschillende, moder- Terwijl de evolutie van Munari’s werk chro- nistische bewegingen samen. Aan de ene nologisch is behandeld, onderstreept de kant de plaatselijke tradities, vertegenwoor- analyse van het grafische werk de gebieden digd door de Futuristische avant-garde, en die van visueel belang zijn. Op die manier een Europese traditie die aansloot bij het geeft de studie een afwisselende kijk op Constructivisme. Munari (1907–1998) de onderliggende poëtische, thematische werkte gelijktijdig als kunstschilder en als en formele kenmerken. De grote verschei- reclameontwerper. Aanvankelijk deelde denheid in Munari’s werk geeft niet al- hij de brede culturele belangstelling van leen meer inzicht in de manier waarop de Futuristen, maar niet zonder een zekere modernistische ideeën werden ontvangen openheid voor andere bewegingen zoals het en opgenomen in het Milaan van de jaren Dadaïsme en het Surrealisme, om uitein- dertig, maar ook in de manier waarop het delijk aan te sluiten bij de Abstracten. Hij vakgebied evolueerde van een beweging was een exponent van het nieuwe recla- die aanvankelijk bij de avant-garde kunst mevak en zijn werk getuigt dan ook van de hoorde tot het moderne begrip van grafisch evolutie van het vakgebied, met een grote ontwerp gebaseerd op rationele veronder- verscheidenheid aan referenties, ambities stellingen en idiomen. Het is dan ook geen en begrenzingen. Door zich te beperken tot toeval dat Munari één van de leidende figu- ren is geworden van het Italiaans grafisch ontwerpen dat na 1945 tot ontplooiing kwam en waarvan de oorsprong alleen kan worden gevonden in de verscheidenheid van die culturele erfenis. Bruno Munari and the Invention of Modern Graphic Design in Italy, 1928–1945

Despite the difficult political conditions from central and northern Europe. Hence, 4 under the Fascist regime, Italy saw its own the discussion positions the designer in modernist wave hit the commercial arts in his time and place, concentrating as much the 1930s, resulting from a complex inter- on the artefacts as on the broader cultural play of factors as diverse as the weight of framework. Futurism, the rise of advertising, and the Secondly, the study attempts to assess debate surrounding Rationalist architec- Munari’s reputation against a body of ex- ture. This research examines Bruno Mu- emplary work, based on firsthand docu- nari’s work as a graphic designer from the mentation. It is the first extensive, detailed late 1920s to mid-1940s, with the aim of record of Munari’s graphic design output, understanding the emergence and char- and as such provides a substantial base for acteristics of the modernist trend in Ital- a full understanding of his œuvre. While ian graphic design. Taking shape in Milan, Munari’s evolution is dealt with chrono- this original ‘design culture’ eclectically logically, the analysis of his graphic works brought together two quite different strains highlights key areas of visual interest, of- of Modernity: a local tradition repre- fering a cross reading that sheds light on sented by the Futurist avant-garde, and a their underlying poetics, themes, and for- European tradition associated with Con- mal attributes. In its trajectory, Munari’s structivism. Munari (1907–1998) worked wide-ranging graphic design work shows simultaneously as painter and as advertis- how modernist ideas were received and as- ing designer: he debuted with the Futurists, similated in the Milanese environment of whose broader cultural reach he shared, the 1930s, as well as the shift in concep- while also remaining open to other cur- tions of the graphic design profession— rents—such as Dadaism and Surrealism— from one related to avant-garde art practice and ultimately aligned himself with a more to a Modern one, based on rational idioms. Abstractionist stance. Insofar as he was an The roots of modern Italian graphic de- exponent of the new advertising profes- sign, which fully emerged after 1945, can be sion, his design work also reflects its evo- traced to this heterogeneous legacy—and it lution, mixed references, aspirations, and is no coincidence that Munari became one limits. Concentrating on Munari’s stylistic of the fields’ leading exponents. development, the study seeks to explore the interaction between the Futurist visual vocabulary and conceptions coming from architecture, photography, abstract painting, and functionalist typography trickling in Acknowledgements

4 This research draws primarily on printed Danese, Maria Fede Caproni, Anna Steiner, 5 reproductions of Munari’s work as well as Aldo Tanchis, Alberto Bassi, and Giovanni a number of original artefacts from the in- Anceschi for their unflagging confidence in terwar years, which are available in public my work. libraries and in private collections. Pictori- Nor could it have been completed al and bibliographical research was carried without the courteous assistance of the out during holiday periods spent in Italy following institutions, whose staff facili- between 2005 and 2010, and in particular tated my efforts by allowing me to study during a study leave from the Université and reproduce documents in their collec- du Québec à Montréal in the course of the tions. Although the list of individuals who academic year 2007–08, for which I am aided my research at each institution is too most grateful. long to include here, my gratitude goes to them all: The study builds on the contributions of several writers who have studied Bruno Archivio Documentale Tullio d’Albisola, Casa Mazzotti, Albissola Munari over the years, and in particular Archivio del Novecento, Rome on the outstanding scholarship of Aldo Archivio di Stato, Milan Tanchis, Marco Meneguzzo, Andrea Bran- Archivio Einaudi presso l’Archivio di Stato & Einaudi Editore, Turin zi, Giorgio Maffei, Luigi Di Corato, and Archivio Albe e Lica Steiner, Milan Jeffrey T. Schnapp. I owe special thanks Archivio Storico Campari, Milan to Roberto Ravaioli and Riccardo Lascial- Archivio Storico Edison, Milan Archivio Storico Olivetti, Ivrea fari for their expert advice that set me on Archivio Storico Pirelli, Milan the right track from the very beginning. Bibliomediateca Rai, Centro di documentazione This project could not have been real- Dino Villani, Turin Biblioteca Apice, Università degli Studi, Milan ized without the cooperation of several Biblioteca Braidense, Milan public and private institutions and librar- Biblioteca comunale Sormani, Milan ies, and individuals who generously opened Biblioteca d’Arte del Castello Sforzesco, Milan Biblioteca di via Senato, Milan their collections and archives or shared Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence their recollections and views. I would like Biennale di Venezia, Archivio storico to express my sincere gratitude to (in no delle arti contemporanee, Venice Camera di Commercio, Milan particular order) Giorgio Maffei, Massi- Centro per la cultura d’impresa, Milan mo Cirulli, Giancarlo Baccoli, Pasqualino Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione Schifano, Giorgio Lucini, Anna Boggeri Università di Parma, Parma Centro Studi Gianni Rodari, Orvieto and Bruno Monguzzi, Miroslava Hajek and Civica Galleria di Arte Moderna, Gallarate Antonio Zucconi, Lorenzo Girodo, Bruno Civica Raccolta Bertarelli, Milan clac Galleria del Design e dell’Arredamento, Cantù Beba Restelli, Milan Fondazione 3m, Segrate Italo Rota, Milan Fondazione adi Associazione Disegno Claudia Salaris, Rome Industriale, Milan Maurizio Scudiero, Rovereto Fondazione Arnoldo & Alberto Mondadori, Milan Paul Shaw, New York Fondazione Corriere della Sera, Milan Paolo & Bruno Tonini, Gussago 6 Fondazione Fiera di Milano, Milan Johan de Zoete, Amsterdam Fondazione Jaqueline Vodoz e Bruno Danese, Milan Fondazione Paolo Minoli Casa per l’Arte, Cantù Furthermore, I am particularly indebted to Galleria comunale d’arte moderna professor Alberto Munari for his coopera- e contemporanea, Rome isisuf Istituto Internazionale di Studi tion and advice; without his generous per- sul Futurismo, Milan mission to reproduce Bruno Munari’s work mart, Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea this thesis would not have been possible. di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto Massimo & Sonia Cirulli Archive, New York/ Bologna I would also like to acknowledge Prof. Max Museo, Chiasso Gerard Unger, my thesis director, and McGill University, Rare Books and Special Collections Library, Montreal Prof. Titus Eliëns, co-director, for their moma Libraries, Museum of Modern Art, guidance and constant commitment to the New York project: the final manuscript has greatly Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni, Trento Raccolta Salce, Museo di Santa Caterina, Treviso benefited from their insightful suggestions. Rai Teche, Rome My sincere thanks are due to Prof. Frans Studio Museo Achille Castiglioni, Milan de Ruiter for his careful reading of the Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione, Cornuda Triennale, Biblioteca del Progetto, Milan manuscript as well as for his timely coordination of the academic procedure. I would also like extend special thanks to Naturally, any remaining errors and the following individuals who furnished omissions are entirely my responsibility. valuable information and materials: A special thank you to Alta L. Price for her unfailing collaboration on the transla- Pia Antonini, Milan tion. English spelling used in the document Ben & Jelle Bos, agi, Amsterdam complies to the Merriam-Webster rules for Eligio Bossetti, Campari, Milan Christopher Burke, Rowde Devizes, Wiltshire British spelling as provided with the Adobe Domenico Cammarota, Naples typesetting software. Luigi Di Corato, Siena Beppe Finessi, Milan Robin Kinross, London Finally, I am especially grateful to my Giovanni Lista, Paris wife Livia for her unwavering support and Matthieu Lommen, Universiteit van Amsterdam indispensable sangfroid, as well as to my Marco Meneguzzo, Milan Carlo Montanaro, Venice children Elsa and Zeno for providing un- Giampiero Mughini, Rome knowing but crucial inspiration. Antonella Pelizzari, New York Ann Pilar, University of Reading Sergio Polano, Venice In memoria di Marco Vettorazzo, partito ‘in direzione ostinata e contraria’ (1970–2006).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Contents

6 3 Samenvatting 123 Ricas+Munari 7 Toward a modernist style 127 4 Abstract Olivetti 128 5 Acknowledgements The Milanese advertising scene 131 L’Ufficio Moderno and gar 133 9 Introduction Changeover (1933–35) 136 The modernist controversy 141 13 Italy’s most mechanical city Relationship to architecture 142 Italy Under Giolitti (1896–1915) 14 Installations, set designs, Badia Polesine (1913–1924) 16 window displays 145 Upbringing 18 Italian modern typography 149 Milan 21 Studio Boggeri 155 Studio Mauzan-Morzenti 23 Examples of Modern Typography 163 Animation 24 Pubblicità m 168 A new path 173 27 I was born of boccioni+depero 176 Wartime Art Director An emerging design culture 32 The Milanese group 34 Mondadori and Italy’s An experimenter’s way 37 publishing industry 177 The Centrale Futurista di Milano 42 Grazia (1938–43) 178 From Futurism to Abstraction 43 Tempo (1939–43) 180 Exhibition installations 46 An Italian Life of sorts 183 Munari and the Milanese avant-garde 49 Photography 185 Munari’s contributions 187 53 Futurism, advertising, rationalism Life vs. Tempo dispute 189 The macroeconomic context 57 Foreign editions 192 Milan as industrial and cultural capital 58 Nineteen forty-three 195 Campari 59 Propaganda and consensus 197 Magazine publishing 63 The new typography and Stile meccanico, Mechanical style 65 popular weeklies 202 Stile aeropittorico, Aereopictorial style 70 Domus (1943–44) 203 Futurist publishing 73 Inside the cultural industry 206 Lito-latte, Tin-litho books 75 Munari as author 208 Comic illustration 78 214 Conclusion Comics, humour and literary newspapers 79 Realist style 86 219 Works From the cosmic style to photomontage 93 Influences 94 387 Bibliography Bayer and Moholy-Nagy 97 Photography 100 398 Curriculum vitae Photomontage 102 L’Ala d’Italia 105 Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 107 Surrealist collage 111 Photomosaics 114 Photograms and other experiments 115 From propaganda to documentary style 118

Introduction A double legacy

Mainstream narratives for the history of 20th-century graphic 9 design are still based on the modernist canon first established in Weimar Germany, and later defined in the postwar Swiss and North American contexts. More inclusive visions based on recent research, however, have shown that, despite its crucial role, the constructivist paradigm can no longer be considered the only expression of Modernism in graphic design.1 Next to the well-known exceptions of Britain and France, for instance, different regional developments existed in ‘southern’ regions such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, even Argentina and Brazil.2 Despite the difficult political conditions under the Fascist regime, Italy saw its own modernist wave hit the commercial arts in the 1930s, resulting from a complex interplay of factors as diverse as the weight of Futurism, the emergence of advertising, and the debate surrounding rationalist architecture. Taking shape in Milan during the interwar period, this original ‘design culture’ eclectically brought together two quite different strains of Modernity: a local tradition represented by the Futur- ist avant-garde, and a European tradition associated with Con- structivism. The roots of modern Italian graphic design, which fully emerged after 1945, can be traced to this heterogeneous 3 legacy. 1 . See Kinross 2004: periods include Ainsley 120–1; Branzi 2008: 11–3; 2000, Wlassikoff 2005, cf. Burke 1998: ‘Twentieth- Hollis 2006, Vinti 2007, century Modernism is a and Typography Papers post-mortem phenomenon, no. 8 (2009); also worth an inevitably selective his- mentioning is the ongo- torical construction, ex- ing research by Marina trapolated from the state- Emmanouil (on Greece) ments made by its young and Mary Ann Bolger (on gods of the 1920s’ (ibid.: Ireland) at London’s Royal 12). College of Art. 2 . Seminal texts on 3 . Meggs maintains the history of graphic that 20th-century graphic design are Twyman 1998 design was a product of [1970], Meggs 1983, Hol- the ‘collision’ between lis 1994, Jobling, Crowley Cubism and Futurist aes- 1996; works devoted to thetics (Meggs 1983: 274). single countries and/or Cf. Branzi 2008.

Introduction This research examines Bruno Munari’s growing number of publications and exhi- work as a graphic designer from the late bition catalogues—the focus placed on him 1920s to the mid-1940s, with the aim of as either artist, industrial designer, writer understanding the emergence and char- or pedagogue has tended to overshadow all acteristics of this modernist trend in Ital- other aspects of his practice. 10 ian graphic design. Munari (1907–1998) As a graphic designer, Munari’s name worked simultaneously as painter and as is nowadays associated mostly with book advertising designer: he debuted with the series and children’s books designed in the Futurists, whose broader cultural reach he postwar period, while his work from the shared, while also remaining open to other 1930s is hardly ever mentioned, let alone currents—such as Dadaism and Surreal- reproduced. This kind of disinformation is ism—and ultimately aligned himself with in part due to the prejudices surrounding a more Abstractionist stance. Insofar as he Futurism, long associated with the ‘misad- was an exponent of the new advertising venture’ of Fascism; but it also hints at an profession, his design work also reflects its intrinsic problem in Italy’s graphic design evolution, mixed references, aspirations, historiography. Its close connection with and limits. Concentrating on Munari’s sty- the fine arts has seriously affected critical listic development, the study seeks to ex- and historical thinking, where art criticism plore the interaction between the Futurist has imposed its own methodologies and visual vocabulary and conceptions coming language. This literary imprint has influ- from architecture, photography, abstract enced much of the existing literature, painting and functionalist typography which is marked by unnecessary verbal trickling in from northern Europe. Hence, clutter and a modus operandi that favours the discussion positions the designer in subjective interpretation; moreover, in Mu- his time and place, concentrating as much nari’s case, the content is predominantly on the artefacts as on the broader cultural anecdotal or romanticising. These flaws framework. have not only deterred more factual inves- The study also attempts to assess Mu- tigations, but also hindered circulation nari’s reputation against a body of exem- outside of Italy, thus marginalizing the plary work, based on firsthand documenta- Italian graphic design scene on the inter- tion. It is the first extensive, detailed record national level.4 of Munari’s graphic design production, While Munari’s evolution is dealt with and as such provides a substantial base for chronologically, the analysis of his graphic a full understanding of his œuvre, which is works underlines key areas of visual inter- still affected by a fragmentary perception est, offering a cross reading that sheds light of the artist. In fact, the sheer variety and on their underlying poetics, themes, and complexity of the activities in which he en- formal attributes—although these tend to gaged over the years has made it difficult to correspond to subsequent phases in the pigeonhole his work, so that—despite the artist’s career.

4 . A revealing example trend, which have proved of the miscommunication valuable resources both in between art critics and terms of information and graphic designers is the insight into Munari’s life Munari interview by Quin- and career, are the books by tavalle (in Bruno Munari, Tanchis 1987, and Meneguz- Milan: Feltrinelli, 1979: zo 1993, a critical review by 15–22). At the opposite end, Menna 1966, as well as the welcome exceptions to this interview by Branzi 1984.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The discussion takes its cue from the his hand at different media with a singu- situation of Italian graphic design that had lar assimilative ability: illustration, book developed over the twenties, which on the cover design, photomontage, advertising one hand came to coincide with the con- design, and installation. The work’s ex- 10 solidation of the Fascist regime and, on the amination is organized by type. Next to 11 other, with the introduction of theories the central theme of Munari’s transition regarding standardization and labour or- toward a modern visual language, moulded ganization, which permeated industry and, on a fundamental rationality enlivened by by extension, related professional sectors an anarchic, humorous vein, the discus- such as advertising. With the progressive sion focuses on two relevant aspects: the urban- and consumption-oriented evolu- network of influences that acted upon his tion of Italian society, the professional personality; and the intellectual class’s ac- field of commercial graphics—which had commodation toward the Fascist regime, heretofore coincided with poster design— which not even Munari—despite his sub- increasingly assumed a more complex con- stantially apolitical stance—voiced any dis- ception of advertising modeled on Ameri- sent against. can agencies. Throughout the 1920s Italy’s general Beginning with his formative years in backwardness and relative cultural isola- the Veneto countryside, the first section tion meant that the nation was substan- brings Munari’s Futurist militancy into tially excluded from the spread of the Mod- perspective. Although the movement had ernist aesthetic that had taken shape in lost part of its capacity for cultural agita- Central Europe. Only in the early 1930s did tion, Futurism was still an important force the new Constructivist conceptions of New within the national artistic context. Once Typography spread to Italy, in close relation Futurism’s first phase, focused on litera- to the rise of Rationalist architecture and ture and painting, had been exhausted, af- painterly abstraction. As for advertising ter wwi Marinetti brought together a new design, determining influences came from generation of artists; they worked in the various indirect sources rather than from artistic fields most closely tied to industry contacts with champions of the European and commerce—applied arts and advertis- movements. These included reproductions ing in particular—bringing an innovative in the trade press and the graphic layout of force back into the movement. This was an popular magazines, and were freely assimi- extremely creative period for Munari, who lated by a generation of self-taught practi- took an experimental approach from those tioners. The presence of indefatigable fig- Futurist roots that would become his dis- ures who animated the theoretical debate tinguishing stylistic mark. in Milan—including the art critic Edoardo The thesis’s central sections address Persico and the typographer Guido Modia- Munari’s vast output of the 1930s and no, who were affiliated with the magazines early 1940s, a long period in which he tried Casabella and Campo grafico—was equally

Introduction important, as was that of Antonio Boggeri, on Bruno Munari’s wide-ranging graphic who strived to update the Italian advertis- design work during the interwar period ing scene by modelling it on foreign exam- allows us to follow in his trajectory the ples. An insight into aspects of Italian so- transition from a conception of the pro- ciety under Fascist rule and developments fession related to avant-garde art practice 12 in the graphic arts provides the framework to a Modern conception of graphic design within which to address the background based on rational assumptions and idioms. theme of how ‘modernity’ was expressed Although these developments came to full in Italian graphic design of the 1930s: what fruition after 1945, they result from the were the characteristics and impact of the convergence of differing local and Euro- new theories based on the combination pean trends in the peculiar Milanese envi- of typography and photography in Italy? ronment of the 1930s. To analyze the actual What was retained of the complex aes- work of one its leading practitioners within thetic and social vision propelled by conti- the original context allows us to draw an nental Modernism? What kind of relation- overall picture of that period, thereby con- ship links this period to the mature Italian tributing to a historical assessment of Ital- graphic design that emerged in the 1950s? ian graphic design. While the experiences of that period contain in nuce the central thread of Mu- nari’s multifaceted activity in the postwar years, the wartime period also marked another leap forward, toward a more controlled visual language and a conception of the trade that was more integrated with the system of production. When Munari assumed artistic direction of Mondadori’s illustrated magazines he carved out a role that would carry him into the new cultural context of the 1950s. A chapter is specifically devoted to this aspect of his career, and serves to connect his earlier experiences with those of the postwar period. Although the Futurist legacy is now recognized as one of the original components of 20th-century art and design history, the same period in Italian graphic design has not been sufficiently explored in all its implications as it relates to the broader European context. This research

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Italy’s most mechanical city1 Upbringing and debut

Italy Under Giolitti (1896–1915) 14 Badia Polesine (1913–1924) 16 13 Upbringing 18 Milan 21 Studio Mauzan-Morzenti 23 Animation 24

Bruno Munari was born in Milan on the morning of 24 October 1907 to Pia Cavicchioni and Enrico Munari, who had both recently immigrated to the large industrial city in Lombardy from the Veneto, a rural region in north-eastern Italy. His father was a waiter at the Caffè Gambrinus,2 a popular venue among the political and artistic elite, located in the central Galleria Vitto- rio Emanuele II, near the Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala. His mother looked after him and helped the family make a living with her needlework skills. Munari’s typical sense of humour can be seen in one of the many autobiographical profiles he wrote over the course of his life, in which he describes his pro- letarian background with graceful irony: ‘All of a sudden, without warning from anyone, there I was, completely naked, in the middle of Milan, on the morning of 24 October 1907. My father had connections with some of the city’s most noteworthy people, as he was a waiter at the Caffè Gambrinus. My mother put on airs, embroidering fans.’3

1 . From the Futurist changed its name to Caffè manifesto L’arte meccanica Grand’Italia (Paolo Colussi, (Mechanical Art), 1922. Cronologia di Milano dal 1881 2 . The Caffè Gambri- al 1890, http://www.storia- nus opened in 1882, in the dimilano.it, , last accessed wing of the Galleria that 9 April 2009). opens onto piazza Scala 3 . Quoted in Le persone (in the spot of the former che hanno fatto grande Mila- Caffè Gnocchi), and in 1914 no, 1983: 3.

Italy’s most mechanical city Italy Under Giolitti (1896–1915) and practices,8 caused the city’s population The Munari family’s arrival in Milan in the to double in just twenty years.9 early years of the century and the arrival of On a political level, at the end of a their firstborn son, Bruno, took place with- long period of stasis in the parliamentary in a rather particular political and, conse- regime, and lacking any real alternatives 14 quently, social context—above all with re- to the historic Right and Left—with the gard to the daily life of contemporary Ital- former determined by the landholders’ and ians. The so-called Giolittian era heralded banks’ interests, and the latter determined the twentieth-century’s first decade in a by middle-class and industrial concerns— climate of moderate liberal reform that, the strong fin-de-siècle social and political despite its contradictions, marked a signifi- tensions, heightened by both the economic cant evolution in the country’s productive recession and the government’s repressive and social relationships as Italy, in its own politics, culminated in the assassination of way, moved toward modernisation.4 King Umberto I at the hand of an anarchist The country was exiting a phase of in 1900.10 As colonial expansionism failed complex, difficult transition. Unified as and the administration of Francesco Crispi recently as 1861, which was relatively late brought the government ever closer to compared to other European nations, outright authoritarianism,11 the following Italy was still a young, poor nation, and remained behind its neighbours on an 4 . For a more complete (thanks to innovative farm- overview of the Giolittian ing mechanics) (industriali- economic and political level; above all, it era, see Procacci 1975²: sation 1997: 25–6). 411–80; Carocci 1961 (in 7 . Bigatti 1997: 25. was still separated by major regional dis- particular for political de- 8 . The wave of agricul- parities. Beginning in the 1880s, despite velopments); Castronovo tural modernisation that 1995: 107–97 (on the indus- swept across northern the generally poor state of the economy trial boom); and the thor- Italy in the latter half of the and the serious agricultural crisis that had ough summary in Aquarone nineteenth century ben- 1988. efited from new machinery, struck Europe, Italy had to transition from 5 . Thanks to a type of chemical fertilisers, new capitalist development sim- crops and crop rotations. a primarily agricultural country to an at ilar to the Prussian model The modes of produc- least partially industrial one.5 Lombardy of economic transformation also changed radi- tion through government cally, shifting toward more in particular was assuming an increasingly intervention (protection- capitalist management, not industrial profile, and Milan reinforced its ist policies, a mixed credit without government in- system, and public works tervention (through land role as ‘the kingdom’s economic and moral commissions), this first reclamation and the estab- 6 phase of industrialisation— lishment of trade schools capital’ —as proven by the 1881 Esposizione still based primarily on and centres for agricultural nazionale held in Milan, which was Italy’s familial entrepreneurship research). Cf. Castronovo 7 and small-scale produc- 1995: 115–20. first national exhibition —drawing a signif- tion—mainly involved the 9 . 1901 census (com- icant percentage of the masses emigrating steel, mechanical, electrical, pared to the 1880 census), and textile sectors, con- in Castronovo 1995: 111. from the countryside. Urban drift as a re- centrated primarily in the 10 . Notably the insur- so-called industrial triangle rection of Sicily’s Fasci dei sult of an increasing demand for industrial between Milan, Turin, and lavoratori (a labour or- labour, as well as the rural exodus triggered Genoa (Procacci 1975²: 331– ganisation movement, lit- 2; Castronovo 1995: 160–5; erally ‘bundle of workers’) by innovations in agricultural equipment Carocci 1961: 10–1). in 1893–94, and the Bava 6 . Procacci 1975²: 363. Beccaris massacre in Milan With respect to the re- in 1898 (cf. Procacci 1975²: gion’s traditional sectors 436–7, 445–6). of production, Milan’s new 11 . Francesco Crispi’s production centre was dis- rule was particularly re- tinguished by strong growth actionary on the inte- in the steel and mechani- rior front (1887–91 and cal divisions, which were 1993–95, periods in which linked to the formation of Italy launched campaigns economic infrastructure for its own ‘place in the (transportation, electricity, sun’ in East Africa), as was and precision mechanics) the government of Luigi and the agricultural revolu- Pelloux (1898–1900). King tion that was well underway Umberto I was assassinated

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 political period, lead by Giovanni Giolitti artisans) and the emerging middle class (1901–1914), began under signs of a more (public and private clerks, teachers), as moderate reformism and a progressive

modernisation of the nation’s government, by an anarchist to avenge population nationwide— 14 which allowed for two major steps forward the protesters who had died twice that of industry—the 15 during the violent repres- aforementioned industrial in the country’s civil and social evolution: sion of the May 1898 upris- triangle was a notewor- ings in Milan: the massacre thy exception, employing on the one hand it encouraged industriali- was instigated by Gen- 40% of the population in sation, and on the other hand, it opened eral Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris, Lombardy and Liguria, and upon whom the Savoy sov- 31% in Piemonte (Procacci politics up to the agricultural and indus- ereign bestowed the highest 1975²: 471; Aquarone 1988: trial working class, organised in the social- honours. 397). To compare this situ- 12 . Cf. Aquarone 1988: ation with other European ist and catholic movements, which up un- 37–60. nations, data on foreign 13 . Among the reforms commerce from 1890–1907 til then had been marginal political forces enacted under Giolitti over show an annual growth of largely excluded from the mainstream slightly more than a decade, 118% in Italy, with respect 12 one of the most important to England’s 55% and Ger- political–institutional system. A series of was the recovery of govern- many’s 92% (Croce 1963: structural reforms and investments,13 the ment finances, which were 228; see also Aquarone rebalanced by 1906. The 1988: 289–301; Castronovo expansion of electoral suffrage,14 as well primary investments went 1995: 160–5). to infrastructure (nation- 16 . At the beginning as economic policies aimed at increasing alisation of the railways, of the century, Italians’ the spending power of the lower classes, all the launch of major public wages were among the low- works projects, reorganisa- est in Europe, thanks also took place in the context of increasingly tion of the postal service, to extensive reliance on rapid economic development in the agri- and municipalisation of women and child labourers various services), but other (Procacci 1975²: 459–60; cultural and industrial/financial sectors, sectors also benefited, in- Castronovo 1995: 173–4). cluding education and so- Emigration has been a both of which were fostered by the state’s cial services (new laws on significant phenomenon protectionist politics.15 Yet despite the ben- health care, women’s and throughout recent Ital- children’s labour laws, and ian history: it was a safety efit of such protected conditions, Italy’s the first pension plans). Cf. valve for social tensions and economic expansion nevertheless had its Castronovo 1995: 171–2; overpopulation (in 1901 Aquarone 1988: 190–206, the country had 32 million downside, with difficult labour conditions 562–71; Croce 1963: 225, inhabitants, and 35 just 230. ten years later; see Croce for the working classes and high levels of 14 . The 1912 law sanc- 1963: 229); it also played emigration from the countryside to the tioned a broadening of male an undeniably important 16 suffrage, leading to uni- role in the economy, thanks city and abroad. Indeed, in spite of the versal suffrage for all male to the money emigrants reformist climate, the first decade of the citizens, including illiterates, sent home from abroad. A over thirty years of age who first mass wave of emigra- twentieth century was a period of stark had done military service. tion of the poorest rural Women were still excluded, classes into the cities was social contrasts, characterised by frequent and only gained the right sparked by an agricultural strikes and trade disputes.17 to vote with the Republican crisis in the 1880s; in the Constitution of 1946. 1900s, however, the migra- Nevertheless, while Italy on the whole 15 . The favourable eco- tory wave intensified, espe- remained an agricultural, poor, and largely nomic situation continued cially from southern Italy to up until World War I, with North and South America illiterate country, a consistent part of the a median annual growth (it reached a maximum of index of over 6 percent in 725,000 emigrants in 1905, population gradually saw its standards of the industrial sector (Pro- equal to 20‰). Cf. Castro- living improve: both the lower middle class cacci 1975²: 457; cf. Carocci novo 1995: 111–5; Aquarone 1961: 7), and brought about 1988: 378–93. (consisting primarily of shopkeepers and the first major growth 17 . Favoured by the gov- concentrations. A few data ernment’s more permissive provide a measure of how stance, which was limited rapid Italian industrial ex- to maintaining public or- pansion was: while in 1900 der, the number of strikes agriculture and industry in Italy grew exponentially: constituted 51% and 20% from 642 recorded in the of the gross domestic prod- two-year period from 1899– uct, respectively, already by 1900 to 1852 in the fol- 1930 the value generated lowing two years; the first by industry far surpassed general strike was declared that of agriculture. While in September 1904 (Castro- in the 1910s agriculture novo 1995: 174; Croce 1963: provided employment for 220, 227; Procacci 1975²: 34% of the working-age 463–5).

Italy’s most mechanical city well as at least a part of the urban and agri- infrastructure21—all of which explains cultural working classes (who belonged to why it was the source of so much emigra- specialised categories such as artisans and tion. Pia and Enrico Munari had moved to skilled workers). At the dawn of the cen- Milan at the turn of the century, and were tury, for example, the expenditure of the helped by some of Pia’s relatives who were 16 average Italian family showed a decrease in already living there. Despite their working- the amount of income spent on groceries, class living conditions, the family never- while spending on clothing, home furnish- theless belonged to a relatively privileged ings, and the first consumer goods (such group; they could count on a minimum as bicycles and sewing machines) gradu- level of education (in a country where, at ally increased.18 Consequently, the demand the end of the 1900s, approximately 40% for education also increased, and, in step with the progress of public elementary in- 18 . Socrate 1995: 363–5. The ‘upper middle-class several variants throughout struction, newspaper readership and the layout’ in Italy was made northern Italy, is found nascent popular press also became more up of various social groups: particularly in the Veneto landowners, profession- region and lower Po Val- widespread. On a social level, and above all als (solicitors, doctors), ley, and supposedly derives entrepreneurs, bureaucrats from hypocoristic forms or in the more developed regions of northern (public administrators of dialect-based modifications Italy, the Giolittian era was a particularly every level)—corresponding of the term munaro or mu- to 5% of the overall popu- nero (miller). Cavicchioni is dynamic period, characterised by a prudent lation—in addition to the a hypocoristic variant of a faith in the progress of the nation; on the middle class and small busi- family name present in the ness owners. A heterogene- areas around Ferrara and whole, despite lingering shadows, the mere ous portion of the popula- Rovigo (as well as the bor- tion greatly benefited from der region between Tuscany fact of people sensing this change was a raises in pay and shorter and Emilia Romagna), and positive enough force to stimulate social working hours, including is derived from nicknames 19 government workers, spe- associated with the archaic mobility. cialised and skilled labour- term cavicchio (a peg or ers, and the farm hands of short, pointed pole). See several areas of the Valle http://www.cognomiital- Padana (Po River Valley) iani.org, last accessed May Badia Polesine (1913–1924) in which agricultural co- 2009. operatives were widespread. 21 . Although it origi- Such was the general climate in which Bru- Cf. Procacci 1975²: 468–71; nally referred to the 1880s, Castronovo 1975: 185–7; Procacci’s description aptly no Munari’s life began. Pia Cavicchioni Castronovo 1995: 174–5. captures the salient aspects and Enrico Munari were both from Badia 19 . In his observations of the landscape around collected in Storia d’Italia Badia Polesine: ‘[It’s] a Polesine20 (or one of its bordering town- dal 1871 al 1915 (A History of landscape of embankments, Italy, 1871–1915, first pub- of major drainage and land ships), a small town on the banks of the lished in Italian in 1928), reclamation, of improvised Adige River in the province of Rovigo, ap- Benedetto Croce offers a villages—villages without frankly positive assessment even the usual, familiar proximately 85 km south-west of Venice. of the Giolittian era: ‘[It presence of a church’ (Pro- Historically, the Polesine area, located was a time] of refreshment cacci 1975²: 414). The prov- and peace, cheerfulness inces of the lower Po River along the lower reaches of the Po River, was and prosperity. Such were Valley (Mantua, Ferrara, for Italy the years in which Ravenna, and the Polesine a little-developed agricultural zone, hydro- the idea of a liberal régime area) played a fundamental geologically unstable due to frequent flood- was most fully realised’ role in the history of the (American edition/transla- Italian labour movement, ing of the Po and Adige rivers, with scarce tion, 1963: 214); and ‘The insofar as they were the activities of Parliament and birthplace and cradle that of the Government during fostered the rapid growth these ten years did not belie of the socialist movement: the hopes which had been ‘The Po River Valley re- aroused in 1901 (…)’ (ibid.: mained one of the hottest 224). Cf. Procacci’s opinion points of social conflict’ of Croce’s historical view- (Castronovo 1995: 176). On point (Procacci 1975²: 470). the origins of socialism, 20 . The family name rooted in farmers’ protests partially confirms its ori- throughout the country- gins in the north-eastern side of the Po River Valley, area of the country. The see Procacci 1975²: 414–5, last name Munari, which is 434–9, and Castronovo widespread and appears in 1995: 176–7.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 of the population was still illiterate) and school.24 Clearly the Munari family’s re- had professional experience as hotelkeep- turn to Badia can be read in the positive ers, which guaranteed the family a modest light of the period in general, which must degree of prosperity and put them in a po- have lead them to seize upon new opportu- 16 sition to invest in their children’s educa- nities to improve their standard of living in 17 tion while looking for new opportunities a region that, despite remaining primarily for socio-economic advancement. agricultural, now offered improved eco- Although it is not known precisely why nomic conditions.25 the Munari family decided to leave Milan and return to the Veneto countryside, aside My father adapted a large building that has been the residence of the Dukes of Este, and from the probable family-related reasons, I lived the life of a hotelier there, helping the chance to take up their own independ- him out a bit; but I didn’t like it, because it’s ent economic enterprise—like ownership a life without leisure. If no one comes to fill in after your shift, you go to bed at two in and management of an inn—almost cer- the morning, after the last guest has come tainly was a deciding factor. In 1913, when back, and you get up at five to go for grocer- Bruno was about 6 years old, the family ies. My mother had invented a saying, she left Milan to settle once again in Badia Polesine, where the Munari couple had

acquired a mansion—originally a hunt- 22 . The so-called Palaz- built up around it. Over the ing residence of the Dukes of Este, from zetto degli Estensi, whose centuries it passed from construction is now attrib- the hands of the Este fam- nearby Ferrara—which had already been uted to the Venetian Grad- ily into Venetian rule, and 22 enigo family, is a beautiful after the Napoleonic inva- transformed into an inn. Named Alber- gothic building that dates sion it was occupied—like go Sant’Antonio, after the section of street back to circa 1430, during much of northern Italy—by the first period of Venetian Austria, up until the Veneto the former Este residence overlooked, the dominion in the area. The region was annexed to the inn lay on the town’s main road, near the building is ‘characterised on Kingdom of Italy in 1866. the lower levels by a portico For additional historical crossroads of the two routes that connect- with three different types of and geographic background, round arches, while the up- see http://www.comune. ed Polesine to Padua, Ferrara, Verona, and per levels are distinguished badiapolesine.ro.it/In- Rovigo,23 thereby guaranteeing the town a by ogival windows and the formazioni/Storia.html, sitting-room’s mullioned last accessed April 2009; fair amount of local economic relevance. window with three lights’ for the demographic data Recent land reclamation and drainage had (Barison, Occhi 2004). cited above, the source was The transformation of this istat, the Italian National gradually transformed the human and eco- noble residence into a com- Statistics Institute, from mercial building apparently http://it.wikipedia.org/ nomic geography of the entire area, lead- occurred long ago: accord- wiki/Badia_Polesine, last ing to further development centred on ing to historic documents accessed April 2009. dating back to the arrival 25 . With respect to the the introduction of new crops and related of Napoleonic troops in the period of 1887–1901, in manufacturing industries (mills and sugar area (1797), the inn already which it is estimated that existed at the end of the nearly one-third of the refineries in particular). On the eve of eighteenth century (Paolo population left the Polesine Aguzzoni, conversation with area for the industrial tri- World War I, Badia Polesine was a peace- author, May 1, 2009). angle or for South America, ful provincial town of over 10,000 inhabit- 23 . On the other side of the industrial-agricultural the iron bridge crossing the development of the region ants with a theatre, a hospital, and a trade Adige River, the provincial led to a temporary decrease route leads north toward in emigration in 1911 (a na- Padua and south toward tional census year). Despite Ferrara. Another road leads the fact that in that same along the riverbank: to the period there were nearly east, it runs upriver toward 1,400 active industries in Verona; to the west, it runs the Province of Rovigo, with down-river toward Rovigo. a significant growth in em- 24 . The village takes its ployment opportunities, in name from the Benedictine the nineteen-twenties agri- Abbey of Saint Mary at Van- culture still employed over gadizza, originally founded two-thirds of the area’s in- in the tenth century, which habitants (compared to 55% by the thirteenth century on the national level). already had a small town

Italy’s most mechanical city said you have to sleep in haste. I took after I consciously realised my path would be her, she was very agile, alert, and practical.26 that of an artist. There’s always been a sort of ‘fade-in, fade-out’ between everyday small-town life (…) and my activity, an ac- The Munari family ran the hotel and res- tivity that would nowadays be called ‘crea- taurant for about eighteen years, until the tive,’ inspired by curiosity and the desire 18 to do something out of the ordinary.30 early forties, when they gave up the business because both children had chosen different paths. Their parents continued to This sentimental education left its mark, live in Badia at least until the end of World not least in his insatiable curiosity about War II, and for a brief period in 1943–44 natural phenomena, certainly rooted in his Bruno’s family took refuge at his parents’ experiences of country life, which was still home after fleeing Milan.27 rather humble: typical children’s games, Bruno was not an only child, but his stimuli found and discoveries made in the brother Giordano was born ten years after fluvial surroundings, paddle mills moored him, in 1917. Giordano—who was trained as along the riverbanks, straw scarecrows, a mechanical designer, and later designed and the various characters and scenes of turbines for the Edison company28—joined his brother in Milan around 1935. He likely 26 . Bruno Munari, sheerly by sympathy for the stayed with Bruno and his wife Dilma Car- quoted in Branzi 1984: 40. character (...)’ (Meneguzzo nevali, whom he’d married in 1934, or per- 27 . Data confirmed by 1993: 3). The circumstances indirect evidence: ‘From of the childhood he so often haps with his sister-in-law’s family: sure information gathered by spoke of later on seem far those who knew Munari, from having anything ex- enough, in a curious coincidence, Giorda- the hotel was run by his ceptional about them, nor no later married Dilma’s sister. parents from 1912–1913 (in- did they play such an abso- deed, Bruno Munari arrived lute, almost deterministic in Badia when he was 6–7 role in his personality; rath- years old) until at least the er, Munari loved to make it 1930s. During the World sound as if they did, and his Upbringing War II his parents still lived telling became an essential in Badia Polesine’ (Mara ingredient of the myth of Even if one does not take a literal read of Barison, e-mail to author, his natural genius—insofar the various memories Bruno Munari wove April 30, 2009). After the as it corresponded to his in- war his parents also moved terest in games, childhood, together as a plot feeding into his personal, to Milan, where they were and creativity. ever-growing mythology (along with much buried (Alberto Munari, 30 . Munari, inter- e-mail to author, November viewed by Alberto Munari of the ‘sentimental’ criticism that followed 13, 2009). (1986: 74). 28 . For a brief period 31 . Tanchis 1987: 10. him and his work), the childhood he spent during the thirties, Giorda- Badia Polesine sits at the in the natural and social atmosphere of no was employed as a de- confluence of the Adige signer of aircraft models for River and its smaller tribu- the Veneto countryside evidently had a de- the Movo company, which tary, the so-called Adigetto termining influence on his sensibility and was among Munari’s clients (Little Adige), which bisects (Alberto Munari, conversa- the town; the riverside vil- intelligence.29 tion with author, February lage of San Nicolò (named 10, 2008). after Saint Nicholas, also 29 . The fact that over known as Pizzon, which was There wasn’t one decisive moment, in the years Munari steadily destroyed when the bridge my childhood or my later life, in which built a sort of public perso- was bombed in 1945), was na—carefully selecting facts, inhabited by fishers and memories, episodes, and millers, who maintained statements that effectively floating mills. There was created a ‘mythology’—is also a small shipyard for obvious to anyone who ap- boat building, a riverside proaches him through his customs house, an inn, and writings, testimonies, and the church of Saint Nicho- works without other emo- las, patron of mariners tional influences or preju- (http://www.comuneweb. dices. See Meneguzzo: ‘Too it/BadiaPolesine, and often the temptation to talk http://www.castellono- about Munari the way Mu- ratobadiapolesine.135.it, nari talks about himself and both last consulted April 27, his ideas has produced only 2009). The presence of the apologetic books, inspired Adige left a lasting mark on

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 rural life.31 The observation of nature not As a boy (and especially as a toddler) I never only inspired his capacity for reflection in had toys like the ones every kid has today, but I made them up myself, and built them with rational, almost scientific terms—as well whatever I found (…) as the apparent verbal simplicity that char- 18 acterised his prose—but it also served as a Ever since I was a boy I was an experimenter, 19 even when I built my own toys, or built them grounding orientation of his design meth- for friends, using bamboo shoots or other ods, based as they were on a ‘structural simple materials (…) imitation of nature.’32 In Badia, as a boy, I played in the immense at- Another important legacy of his child- tic above the inn. Some of my games, among hood came from one of his uncles, who others, included ‘parachuting’ the cats and was a violin maker and also the chef at the tossing little strips of paper out of the window to observe how they moved through the air.35 family hotel:

(…) this uncle who made violins, and was It is interesting to discover, in these rec- also a chef (…) lived in a house with his workshop on the ground floor, and his living spac- ollections, the childhood—even ‘infan- es and a large terrace on the floor above (…)33 tile’—source of many Munarian inventions, which were really just transposed into the (…) and I often stopped by his workshop more ‘adult’ context of art and design. His to see how he treated the sheets of maple to form the curvatures on the sides of the liking for play, understood in the cognitive violin (…) In the workshop I could take sense as a tool for active discovery of the scraps of cut wood, set them in the vice, world, became an essential critiquing, de- and work on them with uncle vice splendid gouges. I really liked working with his signing, and teaching tool; it also fuelled craftsman’s materials and tools, a lot more his humorous and surreal veins, which 34 than helping my parents run the inn. made ample use of spoonerisms, semantic games, and word play. In this sense one The manual dexterity that distinguishes could even read a transposition of child- such naïve bricolage of materials and hood experiences into his work, which of- techniques, which later became another ten enacts a connotative shift, changing a characteristic of his working method, can given action and thereby making it mean- be traced back to that artisan’s apprentice- ingful in a new way. For example, his 1969 ship in his uncle’s workshop. But his habit performance in Como, ‘Far vedere l’aria’ of playing around with a broad range of (Air Made Visible), in which he let paper natural forms and everyday objects also cut into different shapes fall from a tower, stemmed from the games conjured up invariably comes to mind. As does the five- from nothing that he enjoyed creating drop fountain created for Tokyo’s Isetan along the riverbanks or in the courtyard department store in 1965: and attic of the family inn: Munari—‘I’m fine in Milan, 1984: 40; and Rossi 1962: but I miss the river’ (Tan- 9, respectively. A more chis 1982: 50)—as was also recent text in which Mu- clear in his short story ‘Le nari reflects on the many macchine della mia infanzia’ games and activities of his (The machines of my child- childhood is particularly hood) written in the twen- illuminating: ‘Un gattino ties and reprinted in the ap- vero miagolante’ (A true pendix of Arte come mestiere cat whining)—originally (Munari 1966: 251–2). published in the catalogue 32 . Meneguzzo 1993: 8. Giochi e grafica (Cremona: 33 . Branzi 1984: 40. Comune di Soncino/Amm. 34 . Munari, interviewed ne Prov.le Cremona/Ass.ne by Alberto Munari (1986: Culturale Soncino, 1990), 74); cf. Branzi 1984: 40. now reprinted in C’era 35 . Munari in Alberto due volte IV; 8 (September Munari 1986: 74; Branzi 1997): 38ff.

Italy’s most mechanical city And then in the courtyard I had a faucet that opted to continue his studies; he took the dripped. Obviously the washer was shot, so it entrance exam for middle school,39 al- no longer turned off properly. But the sound of those drips was quite interesting, because though there are no records that he went it was neither monotone nor monotonous. to school beyond the obligatory age of I don’t know why, but listening closely you twelve, and despite the fact that Badia had 20 could hear that the interval between one drip and the next wasn’t the same, and even the an applied arts institute, where he could sound of each drip was different. One day have learned the rudimentary basics of I tried putting an empty bucket under the drawing and design.40 It should be pointed shower: toc toc toc toc toc toc; then a crumpled- up newspaper, cha cha cha cha cha; then an up- out that secondary education, which was side-down skillet, ten ten ten ten ten ten ten ten; still based on an eighteenth-century model then I let the drips fall into an empty jam jar, (known as the Casati Law, passed in 1859), tic tic tic tec tec tec toc toc tuc tuc boc buc tum. A few of my friends and I tried singing some created a clear distinction between ‘hu- made-up songs following the rhythm of the manistic’ and ‘technical’ courses of study, drips. One song went ‘pic pac pac pic patapic with the latter geared more toward pro- patapac pitopec pataluc,’ and then you’d repeat the riff with individual variations.36 fessional preparation—which also carried obvious social repercussions.41 It is there- The advancement of primary public edu- fore no surprise that secondary education, cation and the fact that it was free—as it especially in the liberal arts and sciences was entirely underwritten by the govern- (in the national system of licei, senior ment—made it possible for Bruno to attend high schools that naturally led to univer- elementary school in Badia (beginning in sity) were still the privilege of the more second grade), and he also benefited from important reforms to the national scho- 36 . Munari 1990a [‘Un primary schools, as shown 37 gattino vero miagolante’]. by the slow growth of en- lastic system. Early on, primary school 37 . For the most com- rolment between 1901 and provided several branches of study (after prehensive overview of the 1907 (Aquarone 1988: 552). Italian school system un- 39 . In an interview the basic four-year foundation program) to der Giolitti, see Aquarone about his first school expe- 1988: 522–62. The serious riences, Munari admitted: those who wished to pursue middle-school shortcomings of primary ‘No, I didn’t really want to education upon passing their exams; and education at the begin- study. And I remember that ning of the century were, if in elementary school I was those who decided to finish their school- not fully resolved, at least punished once, because I il- ing, after two more supplementary courses, dealt with through succes- lustrated the subject. Draw- sive reforms—known as the ing like that was quite for- could be done by the age of twelve: this Nasi (1903) and Orlando bidden at the time’ (quoted laws (1904). New regula- in Barberis 1978). two-track system tended to severely limit tions raised the compulsory 40 . The Dante Mazza- social mobility, as it discouraged pupils age of attendance to twelve, ri School of Applied Arts, stipulated the establish- founded in 1882. from the lower and working classes from ment of evening schools, 41 . This basic distinc- continuing on to secondary education.38 and called for better work- tion was, effectively, a dou- ing conditions for teach- ble-track access to higher In light of the path Munari took—later ers. It also led to increased education, with clear class government funding, to the connotations (Aquarone on he went to an istituto tecnico superiore point where the State fully 1988: 546). On the one (technical high school) for about a year— underwrote all public ele- hand, the tuition—which mentary instruction (which was rather costly for high one can infer that he or his family had had hitherto been the re- schools, but relatively inex- sponsibility of individual pensive for trade schools— municipalities), as sanc- was a discriminating factor tioned by the Dane-Credaro that determined students’ law of 1911 (cf. Croce 1963: chosen field of study; on the 226). other, the different levels of 38 . Moreover, while the government support—direct agricultural and industrial in the case of secondary development of northern schools, while leaving trade Italy encouraged working- schools to rely upon the class families to invest in resources of local authori- their children’s education, ties, municipalities, and it also created a demand for private donors—emphasised unskilled labourers—which attendants’ limitations and were drawn from local geographical differences.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 well-to-do classes, since the subsistence of Milan with his family. Considered the most less well-to-do families often depended on well-to-do member of the family, Bruno’s the contribution of working-age children, uncle Ugo had offered to help his nephew; and in any case the scarcity of such fami- the chance to do so came in 1924, when 20 lies’ resources rarely put them in a position Ugo was hired to oversee the construction 21 to pay the hefty school taxes; the best-case of a plant in Naples, and took Bruno along. scenario for students from working-class Munari was seventeen at the time, and at- families who opted to continue their stud- tended a technical school while in Naples— ies was to enrol in the technical institutes— although he did not complete his studies, as Munari did. most likely because of the family’s return to Milan less than a year later.45 My relationship to my parents was a fairly In 1926, at the age of nineteen and traditional one (…) My family had a hotel, they were always incredibly busy and with no further schooling behind him, had very little time for me (…) [When I Munari decided to move to Milan: ‘I want- was nineteen] I came to Milan, because I ed to be a painter, and went to Milan.’46 wanted to be an artist. Naturally, my parents were against it, they’d have liked me Between his stay in Naples and his arrival to follow in their line of work (…) What I in Milan, Munari probably went back to don’t like about running an inn is its sheer Badia, where he could take the time to repeatability, it’s damaging, you do things only to then undo them: there was no make a decision about his future and per- way to take part in it in a creative way.42 haps scrape together some money before his move, as well as lend his parents a hand running the hotel. As his son Alberto not- Milan ed, one oft-overlooked aspect of that peri- Even if Munari’s parents had wanted their od was the relative poverty he experienced son, who was already helping out in the upon arriving in Milan, with practically no hotel as an all-purpose factotum, to con- money and no work prospects.47 tinue the business they had launched, they could not really oppose to their firstborn’s I stayed with my mother’s sister, aunt Ame- 43 lia, who had married an engineer. They aspirations (they took a similar stance helped me a great deal (and I had a very with their second son, Giordano, when cute cousin). My uncle taught me technical he, too, moved to Milan). As a rowdy ado-

lescent who could not stand the prospect 42 . Bruno Munari, English-language profile of continuing a job he viewed as thank- quoted in Catalano 1994: of Munari from 1964, fur- 152. ther confirmed by Alberto less, and consumed by a ‘wholly provincial 43 . Alberto Munari, Munari (conversation desire to go out and discover the world,’44 conversation with author, with author, February 10, February 10, 2008. 2008). Nevertheless, nei- Munari was able to pursue his studies 44 . Tanchis 1987: 10. Cf. ther the school’s name nor Le persone che hanno fatto its specialisation are noted. thanks to one of his uncles. The husband grande Milano, 1983: 4–6: Generally speaking, most of his mother’s sister was an engineer, and ‘He liked painting, drawing, technical training of the inventing games, and mak- time lasted four years, and had briefly lived in Badia before moving to ing machines that had no included physics/math- useful purpose. That’s why ematics, surveying, agron- he got bored of that Veneto omy, commercial account- town, and even got angry— ing, and industrial courses because when a man can’t (Aquarone 1988: 546n). do what he enjoys, it’s only 46 . Di Corato 2008: natural that he’s unhappy, 209n. angry, and his blood grows 47 . Alberto Munari, bitter. So he took the train conversation with author, and came to Milan (…) and February 10, 2008. has never felt angry since 48 . Bruno Muna- (…).’ ri, quoted in Catalano 45 . The information is 1994:152. See also Giuseppe cited in Naylor 1990, and Tarozzi’s summary of an was originally from an interview with Munari:

Italy’s most mechanical city and geometric draughtsmanship, as well as his growth, initiating him in the techni- how to draw building plans and sections, cal aspects of design that would later beall of which was useful to me later on.48 come such an essential part of his creative approach. Most sources say Munari had settled in 22 Milan by 1927, which is also the date of I have no particular memories of my arrival in Milan. I was from a small town his first participation in the group shows and, obviously, the scale was different. Mi- mounted by the Milanese Futurists. Nev- lan felt like a very big, boundless city. Nev- ertheless, considering that Munari per- ertheless, at least back then, Milan didn’t seem like a metropolis. It was just big.51 manently settled in Milan only around 1930, it seems likely that, at least in an initial phase of the transition, he was still Munari’s technical apprenticeship with periodically going from Milan to Badia—a his uncle ended after a couple of years, in situation that was likely facilitated by the 1928, when Ugo left for America: from blurred boundaries between his work life then on Munari, who was already a full- and family life.49 In Milan, while waiting fledged member of the Milanese Futurist to find some kind of work, he was actu- group, began to support himself by work- ally taken in once again by his uncle the ing in advertising. Like other artists of his engineer, who saw his aptitude for drawing generation, and following the ideological and design and ended up taking him in to premises of Futurism, which spoke of an work as a technical draughtsman. Munari art launched without prejudice into daily must have already felt a familiarity with life, Munari felt no separation between the design, which he had pursued on his own art seen in galleries and that of advertising, as an adolescent back in Badia: proud as he was of his autodidactic background, he later tended to minimise the importance of ‘He had seventy lire in his the date of Munari’s arrival pocket and nothing much at in Milan (1926) to Munari the technical instruction he had received all in the way of prospects. himself. in high school. In any case, ample historio- In Badia Polesine, where 49 . Information de- he’d started out, he helped duced from an English-lan- graphic criticism has highlighted the poor his father and mother run guage biographical sketch, quality of most teaching at Italian techni- a hotel. He was turning certainly written by Munari nineteen and really didn’t himself (evident not only cal schools of the day;50 nevertheless, in that line of work. He liked from the English that is painting, drawing, invent- clearly moulded on Italian, light of his uncle’s decision, it is difficult ing games (…) That’s why but also from the type of not to see a connection to his formative he got bored of that Veneto information given, carefully town, and even got angry selected to focus on both his instruction, however rudimentary, at the (…). So he took the train childhood and his artistic institute in Naples. Be that as it may, that and came to Milan. An experiences), provided by uncle engineer took him in the Dutch publisher Steen- first professional experience brought him until he could find him an- drukkerij de Jong in 1964 other place. Then, because for the launch of his illeg- into contact with the engineering world the boy was good at draw- ible red and white book for and undoubtedly constituted a techni- ing, he asked him to help the Kwadrat-Bladen series: draw some of the designs ‘1930, leaves his parents in cal apprenticeship that was important for he’d made’ (Le persone che Badia Polesine and settles hanno fatto grande Milano, in Milan.’ A copy of the 1983: 4–6). Guido Vergani’s book is now in the Domus account matches rather Archives, Milan (Munari, closely: ‘(...) He said he’d file 22). become a Milanese in 1926, 50 . ‘But I only studied when he came to town with a bit of engineering, which only 70 lire in his pocket was utterly useless! I’m and a sole calling—that of just curious, I’m an experi- no longer being a factotum menter,’ Bruno Munari, cit- in the little hotel his folks ed in Manera 1986: 153. On kept up amid the poverty of the Italian school system, Badia Polesine’ (Vergani in see Aquarone 1988: 547. Finessi 2005: 160). Both Ta- 51 . Le persone che hanno rozzi and Vergani attribute fatto grande Milano, 1983: 6.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 which was certainly a pioneering viewpoint the Officine Grafiche Ricordi, then at the in Milan at the close of the 1920s. This de- Maga agency (founded by Giuseppe Ma- cision—which Munari repeatedly returned gagnoli), and in 1924 he teamed up with to over the years, making it an integral part his friend Federico Morzenti to create the 22 of his reading of his own career—was dic- Mauzan–Morzenti agency, with offices on 23 tated by a need for economic independence via Castel Modrone in Milan.54 The studio that would keep him from paying any heed was a noteworthy success, as the staggering to art-market logic, as well as his uninhib- number of posters they made for countless ited, avant-garde vision of aesthetic activ- clients in those years attests (particularly ity, understood as unconfined creativity, in such highly competitive sectors as food which guaranteed him maximal freedom advertising), thanks not only to Mauzan’s to practice whatever kind of visual research prolific output, but also through their he wished—from painting to photography, contracts with other painters: among the poster design, mobile sculptures, trade-fair young artists who worked with them were exhibitions, ceramics, theatrical sets, fur- Gino Boccasile, Matteo Bianchi, Sant’Am- niture design, and commercial graphics: brogio, and Sepo.55 Even after Mauzan left for Argentina at the end of 1926, the I did it so as not to feel bound to any deal- Mauzan-Morzenti studio remained active er (…) [I chose graphic design] with the same enthusiasm I did everything else for many years (at least through the late with, because I don’t believe there are any first-class or second-class actions in life: I 52 52 . Bruno Munari, approach everything with curiosity. quoted in Catalano 1994: emergent Argentine graphic 151. Cf. also Tanchis 1987: tradition), before finally 11: ‘He was ever-faithful returning to France, where to his principle of always his work gained little recog- having a job (as advertising nition. There are very few Studio Mauzan-Morzenti designer, art director, il- critical studies of his work, lustrator), so as to remain even in French: aside from Early on, in 1928, Munari worked as a economically independent the catalogue published by from the fickle art market.’ Alain Weill in 1983 (with an sketch artist in the Mauzan–Morzenti 53 . This information article on his Italian period studio, an ad agency and poster publisher appears first in Pesavento, by Luigi Menegazzi, cura- Palieri 1953, and was re- tor of the Salce Collection founded in 1924 by the French affichiste printed in the 1995 Bolaffi in Treviso), see the cata- Achille Mauzan and the printer Federico catalogue. Mirande Carné- logue raisonné edited and valé-Mauzan, daughter of published by his daughter, Morzenti.53 Doing the reverse of what Leo- the French affichiste, does Mirande Carnévalé-Mau- not recall her father ever zan, in 2001, of which there netto Cappiello had (leaving Italy for Paris mentioning Munari (let- is also an abridged English- to work for the publisher Vercasson), Mau- ter to author, October 29, language edition focussing 2007), but that is not so on his posters. zan had left Lyon for Italy (moving to Tu- surprising, given that Mu- 54 . The illustration used rin, then Rome, and finally Milan) prior to nari’s collaboration with as the logo on letterhead— the Morzenti studio (1928) portraying a Joker shouting World War I, and made a name for himself began after Mauzan left for into the ear of a Pierrot—is South America (1926-1927). representative of Mauzan’s illustrating postcards and posters during Achille (Luciano) Mauzan later, more congenial cari- the golden age of silent film. Mauzan later (1883–1952), was a French caturistic style (reproduced painter, illustrator, and art in Carnévalé–Mauzan worked primarily in advertising: first at deco poster artist. His best- 2001: 23, 69). Mauzan was known poster was done for well known in Milan, even a loan program through amongst the general public: the Credito Italiano (1917), in 1921 he co-organised an which uses the device of a exhibition with Cappiello soldier pointing his finger at at the Castello Sforzesco, in the viewer, first stylised in which he exhibited ceram- a poster designed by Alfred ics and book illustrations Leete featuring Lord Kitch- made for the First Interna- ener (1914). At the end of tional Exhibition of Decora- 1926 Mauzan left Italy for tive Arts in Monza (1923) Argentina, where he re- and the following Monza mained until 1932 (his suc- Biennial (1925). cess as a commercial artist 55 . Carnévalé–Mauzan contributed greatly to the 2001: 24.

Italy’s most mechanical city 1930s), and they made the most of each op- obstinacy and passion in small studios, of- portunity for long-distance collaboration ten on custom-made equipment.59 In fact, between Buenos Aires and Milan.56 Nev- it was only thanks to the initiative and ertheless, Munari’s time at the studio—a resources of the advertising field that an period in which he began to sign his work artistic and technical animation tradition 24 with the Futurist pseudonym BUM, or sim- was established in Milan between the two ply Bruno—was not to last more than a few world wars; only after World War II was it months, and by the end of that same year to finally receive the broad public and rec- he began collaborating with artist brothers ognition it deserved, thanks in part to the Carlo and Vittorio Cossio on animated ad- arrival of television.60 vertisement shorts. In 1928 two significant careers in animated advertising began: Nino Pagot debuted with Oscar and Guido Maestro; and Animation the Cossio brothers began to work with From the first attempts at film advertis- Milan’s Italiana di Pubblicità Cinemato- ing—carried out in the 1920s with slide grafica (IPC, film advertising company) film and stop-motion animations—this under the direction of Marcello Maestro medium had rapidly spread through Italy, and Bruno Ditz. Munari introduced Carlo apace with the rapid success of synchro- Cossio, who began as a comic-strip artist,61 nised sound.57 Animated films, which had also begun in Milan—and were pioneered 56 . See, for example, with synchronised sound the ‘Scampoli a metà prezzo’ was produced in 1930 (Gen- by the artists working for the children’s poster (Scraps at half price, naro Righelli’s La canzone weekly Corriere dei piccoli (the first Italian 1938), reproduced in Car- dell’amore). névalé–Mauzan 2001: 182. 58 . Gianeri 1960:188. comic-strip magazine, established in 1908 In particular, with regard 59 . Both Gianeri (1960: as a supplement to the Corriere della Sera to the studio’s relation- 186–91) and Alberti (1957: ship with Munari, see two 136–7) note that Italy, gen- newspaper)— had long been the artistic posters (now extant only in erally speaking, lacked a re- 58 reproductions of mock-ups ceptive audience: the Amer- bastion of ‘enthusiastic neophytes’ due in L’Ufficio Moderno, No- ican tradition of slapstick to national film producers’ reluctance to vember 1932: 661–4) cre- comedy—whose language ated by Ricas and Munari was based on physical gags, invest in a product so different from the for ‘Casa America, el hogar and was widely used in car- successful genres of silent film, based on de la musica’—a shop in toons—was alien to Italian Buenos Aires that Mauzan culture, whose silent cin- divas or D’Annunzian historical dramas. designed four posters for ematic comedies favoured between 1929–30 (repro- vaudeville and farce. See Even when the success of cartoons by Walt duced in Weill 1983: 64–5 also Zanotto, Zangrando Disney, Max Fleischer, and Pat Sullivan and Carnévalé–Mauzan 1973: 21, 25; and Bucalossi 2001: 14–5)—which provide 1966: 34–7. revived public interest in the genre, Ital- clear evidence of Ricas and 60 . Simply consider the ian production in the field remained fairly Munari’s collaboration creations (for film and later (they had become associates for television) of Nino and small, given the ongoing lack of both in- in 1930) with the studio Toni Pagot, Gino and Ro- Mauzan-Morzenti. berto Gavioli, Osvaldo Ca- dustrial capital and technical know-how, 57 . For example, the vandoli, Paul Campani, and and was primarily limited to adverts and first cinematic advertis- Bruno Bozzetto, to mention ing company in Italy was only a few. For an overview publicity shorts produced with creative Publi–Cine, founded in the of the most famous televi- twenties by the journalist sion commercials produced Felice Minetti, which cov- in Italy from the late fifties ered approximately half of onward, see Croce 2008 the more than 1,200 cin- (with enclosed DVD). emas nationwide (Ceserani 61 . The first strip drawn 1997: 128). The first talkie by Carlo Cossio, with dia- film, The Jazz Singer, was logue and texts by Mario produced by Warner Bros. Nerbini—Le avventure avia- in 1927, and one year later torie di un balillino—debuted Walt Disney released the in 1928 as a supplement first feature-length Mickey to the weekly comic Il 420, Mouse animation with published by Giuseppe sound (Steamboat Willie). Nerbini. Of great his- As for Italy, the first film torical significance, in 1932

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 as well as his brother Vittorio to Milan’s cel technique—named for the transparent animation scene, where they met other celluloid sheets each successive drawing artists, including Giuseppe Perego and Fer- was made on.66 dinando Corbella.62 Munari collaborated As he worked alongside the Cossio 24 with the Cossio brothers on a few brief ad- brothers, in the early thirties Munari also 25 vertising inserts with animated puppets,63 regularly worked for the IPC: between 1930 wherein he was finally able to test out his and 1935 he single-handedly completed ‘a inventiveness to resolve the formidable considerable number of advertising shorts technical difficulties inherent to such a (…) using a lead cable wire (…) [while] pioneering medium: ‘Blessed be laziness! the sets were made of the most varied ma- (…) mainspring of progress: they invented terial, from cotton balls to glass and cor- the compass and home plumbing so they’d rugated cardboard’—on these he was the no longer have to draw circles by hand and sole creator, designer, and photographer.67 run with a bucket to the spring,’ as Munari Although no known copies of these shorts later said of his experiences there.64 These exist today, from their summary descrip- were brief adverts animated in an artisanal tion it is easy to detect their formal analo- manner, using figures cut from cardboard, gies with the archetypal ‘mechanical’ fig- fixed in place with pins, and filmed in a ures Munari produced during this period, single cut: as well as their connection to contemporary investigations on the possible artistic We gave them articulated limbs by putting little pieces of copper at the leg and arm joints, at the waistline, and at the bottom of the neck Nerbini became the first 63 . Zanotto, Zangrando to hold the pieces together. Laid horizontally Italian publisher of Topolino (1973: 132) list in the ap- on the flat set, under a vertically mounted (Mickey Mouse); two years pendix for 1928: shorts cre- later he launched a new ated and produced by Carlo film camera, the characters were then moved weekly comic, L’Avventuro- Cossio, in collaboration by hand and photographed one shot at a time, so, heralding the heyday of with Munari, with photo- one movement after another. Naturally their adventure comics (Telloli graphs (in black and white) movements were limited to whatever could be 2000). by Aldo Torelli. shown with the cut-out profile, with jumps 62 . In 1930, Carlo Cos- 64 . Bruno Munari, sio (1907–1964) founded quoted in Zanotto, Zan- and similar actions—that is, without any per- Dibicoss, which later be- grando 1973: 27–8. The ar- spectival depth. In order to obtain the effect came Doricoss DB, both gument for minimum effort of depth, we sometimes drew the character studios specialised in mod- as the motivation for hu- on the set; the character was then drawn ern advertising art. In 1931, man progress appeared in again, with the necessary movements for each after a few ups and downs, Design e comunicazione visiva 65 Cossio moved to Paris to (Munari 1968: 68ff.); the action and each shot, including the set. deepen his knowledge of close resemblance of Mu- cinema, and returned to nari’s example in both cases Milan at the end of 1933, would seem to indicate that For other shorts completed in 1929 the when he became the techni- the quote dates back to the Cossio brothers experimented with a new cal director of Milionfilm, late 1960s. an agency specialised in 65 . Vittorio Cossio, technique that consisted of drawing the feature-length animations. quoted in Zanotto, Zan- In 1934 he left the world grando 1973: 25–6. Cf. Tan- puppets in white on black paper, and again of animation to work in chis 1987: 28. shot one frame at a time; the following comics, and drew strips for 66 . Bendazzi 1988: 59 various papers, until in 1938 mentions Munari alongside year, alongside Munari, they discovered the he became successful with the Cossio brothers. Cf. the character Dick Fulmine also Gianeri 1960: 192. The (Dick Lightning), whose cel, patented by the Ameri- adventures appeared in the can artist Earl Hurd in 1914, pages of L’Audace. Other allowed animators to draw characters created at the the background separately, tip of his pencil included and then animate the char- the boxer Furio Almirante— acters by painting on trans- which was then carried for- parent sheets of celluloid ward by his brother Vittorio acetate, with each cel corre- (1911–1984)—Tanks pugno sponding to a single frame d’acciaio, Kansas Kid, and of the sequence. Buffalo Bill (Telloli 2000). 67 . Zanotto, Zangrando Cf. Zanotto, Zangrando 1973: 27–8, 132. 1973: 25–9.

Italy’s most mechanical city uses of industrial (‘polymaterial’) materials—which reveals the early influence of Futurist aesthetics on the young designer, as well as highlighting the ongoing osmosis between formal lines of research in both 26 art and advertising design.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 I was born of boccioni+depero1 Futurist militancy in 1930s Milan

The Second Wave of Futurism 29 An emerging design culture 32 27 The Milanese group 34 An experimenter’s way 37 The Centrale Futurista di Milano 42 From Futurism to Abstraction 43 Exhibition installations 46 Munari and the Milanese avant-garde 49

In 1927 in Milan Munari met Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the tireless impresario of the Futurist movement, and immediately became part of the Milanese group. Munari often remem- bered his first contact with the avant-garde movement, and was amused by the paradox—verbal and otherwise—of a Futur- ist meeting in an antiquarian bookshop.2 ‘In my spare time I strolled around Milan, and I liked the bookshops in particular. In corso Vittorio Emanuele there was a little gallery, the Galleria De Cristoforis; its ceiling had a skylight, and it was an antique shop, with antiquarian books. In the window display I saw an essay on Leonardo da Vinci. I went in and asked if I could have a look. The shopkeeper was quite kind to me, I told him why I was in Milan and he told me about the Futurists.’3 The shopkeeper in question was Michele Leskovic, a young poet from the Friuli region who wrote under the pseudonym Escodamè,4 and a close collaborator of Marinetti, to whom he introduced Munari after seeing some of his ‘mechanical’ drawings.

1 . Bruno Munari, let- therefore was not merely an ter to Tullio Crali, undated Italianisation of a foreign [1932]. Mart, Archivio name (as Munari often del ’900, fondo Crali, said). Forced Italianisation Cra_01_117. of foreign names began 2 . See the interviews by only in the thirties, under Rossi 1962: 9; Branzi 1984: the Fascist Party Secretary 40–1; Catalano 1994: 150; Achille Starace, along with Di Corato 2008: 209. other imposed nationalis- 3 . Catalano 1994: 152. tic rules (such as using the 4 . The surname, coined Roman salute instead of the in 1925, was a pun meaning handshake, the obligatory roughly ‘I take leave by my- black shirt worn by govern- self,’ with wordplay based ment employees, and the strictly on assonance, and abolition of lei, the formal

I was born of boccioni+depero Their encounter was not entirely casual— technical studies behind him, Munari they must have met near the bookshop: ei- had nevertheless decided he would follow ther at the Trianon,5 a well-known theatre his artistic interests and move to Milan, (connected to the Hotel Corso, where Ma- a city with close ties to Futurism. From rinetti used to stay when he was in Milan) 1912 to 1924 Marinetti had managed the 28 that had been one of the movement’s labo- movement’s official headquarters at the ratories and had hosted Futurist evenings Ca’ Rossa on corso Venezia 61, just outside and events; or at the Ristorante Savini6 in the city’s historic centre, and from those the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (another offices he published the Edizioni Futuriste rendezvous point for the city’s artists and di «Poesia» (Poesia Futurist editions).10 He literati, where Marinetti usually met with had also long entrusted the Tipografia Ta- the young Futurists after dinner). Munari veggia, a print-shop on via Ospedale, with had heard talk of the Futurists from a guest the composition and printing of his tavole who had stayed at the family hotel in Badia, parolibere (words in freedom),11 and in 1919 and as a boy he had discovered painting by the movement regrouped around the Espo- following two friends who were aspiring sizione Nazionale Futurista (National Fu- painters: turist Exhibition) at the Galleria Centrale d’Arte in Palazzo Cova.12 I came into contact with a lot of people, be- Milan was also home to the Accademia cause all sorts stopped in at the hotel (…) Before the war a lot of businessmen passed di Belle Arti di Brera (Brera Fine Arts Acad- through and stayed one or two nights, and emy) and other well-known schools of ap- one of them told me about Futurism. I re- plied arts, such as the Scuola d’arte del Ca- member he had a handkerchief around his neck, which was strange at the time, because stello (Art school in the Castello Sforzesco) most people just wore a shirt and tie, and and the Istituto per le Arti Decorative e I was intrigued. I was about eighteen, and Industriali (Institute of Decorative and In- I started to do some drawings, but I didn’t 13 know how to do anything, I just made it dustrial Arts) in nearby Monza; but there up as I went. I had two painter friends (…) Gino Visentini and Gelindo Furlan: they form of ‘you’: cf. Falasca Pasolini and director Mauro went around with a little case of paints, and I Zamponi 1997: 118). Bolognini, Il Bell’Antonio, went with them to paint some landscapes.7 5 . Damaged by the 1943 1960). Gelindo Furlan bombardments, the hotel (1907–1994) followed his and the theatre (designed friend Munari to Milan and The first things I did were some paintings by Angelo Cattaneo and joined the Futurist group. you might call naturalist works, which Giacomo Santamaria) were In 1934, along with Munari depicted the mills along the Adige.8 torn down after the war and Ricas, he signed the and replaced in 1954 by the Manifesto tecnico dell’aero- Fondiaria Assicurazioni plastica futurista (Techni- We made little paintings we then exhibited in building and the new Gal- cal Manifesto of Futurist the windows of the town stationer’s shop.9 leria De Cristoforis; the Aeroplastics). In the forties original Art Nouveau facade he collaborated with Mu- has now been reconstructed nari on the creation of two (with significant changes) games, Il Teatro dei bambini Self-taught by his adolescent passion, and in nearby Piazza Liberty and Via dei Mercanti. Cf. perhaps right after deciding to leave the (Paolo Colussi, Storia di Mi- Barillari 2001: 491. lano, www.storiadimilano. 8 . Barberis 1978. disappointing experience of his incomplete it/citta/Porta_Orientale/ 9 . Alberto Munari teatro_milanese.htm, last 1986: 74. accessed September 2009). 10 . Poesia was the liter- 6 . The Savini was an ary journal launched by expensive restaurant dur- Marinetti in his early years ing the day, but after dinner (1905–1909), which later ‘the tables were cleared and evolved into the main Fu- the large hall with red sofas turist publishing house. became a literary parlour’ 11 . In Zang Tumb Tumb (Tofanelli 1986: 35). (1914) Marinetti men- 7 . Branzi 1984: 40–1. tions the foreman Cesare Gino Visentini (1907–?) Cavanna. worked in the film industry 12 . Crispolti 1986: 73. as critic and writer (he cre- 13 . In 1920s Milan, op- ated, alongside Pier Paolo portunities for training in

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 are no records of Munari having ever want- for a Futurist reconstruction of the universe ed to take art courses, either professional as announced by Giacomo Balla and Fortu- or academic—had he expressed such an nato Depero in the eponymous 1915 mani- interest, he could just as easily have gone festo, which presaged a total work of art: 28 to study in Venice, which would certainly 29 have been closer to Badia.14 His decision (…) We aim to realise this total fusion in order to reconstruct the universe, making seems instead to have been the conscious it more joyous, that is, wholly recreating conclusion of someone equally intent on it. (…) We will find abstract equivalents for being an artist and on taking a less tradi- all the universe’s forms and elements, and we will combine them all, according to the tional route: to the eyes of a twenty-year- whims of inspiration, to shape plastic com- old who had just arrived in the big city and plexes that we will then set in motion.16 was unconditioned by a conventional education, Marinetti’s movement must have looked like a breakaway force, a ‘symbol of the new, perhaps a little noisy and rascally,’ but all the more interesting because of its the applied arts abounded: biennial of decorative arts) 15 in addition to regular day- hosted the Istituto per le openness to all disciplines. In choosing time courses of the Brera Arti Decorative e Industriali to live in Italy’s industrial capital, Munari Academy of Fine Arts, the (Institute for Decorative Scuola degli Artefici (Brera and Industrial Arts), a bona already demonstrated —despite his young Artists’ School, founded by fide university of applied age and inexperience—his refusal of the Maria Theresa of Austria in arts with a pedagogical 1776 to train artistic labour- model similar to that of traditional dichotomy between high and ers for the construction of the Bauhaus. By the early La Scala) offered evening thirties, the arrival of a few low culture, pure and applied art. His con- classes focussed on copying teachers who were actively victions, although not yet fully explicated, historical styles, although engaged in contemporary graphic applications were cultural debates—Marcello and perhaps influenced by the Futurists’ not included in the course Nizzoli, Edoardo Persico, vehement claims, were nevertheless deeply of study. The evening Giuseppe Pagano (in Mon- classes of the Scuola d’arte za), Carlo Dradi (at the felt and matched his natural inclination applicata all’Industria del Castello), Atanasio Soldati Castello Sforzesco (School (at the School of the Book for experimentation. of Applied Arts and Indus- Arts)—reflected changing try at the Castello Sforze- attitudes toward the ap- sco, founded in 1922 as an plied arts (Dradi 1973: 17–9; annex of the Castello’s Art Pansera 2001a: 17; Pansera The Second Wave of Futurism museum, later to become 2001b: 29; Origoni 1981: 2; the Museum of applied cf. the websites of the afore- The term ‘Second Futurism’ was coined arts) were modelled after mentioned institutes (last a traditional art workshop; accessed January 2010). by art historians writing in the 1960s to yet at the end of the twen- 14 . Cf. Antonio Mara- distinguish between the first and second ties the curriculum was sco, ‘Galleria. Bruno Muna- modernised. Moreover, ri’ in Origini vii; 7–8 (May/ waves of Futurism, which were split by given the variety of subjects June 1943): 6–7: ‘[Munari] World War I. Futurism was then experienc- offered at the two schools, didn’t follow any academic many students attended studies, but came to art ing a resurgence characterised by a genera- both, facilitated by their early on, creating remark- proximity and their offset able drawings at an incred- tional turnover and the expansion of artis- schedules. Milan also had ibly young age.’ tic intervention into every aspect of daily the Scuola del Libro della 15 . Meneguzzo 1993: Società Umanitaria (Hu- 27–8. Such a stance was life. The latter was a response to the desire manitarian Society’s School practised by early Futurists of the Book Arts, a non- such as Fortunato Depero. profit organisation estab- 16 . The text of the lished in 1893 to elevate the manifesto Ricostruzione condition of the lower class- futurista dell’universo (Fu- es through various activities, turist Reconstruction of the including vocational train- Universe), written by Balla ing), which offered courses and Depero (with Mari- in book arts and typesetting: netti’s usual editing), was both of these programs circulated as a pamphlet were also updated in the by the Futurist Directorate twenties. In nearby Monza, in Milan on 11 March 1915. beginning in 1922 the Villa For the full text, see Birolli Reale (which since 1923 2008: 161–4. had hosted an international

I was born of boccioni+depero The wording here is particularly significant, greater operative awareness, from synaes- both in light of the later developments of thetic affirmation to “reconstruction”’: in Futurist activities throughout the twenties other words, the jump up to creating three- and thirties, as well as in regard to Mu- dimensional, polymaterial, dynamic plastic nari’s own lines of artistic research after complexes. And little by little, as ‘the range 30 World War II. The use of terms like abstrac- of interests affected by Futurist intervention, colour and above all movement is vital, tions grew more precise and ever broader,’ as is the list of industrial materials with the Futurist activities of the twenties and which they were to assemble the new aes- thirties became truly interdisciplinary.19 thetic objects, plastic complexes: Setting the basis for a total design, Fortu- nato Depero and Enrico Prampolini in pri- Coloured strands of wire, cotton, wool, silk, of mis, along with the entire second genera- every thickness. Coloured glass, tissue paper, celluloid, wire netting, every sort of trans- tion of Futurists, were interested not only parent, intensely coloured material. Fabrics, in advertising and publishing, but also in mirrors, metal sheets, coloured tin-foil, and exhibition design, theatrical set design, in- all sorts of incredibly gaudy substances. Me- chanical, electrical, musical, and noise-mak- terior furnishings, ceramics, clothing, and ing contraptions; chemically luminous liquids fashion accessories.20 of variable colours; springs; levers; tubes; etc. While the 1910s brought about the de- With these means we will construct (…) plastic complexes rotating on a pivot (…) plastic velopment of poetics (above all literary and complexes that disassemble themselves (…) pictorial poetics) and strategies for self- plastic complexes that appear and disap- promotion (borrowed from advertising), in pear (…) fantastic toys to be viewed through lenses; little boxes to open up at night, from which pyrotechnical marvels will burst forth; contraptions in transformation, etc.17 17 . Ibid. 18 . For a concise time- L’immaginazione senza fili e line of the proliferation le parole in libertà (Imagina- of specialised manifestos: tion Without Strings and This goal of achieving a total creative inter- the founding manifesto of Words-in-Freedom). In 1913 literary Futurism (which Anton Giulio Bragaglia’s vention, which transcended all traditional appeared in Le Figaro the 20 Fotodinamismo futurista genre divisions, was in reality a process that February 1909) was fol- (Futurist Photodynamism) lowed in 1910 by the Manife- appeared, and soon after had been triggered at the very beginning of sto dei pittori (Manifesto of came cinema, with the 1916 the movement; it was implicit in the Futur- the Painters) and the Ma- manifesto La cinematografia nifesto tecnico della pittura futurista (Futurist Film). ist condition of abolishing any separation futurista (Technical Mani- See Crispolti 1980: 15–20. festo of Futurist Painting, 19 . As is amply attested between art and life, such that Marinetti’s signed by Boccioni, Carrà, to in the most recent Futur- initial literary aspirations spread like an Russolo, Severini, and ist historiography, following Balla); in 1911 came mu- the fundamental research oil spill to touch upon fields that were not sic, with the Manifesto dei done by Enrico Crispolti: always close neighbours, such as painting, musicisti futuristi and the see, in particular, the exhi- Manifesto della musica futu- bition catalogue Ricostru- sculpture, music, theatre, photography, rista (Manifesto of Futurist zione futurista dell’universo, 18 Musicians and Manifesto of specifically dedicated to this and architecture. Nevertheless, Balla and Futurist Music), followed vein, from which the quotes Depero’s theoretical intervention explic- by theatre, with Marinetti’s herein have been taken Manifesto dei drammatur- (Crispolti 1980: 19, 22). itly ‘stated the qualitative leap to a level of ghi futuristi (Manifesto of 20 . Crispolti 1986: ix– Futurist Playwrights); in xvi. Anticipating the later 1912 came sculpture, with interest in design culture, Boccioni’s Manifesto tec- Balla and Depero’s mani- nico della scultura futurista festo is an essential tool for (Technical Manifesto of interpreting Futurism in Futurist Sculpture), while its entirety (Crispolti 1982: on the literary front Mari- 176; cf. Pansera 2001a: netti was developing paroli- 15–6; id. 2001b: 21–2). Tan- berismo (words-in-freedom) chis in turn sees it as the and the principles of Fu- origin of many of Munari’s turist typography in his visual works, both during 1912 Manifesto tecnico della the 1930s as well as in the letteratura (Technical Mani- post-war period (Tanchis festo of Literature), and 1986: 11–2).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the early 1920s the progressive depletion by Fillìa and Nicolaj Diulgheroff, and the of the subversive energies of Futurism (ac- Milan-based group, led by Munari—as well centuated by defections and the absence as two of the movement’s notables who of those who died in the war) carried the were often in Milan alongside Marinetti: 30 movement into a period of decline.21 Milan Depero,25 who had actively been involved 31 in particular—which had been the cradle

of Futurism— despite a few important ex- 21 . ‘Futurism was born Centrale d’Arte in Palazzo hibitions at Palazzo Cova22 had lost its role with a true predisposition Cova hosted a retrospec- for advertising’ (Salaris tive of Boccioni’s work, and as the movement’s core. More and more 1986: 13–4), in the sense in 1919 the Great National activities moved to Rome, which also coin- that Marinetti skilfully Futurist Exhibition, which exploited the penetrat- later travelled to Genoa cided with Marinetti’s move to the nation’s ing power of advertising and Florence, and in 1921 it techniques—an approach mounted an exhibition of capital in an attempt to grow closer to the that had never been seen Depero’s work, which was political regime.23 In search of a broader before within the cultural the last major Futurist ex- realm—to give their move- hibit until the later events audience and level of consensus in society ment greater visibility in at the Galleria Pesaro (Bassi at large, toward the mid-1920s Marinetti the media: from printed 1992: 55). matter (brochures, flyers, 23 . Roman Futurism along with the young conscripts of the so- posters, advertisements in revolved around the ateliers newspapers), to books and of Balla, Prampolini, and called second generation who surrounded magazines sent ‘Courtesy Anton Giulio Bragaglia. him aimed to publicly position themselves of the Marinetti Company,’ After his initial adherence and lively Futurist soirées. to combative Fascism dur- in the role of innovators tout court, expo- On an iconographic level, ing the election year, in nents of a mass avant-garde synonymous advertising—seen as an 1920 Marinetti distanced integral, meaningful aspect himself from Mussolini’s with modernity, less radical yet still open of the modern urban and movement, finding it overly industrial landscape—was conservative. Marinetti’s to a vast array of formal experimentation repeatedly used in frag- rapprochement with the in relation to contemporary European mentary form in works of political leader, who was words-in-freedom and Fu- now firmly in power, was currents. turist painting. See Salaris completed in 1924 with The case of Umberto Boccioni is em- 1994: 17–9, 59–60; Fanelli, the First Futurist Congress Godoli 1988: 119–21; Lista (organised in Milan, 23–25 blematic of this changed approach to com- 1984: 63–4; Birolli 2008: November) and subsequent 218–24. move to the capital city at mercial artistic practices compared to the 22 . Of the group of the end of that year. Closer beginning of the century: between 1907 artists who had signed the to the centre of political first Futurist painting and power, Marinetti constantly and 1910 he worked as an illustrator in Mi- sculpture manifestos, Boc- sought (albeit to little ef- lan, producing magazine covers, illustra- cioni and Sant’Elia had died fect) an alliance with the in the war, Carrà turned regime in order to have the tions, and poster adverts; nevertheless, as to Metaphysics, Soffici and Futurist movement recog- Sironi were looking for the nised as the official ‘State soon as he joined the Futurists as a ‘pure’ return to order championed Art.’ See Salaris 1985: 113– painter, he abandoned all commercial by the Novecento move- 25, 136–41, 190–2; Salaris 24 ment, and Russolo ventured 1994: 67–85; Fochessati, work. Yet by the early 1930s, many Fu- into esotericism (Birolli Millefiore 1997: 51; Birolli turists of the ‘new guard’ worked in both 2008: 247–52; Scudiero 2008: 250–1. 2009a: 9–10; Meneguz- 24 . See, for example, realms, making no distinction between zo 1993: 27–8). Crispolti the advertisements and stresses the discontinuity covers made in 1908 for the merits of pure art and applied art. In between the work of the the Rivista mensile del Tou- particular, this viewpoint was championed Futurists of the 1910s as ring (reproduced in Fanelli, compared to those of the Godoli 1988: 126–7). Yet by members of the Turin-based group, led 1920s and 1930s: the crisis, we know from Boccioni’s which was certainly also diaries that his attempts to physiological, arose in part remain a viable commercial due to material progress— artist were largely unre- and the subsequent evolu- alised: see Fanelli, Godoli tion of taste—of Italian 1988: 126; and Poggi 2009: society, which cancelled out 73–4. For his diaries, see the ‘utopian/Futurist rejec- Z. Birolli 1971. tion’ advocated by the first 25 . For Depero, in addi- wave of Futurism (Crispolti tion to Maurizio Scudiero’s 1986: xvii), and in part also in-depth bibliography, see as a result of the trauma of Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 38–40, war, which demystified the 123–4, 128–31; Salaris 1986: Futurists’ earlier warmon- 14–7. Fortunato Depero gering. In 1917 the Galleria (1892–1960) is a key figure

I was born of boccioni+depero in advertising since the early twenties, and for understanding both the Dada in Zurich in 1916, 26 theoretical and practical de- exposed with the Novem- Prampolini, who by the early thirties velopments of the Futurist bergruppe in Berlin in 1919, travelled between Rome, Milan, Paris, and movement in the twenties. had connections with Der Born in the Trentino region Sturm and the Weimar Bau- Prague, working primarily on theatre sets (which was still part of the haus, and collaborated as and installations. Austro-Hungarian Empire), set designer with Prague’s 32 he studied at the Scuola Re- National Theatre. Between ale Elisabettina in Rovereto 1925 and 1937 Prampolini (Royal Elisabethan School, lived mainly in Paris, where a hotbed of the theories he contributed to Section An emerging design culture and poetics of the Viennese d’Or and Cercle et Carré, Secession, thanks to the was co-founder of Abs- Within the national context of the Futur- teachings of Alvise Comel, traction et Création with ist movement, the Milanese group not and where Luciano Baldes- Vantongerloo and Arp, and sari, Fausto Melotti, Gino came into contact with Sur- only seemed more diversified than others Pollini, and Carlo Belli also realism. From Rome Pram- studied; cf. Scudiero 2009: polini directed the Futurist in its interests—which ranged from inte- 6). He later moved to Rome journal Noi. An early adher- rior design to furnishing, objects, graph- and studied with Balla, with ent to Futurism, his paint- whom he signed the mani- ing soon evolved towards ics for advertising and publishing, fashion, festo Ricostruzione futurista Abstraction and was marked theatrical sets, and installations—but also dell’universo in 1915. Depero by the introduction of new was a thoroughly multi- materials; such modernist more experimental, in terms of the formal disciplinary artist (painter, conception would eventu- sculptor, and designer of ally lead him towards sce- languages explored. The group also consti- theatrical sets, costumes, nography, wall decoration, tuted a significant element of the cultural interiors, tapestries, and and architecture (Crispolti advertising), and in 1920 1986: 59, 239; Crispolti climate that was widespread in Milan be- he founded the Casa d’Ar- 1989: 165–7; ‘Enrico Pram- tween the two world wars, characterised te Futurista (Futurist Art polini,’ Larousse, http:// House) in Rovereto, which www.larousse.fr/encyclo- by the emergent relationship between art ran workshops through pedie/peinture/Prampo- the forties. He was the lini/153954, last accessed and industry—in which the later rise of only Futurist to have direct March 2011). Italian industrial design is rooted.27 It is experience of the modern 27 . In what is in many metropolis, as embodied respects perhaps the most no coincidence that the two major archi- in the collective imagina- comprehensive interview tecture and interior design magazines, Do- tion of New York, where given by Munari, Andrea he lived and worked from Branzi emphasises how the mus and La casa bella, were both founded 1928 to 1930 and, after the Futurists’ formal investiga- war, from 1947 to 1949. In tions were a precursor of in 1928: straightaway both became fun- addition to his famous 1927 Rationalism, and concludes, damental venues for the spread of design ‘bolted book’ Depero Futur- ‘the phenomenon of Italian ista, in 1931 he published design in the fifties (…) has in Italy, while in Milan the Fedele Azari Numero Unico Futurista deeper roots in late Futur- and Cesare Andreoni studios established Campari, a unique collec- ism then in the Modern tion of writings, sketches, movement’ (Branzi 1984: themselves as bona fide design workshops, parolibere compositions, 43). See also Crispolti 1992: and advertisement sketches 71–2; Pansera 2001: 15. Fu- producing objects and home accessories for Campari, which also turist examples of interior (ceramics, cushions, tapestries, toys).28 contains his manifesto Il fu- design (which, interestingly, turismo e l’arte pubblicitaria they termed ‘global’ design) Invariably these activities were tied to arti- (Futurism and Advertising include: Balla’s interiors sanal production methodologies that had art). Although advertising for the Bal tic-tac (Rome, provided Depero’s main 1921); Depero’s designs become mechanised but were not yet part economic income, his work for the Cabaret del Diavo- with industrial clients— lo in the basement of the of a standardised serial production line—a aside from exceptional Hôtel Élite et des Étrangers point which reflects the country’s cultural cases like Davide Campari, (Rome, 1922); Gerardo with whom he began a last- Dottori’s decorations for and economic backwardness—but they are ing collaboration in 1926— the Ristorante Altro Mon- remained sporadic. do (Perugia, early 1920s); 26 . See Prampolini dal Fillìa’s restaurant Ambiente futurismo all’informale Novatore (Turin, 1927); and (Roma: Edizioni Carte Se- Ivo Pannaggi’s Casa Zampi- grete, 1992). Enrico Pram- ni (Esanatoglia, Macerata, polini (1894–1956), painter 1925–26) (Crispolti 1980: and scenographer. Travel- 264–91; Fochessati, Mille- ling frequently outside Italy, fiore 1997: 46–7). Prampolini was directly in 28 . The model was touch with European avant- Depero’s Casa d’Arte garde groups, especially Futurista (Futurist Art with those movements House), founded in 1919 more engaged in abstract in his native Rovereto. researches: adhered to Dinamo-Azari, Fedele

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 nonetheless significant. The Italian Futur- In this sense Munari is perhaps the ist installation at the 1925 Exposition Inter- most explicit example—as he incessantly nationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels went from art to design and back again—of Modernes in Paris proves the connection a path that crossed through all the many 32 between the experimental openness of sec- fields of a new phenomenon known as the 33 ond Futurism and the emergence of design cultura del progetto.32 The Milan Triennale in Milan in the 1950s. Curated by Azari, the was the main point of reference and of- installation was entrusted to Balla, Depe- fered an essential forum for comparison ro, and Prampolini, who were perhaps the and interaction on an international level, most active artists from the first generation above all because it was more open to vari- still working in the vast field of decorative ous types of design than the Venice Bien- arts. The controversial exposition high- nale and Rome Quadriennale, which fo- lighted the contrast between two opposing cussed exclusively on the fine arts.33 Critics conceptions of design: the traditional ar- and historians have repeatedly pointed out tisan, élite approach (which was predomi- that, during this period of Futurist militan- nant, even in the Italian pavilion); and the cy, artists operated in two worlds: on the new rational, industrial production. The one hand, they experimented with differ- Futurist work presented to great acclaim in ent avant-garde languages, from the vari- Paris represented (in the concrete works, ous declensions of Futurism (mechanical, if not the intentions behind them) an Italian flair for Rationalist, modern lines Azari’s multipurpose art mid-teens amid the Roman agency, opened in 1927 in Futurists (alongside both parallel to the ones seen in Le Corbusier’s via Sant’Orsola; Cesare Depero and Prampolini), L’Esprit Nouveau pavilion and the work of Andreoni’s Creazioni d’arte and was therefore an alter- (Art Creations) workshop native to the Boccioni-cen- Melnikov and Rodchenko in the Soviet pa- opened in 1928 in via Sol- tric first wave of Futurism vilion.29 Such affirmation on an interna- ferino (later moved to via in Milan (ibid.: 23–5). Be- Moscova), and specialised yond the supposed suprem- tional level provided yet more proof of the in tapestries, pillows, fash- acy Futurism vaunted over ion accessories, and decora- other European avant-garde vitality of the network of relationships the tive objects. Other Italian movements, the Futurists’ Italian movement had with other European art houses active in the success at the Paris Exposi- twenties included Prampo- tion was undeniable, even avant-gardes, particularly through Pram- lini’s Casa d’arte italiana in amidst the sceptical Italian polini, who lived in Paris between 1925 and Rome, Thayaht’s laboratory critics, who were generally in Florence, and Diulghe- hostile to Marinetti. On 1937. So, over the course of the 1930s, not roff’s Officina d’Arte in Tu- this occasion the art critic rin (Crispolti 1980: 313–21; Vittorio Pica, secretary of only did the second generation of Italian Pansera 1992a: 145–52). the Venice Biennale, ut- Futurists aspire to operate within a broader 29 . On events related to tered his famous remark, the Futurists’ participation, ‘The Futurists saved Italy European dialogue—despite the country’s see Pirani 1999. Initially in Paris’ (quoted in Pirani increasingly autarchic closure30—but also excluded from the organis- 1999: 50). ing committee, the Italian 30 . Especially from (particularly in Milan and Turin) showed Futurist group was admitted 1935 on (with the Ethio- rather late, after long ne- pian War and the ensuing a significant convergence with the Ration- gotiations (and Mussolini’s international sanctions), alist architecture movement and abstract direct intervention), and the Fascist regime increas- 31 even then was only allowed ingly isolated the country, art. to show outside the Ital- restricting both commercial ian pavilion, in the Grand and cultural exchanges. Palais. Balla exhibited 31 . Crispolti 1986: 43. large decorative panels and 32 . Cultura del progetto painted tapestries; Depero is, literally, design culture; tapestries, pillows, shawl the term ‘progetto’ can be designs, toys, and furniture read as ‘design,’ but also designs; Prampolini carpets as ‘project’ and ‘plan.’ In and theatrical sets (Crispol- post-war Italy this new ti 1980: 39). Overall, their phenomenon encompassed work was characterised by architecture, product de- an abstract, colourful style, sign, graphic design, fash- which (according to Cri- ion design, urban planning spolti) had been developed [Trans. note]. by Giacomo Balla in the 33 . Crispolti 1992: 71–3.

I was born of boccioni+depero cosmic, aeropictorial, polymaterial) to Azari (known as the ‘bolted book’);37 Um- surrealism and abstraction.34 On the other berto Notari opened his Futurist bookshop hand, they delved into the realm of applied in Milan;38 and the Gruppo 7 sparked the arts, ploughing through advertising design, Italian Rationalist movement in architec- animation, illustration, photography, ob- ture.39 Later that same year, after several 34 ject design, furniture design, and architec- years of quiescence—since Depero’s exhi- tural installations. Following the examples bition at Palazzo Cova in 1921—Futurist set by Depero and Prampolini, Munari exhibitions were once again organised in developed a similar attitude toward all-en- compassing creative acts and interventions: 34 . Bassi 2005: 59. des Arts Décoratifs et In- specifically, his work already tended toward 35 . Crispolti 1980: 41. dustriels Modernes in Paris. 36 . For the broader con- Azari died of a nervous a transgressive use of techniques and pro- text and a detailed record breakdown (Pansera 1992a: cedures (that were systematically called of the Milanese Futurists’ 149–50; cf. Collarile 1992). complex history, see the 38 . Umberto Notari into question, be it even just on a semantic exhibition catalogue Cesa- (1878–1950) was a writer, level, in some cases), which will become a re Andreoni e il Futurismo journalist, Futurist pub- a Milano tra le due guerre lisher, and Marinetti’s distinguishing feature of his unmistakable (Milan: Archivio Cesare long-time friend; along 35 Andreoni, 1992), which with Fedele Azari, he was stylistic signature. features extensive critical the main organiser of the appendices, in particular First Futurist Congress in excellent contributions by Milan in 1924. Founder Alberto Bassi and Enrico of the Istituto Editoriale The Milanese group Crispolti, from which most Italiano (Italian Publish- of the information herein ing Institute), of the daily For the Milanese Futurists, the years from was drawn. newspaper L’Ambrosiano 37 . The design of the (1922), and of the monthly 1927 to 1933 were particularly dynamic. self-promotional volume magazine La cucina italiana, They marked the end of a long transitional was done by Depero, with he also owned the I.I.I. ad- Azari’s collaboration on the vertising agency (known as period, and saw the rise of significant new cover and title page; the The Three Is, named after artists: next to Munari, Cesare Andreoni, latter also came up with the house organ Le Industrie the idea of using nuts and Italiane Illustrate), who Fedele Azari, Oswaldo Bot, Mario Duse, bolts as a binding (cf. Fa- commissioned Depero his nelli, Godoli 1988: 38–9). A first advertising posters in Ivanhoe Gambini, Carlo Manzoni, and special edition with a metal the early twenties. In 1927 Riccardo Ricas were also part of the initial cover was produced for Notari opened the first 36 prominent figures, such as Futurist bookshop in via group. Munari had the good fortune of Marinetti and Mussolini. Montenapoleone, the Li- being in the right place at the right time, Inside the book (which has breria–Biblioteca Notari (a 234 pages) deploys the en- bookshop-library decorated as 1927 was a crucial moment in Milan: tire range of Futurist typo- by Luciano Baldessari, an- graphic ideas, in the layout other member of the Milan in nearby Monza, at the III Mostra Inter- as well as in the use of dif- Futurist group). See Salaris nazionale d’Arte Decorativa (3rd Inter- ferent papers, colour inks, 1992b: 41; Bassi 1992: 57–8, and overprinting. The book e 57n22. national Decorative Arts Show), Depero contains typographic com- 39 . The Gruppo 7 was designed a Book pavilion for publishers positions, proclamations, founded by a group of manifestos, photographs young architects from the Bestetti Tumminelli Treves, creating a rare of installations, artwork Scuola Superiore di Archi- reproductions, poems, and tettura (School of Architec- example of typographic architecture; the advertisements. Fedele Aza- ture—Ubaldo Castagnola, publisher Dinamo-Azari published the ri (1895–1930) was a pilot, Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, artist, and artists’ agent Sebastiano Larco, Gino first book object, Depero futurista/Dinamo (in addition to acting as a Pollini, Carlo Enrico Rava, mediator in the sale of Fu- Giuseppe Terragni, and, turist works, he negotiated later on, Adalberto Libe- Depero’s contracts with ra) united by their shared companies such as Campari, aspiration to renew Italian Presbitero, Linoleum, Bian- architecture through Ra- chi). Appointed National tionalism. It rose to the fore Secretary of the Futurist in December 1926 with a movement, alongside Mino series of articles published Somenzi and Umberto No- in the journal Rassegna tari he organised the First Italiana—in which they Futurist Congress in 1924; announced new standards the following year he curat- for modern architecture, in ed the Futurist Hall at the keeping with current Euro- Exposition Internationale pean theories.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Milan, and continued annually through It was around 1929, during the second wave the mid-thirties, at various private galler- of Futurism, with Depero, Prampolini, and Dottori, and each year Marinetti organ- ies: Galleria Pesaro, Galleria delle Tre Arti, ised a show at the Galleria Pesaro (…) For and Galleria del Milione. me it was a unique opportunity to exhibit 34 Despite Marinetti’s managerial skills, something. (…) I was making paintings 35 that were more abstract than they were Fu- the Italian Futurist movement had never turist, and I titled them aeropaintings. (…) won significant critical or popular favour, Throughout Italy the Novecento move- as tastes tended toward more classical ment reigned supreme (…) and I gladly stood by the Futurists, as they had a greater work, such as that of the Novecento move- feel for freedom and respect for others.41 ment. Futurism had taken over alternative spaces, thanks to their strategy of cultural Munari ‘was little more than a kid in that agitation that garnered them a degree of extraordinary city of art, architecture, in- visibility (soirées, theatrical performances, telligence, (…) the Milan of “threadbare manifestos, and publishers’ promotion), bohemians” (…) that the Ristorante Savi- yet it continued to suffer a lack of tacti- ni put up with as they met for an afford- cal access and the means to mount official able coffee, sipped slowly so as to last, at events that would have a broader appeal. the tables that weren’t already reserved for The new exhibition season began in the the high society,’ as journalist Guido Ver- autumn of 1927, when the Galleria Pesaro gani recalled.42 From his first mechanical in via Manzoni hosted the Mostra di tren- drawings ‘based entirely on cones’—which taquattro pittori futuristi (Group show of earned him Marinetti’s respect, as they thirty-four Futurist Painters)—and event directly referenced Depero’s iconogra- that marked the beginning of the gal- phy, and perhaps similar work by Ivo Pan- lery’s long-standing relationship with the naggi43—Munari ‘quickly moved on to Milanese group: they went on to organise more demanding paintings, showed his not only exhibitions, but also events such work again, and sold one painting, to a as conferences, soirées, poetry competitions, and the Second Futurist congress in 40 . In 1923 the Galleria 41 . Bruno Munari, 1933. Created as an auction house in the Pesaro had launched the quoted in Branzi 1984: 41. 1910s, Lino Pesaro’s gallery had developed historic core of the Nove- 42 . Guido Vergani cento group (Mario Sironi, (1935–2005) in Finessi a detailed exhibition program of solo and Anselmo Bucci, Achille Funi, 2005: 160. The ‘gruppo dei Ubaldo Oppi, Leonardo ‘cappotti lisi’ is literally the group shows featuring both figurative and Dudreville, Emilio Malerba, ‘group dressed in worn over- decorative art, which had sumptuous spac- and Pietro Marussi), which coats’ [Trans. note]. Margherita Sarfatti—writer, 43 . Ivo Pannaggi es (three large rooms with a library annex) art critic, and Mussolini’s (1901–1981), painter, il- in the prestigious Palazzo Poldi Pezzoli; all mistress—supported as lustrator, set designer, patroness and curator, con- graphic designer, archi- this was supplemented by his publishing tributing to its success in tect, journalist. Alongside Italy as the regime’s official Prampolini, Pannaggi was venture, and soon became an important art, despite Marinetti’s ef- one of the Italian Futur- centre for the city’s artistic and literary forts to have that honour ists most overtly linked to 40 bestowed upon Futurism the European avant-gardes, circles. instead. Lino Pesaro’s col- especially the Russians. He laboration with the Futur- was self-taught, and settled ists continued through 1934, in Rome, where he joined when their rapport ended the Futurist group affili- for unknown reasons (that ated with the Casa d’arte year the Milanese Futur- Bragaglia. He was a close ists’ annual exhibition was friend of Vinicio Paladini’s, held at the Galleria delle with whom he shared both Tre Arti). The Galleria Pe- his non-representational saro closed in 1938 after pictorial style as well as his serious financial problems; political orientation (which later that same year, Lino lead him to break with Ma- Pesaro committed suicide. rinetti). Through Paladini See Ciceri 1997; Bassi 1992: he discovered photomon- 56n9, 57n25. tage, and used it primarily

I was born of boccioni+depero friend, for 50 lire: those were his first earn- with various creative materials and tech- ings as an independent artist.’44 Without niques. On the one hand, such open- a doubt, the reality of being an artist must mindedness led him to try out the various have been a good deal less flashy than it expressive modes of recent artistic trends; seemed in the papers: indeed, as Munari on the other, it let him work across all 36 himself admitted, their exhibitions took fields, without limiting himself solely to place exclusively during the ‘dead seasons’ paint, canvas, and brush. His paintings on the calendar, and the works exhibited from this time, although they show clear were always the same and few in number.45 Futurist influences, remained fairly tradi- Nevertheless, and despite his young age, tional, and included works on canvas, pan- beginning as early as 1927 Munari partici- el, and paper; overall, even though he con- pated in almost all the Futurist exhibitions tinued painting through the fifties, it was a in Milan. He soon caught the critics’ atten- sideline for him. As Meneguzzo emphasises, tion, as well as Marinetti’s eye, and by Oc- tober 1929 Marinetti unwaveringly called for publishing commissions. happenstance (in an inter- 46 him the leader of the Milanese group. In the early twenties he view with Bassi 1990b). began intensely working in 46 . From Marinetti’s His works were regularly shown at impor- illustration/caricature, set catalogue introduction: tant national and international exhibi- design, advertising graph- ‘The group of Milanese Fu- ics, and interior design. turist painters, led by the tions: at each Venice Biennale from 1930 His work as a graphic art- young and ingenious Bruno to 1936; each Rome Quadriennale from ist range from advertising Munari, appears here in full posters to book covers, and force’ (Trentatré futuristi. 1931 to 1939; and aeropainting exhibitions was clearly influenced by Milano: Bestetti e Tummi- the Constructivists, with nelli, 1929: 12; quoted in in France and Germany between 1930 and extensive use of diagonal Crispolti 1992: 74). 1934. He also signed several of the theoreti- compositions, photomon- 47 . The painting mani- tage, and geometric letter- festo ‘Dinamismo e riforma cal manifestos: the unpublished ‘Dinami- ing. In 1926 he exhibited for muscolare’ (Dynamism smo e riforma muscolare’ (Dynamism and the first time in the usa, at and Muscular Reform), the Brooklyn Museum, on dated 31 March 1928, was Muscular Reform), co-authored with Aligi invitation of the Societé signed by Munari and Sassu Anonyme. He intermit- (quoted in Crispolti 1992: Sassu in 1928; the 1934 Manifesto tecnico tently studied architecture 74–5). The Manifesto tecnico dell’Aeroplastica futurista (Technical Mani- in Rome and Florence, and dell’Aeroplastica futurista in ’29 moved to Berlin, (Technical Manifesto of festo of Futurist Aerosculpture), co-written where in 1933 he attended Futurist Aeroplastics) ap- with the Milanese group; and in November the Bauhaus during its last peared with the signatures semester before closure. In of Munari, Manzoni, Fur- that year the manifesto La Plastica murale the thirties he worked as a lan, and Ricas on the back 47 foreign correspondent for of the exhibition program (Manifesto of Mural Art). several Italian newspapers for Scelta futuristi venticin- Between World War I and World and magazines (L’Ambro- quenni at the Galleria delle siano, Casabella, Edilizia Tre Arti (March 1934) and War II, Munari was intensely active at the Moderna, Domus). He fre- was simultaneously pub- core of the Milanese Futurist group. This quently travelled between lished (with the addition of Germany and Italy, and Regina’s signature) in the period is characterised by a heterogeneous in ’42 he moved to Nor- Futurist journal Sant’Elia way, where he worked as (no.66, 1 March 1934). The artistic output—his work shows both his an architect and designer. manifesto La plastica murale assimilation of the styles and influences of He returned to Italy in the (Manifesto of Mural Art) seventies. Also alongside was signed by Andreoni, other artists, as well as his experimentation Prampolini and Paladini, Ambrosi, Benedetta, De- Pannaggi penned the mani- pero, Dottori, Marinetti, festo L’Arte meccanica (Me- Munari, Oriani, Prampolini, chanical Art) published in and Rosso, and was pub- 1923 (Crispolti 1980: 392–3; lished in Stile Futurista (I; Luciani 1995: 443–64; Lista 5, December 1934) on the 1985: 129; Fanelli, Godoli occasion of the Prima Mo- 1988: 84, 132, 195). stra Nazionale della plastica 44 . Rossi 1962: 9. murale per l’edilizia fascista 45 . Munari, quoted (First National Exhibition in an interview with Bassi of mural art for fascist 1990a. Ricas concurred, building projects, Genoa, stating that the shows’ or- November 1934–January ganisation, spearheaded 1935) (Crispolti in Andreo- by Marinetti, was fairly ni 1992: 82).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 ‘Munari was more interested in the generi- would supersede easel painting;51 and the cally creative disciplines, the ones that gave group show at the Galleria Pesaro in Oc- him the means, techniques, and tools that tober 1929, titled Trentatré futuristi. Pittura, were not yet codified into an established scultura, arte decorativa (Thirty-three Fu- 36 language.’48 His decade-long engagement turists: Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative 37 with the Futurists saw him progressively Art), showed work spilling over into the pass through photography, mural decora- applied arts, with Diulgheroff and Fillìa’s tion, ceramics, illustration, and kinetic ob- cartelli lanciatori (launch posters) and jects. Because this path was complex, had ceramic works by d’Albisola and Munari. many branches, and operated simultane- Munari had a greater number of works in ously on several levels, it is worth taking a this second show: in addition to his paint- closer look at its more striking moments. ings, characterised by dynamic planar com- penetrations and vivid colours, he exhibited the complete series of ceramic animals An experimenter’s way produced with d’Albisola’s workshop: Already upon his debut at Galleria Pesaro

in 1927, Munari showed a marked pro- 48 . While Tanchis rel- factory in Albissola contin- pensity for crossing over traditional dis- egates Munari’s painting to ued through the end of the a secondary level compared thirties: see, for example, ciplinary boundaries. In the first show he to his use of other artistic the 1937 photograph of Mu- presented, in addition to paintings, a small media (1987: 24), Mene- nari and d’Albisola in front guzzo admits that, com- of the ceramics factory ceramic sculpture, made according to his pared to the inventiveness (Tullio d’Albisola’s Archives, of his graphics, Munari’s Albissola Marina; repro- sketch at the Casa Giuseppe Mazzotti in paintings and drawings duced in Presotto 1981: 145), Albissola, Liguria, an historic town re- perhaps show ‘somewhat as well as the June 1938 por- less advanced formal char- trait of Munari in Albissola nowned for its ceramics: this was the first acteristics’ (1993: 30-1), (reproduced in Lichtenstein, in a series of stylised ‘imaginary animals’ emphasising, on the other Häberli 1995: 181). In addi- hand, his extreme original- tion to the exhaustive cata- and a prelude to his long collaboration ity of thinking—which led to logue of Futurist ceramics 49 his creation of the air ma- edited by Crispolti (1982), with ceramist Tullio d’Albisola. chines and useless machines on the history of the Maz- The Futurist exhibitions in 1927 and throughout the thirties zotti workshop see http:// (ibid.: 29). www.tulliodalbisola.it. 1929 really resonated with the Milanese art 49 . Over the course of 50 . Crispolti 1992: world; their success was augmented by the the twenties and thirties, 72–3. Nicolay Diulghe- Tullio d’Albisola (pseu- roff (1901–1982), artist, presence of several artists from the Futur- donym of Tullio Mazzotti, designer and architect of 1899–1971) profoundly Bulgarian origin. After ist group in Turin as well, who were more renewed Italian ceramics, early studies at the Kunstge- closely tied to the European Rationalist freeing the medium from werbeschule in Vienna and traditional figuration. He the Der Weg in Dresden, movement and were particularly involved collaborated with numer- Diulgheroff acquired a solid in architectural, interior, and poster de- ous Futurists from Liguria, constructivist background Turin, and Milan. Within at the Bauhaus in Weimar 50 sign. The 1927 catalogue featured the first the still strongly artisanal (1923). He moved to Turin context of ceramic pro- in 1926, where he studied use of the term ‘complessi plastici polima- duction in Albissola at the at the Scuola Superiore di terici rumoristi’ (polymaterial noise-mak- time, Mazzotti’s workshop Architettura of the Accade- offered both a commer- mia Albertina, and joined ing plastic complexes) as the medium that cial approach, focussed on the Futurist circle headed modern design (decorative by Fillìa. Diulgheroff’s ec- objects by Fillìa and Diul- lectic activities range from gheroff, and more utilitari- painting to architecture, an objects like Munari’s), as and include advertising, well as a more experimental exhibition design, as well as approach, which d’Albisola design of furniture, objects, and Farfa explored (Ravaio- ceramics, tapestries. After li 1998: 11–2). As evidence the war he resumed work of their strong, lasting ties as architect, but devoted to the Futurists, is the new himself primarily to paint- factory built by Diulgheroff ing (Olivieri 2008; Fanelli, in Albissola Marina, 1932– Godoli 1988: 187–8; Salaris 34. As for Munari’s ceram- 1986: 151–2). ics, his rapport with the 51 . Ballo 1964: 24.

I was born of boccioni+depero In 1929, at the group show of 33 Futurist banal appearance denied their ironic in- artists held at the Galleria Pesaro in Mi- tent: each featured a semantic play between lan, I had my own room, in which I showed a complete series of my Futurist ceram- the work’s surreal look and its title—such ics (…). Nino Strada and Bruno Munari, as the Tassa delle imposte, a goblet-like ob- two young Futurists from Milan, were my ject whose title could be read as either ‘cup 38 first collaborators (…). At the time, Muna- ri made a series of imaginary animals.52 with shutters’ or ‘tax levy’—proving the spontaneous irony that was often a coun- Munari’s ceramic output was not par- terpoint of Munari’s creations.56 ticularly numerous, but it was detailed: In the meantime, the Gruppo Giovani the 1929 series consisted of small animal Futuristi Milanesi (Group of Young Milan- sculptures (Camel, Goose, Monkey, Owl, ese Futurists) had come together in 1928, Hippopotamus, Hen, Elephant) assem- and received full recognition at the open- bled from elementary geometric forms; ing conference organised by Marinetti for a second series, made around 1932–33 in the show the following year.57 It was during terracotta-based majolica, consists of both this period that Munari met Riccardo Ricas, stylised animals (including a Bulldog, in who had joined the Milanese Futurist cir- two versions) and accessories for home cle and showed his work for the first time and office (including a pen holder). He at the exhibition at the Galleria Pesaro also designed a series of utilitarian objects, in the autumn of 1929.58 Throughout the including a decorated triangular plate set and a promotional ashtray for Sanpelle- 52 . From ‘Le ceramiche Pesaro in 1927, but also futuriste di Tullio D’Albi- showed at the Biennale di grino (the latter was never produced, but sola’ in Futurismo I; 7 (23 Monza in 1923 and 1927. is known through his sketches)—attest- October 1932), reprinted 55 . Crispolti has shown in Crispolti 1982: 169. In a a correlation between these ing to the growing interest in the produc- subsequent text, Mazzotti ceramics and Munari and tion of practical objects for everyday use.53 also mentions Marinetti’s Sassu’s manifesto, reading role—in 1938 they wrote them as an ironic, carica- Aside from the close relationship to his the manifesto Ceramica e tured reversal of the me- Aeroceramica (Ceramics and chanical approach of in- own ‘mechanical’ magazine illustrations Aeroceramics) together. ‘In dustrial production (1982: of the same period, and in turn the likely 1927 (…) Nino Strada, Bru- 30; 1992: 75). On the other 54 no Munari, and Tullio d’Al- hand, Biffi Gentili (2005: influence of Depero’s puppets and toys, bisola met in Milan, with 54) rightly connects these the two series of ceramic animals attest the poet Marinetti (…) to works with the use of ce- establish the guidelines of ramic draw-plates, which to his precise desire to test out the expres- the work [to come]’ (from the Mazzotti workshop had La Ceramica futurista, Albis- a primitive version of. For sive possibilities of cast clay to create a sola Marina: Manifattura a discussion of Munari’s standardised line. This aspect hints at the d’Arte G. Mazzotti, 1939; method, see Meneguzzo quoted in Crispolti 1982: 1993: 23. exploration of a given technique’s limits, a 171–2). 56 . Cf. letter Munari to cornerstone of Munari’s design method as 53 . Reproduced in Cri- d’Albisola, 18 February 1934 spolti 1982: 112–7; see ibid.: (in Presotto 1981: 146). 55 developed in the post-war years. Lastly, at 29–30. In the summer of 57 . The group was al- 1934, in a letter to Tullio ready formed in 1928, ac- the Futurist show mounted by the Galleria d’Albisola, Munari men- cording to the letterhead delle Tre Arti in 1934, Munari and Ricas tions, among other things, a on which Munari and Sassu sample plate and the chang- wrote their manuscript exhibited a series of ceramic objects whose es he would like to make (1928, quoted in Crispol- to some borderless soup ti 1992: 74). During 1929, plates—which indicates that after a show in Varese as he was working with Maz- the Gruppo Radiofuturista zotti on a Rationalist plate Lombardo (Lombard Radi- service (letter Munari to ofuturist Group, Crispolti d’Albisola, [June] 1934, in 1992: 74n8), the collective Presotto 1981: 151). assumed the name Gruppo 54 . See, for example, Futurista F.T. Marinetti/ the wooden constructions Movimento Futurista Mila- Bear and Rhinoceros (1923), nese/Propaganda ‘Radiofu- now at Mart, Rovereto (re- turismo’ (see letter Munari produced in Hultén 1986: to d’Albisola, 30 April 1929, 329). Depero exhibited with in Presotto 1981: 137). the Futurists at the Galleria

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 thirties their working relationship—which the widespread popularity of aviation and remained flexible, as they worked both was based on principles of aerial perspec- together and on their own—grew into a tive—and was repeated in another iteration collaboration that ran much deeper than the following year at the same gallery. On 38 the average professional partnership. It that same occasion the Manifesto dell’Ae- 39 reached such a degree that their visual lan- ropittura (Manifesto of Aeropainting) was guages were almost uniform; they mutu- published (its signatories included Bal- ally influenced one another, and both went la, Depero, Fillìa, and Prampolini)—and from straight abstraction to more surreal- although none of the Milanese members ist work (the style Ricas was best known signed, the manifesto nevertheless is re- for later on), as well as photomontage and ferred to in the exhibition catalogue text kinetic art; ultimately, both held a stance in which the group outlined its theoreti- that remained fairly non-aligned with re- cal stance.62 In the Second Futurism—and gard to mainstream Futurist painting.59 therefore also in Munari’s work—one can Between the end of 1929 and the spring denote two successive stages, correspond- of 1932, Munari received additional rec- ing to two distinct lines of research: the ognition for his work. He took part in two first is related to mechanical representa- Futurist exhibitions Prampolini organised tions; the second to more surreal atmos- in Paris, at the Galerie 23 (Peintres futu- pheres.63 From this perspective, the sheer ristes italiens, in which he was the only experimental versatility of Munari’s visual artist from the Milanese group), and at language appears even more complex, as the Galerie de la Renaissance (Enrico Pram- he absorbed metaphysical and surrealist polini et les aéropeintres futuristes italiens), currents through Prampolini’s work. Steer- both with a lively opening gala thrown by ing clear of the figurative resurgence that Marinetti.60 Further opportunities for the Italian Futurists to exhibit abroad soon fol- 58 . Ricas 2005: 62; Bas- 63 . ‘Early work, done si 1992: 58. between 1918–20 and lowed, and Munari’s work was featured in 59 . Bassi 1994: 14, 16. 1927–28, is characterised by travelling group shows in Germany and 60 . Crispolti 1992: 75, a predominance of formal 77; id. 1980: 564. analogies in mechanical France in 1934, as well as in a Vienna and 61 . Cf. correspondence subjects, and schematic Athens in 1935.61 with Tullio d’Albisola, in images of landscapes sche- Presotto 1981: 151; and Ver- matised according to bright The next major Futurist event at the done 1988²: 241–2. planes of colour, with uni- 62 . ‘With remarkable form geometric fields of Galleria Pesaro took place in the autumn clarity, the Milan group (…) colour. All are based on the of 1931 with the Mostra futurista di Aero- raises the issue of renew- theories outlined in the ing [art’s] linguistic means manifesto L’arte meccani- pittura e di scenografia (Show of futurist in order to achieve an art ca (…) Later on, between Aeropainting and set design), accompanied of pure visuality, based on 1927–28 and the end of the use of colour fields and the thirties, one notes a by a solo exhibition of Prampolini’s work. the combination of colour- prevalence of sculptural, materials,’ wrote Filiberto occasionally figurative for- This was the first exhibition of aeropaint- Menna (1966a, now in Bru- mulations, transferred into ing in Milan—it highlighted the latest no Munari 1979: 72). Ma- a highly imaginative, almost rinetti organised the Prima ‘neo-metaphysical’ realm, trend in Futurist painting, which related to mostra di Aeropittura dei and in many respects verg- Futuristi (First Exhibition ing upon surrealism. (…) of Futurist Aeropainting) these were known as aero at the Galleria Camerata paintings’ (Crispolti 1986: degli Artisti in Rome, 1–10 37–8). Lista correlates this February 1931, followed by focus on ‘moods’ with the two exhibitions on the same interest (widespread at theme in Florence and Tri- the time throughout the este. A preview of the mani- Milanese avant-garde) in festo had been published the occult and other para- by Mino Somenzi in the scientific subjects (1984: Gazzetta del Popolo (22 Oc- 30). Munari was an avid tober 1929) (Bassi 1992: 60, reader of science and sci- 60n37; Birolli 2008: 211; ence-fiction texts: ‘At the Crispolti 1992: 76). time I was reading many

I was born of boccioni+depero characterised the more literal strain of aer- at cutting-edge techniques such as pho- opainting (which consisted of anecdotal tograms, along the lines of those by Man landscapes seen from unusual viewpoints), Ray and Moholy-Nagy. In addition to the Munari instead turned to the ‘cosmic’ vein numerous images reproduced in magazines championed by Prampolini and exponents he was a contributor for—from La Rivista 40 of the Turin group. These artists were in- Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia to Natura—his terested in the symbolic, fantastical trans- photograms were also exhibited in Rome figuration of mental states associated with at the Mostra di Fotografia Futurista (Exhi- the experience of flying, which therefore bition of Futurist Photography) organised assumed the form of dreamlike visions, by Marinetti that same year.68 They were sometimes bordering on Abstract composi- shown again that December in Milan, in tions.64 Munari’s surrealist ancestry—in- another Futurist show held at the Circolo terestingly reminiscent of the graphic work Nazario Sauro, which is interesting for two of his contemporary Herbert Bayer—is also reasons: not only is Munari’s participation visible in the illustrations and photomon- in the photographic section especially sig- tages he created for magazines.65 nificant; as reviews attest, an artist named At the beginning of 1933 the Milanese Dilma exhibited work with this group for group revived its activity by participating the first time here—and this is clearly a in the V Triennale with a Futurist pavil- pseudonym of Dilma Carnevali, Munari’s ion for a civil airport, a project Prampolini future wife.69 spearheaded. Its Rationalist design (with elements of surrealism) called for a number of mural decorations involving many books on astronomy, like 66 . Di Corato 2008: artists: Munari created aeropaintings for Chi vive sulle stelle? [Bom- 223, 223n31; Crispolti 1992: Agip (Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli, piani, 1934; originally titled 77; Fochessati, Millefiore Was lebt auf den Sternen?] by 1997: 49–50; Pansera 1978: the national petrol company) in an under- Desiderius Papp, and after 44, 263. The exhibition cat- 66 that—as a consequence of a alogue Stazione per aeroporto ground passage. The pre-eminent aspect constant expansion of the civile—Padiglione del movi- of this installation was an intense inter- universe—I could no longer mento futurista alla Triennale read ordinary novels’ (quot- was issued as a supplement est in new materials and experimental ed in Lichtenstein, Häberli to the June 1933 issue of the building techniques, two currents that had 2000: 274). magazine Natura—for which 64 . Menna 1966a, now Munari was a regular con- also appeared in the sensational Mostra in Bruno Munari 1979: 72; tributor. Cf. the catalogue Ballo 1964: 25. V Triennale di Milano. Milan: della Rivoluzione Fascista in Rome the year 65 . Recent criticism has Ceschina, 1933: 571. See before.67 Additionally, in the Triennale’s emphasised the dialectical also Prampolini’s article ‘Lo relationship that bound stile, la funzione e i nuovi Aeronautical Press Pavilion Munari earned Munari to the Futurists, materiali edili’ in the same acclaim for a large wall-based photomon- in particular during the issue (Natura, vi; 6: 35–43), mid-thirties, when he was in which he describes the tage. The photographic medium was in- moving toward an increas- rooms, the works, and the ingly ‘unorthodox’ practice materials used. Depero, creasingly central to Munari’s work, and compared to the peculiar Dottori, Fillìa, Andreoni, following his extensive experience with themes taken up by aero Thayaht, Rosso, Ricas, and painting (see Meneguzzo Duse also contributed. photomontage, he began to try his hand 1993: 29). One revealing 67 . Organized in cel- aspect is the allusive nature ebration of the ten-year of his painting titles, which anniversary of the Fas- allowed Munari to maintain cist march on Rome: see a certain relationship—albe- Schnapp 2003. it rather subtle and literal— 68 . Cf. http://www. to Futurism, while he was munart.org, in particular actually moving in a more the sections ‘Dove ha espo- abstract direction with his sto’ (Where he exhibited) work. Cf. Munari himself: and ‘Il passato futurista, ‘(…) I made paintings that 1927’ (The Futurist past, were more abstract than 1927), last accessed Febru- they were Futurist, which ary 2010. I called aeropaintings’ (in 69 . Bassi 1992: 61n47. Branzi 1984: 41).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 In May 1933 a new exhibition opened clearly going through an exceptional period at the Galleria Pesaro, titled Omaggio Fu- of artistic growth; this is also confirmed by turista a Umberto Boccioni. Aeropittura, his first solo exhibition at the Galleria delle polimaterici, quadri religiosi, architetture, Tre Arti, also in 1933, in which he exhib- 40 scenografie, arte decorativa (Futurist Hom- ited the first macchine inutili (useless ma- 41 age to Umberto Boccioni: Aeropaintings, chines). These were structures suspended Polymaterial Works, Religious Paintings, in the air or leaned on the floor and char- Architectures, Set Designs, and Decorative acterised by the free movement of forms Art). Within the framework of nationwide and colours in space. Their main elements celebrations organised for Boccioni’s fif- were based on geometric modules and tieth birthday—including a street named constructed with lightweight materials so after him and a retrospective exhibition at as to be easily moved by the air, and were the Castello Sforzesco—this show was a key prefigured in drawings for designs such event, and brought together works by more as macchine aeree (Air Machines), done than 100 artists, creating an overview of as early as 1930.73 While on the one hand the broad range of formal experimentation they signalled the degree of autonomy his inspired by the Futurist movement. The artistic line of research had attained, they work Munari exhibited featured a num-

ber of new polymaterial pieces—‘paintings 70 . Crispolti 1992: 78; by G.L. Luzzatto in L’Ufficio that incorporated metal, wood, and paper Anzani 1995: 26. The exhibi- Moderno ix; 6 (June 1933). tion was replicated in Rome Cf. also Dematteis 2003: elements’—including a polymaterial work later that same year. The 29–31. quotation is from a contem- 72 . See the bulletin Il made for advertising, which was his prin- porary article, ‘L’omaggio Milione, no. 16 (3–30 June cipal professional activity at the time.70 In degli artisti futuristi’, which 1933): 1ff. Munari kept a copy of, with 73 . The first mention of June, together with Ricas—with whom he no other references, but the ‘useless machines’ ap- had founded the r+m design studio in 1931— datable to early June (per- peared in an article by Luigi haps from the newspaper Pralavorio ‘Delle macchine he participated in the Esposizione del car- L’Ambrosiano?); photocopy inutili e di altro’ in Cronaca kindly provided by Aldo Prealpina, Varese, 28 May tello internazionale e del cartello italiano ri- Tanchis. See also the testi- 1934 (now reprinted in fiutato (Exhibition of International Posters mony of a contemporary Bruno Munari 1979: 57–8). columnist: ‘(…) a figuration But as early as December and Rejected Italian Posters). This unique of his titled, if I remember 1931 Munari had written to event, organised by Dino Villani, editor-incorrectly, Mormorio della d’Albisola: ‘My dear [Tul- foresta [Forest Murmur], lio], now I’m doing some- chief of the advertising magazine L’Ufficio includes the application thing important in terms of small tree branches to of painting and aeroplastics Moderno, and staged at the Galleria del the painting’s surface, and (or, I might say, sensitive Milione,71 became an important point of elsewhere, going entirely machines) but tommaso beyond the confines of [Marinetti] understands contact between Milan’s artistic circles and paintings, he invents a Mac- nothing of such things (…)’ the European avant-garde, featuring work china per contemplare [Ma- (in Presotto 1981: 141). The chine for Contemplation], origin of Munari’s ‘useless by Bayer, Cassandre, Carlu, Moholy-Nagy, composed of a vial, tubes, machines’ has been liked to 72 and mysterious liquids. his encounter with Parisian and Soviet poster designers. They’re certainly oddities, surrealism during his trip Judging by the quantity and quality of but they’re often amusing there in 1932. A few years as well, such as Radioscopia later Munari took stock the aforementioned works, Munari was dell’uomo moderno [Radios- of his own work, as well copy of Modern Man]: this as that of other Futurists depicts a human skeleton (Ricas, Furlan), in mobile of wood and metal, with objects through the article a globe floating between ‘Che cosa sono le macchi- his ribs—man carrying the ne inutili e perché’ (What world within’ (from the ar- are Useless Machines, and ticle ‘La mostra futurista in Why?) published in La Let- omaggio a Umberto Boccio- tura (xxxvii; 7, July 1937: ni’, n.p., 1933, reprinted in 660–5). That article includ- Bruno Munari 1979: 56). ed a reproduction of Univer- 71 . Di Corato (2008: se, a mobile Calder created 225, 225n34) quotes the in 1931, while underlining exhibition catalogue and an the differences between article about it published that and his own work. As

I was born of boccioni+depero also, on the other hand, represent his clear he would not have had some involvement break from Futurist orthodoxy and open on such a major project. Indeed in a let- participation in the broader realm of Ital- ter he wrote to d’Albisola in 1929, Munari ian Abstraction. outlined his work schedule at the time, which seems to have been fairly equally 42 divided between his own studio (in via The Centrale Futurista di Milano Sant’Agnese), the Pensione Italia (in via Aside from purely artistic production, the Unione, where he slept and ate), and other militancy of the Futurist group in the early activities, which almost certainly included thirties also benefited from Munari’s active his role as director of the Milanese Futur- participation on an organisational level, at ist group.77 The group’s management, at Milan’s Centrale Futurista.74 Contempo- no. 14 via Carlo Ravizza, in a recently de- rary correspondence shows that Munari veloped area near the Fiera campionaria and partners were organising a show at (Trade fairgrounds),78 moved in 1934 to the Galleria Bardi set to open in May, but the home-studio Munari shared with his because of the economic stipulations set friend and associate Ricas in the building by the gallerist they decided to let that one next door, also in via Ravizza, at no. 16.79 go and wait for the exhibition scheduled

at the Galleria Pesaro the following au- for the much-discussed Sant’Agnese, 4 (from 4 to tumn.75 Unrealised plans to build a centre relationship of each artist’s 6 [each afternoon]—morn- priorities in this field, Di ings until 10) or at the for a proposed Centrale Futurista Alta Ita- Corato (2008: 217–8) has Pensione Italia from 12½ to shown that Calder’s mo- 2 (in via Unione) (…)’ (in lia (Futurist HQ for northern Italy, which bile had appeared as early Presotto 1981: 137). would be managed by Depero, who had just as 1932 in the first issue of 78 . For the official Abstraction création art non opening of the Sempione returned from a stay in New York) were figuratif 1932, which Munari Tunnel) in 1906, the area also drawn up during this period. The new would certainly have seen west of Porta Magenta held through Prampolini, who the Esposizione Universale centre would have had Rationalist interi- was amongst the maga- di Milano (Milan’s Uni- zine’s contributors. Later versal Expo, cf. the famous ors and furnishings, and was to include a on, Munari still felt a need poster by Leopoldo Metlico- permanent exhibition space, with a stor- to clarify his relationship vitz). In 1923, for its fourth with Calder in Arte come year, the Fiera Campiona- age annex for works as well as a specialised mestiere (1966: 7–15), a dis- ria (Milan Trade Fair) was bookshop, where solo and group exhibi- tinction he repeated years permanently moved to the later in an interview with former site of the Piazza tions, reunions and conferences could Irmeline Lebeer (‘Qu’est-ce d’Armi, which had been qu’un fricomacr?’ in L’art acquired by the government. have been held. The project also called for vivant, no. 53, Novembre Moreover, that year a royal a promotional campaign and an annual 1974: 4–8). À propos of his decree greatly expanded macchine inutili, see also the outskirts of Milan, publication, in the aim of raising funds as Tisdall 1970: 136; Tanchis such that the municipality well.76 Although Munari does not appear 1986: 34–7; and Meneguzzo now encompassed several 1993: 29. small neighbouring villages. as a member of the organising commit- 74 . Milan’s Futurist Naturally, such conditions Headquarters of sorts. The triggered a building boom in tee (which included Depero, Notari, Fillìa, term has also a connota- the area of the fairgrounds Prampolini, and Andreoni), it is hard to tion of ’power plant’ [Trans. between 1923 and 1929. note]. Aside from the area’s af- imagine, given his role as group leader, that 75 . See the 1929 letters fordability, perhaps its asso- Nino Strada and Munari ciation with the exhibition— wrote to Tullio d’Albisola seen as a concrete symbol of (Presotto 1981); cf. also technological progress—also Crispolti 1992: 74. explains the Milanese Fu- 76 . See letter Depero turists’ decision to open a to Marinetti, 21 April 1931 branch in this area, even (Mart, Archivio del ’900), though it was relatively quoted in Bassi 1992: 59, peripheral compared to the wherein extended excerpts city centre. are reprinted. 79 . As can be deduced 77 . See letter Munari from a letter Munari to d’Albisola, 6 Septem- wrote to Thayaht (20 April ber 1929: ‘(…) Come visit 1934), on the letterhead me in Milan: Munari—via of the Centrale Futurista

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 In addition to their studio practice to- movement, and from the very start Futur- gether, Ricas and Munari also participated ist evenings constituted an occasion for in the organisation of Futurist banquets direct confrontation with the public, often held in Milan between 1930–32, when the ending in quite a racket. ‘Infatuated with 42 Italian culinary tradition became the object the aerial records set by De Pinedo (…) we 43 of Marinetti’s umpteenth offensive. These showed up on purpose garbed in aviators’ were goliardic festivities, based more on blue raincoats, with white spats and bowler formal innovations or straightforward wit- hats, and people did double-takes on the ticisms, and were first announced during a street.’83 dinner at the local restaurant Penna d’oca in November 1930. The requisite manifesto of Futurist cuisine soon followed: Mani- From Futurism to Abstraction festo della cucina futurista was published In March 1934 the Milanese Futurist group in the Turin-based daily La Gazzetta del turned out in force for a new exhibition, Popolo on 28 December, and sparked a se- which turned out to be their most cohesive ries of Futurist conferences and banquets moment, as well as their last major group throughout the country; in March of 1931 show of the 1930s. From that point on—up the Taverna Santopalato (Saint Palate Tav- to the 1938 group show at the Galleria del ern) opened in Turin; and finally, in 1932, Milione—the group’s strength dispersed, the publishing house Sonzogno produced a scattering into individual events, just as cookbook titled La cucina futurista (Futur- the Milanese Futurists’ initiatives began ist Cookery) by Marinetti and Fillìa. While to converge with those of other European Ricas invented exotically named dishes, avant-gardes. Munari’s case is indicative Munari contributed to the sets designed for of this; there was a particularly parallel as- these soirées, using silver foil as tablecloth pect in the work of abstract artists in Milan and placing sculptures around the table- and Como, and they joined forces in order top.80 Other provocations of the sort, of- to counter the attacks of the Fascist right ten in a humorous vein, inspired Ricas and against modern art.84 Munari to carry out experiments in ‘cinema odoroso’ (scented cinema) by wafting This exhibition (…) will contain: paintings (which push the very limits of painting); aer- scented air (salty sea breezes, freshly cut oplastics (sculptures made to fly); landscape grass) into screening rooms, and produce designs (models); useless machines (fantasti- ‘concerti di silenzio’ (concerts of silence) cal, brightly coloured new polymaterial furni- 81 ture and moving objects); decorative polyma- on the radio. ‘We also had some real terial works encased in glass (English-style—a rows in the gallery,’ Ricas recalls, ‘maybe Munari didn’t get involved—actually, he’d di Milano and R+M (Mart, 81 . ‘I recall one Mutiny look at us, a bit detached, he was never one Archivio del ’900, fondo on the Bounty at the Cine- for polemics.’82 Such cultural agitation Thayaht, 1.2.07.66). ma Corso with sea-breezes 80 . ‘(…) Rose petals in pumped into the air by two was, after all, a characteristic part of the hot broth, oranges with ice fans …’ Ricas, quoted in cream inside, and my own Lopez 1994: 8. creation, called “balls of fire 82 . Ricas 2005: 63. at the North Pole”’ (Ricas, 83 . Ricas, quoted in quoted in Lopez 1994: 8). Lopez 1994: 8. On Marinet- Cf. Salaris 1986: 158; and ti’s mediatic operations and Rossi 1962: 9: ‘(…) while the dynamics of such Futur- Fillìa tends to the kitchen ist soirées, see Lista 1984: and serves Carneplastico 63–4 and Birolli 2008: 224. [Sculptural meats] and 84 . Bassi 1992: 56, 63; dates with anchovies.’ On Crispolti 1992: 74. Futurist cuisine, see Salaris 85 . Letter Munari to 1985: 207–8; id. 1994: 58–9; D’Albisola, 18 February Crispolti 1980: 325–8. 1934 (in Presotto 1981: 146). From another letter,

I was born of boccioni+depero novelty); scratched mirrors (new); and one visitor brusquely decided. a thousand other interesting things.85 ‘What you mean by artist?,’ asked Munari. ‘Someone who makes art…’ ‘Perfect. Someone who makes art! … But you, With those words Munari wrote Tullio who bristle at the misuse of the qualifier artist, d’Albisola, telling him about the upcoming are you used to—as I am, as everyone is—ad- 44 dressing your barber and your cobbler as art- event. The exhibition, mounted at the Gal- ist? … leria delle Tre Arti and titled Scelta futuristi A chorus of ah! eh! ih! oh! uh! erupts in the venticinquenni. Omaggio dei futuristi venti- audience … ‘… In fact, don’t we usually say, “my barber cinquenni al venticinquennio del futurismo shaves like a real artist!”… “My cobbler is a (Selected Twenty-five-year-old Futurists: true artist!”?… “My tailor, what an artist!”?’ an Homage of Twenty-five-year-old Futur- ‘Well, we’ll just have to find a word to substitute the term artist!’ an unidentified man ists upon the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of in the audience ironically exclaims.’87 Futurism), practically involved only artists in Milan, including new members such as Munari was also the author of an intro- Gelindo Furlan, Franco Grignani, Regina ductory note titled ‘Antipolemica’ (Anti- and, once again, Dilma (who exhibited polemic), which was reproduced in the scratched mirrors and polymaterial com- program flyer along with the text of the positions).86 Munari was not only actively Manifesto tecnico dell’Aeroplastica Futurista involved in the exhibition’s organisation, (Technical Manifesto of Futurist Aeroplas- he was also one of the key players in the tics), signed by Furlan, Manzoni, Ricas, lengthy calendar of related events: joining and Munari—who, as group leader, gave a in alongside presentations by Depero, Ma- public reading of it at the opening.88 This rinetti, Farfa, Masnata, and Giuntini (an

opening conference, poetry readings, de- probably written in June collection of Italian and bates, and musical performances), Munari (ibid.: 151) we know that the foreign magazines. Before exhibition at the Galleria the 1934 group show, a few compered two themed evenings—one on Pesaro was simply post- Futurists had already exhib- poned until October, as the ited there—Munari (1933), a recent art event held in Milan, the other announcement of a na- Nino Strada (1931) and Aligi on his own useless machines. An idea of the tional aeropainting contest Sassu (1933) had shown (Concorso nazionale futu- work, and Ottone Rosai tone of these evenings can be gleaned from rista della Galleria Pesaro) (December 1933) and Gigi a contemporary article, which quotes a jo- also attests, published in Broggini (1933) had had Sant’Elia (1 March 1934) solo shows. The gallery also cund exchange between Munari and the along with the publication organised exhibitions of of the Manifesto tecnico sixteenth- and seventeenth- audience: dell’Aeroplastica Futurista. century old masters from Perhaps because of disa- the Hoepli collection (No- And Munari explained how he arrived at his greements with Lino Pesaro, vember 1933), and an exhi- the show never happened, bition of Jewish art (March– ‘useless machines,’ following his disillusion- nor did the Futurists have April 1934, immediately ment with painting (…) You can just can im- any further relations with following the Futurist group agine how the public took these arguments his gallery. show). Information based (…) But Munari, small as he may be in stature, 86 . There is scant infor- on a 1933 publication (Gal- skilfully held his own before all attempts to mation on the Galleria delle leria delle Tre Arti. Milan: Tre Arti. Located in Foro Galleria delle Tre Arti, 1933, knock him. (…) Bonaparte 65, the gallery in the Biennale’s Archivio ‘But this is not art, and you are not artists! …,’ was open from 1931 to 1934. Storico delle Arti Contem- It was directed by Ugo Roffi, poranee, Venice) and some and its exhibitions focussed catalogues found in Italy’s not only on painting and major public libraries. sculpture, but also on the 87 . Luigi Pralavorio, decorative arts, which were ‘Delle macchine inutili e di granted ample space. The altro’ in Cronaca Prealpina gallery was affiliated with (28 May 1934), now re- the magazines Domus and produced in Bruno Munari Orpheus, and acted as a 1979: 57–8. cultural centre open to the 88 . In the version public at large through a published in the Futurist program of lectures, con- biweekly Sant’Elia (ii; 5, 1 certs, and literary read- March 1934: 1) Regina’s ings. It also offered a large name also appears (Bassi

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 manifesto announced a line of visual re- Giuseppe Volpi and Antonio Maraini, research stemming directly from the Rico- mained bound to an academic conception struzione futurista dell’universo: ‘(…) a new of art— the Futurists’ participation was art without a capital A (…) a manifestation clearly limited to painting and sculpture, 44 that goes beyond painting and sculpture, and the work Munari exhibited there was 45 to contain a synthesis of film (…) rhythm, no exception.93 A significant number of material, air, and space’—and translated Futurists took part in the XVII Biennale into landscape design projects that were (1930), mounting a show in the recently almost architectural models of surreal renovated Palazzo delle Esposizioni; in 1932, environments, and extended the princi- next door to Depero’s solo show, a group ples of polymaterial creation into three show focussing on aeropainting (curated dimensions.89 Moreover, Munari was also by Fillìa) was installed in the Italian Pavil- responsible for the design of the program ion, and it was an important theme again flyer and, when the show moved on to Reg- at the following Biennale in 1934. And de- gio Emilia that April, he printed up a typo- spite Maraini’s hostilities and the ample graphic poster—almost the sole instance of prejudices of the critics, the Futurist sec- such work in his entire career.90 tions were always a great success with the As we have seen, the two years between public. At the XX Biennale in 1936 (the 1933 and 1934 were a particularly intense last one Munari took part in) the Futurists period for both Munari and the Milanese were assigned the Russian Pavilion, which Futurist group in general. Group members

showed work in numerous exhibitions 1992: 61–2, 209; Crispolti Biennale events through both in Italy and abroad, including the 1992: 79–80). 1942 Marinetti—who felt he 89 . Quoted in Crispolti need not be subject to the Venice Biennale and Rome Quadrienna- 1992: 79. In addition to Bal- interferences of the Bien- le, with the former being a key event on la and Depero’s 1915 mani- nale’s Directorship—acted festo, the new document as authorising commis- the international level and the latter be- ‘relates to theses already sioner, delegating exhibi- posited by Boccioni in 1911 tion curation to Prampolini; ing most relevant on the national level. on the need to go beyond the Futurist artists were, Throughout the twenties, after an exhaust- painting and sculpture, with nevertheless, prohibited means capable of synthesis- from exhibiting individually ing campaign to combat the prejudices of ing movement and rhythm, there (ibid.: 36, 40). both critics and organisers of the Venice space and matter’ (Ravaioli 92 . As reported by the 1998: 28n88). catalogue of artists and Biennale, Marinetti finally managed to se- 90 . A review of the two works published by the exhibitions in Milan and in Biennale (La Biennale di cure the Futurists’ participation, and from Reggio (‘I futuristi venticin- Venezia. Le esposizioni inter- 1926 each biennial featured a section of Fu- quenni a Milano e a Reggio’) nazionali d’Arte 1895-1995. 91 appears in Sant’Elia (iii; Artisti, mostre, partecipazioni turist painting. As for Munari, he contin- 67, 15 May 1934: 6). Note nazionali, premi. Venice: ually exhibited with the National and Lom- that Munari is mentioned Biennale di Venezia/Milan: alongside Carlo Manzoni as Electa, 1996), Munari ex- bard groups between 1930 and 1936, though a ‘poet’—which would in- hibited one painting at each 92 dicate that he participated Biennale. his presence was still fairly minor. At with Depero, Farfa, and 93 . Despite the fact the Venice Biennale—which, despite the Masnata in their parolibere that Volpi and Maraini’s readings and events. co-management marked international scope and the leadership of 91 . For the relationship an important opening to- between the Venice Bien- ward theatre, music, and nial and the Futurists, see film (Venice’s International Migliore, Buscaroli 2009 Film Festival, launched in (esp. pp.36–66 regarding 1932, was the first event of the period between wwi its kind in the world, and its and wwii). In 1926, the extraordinary success led to Futurists were admitted to its annual occurrence), the the fifteenth edition and repertoire of visual arts pre- exhibited in the Soviet Pa- sent at the Biennale would vilion, courtesy of Moscow not branch out to photogra- after the Soviets decided phy and architecture until not to participate, thereby the 1970s (Scalise 2009: granting Marinetti ample 124; Di Martino 1995: 67). exhibition space. For all

I was born of boccioni+depero had been renamed the Italian Futurist which Munari, however, did not exhibit), Pavilion (as had already happened at the with an increase in the abstractionists’ V Triennale, with their project for a civil participation.96 airport); the exhibition, which included a lot of Milanese artists, notably included 46 ‘plastic complexes’ in addition to the usual Exhibition installations paintings and sculptures.94 It should be noted that, during the 1930s, Similar developments took place at the Fascist political culture in the artistic other major Italian art event throughout realm strengthened extant institutions like the 1930s, the Rome Quadriennale, which, the Venice Biennale97 and Milan Trien- much like the Venice Biennale, favoured nale,98 and fostered the creation of new painting and sculpture. Because these two events like the Rome Quadriennale.99 The events largely refused any multidisciplinary newly founded institutions fell under the work, and were entirely closed to the ap- regime’s direct oversight, and were also plied arts, the Milan Triennale stepped forward to feature those fields, along with the 94 . For details on each 1929 with the Monza exhi- nascent field of serially produced design individual’s participation, bition declared an autono- objects. The exhibitions in Rome repeatedly see Migliore, Buscaroli mous institution, moved to 2009: 19, 47, 53–8, 60–2. Milan, and switched from featured the work of the Milanese Futur- 95 . As with the Venice a Biennial to a Triennial, as ists; Munari in particular showed there, Biennale, Marinetti again well as its inclusion in the managed, thanks to his per- Bureau International des and though the work he sent was limited sonal connections to Mus- Expositions. However, ‘the solini, not only to obtain Triennale managed to elude, to painting and sculpture, he neverthe- a space for the Futurists— to a certain degree, the less took part in their group shows there who were well represented autarchic measures inflicted until the V Quadriennale, on the Venice Biennale and from the very first year, 1931, through the in 1943—but also to main- the Rome Quadriennale’ following quadrennials in 1935 and 1939.95 tain full responsibility of (Pansera 1978: 36). This was the selection of artists, due in part to its more in- The latter was particularly important, on which de facto resulted in ternational scope, as well as a group presence that went directors like Guido Maran- both artistic and political levels, for the slightly counter to the main goni (founder and publisher simultaneous presence of the Milanese selection criteria, which of La Casa bella in 1928) focussed more on the work and Gio Ponti (founder and Futurists (including Munari) and the Lom- rather than the individual publisher of Domus). For a bard abstractionists who showed with the artist (ibid.: 12–3). general history of the Trien- 96 . Crispolti 1992: nale during the twenty years Galleria del Milione (Radice, Rho, Soldati, 85–6; Bassi 1992: 63; Salaris of Fascist rule see Pansera 2004: 45–51. 1978: 34–59. Licini). The Lombard abstractionists had 97 . By becoming an 99 . The Rome Qua- come together within the broader con- autonomous entity in 1930 driennale was founded in (the institution was origi- 1927 with the specific goal text of other Italian avant-garde groups’ nally controlled by the city of ‘centralising the most reactions to a campaign launched by the council) the Venice Bien- representative Italian art nale came under the direct into a single large display more intransigent wing of the Fascist right control of the Fascist gov- connecting provincial and ernment; it was overseen by regional exhibitions—or- against ‘degenerate art,’ begun in 1938. The the industrialist Giuseppe ganised by art unions—to two groups again formed a mutual front Volpi and sculptor Antonio the international realm of Maraini, the National Com- the Venice Biennale.’ En- at the XXII Venice Biennale in 1940 (in missioner of the National trusted to the directorship Fascist Fine Arts Union (Fa- of Cipriano Efisio Oppo, a gone 1982: 48; cf. Migliore painter and Fascist deputy, 2009: 36–66). For a general the Quadriennale used history of the Biennale, see the typical tool of forming Di Martino 1995. artistic consensus through 98 . Even the Monza a complex system of incen- Exhibition of Modern Deco- tives offered in the form of rative and Industrial Arts, prizes, access to occasional founded in 1922, gradually chances to exhibit work, fell under the increasing and an intense acquisition oversight of the regime (be- programme (http://www. ginning in 1925) with the quadriennalediroma.org, government’s growing influ- last accessed 8 March 2010; ence. All this culminated in cf. also Fagone 1982: 47–9).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 shaped by the more capillary, bottom-up by Pagano—which was, along with the Sala operation of exhibitions organised by the delle medaglie d’oro (Gold-medal Room) Fascist National Fine Arts’ Syndicate. The designed by Nizzoli and Persico, one of 1930s were also punctuated by major cel- the event’s most important installations— 46 ebratory exhibitions ‘that helped introduce wherein he created a large, abstract fresco 47 the broader public to the work of artists on the wall surrounding the large steel spi- within the political terms and functional ral symbolising the conquest of the air.102 content of the regime’s “culture of propa- December brought additional proof of ganda”.’100 Worth remembering because of Munari’s keen interest in wall-based work the Futurists’ substantial contribution are within larger architectural projects (espe- the Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista, which cially monumental public buildings)—an opened in Rome in 1932 and remained con- interest that was not limited to the Futur- tinuously on view through 1934; the Mostra ists, but rather shared by artists of oppos- dell’Aeronautica, an Air Show held in Milan ing groups—when he participated in the in 1934; the Mostre nazionali di Plastica mu- Prima Mostra Nazionale di plastica murale rale, national exhibitions of mural decora- per l’edilizia fascista (First National Exhibi- tion held in Genoa and Rome in 1934 and tion of mural art for fascist building pro- 1936; the Mostra di Aeropittura Futurista, jects) organised by Prampolini and Fillìa an exhibition of aeropainting held at the at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, for which Aeronautical Ministry in Rome in 1937; the he was also a signatory of the manifesto Mostra del Minerale again in Rome in 1938; La Plastica murale (Manifesto of Mural and countless other autarchic and colonial Art).103 Although the Futurist programme exhibitions throughout Italy. did not overtly nod to the ideological as- In the early summer of 1934 the Mil- pects of the relationship between art and anese Futurist group once again set up politics, it nevertheless appeared to be a shop at the Palazzo dell’Arte (new home response to the poetics announced a few of the Triennale) to install the Esposizione months before by the artist Mario Siro- Aeronautica Italiana, a national air show ni. A key figure of the Novecento move- to which they lent the best architects and ment, Sironi postulated a social function graphic designers of the time, led by Edo- ardo Persico and Giuseppe Pagano (re- 100 . Fagone 1982: 43, with the architects Banfi 47–8. Belgioioso Peressutti Rogers spectively, editor and director of the ar- 101 . Letter Munari to on the Sala dell’Alta Velo- chitecture magazine Casabella). Munari d’Albisola, n.d. [June] 1934 cità (Hall of High-Speed), (in Presotto 1981: 151). and Manzoni worked with wrote Tullio d’Albisola at the beginning of 102 . See the exten- the architect Guido Frette that summer: ‘My room for the air show is sive review in Casabella vi; on the Sala D’Annunzio 80 (August 1934): 4–21. (D’Annunzian Hall). See coming along very well, [P]agano says it’s ‘Bruno Munari’s painting also Pansera 1978: 45–7. 101 recalls Leonardo’s earli- 103 . This manifesto ap- magnificent! If he says so...!’ This was as est devices, his studies of peared for the first time in he was working on the mural decoration bird flight, the first, heavi- Stile futurista (i; 5, Decem- est cells, their gradual im- ber 1934) and was signed for the Sala d’Icaro (Icarus Room) designed provements, aerodynamic by Andreoni, Ambrosi, Be- formulas, motors, and in- nedetta, Depero, Dottori, creasingly perfect outlines. Marinetti, Munari, Oriani, These abstract images cul- Prampolini, and Rosso. In minate in the great figure of 1936 Asinari, Regina, and Icarus, sculpted by Marcello Ricas added their signatures Mascherini’ (ibid.: 14–16). to the version reprinted in Crispolti (1992: 82n30) the exhibition catalogue for mentions Furlan, Asinari, the show Seconda Mostra Scaini, and Rossi (who nev- Nazionale di plastica murale ertheless are not mentioned per l’edilizia fascista in Italia in the meticulous exhibi- e in Africa Orientale held in tion summary in Casabella, Rome’s Trajan Markets in ibid.: 10–21), while Gambi- 1936 (Crispolti 1992: 83). ni appears as a collaborator

I was born of boccioni+depero for mural decoration—understood as a Throughout 1936, in addition to con- tool for educating the masses within the firming the Futurists’ major interest in Fascist state,104 as exemplified by the work wall sculpture,108 their contribution to the he showed at the V Triennale. The Futur- IV Triennale also led to their inclusion in ists naturally adopted this same type of the Mostra internazionale della scenogra- 48 intervention, not just on the pictorial level, fia teatrale (International exhibition of but extending it to the polymaterial and theatre set design), with several Futurists photographic fields as well (following the represented in the Italian section: Munari example set by the Russian Constructiv- created a set of masks, a stage set model, ists, chiefly El Lissitsky).105 In his opening and a dance tool.109 On the one hand, Mu- speech for the exhibition at the Galleria nari’s new work drew upon the set designs delle Tre Arti, Depero had already ad- Marinetti had created in the early 1930s, dressed the issue, and expressed his hope while on the other, they foreshadowed the that in the 1933 show the traditional gen- polymaterial compositions he exhibited res and techniques (fresco, window, and as Oggetti metafisici(metaphysical ob- mosaic designs) could be overcome; above jects) in his solo show at the Galleria del all, he called for a broadening of the for- Milione in 1940 and, in the advertising mal vocabulary through the use of various realm, the window displays he designed for industrial materials106—providing instruc- the GiViEmme company, also in the early tions that would appear again in the mani- 1940s. Furthermore, the versatility and so- festo and be followed for the exhibition in- lidity of his graphic design work led him to stallations in Genoa. Nevertheless, despite collaborate with several architects on the their staunch dedication (which continued 1936 exhibition, hence his contribution through the next event, organised in Rome was particularly complex and interesting, if in 1936 and focussed on wall sculpture, in not always first-rate: for the Colorificio Ita- which Munari, Ricas, and other Milanese liano Max Meyer, for example, Munari cre- artists took part), the Futurists still only ated demonstrative panels with paint sam- occasionally found sufficient space and ples in a section of the Mostra dei sistemi support for the interventions they dreamt of carrying out in public buildings and in- 104 . Manifesto della of Communications, and stitutions. Because of this, their works were pittura murale (Manifesto designer of many public of Mural Painting, signed buildings built in Italy in for the most part limited to temporary also by Campigli, Carrà, those years, especially post exhibitions107—which was a substantial and Funi), published in La offices and railway stations, Colonna, December 1933, including Rome’s Stazione failure in terms of winning commissions quoted in Pansera 1978: Termini), thanks to whom from the regime—but also made them rela- 43–4. See also Fagone 1982: the Futurists were able to 46–7. mount major exhibitions tively successful in terms of fair installa- 105 . Fagone 1982: 46–7. in Trento, La Spezia, and Sironi’s presence at the Palermo. tions, which many of the most advanced Pressa Expo in Cologne in 108 . Chiefly with Pram- businesses in Milan commissioned them 1928 is especially relevant polini’s design for the sala for his direct knowledge of di rappresentanza del Palaz- to create. the Soviet Pavilion designed zo Comunale di Aprilia—a by Lissitsky. design that was ultimately 106 . Unpublished man- realised, with decorations uscript, in Mart, Archivio done in collaboration with del ’900, Rovereto; quoted other Futurists (but not in Bassi 1992: 62. Munari). Cf. Fochessa- 107 . Fochessati, Mil- ti, Millefiore 1997: 49–51, lefiore 1997: 43–51; esp. 49n23, 50n24. 49–51, wherein the authors 109 . Of the Milanese examine the Futurist mani- group, in addition to Mu- festo in light of the relation- nari, Andreoni, Regina, and ship between Marinetti and Ricas also exhibited; while the architect Angiolo Maz- Prampolini curated the zoni (head of the building international section (Bassi department in the Ministry 1992: 210).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 costruttivi e materiali edilizi (Exhibition (one of the earliest examples of Rationalist of building systems and materials); for the architecture in Italy), as well as the artis- Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana he made tic direction of Carlo Belli (who became a photomontage mounted on a full-height Persico’s successor there in 1931) and his 48 stage curtain; in the Sezione internazionale abstractionist associates, meant that the 49 di Urbanistica (International Urban De- Galleria del Milione quickly became one of sign section) he designed a large abstract the city’s fundamental meeting places in glass-paste mosaic. That section was curat- the early thirties. It attracted the attention ed by Piero Bottoni, and included a particu- of Rationalist architects, abstractionists, larly interesting large-scale photographic and modern typographers (championed by diorama, also created by Munari, made up the group that founded the magazine Cam- of six thematic photomontages addressing po grafico), all of whom had a deep affinity various aspects of urban planning, later for each others’ work. A rich programme of published in Bottoni’s 1938 book Urbanis- activities made it more of a cultural centre tica.110 Finally, it is worth noting that this than just a straightforward art gallery: the was also when Munari first met Max Bill, bookshop, which offered visitors count- who was briefly in Milan to install the less magazines and publications from all Swiss Pavilion; Bill’s concrete visual work over Europe, became a rare window onto had a lot in common with the work Muna- foreign avant-gardes; the exhibition spaces ri was doing at the time.111 featured an average of two exhibitions each month, focussed on drawing, graphic design, set design, architecture, and books, Munari and the Milanese avant-garde and also hosted conferences (accompa- The Milanese Futurists began exhibiting nied by a monthly bulletin that included again in February 1938, in a group show reproductions of visual works and critical titled Gli Aeropittori futuristi (Futurist texts).113 The gallery and its activities, while Aeropainters) at the Galleria del Milione. not committed to any one trend in particu- On the one hand, this was an important lar—according to Munari, one of the gal- moment of exchange with the abstraction- lery’s most devoted regulars, Gino Ghirin- ists; on the other, it was also the last show ghelli was ‘in search of a vein of work that to include all the group members who had would sell well’114—nevertheless managed been working in Milan since the late twen- to counter the prevailing provincial cultur- ties.112 The Galleria del Milione, located al climate of the day by mounting a series in via Brera just across from the academy of exhibitions, events, publications, and of fine arts, was run by the Ghiringhelli conferences. This continued through the brothers, and followed a model (common mid-1930s, and brought Europeans artists in France but fairly novel in Italy) that like Friedrich Vordemberghe Gildewart, Jo- combined a bookshop and annexed exhibi- sef Albers, Willi Baumeister, Wassily Kan- tion space. Pietro Lingeri’s interior design dinsky, and Max Ernst to Milan.115

110 . For all the informa- in Abstraction-Création. Art tion regarding Munari, see non-figuratif no. 4, 1935). Guida della Sesta Triennale 112 . Crispolti 1992: 83; [Milano: n.p.], 1936: 42, 51, Bassi 1992: 64–5. 69, 115. 113 . Pontiggia 1988: 111 . Pontiggia (1988: 11–3. 49–50) notes, for example, 114 . Munari, quoted in an affinity between some of an unpublished interview Munari’s (non-suspended) transcript by Alberto Bas- useless machines and certain si, 1990. sculptures by Bill, such as 115 . Belli 1980: 11. Cf. a 1934 piece (reproduced Pontiggia 1988: 11, 104–5.

I was born of boccioni+depero The ‘Milione’ was an irreplaceable cen- processes—it is significant that his work tre (…) for clear, courageous ideas. The was not exhibited at the Venice Bienni- members of that group—architects, painters, sculptors, literary critics, poets, and als or Rome Quadrennials during World philologists—created a cultural period that War II, in which a near total acceptance was just as felicitous as its surrounding and assimilation of Futurism and abstrac- 50 climate was close-minded. The ‘Milione’ was, for a few brief years, the only little bit tion could be seen. In fact, such distanc- of Italy that remained part of Europe.116 ing betrays his deliberate autonomy with respect to the currents he was occasionally By the latter half of the 1930s the Milanese associated with: however, he nevertheless Futurists had opened themselves up to col- maintained a ‘vibrantly dialectic rapport’ laborations with other avant-garde groups with the abstractionism of the Galleria del from Lombardy. In particular they worked Milione, refusing both its rigid geometries with the Como abstractionists, associated and its ‘mystical’ ideologies, as represented with proponents of Rationalist architecture in Belli’s theoretical text Kn. Meneguzzo including Terragni and Lingeri, on exhibi- quite aptly compares Munari’s situation to tions and publications. One of their joint that of an ‘electron floating about amid the exhibitions was Dopo il Novecento (After various nuclei (…)’ of the artistic currents the Novecento), organised in 1938 by art of those years.119 critic Raffaello Giolli and the philosopher As the Fascists’ anti-Semitic politics Franco Ciliberti (who also ran his own grew increasingly heavy throughout 1938, gallery) and held at the Galleria Deda- culminating in the passage of the racial lo. One of their joint publication projects laws, the extreme right—following the was a magazine titled Valori Primordiali model of the purges carried out in Ger- (Primordial Values, founded in 1938 by Ci- many, as typified by the travelling exhibi- liberti, along with Rho, Radice, and Terra- tion Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) of gni), around which the Primordial Futurist 1937—enacted a violent campaign to deni- Group solidified in 1941, and also included grate modern art, which it accused of being Munari.117 In any case, Munari’s presence ‘Bolshevist’ and in which the Futurists and in the abstractionist circles that frequented Rationalists were directly implicated.120 places like the Galleria del Milione and The attacks launched from the pages of the Bar Craja, as well as his ties to Giolli and regime’s most unscrupulous dailies and Ciliberti (in whose gallery he had a solo weeklies—including Quadrivio and Il Tevere, show in 1944),118 clearly indicate that Mu- nari was effectively an intermediary be- 116 . Carlo Belli, Lettera essay Kn was published in tween the various groups of the Milanese sulla nascita dell’astrattismo 1935 by the Edizioni del Mi- in Italia (Milan: All’insegna lione, and was heralded by avant-garde. Nevertheless, while it cannot del pesce d’oro, 1978): 14, Kandinsky as the ‘gospel’ of quoted in Ponente 1980: 10. abstractionism. be denied he was inching ever closer to ab- 117 . Munari added his 120 . In 1937 the Fascist straction—through his useless machines signature to the second approval of the Nazi upris- version of the Manifesto del ing in Munich appeared in and his pictorial exploration of perceptive Gruppo Primordiali Futu- many regime newspapers, risti Sant’Elia (June 1941), including Il Popolo d’Italia. which was signed among In 1938 the regime’s more others by Marinetti, Cili- racist turn became clear: berti, Rho, Badiali, Licini, first through two official Nizzoli, Prampolini, Radice, declarations, the Mani- Sartoris, and Terragni. In festo del Razzismo italiano December 1941 the group (Manifesto of Italian Rac- held a collective exhibition ism, 14 July) and the Carta at Ettore Mascioni’s gal- della Razza (Race Charter, lery in Milan (Godoli 2001: 6–7 October); followed in 269–70, 568). November by the notorious 118 . Bassi 1992: 63. racial laws (Crispolti 1986: 119 . Anzani 1995: 27; cf. 221–2). Meneguzzo 1993: 29. Belli’s

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 directed by Telesio Interlandi, and Il Regi- atmospheres in his works (…)’.125 Such a me Fascista, directed by Roberto Farinac- definition could be equally applied to Mu- ci—provoked a reaction from all the Italian nari’s graphic design work of the same avant-garde groups and a few prominent period. At the dawn of the 1940s, however, 50 figures such as Oppo and Giuseppe Bottai. with Italy’s entry into World War II the ac- 51 The clash came to a head by the autumn of tivities of all artistic groups in Milan were 1938, culminating in an event announced abruptly interrupted. By then the line of by Marinetti and Somenzi at the Teatro research pursued by Munari no longer co- delle Arti in Rome on 3 December 1938, ac- incided with that of the Futurists: instead companied by a rather controversial issue he lied ‘outside any clearly defined field of of Artecrazia (the Futurist paper directed pure art, only to delve completely into the by Somenzi).121 Although it is not entirely realm of perception and gain a deeper unclear how the dispute ended, Marinetti derstanding of new visual codes (…)’.126 deserves a certain degree of recognition These aspects decidedly associate him more since—beyond his collusion with the re- with design than with the traditional field gime and his ascription to the idea of a rev- of the fine arts. In short, Munari ‘was by olutionary, utopian Fascism—he neverthe- then alone with his playfully winking, im- less managed to wage a cultural war in de- penitent experimentalism’127—as his 1940 fence of modern art and personally showed solo show of Oggetti metafisici (Metaphysi- up to lead a cross-party, united front.122 cal Objects) at the Galleria del Milione Beyond the political motives of any and the 1944 exhibition of Dipinti astratti overlap with the abstractionists, the fact (Abstract paintings) at the Galleria Ciliber- that the Futurists exhibited at the Galleria ti attested to. Indeed, in the mid-forties he del Milione indicates the fact the scene

was changing, and their cultural and ar- 121 . Mino Somenzi, 124 . Crispolti 1992: 83. tistic referents were evolving as well.123 ‘Italianità dell’arte moderna’ Marinetti, in his introduc- (The Italianness of modern tion to the exhibition at the Indeed, toward the end of the thirties the art) in Artecrazia no.117, Galleria del Milione, identi- activities of the Futurists seem to have 3 December 1938, followed fied Munari as one of the in January by another con- artists conducting research been divided between figurative, docu- troversial stance (no.118, 11 in ‘stratospheric cosmic January 1939) that led to biochemical aeropainting’ mentary aeropainting (represented by the the magazine’s suppression alongside Prampolini (‘L’a- work of Andreoni and Crali) and the more (Crispolti 1986: 222–3). eropittura futurista inizia 122 . Salaris 2004: una nuova era della plasti- imaginative, highly experimental vein of 45–50. This concurs with ca’, in Artecrazia vi; 112, 11 research carried out by Prampolini and the opinion expressed by February 1938, quoted in historian Renzo De Felice in Bassi 1992: 64). Fillìa, whose forerunners lay in surrealism Storia degli ebrei italiani sotto 125 . Carlo Carrà, ‘Cro- 124 il fascismo (Turin: Einaudi, naca delle mostre. Pittura and abstraction. Munari’s painting also 1962): 358, quoted in Salaris programmatica al Milione’ belonged to this trend, as confirmed by the 2004: 63. Cf. also Crispolti in L’Ambrosiano n.d., 1938; 1986: 224. quoted in Bassi 1992: 64. non-partisan critic and painter Carlo Car- 123 . In 1940 at the XVI- 126 . Baroni, Vitta 2003: rà: ‘Munari works within surrealistic cri- II Venice Biennale Marinet- 194–5. Crispolti similarly ti invited the Como abstract concludes that there appear teria, and tends to create magical, abstract painters Mauro Reggiani to be no points of contact and Manlio Rho to exhibit between the group led by alongside the Futurist aer- Munari until recently—with opainters; their presence essentially allusive, analo- was even stronger at the gous works reminiscent of following Biennale, in 1942 surrealism and metaphys- (Migliore, Buscaroli 2009: ics—and the group of con- 62–63). At the IV Rome crete artists from Como, Quadriennale in 1943, the whose work originated in Lombard Futurists were post-cubist art and aimed represented by the group in a strictly non-figurative of Lombard abstractionists, direction (1992: 86). who were by then acknowl- 127 . Crispolti 1992: 86. edged as Futurists (Crispolti 1992: 85).

I was born of boccioni+depero began to declare, ‘I want to go see what lies beyond abstract art, you mustn’t believe that these experiences can be surpassed by turning back,’128 thereby staking his claim and paving the way for his visual work in 52 the post-war years. After more than a decade of intense activity, during the war years Munari allowed himself to take a break—in a way distancing himself from his previous advertising and graphic design work, which had culminated in a solo exhibition at the VI Triennale in 1940—and thereafter dedicated his energies to working with the Mondadori publishing house as art director for their new illustrated weeklies Grazia and Tempo.129

128 . Quoted by Anto- his former mates, as proved nio Marasco in the article by his participation in the ‘Galleria. Bruno Munari’ in historic reunion of Febru- Origini vii; 7–8 (May/June ary 1950 held at Marinetti’s 1943): 6–7. house (see the article ‘Do- 129 . Although in the cumenteranno il Futuri- 1940s Munari appeared smo’, newspaper clipping to distance himself from [without author or date] Futurism, he nonethe- in Mart, Archivio del ’900, less kept personal ties and fondo Crali, Cra_03_342; friendships with many of see also Bassi 1992: 66.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Futurism, advertising, rationalism Illustration & photography

The macroeconomic context 57 Milan as industrial and cultural capital 58 53 Campari 59 Magazine publishing 63 Stile meccanico, Mechanical style 65 Stile aeropittorico, Aereopictorial style 70 Futurist publishing 73 Lito-latte, Tin-litho books 75 Comic illustration 78 Comics, humour and literary newspapers 79 Realist style 86 From the cosmic style to photomontage 93 Influences 94 Bayer and Moholy-Nagy 97 Photography 100 Photomontage 102 L’Ala d’Italia 105 Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 107 Surrealist collage 111 Photomosaics 114 Photograms and other experiments 115 From propaganda to the documentary style 118

In addition to serving as a model of mass-communication techniques for Futurism’s self promotion, the advertising world had a profound influence on the nascent movement, forming a close relationship that operated on two levels: on the one hand it provided elements of the advertising language which were incorporated in the parolibere compositions, and on the other it led to the creation of artistic products conceived of as consumer products.1 From another point of view, from a substantially subordinate relationship in which Futurist poetics took on the world of advertising, from the late 1920s on that relationship was reversed, or at least rebalanced, through the Futurists’ contributions to advertising’s formal language and practice. For many of the movement’s proponents—Prampolini, Pannaggi, Paladini, Depero, Diulgheroff, and almost all the Milanese, Munari first and foremost—graphic design was not only their main activity

1 . Cf. Fanelli, Godoli the situation of artists in 1988: 119–21. On the other other European countries— hand, the fact that adver- read Marinetti’s desire to tising’s novelty struck the ‘fight Mallarmé’s static ideal’ Futurists as ‘an epi-phe- as the ‘position, tinged by a nomenon representative of perhaps legitimate envy, [of the new industrial and ur- a cultural worker who lives ban reality’ (ibidem: 119), in in] a backward situation, a country like Italy, which compared to other intellec- under Giolitti’s rule had tuals, who are instead or- just begun to experience ganically integrated into the such phenomena, is to a formulation and realization certain extent symptomatic of concrete marketing, proof the country’s backward- ductive, and cultural strate- ness: cf. Anceschi, who—in gies.’ (Anceschi 1981b: 6). a rather optimistic take on

Futurism, advertising, rationalism and source of income, there was often a a refined sense of color as well as high substantial coherence between their ad- technical quality, resulted in some of the vertising work and their artistic work. This best specimens of striking belle époque continuous osmosis between the two areas elegance, ensuring its widespread popular- could be seen, for example, in their ten- ity.3 Paradoxically for a country like Italy, 54 dency to recycle iconographic themes; in which was still socially and geographically Munari’s case, his experimentation with so disjointed, the spread of advertising had artistic expression not only had natural created a sort of unifying visual koiné.4 repercussions, but also led to parallel pur- The advertising of the time, tied to a suits in the field of graphic design.2 consumer market that had yet to develop, After World War I Italian graphic de- had neither coordinated national cam- sign still reflected the situation that had paigns nor a significant number of adver- existed at the turn of the century, not only tisements in the press; above all, it lacked in stylistic terms, but also in terms of work integration between the various means of scope, and therefore the kind of work it- communication. While poster design, ad- self, which remained focused primarily on dressed to the widest public, was entrusted posters (linked to the development of ma- (with the mediation of printers and deal- jor colour-lithography printshops, such as ers) to renowned poster designers, com- Ricordi in Milan) and magazine publishing. mercial printed matter was instead left to Posters were a large part of the advertis- the printer. The former were painters or ing industry, heralding the first consumer other specialized artists with a background products targeting a middle-class public, in the fine arts (though in many cases such and on the cultural side covering opera studies were spiked with the artist’s per- and film. In publishing, literary and artis- sonal communicative intuitions), whereas tic magazines—and to a lesser extent chil- the latter were more technical laborers dren’s illustration—were the sectors most who dealt with the production of com- influenced by the work of commercial art- mercial printed matter, from letterheads ists. Although it was stylistically linked to to price lists, catalogues, and promotional European Art Nouveau, the Italian school announcements in the press. Munari of poster design—represented by Adolpho recalled: Hohenstein, Leopoldo Metlicovitz, Aleardo Terzi, and Marcello Dudovich, among oth- At the time, publishers asked painters to do some sketches for book covers. Only a sketch, ers—had developed a visual language quite an illustration, not the graphic part, with different from the formulas of the French titles and everything else. That work was left affiche (typified by the work of Leonetto to the printers (…) The resulting product suffered from this design done by two peo- Cappiello) and the German Sachplakat. ple, neither of whom knew what the other This was largely thanks to its emphasis on would do. But that’s how it was done.5 realism and the strong symbolic connotations of representation, which, through

2 . Fanelli, Godoli 1988: ‘Grafica editoriale tra le due 129. Regarding Futurist guerre’ in Editoria e Cultura graphic design in advertis- a Milano tra le due guerre ing, see also Salaris 1986. (1920-1940). Milan, 19–21 3 . Baroni, Vitta 2003: February 1981. Conference 52, 54; Hollis 1994: 13–4. records. Milan: Fondazione 4 . Scudiero 1997: xvi. Arnoldo e Alberto Monda- 5 . Bruno Munari, dori, 1983: 163–4.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 This was an increasingly evident gap, and product, its diagonal composition, the in- in the 1930s it fueled a major debate about tegration of text and image, and the figu- a rethinking of the graphic arts; the field’s rative styles of mechanical art—gradually renewal took place in Italy as well, through established itself as the Italian version of 54 a dialogue with the more advanced visual modern aesthetics. This development typi- 55 arts.6 The Italian poster tradition, how- fied the work of artists like Araca, Nizzoli, ever—apart from formal postcubist sty- and Garretto who, although not part of listic elements (already widely accepted, the Futurist movement, adopted more than following the French example) and, in a few of its formal solutions.8 step with the regime’s iconographic It is also worth noting that the nascent choices, elements of the Novecento move- Italian graphic design owed its modern re- ment’s visual vocabulary—remained es- configuration—that is, the development of sentially unchanged by the innovations of an autonomous language in both the pic- modernism.7 torial poster and the typographic tradition, Compared to the reassuring iconog- which through its integration with imagery raphy of poster design, the graphic con- acquired an aesthetic value and became a tribution of Futurism—which had initially ‘spectacle’ in and of itself 9—not so much remained confined to the typographic to a shared aesthetic or social vision (as compositions of paroliberismo—from the in Germany and the USSR), but rather to late 1920s, coinciding with a new open- the initiative of individuals who, in lieu of ness toward the applied arts, sped up ad- adequate training, developed a personal vertising design’s gradual transition from sense of experimentation fueled by exam- an artisanal realm to a markedly technical ples from architecture and the visual arts.10 and vocational one, more up-to-date and The work of this first generation of Italian informed by European functionalism. Of course, in 1920s Italy the graphic arts in 6 . Fossati, Sambonet challenged the traditional 1974: 9–10, 13. Cf. Baroni, printer with new problems general did not much reflect the Futurist Vitta 2003: 130–1. Speaking (…) as illustration was innovations, whose most radical and in- about the conditions sur- coming to the fore, with its rounding the origins of a visual values, its suggestive novative printing solutions are found solely distinctly Italian approach power (…) graphic design in published material linked directly to the to graphic design, Antonio became spectacle’ (cit. in Boggeri recalls: ‘The reign of Cremaschi 1967: 16). movement. And it is equally true that, with the typesetter lived on—that 10 . As was shown by the of the typsetter who’d al- leaders of the time, espe- few exceptions (Campari for Depero, Cora ways, and quite comfortably, cially Boggeri, who felt the for Diulgheroff), an ongoing relationship set one line of lead next to best Italian graphic design another, to which he then was ‘initially carried out between Futurists working in advertising added the image, in a sort as an almost private type and any stable industrial patronage was of graphic declamatory that of experimentation, one ended up being a schematic not yet integrated into ad- generally lacking. Yet it was in advertising addition of various marks vertising production’ (cit. that were close to one an- in Cremaschi 1967: 17). production (and exhibition installations) other, but neither integrat- Elsewhere Boggeri again that the Futurist language—character- ed nor organized’ (cit. in affirmed: ‘(…) Italians owe Cremaschi 1967: 15). their creation of a cultural ized by its symbolic representation of the 7 . Cf. Hollis 1994: 41. heritage founded on the 8 . Cf. Fioravanti, Passa- right choices to themselves relli, Sfligiotti 1997: 8; Sala- alone—they chose their ris 1986: 18–9; Vinti 2002: path in full autonomy. Car- 10; Priarone 1988: 8. boni and Grignani were 9 . This expression absolute autodidacts (…) as (taken from the title of were Nizzoli, Munari, Ricas, a collection of [work by and Muratore’ (Boggeri Adolphe Mouron] Cassan- 1981: 21). Cf. also Fiora- dre Le Spectacle est dans la vanti, Passarelli, Sfligiotti, rue, 1935) is Antonio Bog- according to whom Italian geri’s: ‘[graphic design as a graphic design of the time cultural product] was born owed everything to a ‘pre- the moment in which tech- cise type of communicator, nical advances in printing which is not the result of

Futurism, advertising, rationalism graphic designers, who were invariably for the lack of normal working conditions self-taught (and Munari was part of that with the substitute of creative imagination group), was followed in the mid-thirties, (…) (Anceschi).13 Munari confirmed this and especially in the immediate postwar reading, recalling with hindsight how the period, by the more technically advanced Futurists worked primarily at home, with 56 contributions of a few foreign graphic de- modest means and cheap materials.14 signers who passed through Milan. The Overall, the modern evolution of Ital- work of Swiss designers like Xanti Scha- ian graphic design in the 1930s resulted winsky, Max Huber, and Carlo Vivarelli in a cross-pollination of various factors laid the groundwork for the emergence of which, albeit belonging to different con- a mature Milanese graphic design scene in texts, deeply innervated it into a complex the 1950s.11 interplay of reciprocal influences: advertis- The relative lateness of graphic de- ing, which by then had all the characteris- velopments in Italy compared to the rest tics of a substantial economic organization; of Europe was the result of two factors: the most advanced artistic movements, the widespread unpreparedness of work- Futurism and Abstractionism, which were ers—which was in turn attributable to the the avant-garde realms in which Munari inadequate training offered in vocational worked quite freely; and the theoretical schools, the shortage of trade journals, and debate surrounding Rationalism, which— scarce exchange and exhibition opportuni- while primarily relating to architecture— ties; and the continuation of the poster’s was also reflected in the neighboring fields figurative tradition, which in turn reflected of art and typography. the public’s and clients’ substantial indifference to new artistic languages and advertising efforts.12 The essence of Italian graphic design has been attributed to this study in the specific field of inaccuracies) the national graphic design, but is rather context—from the Futurist backward situation, exemplified by the de- the fruit of a stylistic, cul- work of the teens through signers’ autodidactic condition. It has been tural, compositional matu- the Triennale exhibitions ration; a maturation whose in the 1930s—Carlo Belloli interpreted as a strongpoint and read as an most fruitful background links the advent of a mod- inclination for ‘experimentation, explora- is found in the worlds of ern Italian graphic design to art and architecture’ (id. the contributions of people tion, and an attempt at renewal’ (Boggeri), 1997: 11). like Persico and Pagano, 11 . The historic judg- and Italian Rationalism in while the Italian tendency to ‘force techni- ment regarding the influ- general. Remarkably, Belloli cal means to the limit’ has been empha- ence of the Swiss tradition mentions neither the Studio on early Italian graphic Boggeri nor the Swiss de- sized, and considered the result of an invet- design swings between two signers who were working in erate bent for bricolage, ‘a habit of compet- different positions: one Milan (Belloli 1959). recognizes its importance 12 . Pigozzi 1982: 472. ing with products made in other contexts, (be it substantial or merely 13 . Respectively, Boggeri accessory); the other claims cit. in Cremaschi 1967: 1; by appropriate technologies, and having Italian rationalist archi- Anceschi 1981b: 5. to make do with archaic tools and tech- tecture had a decisive role. 14 . Bassi 1990, inter- Boggeri, for example, spoke view with Bruno Munari nologies (…), and the habit of making up of the ‘determinant charac- (unpublished typescript). ter of foreign designs im- Paola Ricas also highlighted ported here in Italy’ and at how many of the drawings the same time recalled the from those years (by both pioneering role of ‘some her father and by Munari) graphic designers, natu- were often done in tempera rally very few (…) [who,] on paper or small-format spurred on by the graphic board, not so much as a sty- bases brought to light by listic choice, but rather be- the Bauhaus, (…) reworked cause of a real state of desti- them, shaped them to tution (author interview, 12 our own tastes and needs’ July 2006). This trait might (cit. in Cremaschi 1967: have a direct bearing on 15). Conversely, in reex- Munari’s later minimalist amining (albeit with a few attitude to design problems.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The macroeconomic context Positive signs were ably amplified by the The painful victory in World War I, while regime’s propaganda to fuel the national- strengthening the country’s international istic pride of a poor nation.20 But the Ital- position, had left behind an unstable do- ians’ daily reality was far more prosaic and 56 mestic situation both politically and eco- duller than the bombastic tones of official 57 nomically. The difficulties of recovery, the propaganda, and constituted, if anything, consequent stagnation of industrial pro- a ‘modest, circumspect prosperity.’21 The duction, and the collapse of public finances initial spread of consumer goods, popular had resulted in unemployment, inflation, activities (sports, theater, cinema, popular and waves of strikes, all of which exacer- songs, and escapist fiction), and leisure bated the social tensions resulting from time (organized by the Opera nazionale the disorderly development of the previous dopolavoro, the National Recreation Insti- decades.15 tute) was accompanied by the usual phe- The Fascist regime’s rise to power coin- nomena of corruption and speculation. cided with a favorable economic situation It did not take long for the conse- reinforced by public finance reform.16 The quences of the Depression to reach Italy. To liberal and protectionist economic policies address reductions in production and con- of the late 1920s led to significant growth sumption, the government relied on exten- in industrial and agricultural production. sive state intervention to help industries in However, that development occurred un- need, through the creation of new institu- der ‘maximum exploitation of labor at the tions,22 direct commissions and public- lowest cost,’ through wage freezes and fis- works campaigns, and (in the latter half cal pressures that particularly affected the of the decade) autarchic policies.23 The poorest workers, farmers and laborers.17 In expansion of public spending paralleled a this context, between 1923 and 1925, the reduction in private consumption caused— Fascist government transformed into an despite many initiatives to mitigate the outright dictatorship through a series of crisis, ranging from public assistance to laws that suppressed political freedom and expression, limited local autonomy, put the head of government above legislative 15 . Castronovo 1995: 237. the face of the threat posed 16 . Procacci 1975²: 507. by a potential spread of the powers, and established an efficient repres- 17 . Procacci 1975²: 508; Leninist revolution (Guerri 18 Castronovo 1995: 251, 325. 1982: 20–1). sive apparatus. Italy was the only industri- 21 . Procacci 1975²: 515. Despite the dissatisfaction of the prole- alized nation to experience 22 . The Italian Indus- a fall in wages between 1921 trial Finance Institute (imi, tariat, the March 1929 elections established and 1939 (Castronovo 1995: Istituto Mobiliare Italiano), a broad consensus and the regime enjoyed 327–8). the Institute for Industrial 18 . Procacci 1975²: Reconstruction (iri, Istituto the support of Italy’s main powers—the 508–10. per la Ricostruzione Indu- 19 . Procacci 1975²: 511– striale), and General Italian Catholic Church, the monarchy, the 12; Guerri 1982: 19. Oil Agency (agip, Azienda armed forces, the industrial confederation 20 . The transatlantic Generale Italiana Petroli). 19 flights of De Pinedo and 23 . While the Italian (Confindustria), and the rentier class. Balbo (1925, 1930, 1933), state was, among capital- the national football team’s ist nations, the one with victory at the World Cup the greatest government (1934), Primo Carnera’s control over its productive world heavyweight cham- sectors, it was also a deeply pionship, the launch of the ‘feudalized’ state beholden transatlantic liner ‘Rex’ to the large economic, in- (1931), Luigi Pirandello’s dustrial, and financial Nobel Prize in literature groups (Procacci 1975²: (1934), the first Venice film 515–20). Autarchy was festival (1932), just as on decreed as a response to the an international political economic sanctions of the level the Fascist model was League of Nations follow- viewed as an instrument for ing the war of conquest in resolving class conflict in Ethiopia (1935–36).

Futurism, advertising, rationalism more demagogic programs—by lower earn- in terms of work organization,’ in the early ings without any reduction in tax burdens. 1930s Milan was Italy’s third cultural cent- Economic growth during the Fascist pe- er, after Rome and Florence, and welcomed riod was ‘extremely bumpy and geographi- a variety of artists, writers, and intellectu- cally uneven as ever,’ and produced no real als who came from all over the country and 58 improvement in living standards, such considered Milan its most ‘avant-garde city’ that the majority of Italians were forced steeped in cultural fervor. The intellectual to ‘tighten their belts.’ Statistical data and air of the time had nothing anti-conform- other evidence converge to paint a picture ist about it; rather, it was quite laboriously of significant poverty, insecurity, and frus- focused on work or, to put it better, on the tration.24 As for the middle class, apart need for sustenance, for employment—be from the constant growth of government it journalism and publishing for writers, staff, the tertiary sector of new communi- or applied arts and advertising for artists: cations professionals (like Munari) offered ‘Milan guaranteed an income and, any- the most new career possibilities.25 how, a collaboration here and there that allowed you to keep going.’28 Undoubtedly, amongst its most dynamic cultural factors Milan as industrial and cultural capital were the new architectural and typographic Locally, expectations of a ‘second indus- paradigms promoted by the magazines Ca- trial revolution’ that would have bolstered sabella, Domus, and Campo grafico, as well Lombardy in the period following wwi as the artistic and literary circles linked to were shattered by the Great Depression of the journal Corrente (hermeticism) and ’29. Between the wars Milan did not have the Galleria del Milione (abstraction). It the unique characteristics of an industrial was also a leader on the industrial front, or labor metropolis, but rather became ‘the through the work of figures like Adriano managerial and business-oriented heart of Olivetti and, in the related advertising in- the city of Lombardy,’ a multicentered ter- dustry, the critical reflections carried out ritory in which industrial and residential by Guido Mazzali’s L’Ufficio Moderno. In zones were broadly and evenly spread.26 a cultural climate receptive to European During the two decades of Fascist rule interest in the fine and applied arts a solid the city, whose population exceeded one association formed between the literati, million inhabitants in 1936, ‘continued artists, architects, and exponents of ad- its economic development, as well as its vertising. This triggered a utopian culture cultural and welfare activities, in the social groupings allowed or tolerated by the 24 . Procacci 1975²: 519– and a half million workers 27 regime.’ 20; Castronovo 1995: 324– (Castronovo 1995: 327–8). 8. The average per-worker 26 . Vercelloni 1994: In addition to its status as a dynamic income for the 1935–38 181, 184. industrial city ‘enriched by a pragmatic period was the equivalent 27 . Compared to a na- of 410 dollars in Italy, com- tional and regional growth spirit, and amongst the most modern cities pared to 804 in France, rate of approximately 1206 in Great Britain, and 10–12% (from 37.9 to 41 1309 in the USA; private million), during the 1921–31 consumption in Italy for period Milan’s population the 1936–40 period was went from 700,000 inhab- below that of 1926–30. The itants in ’21, later integrat- details of everyday life dur- ed with the 100,000 inhab- ing the twenty-year Fascist itants of the surrounding rule as told by Gian Franco townships, to 961,000 in Venè in his book Mille lire al ’31, and exceeded a mil- mese (1988) are particularly lion in ‘36, with an urban convincing. growth rate of 37.1% (Ver- 25 . With an annual celloni 1994: 183–4). growth rate of 1,8%, in 1936 28 . Cf. Vergani 1989: this sector included four 16–7.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 characterized by a neo-humanistic quest artist in both art and graphic design, driv- for synthesis between arts and economics, en not only by economic needs, but above formulated not in the academy, but rather all by a spontaneous interest in all forms in a more informal context.29 of artistic intervention. As early as the late 58 This cross-cultural movement’s meet- 1920s, as we have seen, in addition to his 59 ing places were: the Galleria del Milione, activities with the Milanese Futurist group, the heart of abstract art;30 the editorial of- Munari was also pursuing a technical ap- fices of Casabella, directed by Persico and prenticeship at the Mauzan-Morzenti stu- Pagano; the Café Craja and the Trattoria dio and animating short advertisements All’insegna del Pesce d’oro; Olivetti’s ad- with the Cossio brothers. vertising office on via Clerici; and Antonio Boggeri’s studio on via Borghetto.31 The di- [In the 1930s I made my living] working as a graphic designer, and it was my salva- alogue between Futurism and Rationalism, tion. While other artists were bound to some for example, took place through collabora- dealer (…) I worked as a graphic designer for tive installations for exhibitions, trade fairs, magazines (…) I also did comics, but with a very different sense of humor. (…) I also and shops, allowing for the realization of worked with them [the rationalists], but I innovative projects that would have been was a graphic designer—both to earn a living 33 unfeasible in more traditional artistic con- as well as to have freedom in other areas. texts.32 Moreover, the bond that united architects, abstract artists, and graphic de- His debut in graphic design was related signers, who shared the theoretical premise to illustration, a genre well suited to his of a geometrical conception of space and painting skills and the market’s demands. representation, took shape early in January His first works date back to 1927/28 and 1933 with the appearance of Campo grafico. signal the beginning of an intense collabo- This magazine launched the debate sur- ration with several magazines and some rounding the renewal of Italian graphic de- important Milanese advertising firms, sign following European examples related which lasted until the early 1940s. As an to constructivist typography and, through illustrator Munari was able to freely experi- Persico and Pagano, even the rationalists’ ment with visual languages and themes claims. Not surprisingly, amid all this—it ranging from caricature to comics, collage, was a rather restricted environment, after photomontage, and the occasional layout. all—Munari was, if not the only, one of the In the advertising world of the 1920s, important elements that brought together still characterized by a lack of attention the various powers at play. to the latest American marketing techniques, Campari was among Italy’s first

Campari 29 . Lupo 1996: 7–8, 55. while stretching out on Munari seems to have deliberately worked This particular link between comfortable sofas, enjoy a the business and intellectu- wall [of art] all afternoon on two tracks at once, engaged as a visual al worlds was the most orig- while relaxing in the breeze inal aspect of a certain type of a fan’ (from ‘Mostre mi- of Italian capitalism in the lanesi’ in L’Italia letteraria postwar period (after 1945) x; 23, 1934: 5; cit. in Lupo through the early sixties: 1996: 11). see the detailed analysis 31 . Lupo 1996: 11–8. of that ‘industrial style’ in Other meeting places were corporate design from com- cafés—Tre Marie, Cova, Do- panies like Olivetti, Pirelli, nini, Campari, and Savini and Italsider in Vinti 2007. after dinner (ibid: 12–3). 30 . Where you could 32 . Fochessati, Mille- ‘even smoke while looking fiore 1997: 47. Cf. Salaris at a painting, without being 1986: 19–20. bothered, or read a rare 33 . Branzi 1984: 42. architectural magazine

Futurism, advertising, rationalism companies to create an in-house public- consists of 27 love poems and literary paro- ity office.34 The management of Davide dies of various types of love, all of which Campari, who directed the ad office (until invariably conclude with the praise of Bit- his death in 1936), was distinguished by ter Campari, as the drink is widely referred an unusual openness to avant-garde art- to; each poem is accompanied on the 60 ists, be they illustrators or graphic design- left-hand page by artwork inspired by the ers.35 Moving beyond the elitist tone of the right-hand composition’s theme. The pub- belle époque, in the period following wwi lication as a whole is elegant and modern, the company’s advertising strategy had ex- with an ideal balance between the simple panded, reflecting changes in social struc- layout, classic typography—doubtless at- ture: this differentiation affected not only tributable to Raffaello Bertieri, who was the messages’ means, but also their visual also responsible for its impeccable produc- language and form.36 While Campari’s tion quality41—and the unique creative flair posters highlighted the product, its print of Munari’s illustrations, a refined synthe- ads—as newspapers and magazines had be- sis of his previous work which highlight his come the favored media—launched a brand mastery of the aeropictorial style assimilat- name campaign carried out in several se- ed into a personal, articulate language. Like ries of black-and-white ads unified by an

ironic tone and the emphatic repetition of 34 . Valeri 1986: 68–70. Milan. 23.5×31.5 cm, pp.64 the company’s signature.37 The relevance of 35 . Sinopico, Dudovich, (n.n.), board covers and Nizzoli, and Depero all metal spiral binding (Spi- promotional gadgets at the time is reflected produced both posters and ralblock); edition of 1000 print ads for Campari; the numbered copies (NFS). in the ads’ offers for various objects, such illustrators included Tofano, The first Cantastorie col- as calendars and date books,38 as well as Guillermaz, Rubino, Negrin, lection, with illustrations Mochi, and Munari. Depe- by Mochi, was published literary publications, short stories or po- ro was a special case, as he in 1927; the second, with a ems featuring the brand or product, often took an increasingly impor- cover and plates by Tofano, tant role, and went on to do was pubished in 1928; in entrusted to well known writers. packaging (he designed the 1930 the third collection unique Campari Soda bot- was published; in 1932 the A typical ad from a literary culture tle), vending-machine de- fourth, illustrated by Sino- like the Italian one at the time, Campari’s sign, and promotional gadg- pico, as well as the fifth and ets (Pitteri 2002: 20). last, illustrated by Munari, |1| Cantastorie (Storyteller) were light poetry 36 . Vergani 1990: 17. were published. All editions collections, anonymously written by play- 37 . Vergani 1990: 1, 29 had the same format; the (quoting Ferrigni 1937). Cf. first was printed by Bestetti wright and critic Renato Simoni, which ap- Falabrino 2001: 95. e Tumminelli, Milan/Rome; 38 . Like the Prezioso all the rest (except the peared weekly in the Corriere della Sera be- Campari Vademecum per tutti, second, whose printer was ginning in 1927.39 Its numerous issues were launched in 1922. Pitteri uncredited) were printed by 2002: 20. Raffaello Bertieri, Milan. periodically collected into single volumes, 39 . Similar initiatives 41 . Speaking at a confer- which Campari published as a limited edi- included Sem Benelli’s So- ence in the 1980s, Munari netti Campari, Corradino explicitly confirmed that at- tion between 1927 and 1932, illustrated in Cima’s Cento e più sonetti, tribution: ‘Of these typeset- and the poetry in Milanese ters, there were some really turn by Ugo Mochi, Sergio Tofano, Pri- dialect published in Mene- good ones: Bertieri, Lucini, mo Sinopico and, lastly, Munari.40 The ghin Campari Seltz, illus- Modiano, and a few others. trated by Daniele Fontana They were the ones who fo- fifth collection, which Munari illustrated, (1932) (Falabrino 2001: cused more on quality than 95–6). Renato Simoni on quantity; people who (1875–1952) was a journal- were passionate about their ist, playwright, and theater work, who talked about type critic. He wrote some popu- the way people today talk lar comedies, and for many about sports. One day Ber- years was the theater critic tieri triumphantly showed of the Corriere della Sera, me a face inspired by Bo- as well as a director and doni, which he had found: screenwriter. a Bodoni that, as a slight 40 . Il Cantastorie di variant, had rounded tops. Campari. Con 27 figurazioni With that face he printed a grafiche di Bruno Muna- book for Campari, and I did ri. Milan: Campari, 1932. the illustrations for it’ (in Printing: Raffello Bertieri, Editoria e Cultura a Milano

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the previous volumes, Munari’s collection repetition of the brand name and an amus- boasts the modern forms of spiral binding ing, often ironic tone. One of the most and sheets printed on the recto and folded common formulas was the discursive ads, at half width. An article in the November based on short literary or cultured com- 60 issue of L’Ufficio Moderno, accompanied positions in the form of advice, Weller- 61 by an overview of graphic work by Ricas isms, or verse compositions (which invari- and Munari as well as a few illustrations ably end with the product name, Bitter from the recently published Cantastorie, and Cordial Campari), accompanied by a commented: visual interpretation. Although that was a predominant advertising model in daily These illustrations are lovely, unconven- newspapers at the time, in Campari’s case tional, and marvelously mischievous (…) The irony, though held in check by his un- the ads featured not only stylized graphics failingly gracious visual style, clearly asserts associated with the expressive possibilities itself. With his truly personal talents, Mu- of lettering, but they were also organized in nari comments upon and highlights the is- 45 sues Simoni narrates, bitterly and in good coordinated series. As for Munari, chron- humor. He comments and highlights, but ologically speaking, his first ads belong to also adds irony to its irony, and spirit to its one of the best-known and longest series, spirit. And without resorting to caricature, with a considered dryness of visual mark |2| the Memoranda (which in turn included and tone—and it is a genuine, spontaneous other series): the two examples found are transposition of an intense reality, penetrated from I sei aforismi sull’appetito (Six apho- to its essence, into the realm of fantasy.42 risms on the appetite) and are signed by two studios—sappi and apri, names not yet Although Munari’s collaboration with the otherwise identified—while the drawings Campari ad office was intermittent, his work with them probably dates back to the tra le due guerre (1920-1940), 43 . The Campari ads are 1983: 163). The typeface in reproduced in Ferrigni 1937, beginning of his career as graphic designer question—which was used a deluxe celebratory volume for the cover, the fron- published by Campari, ed- if, as it seems, a few illustrations identi- tispiece, and the headers, ited and printed by Raffa- fied in ads from 1927–28 actually are his.43 paired with a classic Bodoni ello Bertieri. Although the for the poetic texts—is dif- text does focus on various Aside from posters, print advertisements ficult to identify, but has aspects of the company’s in the form of black-and-white classifieds characteristics similar to ads (from posters to inte- Alessandro Butti’s Quirinus rior fliers, ads, and objects), were the main advertising vehicle at the (Nebiolo, 1939), which was it does not provide any in turn inspired by Imre information regarding the time, as evidenced by the vast repertory Reiner’s Corvinus (Bauer, artists or dates of the works’ of bianchi e neri (black-and-whites) con- 1929). production. 42 . Noi due, ‘Il futu- 44 . Cf. Ferrigni 1937: ceived for Campari. Artists with deliber- rismo alla pubblicità’ in 171–8; Vergani 1990: 21, ately different styles were commissioned L’Ufficio Moderno VII, 11 27–30; Falabrino 2001: (November 1932): 662. Di 93–5. Among the more well to create the ads—Guillermaz, Sto, Nizzoli, Corato (2008: 219–20) at- know series: Memoranda tributes the article to Ricas (Aforismi, Didascalie, Con- Depero, Brunetta, Mochi, Rubino, Rove- and Munari. However, the cludendo); Diario di Petronio roni, Conalbi, Fontana, Negrin and Mu- signature ‘Noi due’ (Us and Petronius Dixit; il Deca- 44 two) which takes up Mazza- logo nuovo; il Decamerone; i nari —but all ads shared an emphatic li’s practice of signing ‘Noi’ Proverbi; le Massime celebri; (Us) under the brief editor’s le Sintesi parolibere (parole note that opened each issue. Grego, grafica Nizzoli), le The article was most likely Sintesi pericolose; Nostalgie written by the magazines novecentiste; Campari, per- two directors, Mazzali and ché?; Concludendo; Talismani; Villani, as can be inferred by Amari; il Consumatore è re; the tone of the prose, which Libri; Opere liriche; Monu- seems to be penned by an menti antichi; Problemi nuo- author with a more liter- vi; Quattro stagioni (Ferrigni ary background; nor does it 1937: 171–7). seem logical that the posi- 45 . For an overview of tive comments came from the various types of ‘black- the artists themselves. and-whites’ of the period, see Bauer 1998a: 160–1.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism humorously illustrate some rather banal were published in 1930–31, and were signed food hygiene tips and are signed with an by Munari and Studio crea. One, titled unusual b (like the pseudonym Munari I classici (The Classics), was purely illus- adopted at the time, bum). The handwrit- trative, and depicted some books held up ing and the comic strip–like hatching (the by two classical bookends with two bot- 62 depiction is also reminiscent of American tles—Bitter Campari and Cordial Campa- cartoons, and is a recurring feature in Mu- ri—enthroned in the middle; it differs from nari’s illustrations even after 1930) seem his previous ads in that the illustration, in hesitant, as does the title lettering, reflect- grisaille, is of a higher quality. The other ing the fact that they are the work of a nov- ad instead falls fully within the tradition ice, and may even predate the robotic ‘me- of figurative lettering (already widely used chanical’ forms of the caricatures he began by Guillermaz, for example) and is based publishing in 1928.46 on the slogan ‘Campari apre e chiude ogni Some small drawings on the cover and banchetto’ (Campari begins and ends each |3| inside one booklet, titled Amare gli ama- banquet), which Munari ably fit into a key/ ri (Loving Bitters) by one Dottor G. Ellas, bottle opener–shaped logo. This attribution are from the same period, if not earlier.47 is based on the fact that the acronym crea The author behind that pseudonym was (Create) was actually an advertising initia- Emilio Grego, a physician who became tive of the Milanese Centrale Futurista (Fu- an advertising consultant to the Italian turist HQ), which existed between roughly Government’s General Staff during wwi 1930 and ’32, and was likely directed by and owned an ad agency. He had already Munari before he opened his own studio worked with the Campari publicity office, with Ricas.50 and in the mid-twenties Campari hired The two bottles reappear in a different him for a campaign aimed at spreading project, in which Munari built on his poly- scientific word of bitters’ health benefits material experience in painting. It is an (even with doctor endorsements, follow- |5| interior/exterior sign titled Carta di Iden- ing the American hard-sell model), sup- tità Campari (Campari id), and features ported by a trilingual pamphlet distributed for free.48 Munari can be identified as the 46 . The unusual B form Nazionale, Milan). The Ital- illustrator because of the work’s striking shows up, for example, in ian edition was reprinted his signature (ing. BrUNo/ by Edizioni Campari in the stylistic similarities to his first illustrations, mUNari) in the drawing ’60s. The original is in the published in magazines at the end of the ‘Progetto di locomotiva per Archivio Storico Campari, la nuova stazione di Milano’ Milan (Vergani 1990: 27; decade, and based on those two black-and- published in the Almanac- Ferrigni 1937; Villani 1964: white Memoranda—which would date the co letterario 1933; Munari 171–2; Eligio Bossetti, au- was still using it in 1941, as thor correspondence, au- work toward 1927, when Munari had al- proved by one of his let- tumn 2010). 49 ters to Zavattini (from the 48 . Vergani 1990: 16, 27. ready settled in Milan. Archivio Zavattini, Biblio- 49 . Ibid. This booklet is The dating and attribution of two other teca Panizzi, Reggio Emilia, usually dated to 1925, which m844/1). can either mean it is one of ads for Campari are less uncertain, as they 47 . Dottor G. Ellas Munari’s early debut pieces [Emilio Grego], Amare gli (done during a stay in Milan amari. Il breviario di chi vuol before he went to Naples) viver sano [Milan:] Edizioni or that the dating is incor- Campari, n.d. [c.1927], rect. The latter hypothesis [Printing: Bertieri, Mi- seems more likely. lan]. 11.8×16.2 cm, pp. 32. 50 . Both reproduced in This pamphlet was printed Ferrigni 1937. The first (I in multiple languages: in classici) is signed M at lower French (Aimer les amers, le right, while the crea mark breviaire de la bonne santé, is visible at lower left; the printed by Garagnani, second (Campari apre e chiu- Paris) and in German (Du de…) only carries the crea sollst das bittere lieben: ama- mark at lower right. re amara, printed by Grafica

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 an image created by skillfully combining press ads from that period: perhaps it was cardboard silhouettes and elements of the not considered dynamic enough, or was bottles (labels, bands, cork seals) into a too similar to other ads.54 cubist-type collage. Optical play between 62 orthogonal planes gives the composition a 63 depth that, photographically reproduced, Magazine publishing highlights the visual characteristics of the In the 1920s, before the advent of rotogra- two products in a sharp, intriguing image. vure in Italy, although the range of illus- Munari began to experiment with multi- trated periodicals offered a greater variety material collage techniques around 1932, than the ‘omnibus’ newspaper formula which allows us to date this work to that accessible to a differentiated readership,55 period.51 it was nevertheless still linked to the mod- If Campari’s only interlocutor thus far els of the period immediately following seems to have been Munari, his 1935 ad wwi. The illustrated weeklies founded at |4| series titled Dal diario di Petronio (From the dawn of the century were the Milan- Petronio’s Diary) was entirely conceived, ese L’Illustrazione italiana (1873), aimed written, and drawn with Ricas—even if at a middle-class readership, and popular the signature ‘Munari+R’ seems to in- illustrated newspaper supplements like dicate who had the greater role. Like the the Domenica del Corriere (1899), aimed others, this was a series of newspaper ads, at an audience in the process of broaden- worked into at least 10 different composi- ing its cultural horizons. However, despite tions based on reflections attributed to the the inclusion of photographs and color author of the Satyricon (whose scholastic plates and their continual success, these reputation as arbiter elegantiae is associ-

ated with worldliness) commented upon 51 . Specimen repro- literary market, created the through vaguely surreal illustrations.52 duced in Ferrigni 1937. The conditions for the so-called signature is visible at upper omnibus formula, meaning As evidence of their lasting relation- right. a newspaper for everyone, ship with the company, the two also de- 52 . The total can be a newspaper that contains deduced from the ads’ subjects that interest not signed an ad for Bitter Campari, which— numbering (cf. Ferrigni only all members of a given 1937; Vergani 1990). The family, but targets the kids although it was rejected—is included as Campari historical archives through sports and theater, |6| a sketch in an overview of the studio’s have 7 original ink draw- and the parents through ings: (1) Dubbi (260×165 other things—as well as projects published in L’Ufficio Moderno in mm) [895]; (2) Inter- different [social] classes. 1935.53 From a graphic point of view, this mezzo od epilogo (166×132 (…) The newspaper was mm) [896]; (3) La greca created with the idea of the ad seems much more sophisticated and up- (167×130 mm) [893]; (4) elementary-school teacher Novecento (165×130 mm) in mind—the high-school to-date, as it played with the integration [894]; (5) L’Ora del thè teacher or other cultured of typography and photography in a clever, (165×130 mm) [891]; (6) people. But within that Distinzioni (165×130) same newspaper there was balanced way. It is hard to see why the pro- [892]; (7) Gusti e paesi also something for their posal was rejected, as the company also (165×128 mm) [889]. doorman. At the time al- 53 . L’Ufficio Moderno x; most all dwellings had a used a typo/photographic language in its 5 (May 1935): 252–3. concierge who was inter- 54 . See, for example, ested in major court cases, the many Campari ads by which were big news, as Negrin (reproduced in Fer- well as minor local current rigni 1937) and Carboni (in events stories. The profes- Guida Ricciardi 1936: 82); sor, the teacher, or other regarding the Ricas+Munari readers, all had the third collaborations, see the ad page. That page, created in for Indirizzi Delfini, c. 1935 Italy, (…) was one of the (in L’Ufficio Moderno x; 5, literary pages’ (Paolo Mu- May 1935, cit). rialdi, interview 3 June 1998, 55 . Murialdi 2000: 95. titled ‘L’evoluzione del gior- ‘(…) Italy [being] a country nale in Italia’ available at with a prevalently literary www.mediamente.rai.it). culture, with a very limited

Futurism, advertising, rationalism current-affairs weeklies remained largely cultural industries had a major influence unchanged in both content—world events, on illustrated periodicals.60 Similarly to travel stories, political notes, cultural re- developments in the book sector, where views, entertainment columns, advice, and the market’s expansion into emerging quotidian curiosities—as well as in graphic demographics relied on a broad range of 64 layout, modeled on the historic illustrated entertainment literature (romance, mys- magazines of France (L’Illustration) and tery, stories of major feats) and interna- Britain (Illustrated London News).56 tional fiction, the periodicals sector also While social and structural factors expanded its genres and readerships, with at the turn of the century—population a proliferation of new offerings aimed at growth and urbanization, the rail networks’ the average reader (employees, shopkeep- extension, postal service improvements, ers, teachers, soldiers, professionals).61 De- the advent of the telegraph—enabled spite the regime’s official reticence toward magazines to broaden their market despite new forms of commercial culture, during widespread illiteracy (48.7% of the total the Fascist period the number of registered population of 32 million in 1901), what publications went from 3,859 in 1921 to most influenced the Italian publishing in- 4,927 in 1941, a figure that, despite its gen- dustry after wwi were economic changes: erality, indicates how readers’ habits shift- the abolition of duties on paper imports ed in favor of magazines.62 (1921), reduced postal rates (1922) and a Publishing’s dynamism was also closely new copyright law (1925), along with new related to the ‘conditioning presence of concentrations of capital, created favorable conditions for publishing’s expansion.57

Milan in particular became ‘the city that 56 . Murialdi 1986: 1931, with the usual im- produces and consumes the most printed 102–3. balances from region to 57 . Murialdi 2000: 89, region) remained a major paper in Italy’; it was home to historical 121, 125; Tranfaglia, Vittoria problem: from 1931–40 2000: 24–5. the average titles published publishers like Treves, Sonzogno, Vallar- 58 . Annuario della Stam- annually was 10,947 (com- di, Hoepli, Mondadori, and Rizzoli, for a pa 1924–25, cit. in Lombar- pared to approximately do, Pignatel 1985: 38. 9,000 before the war)—a total of 86 publishers, 75 printing plants, 59 . The main regions level still quite far from 455 typesetting printshops, and 18 gravure and cities related to pub- the averages in France and lishing included: Piedmont Britain (registered around 58 plants. (De Agostini, Utet, Lattes, 16,000 titles) and Germany Sei); Florence (Vallecchi, (c. 23,000). Cf. Pischedda Within a national landscape dotted Le Monnnier); Bologna 2001: 74; Pedullà 1997: with regional centers,59 Milan gained su- (Zanichelli, Cappelli); Bari 374–5; Lombardo, Pignatel (Laterza); and Rome (tied 1985: 42; Tranfaglia, Vitto- premacy between the late 1920s and early to the government, Prov- ria 2000: 24–5. 1930s with the rise of new publishing com- veditorato dello Stato, and 62 . Cf. Forgacs, Gundle Istituto dell’Enciclopedia 2007: 37, 96. Although the panies, especially Mondadori and Rizzoli Italiana) (Pedullà 1997: national statistics ignore 350–5). publications’ regional, so- (focused on the book and magazine sec- 60 . Forgacs, Gundle cial, and typological varia- tors, respectively). Their transformation 2007 maintain in a recent tions, the growth rate of in- study (based on oral ac- dividual periodicals (27%) from traditional small businesses to mass counts) that, despite Ital- in this period was higher ians’ scarse propensity for than that of annuals (21%). reading, during the 1930s Further confirming this fact, there was a broad public during wartime, despite that read periodicals—par- stric quotas on paper, the ticularly sports, illustrated, number of periodicals in and comic magazines: ‘over- circulation remained for- all, weekly magazines had midable (3,978 publications sales far larger than those in 1943, of which 79 were of newspapers or books’ dailies) compared to the (ibid.: 36). understandable reduction 61 . Despite the progress in book publishing (Pedullà schooling had created by 1997: 374, 380; cf. Tranfa- enlarging the base reader- glia, Vittoria 2000: 300). ship, illiteracy (21.1% in

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Fascist power.’63 Following the laws of magazines and comics—which, taken to- 1925–26 and faced with full State control gether, were perhaps the most significant over the media,64 the magazine industry phenomenon in Milanese journalism be- was actually censored to a lesser extent tween the two world wars.69 While the 64 than other sectors and, thanks to the re- traditional French cultural hegemony was 65 gime’s protection, experienced substantial gradually giving way to the more pervasive growth in both supply and circulation.65 American culture, in terms of graphics Furthermore, the suppression of freedom there was an explosion of color: between of the press was countered by other sig- the mid-twenties and the early thirties nificant compensations offered to publish- nearly every magazine updated its look and ers and journalists (subsidies and secret layout, starting with the cover.70 funding from the Government press office, and a journalists’ association). All of this sparked, in response to the economic crisis Stile meccanico, Mechanical style as well, a strengthening of the Italian press As an illustrator, over the span of a decade from both a technological (moderniza- Munari worked exclusively with magazine tion of production facilities) and editorial offices based in Milan—both small and (increase in the number of pages, of edito- large publishers, covering various types rial staff, and of special editions) point of of publication, ranging from literature to view, enjoyed equally by newspapers and 66 magazines. 63 . Pedullà 1997: 357. 1841–1926). This proce- 64 . Carried out through dure was used primarily for In the early 1930s, when Rizzoli property transferrals and newspaper and periodical brought rotogravure67 printing to Italy, it managerial appointments printing: in 1904 a section at all major newspapers, as of the Berlin newspaper Der was first used to produce magazines. That well as sequestrations and Tag was printed in rotogra- particular market was dominated by fic- intimidations; from 1926 vure, followed in 1910 by this was done through the the Freiburger Zeitung. With tion and lifestyle (La Lettura, 1901 and Le regulations of the Govern- the development of reel-fed ment press office (from rotogravure and mixed reels Grandi Firme, 1929), popular science (Na- 1937 on known as the Mi- (with both typographic tura, 1928), travel and tourism (Rivista nistero della cultura popo- and intaglio printing) after lare, or Ministry of Popular World War I the new pro- mensile del Touring Club Italiano, 1895), and Culture), whose ordinances cedure (capable of simul- technical periodicals; while the women’s, controlled press content in taneously printing recto an increasingly rigid fashion and verso, and up to 3,000 sports, and young adults’ sectors were still (Cambria 1994: 134–5, 141). copies per hour) led to the 68 65 . Lombardo, Pigna- development of new jour- in their infancy. The sudden success of tel 1985: 41. Cf. De Berti, nalism outlets, such as illus- the new rotogravure weeklies sped up the Mosconi 1998: ‘(…) the trated periodicals aimed at popular press was a kind of wider readerships (Twyman current trend toward a more mass-oriented duty-free zone compared 1998²: 59; Lombardo, Pigna- cultural production: thus, over the course to [those more rigidly con- tel 1985: 36–7). trolled under] the regime’s 68 . Murialdi 2000: of the decade the periodicals sector grew directives, at least up until 95; Ajello 1976: 186n. The World War II’ (ibid.: 149). situation at the end of the and print runs were updated so as to sup- The relative tolerance of 1930s: of 4,987 magazines ply readers in all classes and at all cultural consumer-press censorship in circulation in 1941, 2,388 does little to minimize the could be traced back to the levels, with particular success in women’s fact that during the twenty- Catholic sector, 280 to Fas- year Fascist period Italian cism and current politics, culture ‘existed in a sub- 353 to the technological and stantially provincial realm’ industrial realms, and the (Pedullà 1997: 361). remaining 1,800 to other 66 . Murialdi 2000: sectors; their publication 136–7, 146–8, 150–1. was centered mainly in 67 . The last printing Lombardy, Piedmont, and technique to become mech- the Veneto regions, fol- anized, rotogravure (or lowed by Lazio, Emilia photogravure/photoetch- Romagna, and Tuscany ing) was discovered in 1878 (Pedullà 1997: 374). in Vienna (and later per- 69 . Cambria 1994: 142. fected in England, ca. 1895) 70 . Pischedda 2001: by Karel Klícˇ (Karl Klietsch, 74–5; Pallottino 1988: 260.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism current events, women’s issues, humor, |7| article in the elegant fashion magazine Li- and specialized sectors like aeronautics. del.73 Caricatures published the following Conversely, Munari did not work with year in two quite different magazines show sporting magazines, nor those closest to similar characteristics. A short article on the regime (dealing with politics), nor with Munari’s artistic experience, published in 66 the Catholic press (which occupied a sub- |8| the Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia (a stantial share of the market)—all of which current events monthly from the epony- implies an evident, not necessarily ethi- mous Fascist newspaper in Milan74) and cal, but rather aesthetic and commercial a dedication penned by Marinetti in L’Ala choice. As might reasonably be expected, d’Italia, a technical aviation journal,75 were Munari’s illustrations and other graphic illustrated with prominent literary figures’ contributions were commissioned by those portraits (the writer Orio Vergani, and Fu- publishers who were sympathetic to Fu- turist artists Marinetti and Azari), execut- turism and more or less open to modern ed in an elementary reduction of geometric visual culture, or at least the type of new features and generally depicted in profile. visual culture most acceptable to the gen- A few unpublished aeronautics-themed eral public.71 drawings, whose current whereabouts are unknown, probably date to the same pe- Bum is only nineteen years old and is from riod. The first, chronologically, would ap- Milan, and his real name is bruno munari… with a lower-case b and m, as you can |9| pear to be an ink drawing on a collage of see on his business card. As a mechanical aluminum foil and colorful papers, signed draughtsman enamoured of technique, about bum with collaged letters from a typewriter: three years ago he began to extract, from the simplicity of lines he saw in complex con- both the drawing’s rough execution and traptions, the elements of an art that, while imprecisely traced Bodoni-style and Eng- still classifiable within the vein of Futurism, lish cursive letters suggest it was a very has already acquired a delightfully personal expression through a clear, humorous sen- 71 . Cf. Meneguzzo had a hand in Lydel Film, a sibility, coherent with the kind of life un- 72 1993: 30. production house in Turin folding before the artist’s observant eyes. 72 . From a review pub- specialized in film advertise- lished in the Milanese press ments, it is possible she met in 1927 on the occasion of Munari around 1928, as he In its initial phase, which ran from roughly the Futurist group exhibi- was working with the Cos- tion at the Galleria Pesaro, sio brothers on animated 1928 to 1930, his magazine work consisted which was also Munari’s shorts; it is also plausible public debut (cit. without that de Liguoro brought largely of line drawings—often but not al- sources in Lichtenstein, Hä- Munari into the editorial ways humorous—that reflected his Futurist berli 1995: 275). staff of the magazine she’d 73 . Arturo Lanocita, founded and then directed ‘mechanical’ influences, as well as his in- ‘L’arte di sembrare intel- up until 1927 (cf. Verga- terest in comics, whose popularity was rap- ligenti’ in Lidel ix; 7 (July ni 2009: ‘de Liguoro’ and 1928): 48–9; even the geo- ‘Lidel’). idly on the rise in Italy. Such references are metric lettering of the title 74 . (Manlio Morgagni) and the article’s closing can ‘Un pittore futurista: Muna- unmistakably clear in the first caricatures be attributed to Munari. ri’ in La Rivista illustrata del he published, which date to the summer Lidel was a fashion monthly, Popolo d’Italia vii; 6 (June founded in 1919 by Lydia de 1929): 57. The text high- of 1928 and appeared alongside a lifestyle Liguoro (an Italian journal- lights how his caricatures ist who adhered to Fascism are ‘curious because of the from its very beginning sheer ability with which and became known for her their creator made use of nationalistic campaigns). geometric elements—but es- The title was taken from a pecially interesting because derivation of the founder’s of the artist’s sure intuition pen name (Lydel), adapted in capturing the most char- as an acronym of Letture acteristic and expressive Illustrazioni Disegni El- lines of the physiognomy.’ eganze Lavoro (Readings, 75 . The portraits of Ma- Illustrations, Drawings, rinetti and Azari appeared Elegances, Work), the main in L’Ala d’Italia, viii; 10 (Oc- themes the monthly dealt tober 1929): 916. with. Because de Liguoro

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 early attempt or, more likely, a sketch for ‘mechanical’ depiction of figures com- a primer (abecedarium), similar to others posed of basic volumes (cones, cylinders, he made in the 1940s—which would make spheres). This aesthetic’s most emblematic it the first evidence of Munari’s recurring iteration was in theatrical sets, where the 66 |10| interest in the alphabet.76 Two illustrations 67 in tempera on cardboard for the aviation 76 . The drawing, in the several variants: the dating company Caproni, dating back to 1928–29, collection of the Massimo of the drawing, therefore, show a higher level of graphic design sen- and Sonia Cirulli Archive, is not problematic. The New York/Bologna, is dated same cannot be said of the sibility: the first depicts the famous Capr- c.1927 and is reproduced second case, insofar as with the title rRrR, Rumo- the aircraft name seems oncino biplane; the second an imaginary re di aeroplano (rRrR, the to refer to the design of a aircraft labeled Caproni 3000 hp, and Sound of an Airplane) hydroplane design for the in Pellegrini 2009: 121. Ca.60 Transaereo, created the third the twin-engined Ca.103. Al- 38×27 cm. The 1927–28 for transoceanic flight, a though the circumstances surrounding dating is also confirmed by prototype of which was the bum signature, which tested (but destroyed after their creation are unknown, it is conceiv- can be traced back to the the first flight) in 1920–21; late 1920s. Even if, com- it was a massive aircraft, able they were meant to be reproduced as pared to the noteworthy capable of carrying 100 pas- postcards.77 In addition to the geomet- quality of the drawings sengers, with three groups Munari did as an adolescent of triplane wings on which ric decomposition and vivid background in Badia Polesine (a few 6 motors were mounted color (in keeping with Futurist stylistic are in the Jaqueline Vodoz for a total of 3,000 Hp. Yet and Bruno Danese collec- Munari’s drawing depicts a elements), their typical art nouveau–style tion, others in the posses- single-winged aircraft, with sion of the Munari family), two motors and landing lettering is noteworthy, as it is quite differ- the possibilty that this is a gears that do not match re- ent from the more immediate, geometric childhood sketch cannot ality, except for their large be excluded; the most prob- size. The Caproni Ca.103 forms of art deco alphabets extensively able hypothesis seems to was a light-bomber biplane used in advertising of the period, and sug- be a parody of a childhood (derived from the Ca.73, drawing (Antonello 2009: developed between 1922 gests these may have been an apprentice- 7). Munari actually did do a and 1924), known for be- series of abecedaria in the ing the first Italian aircraft ship exercise. early 1940s and later on in built with an entirely metal A portrait of the Futurist composer the postwar years, a few of structure. 78 which were published by 78 . Coll. Bruno Mu- Luigi Russolo, perhaps dating back to Einaudi (Abecedario, 1942 nari, Milan, riproduced in 1927, is perhaps an extreme case of such and Alfabetiere, 1960), while Lichtenstein, Häberli 1995: others remained mere try- 26. The signed drawing is geometric minimalism in the vein of me- outs or personal exercises dated 1927. However, if one (ABC dadà, 1944, coll. Ha- considers that none of Mu- chanical art, which over the 1920s had left jek-Zucconi, Novara; and an nari’s compositions from behind the study of movement to become untitled one made for Anna this period—reproduced Boggeri’s fourth birthday, plates, illustrations, and the dominant aesthetic of Futurist paint- 1944, coll. Boggeri-Monguz- photomontages—carries a ing.79 Beginning with the 1922–23 mani- zi, Meride). These were fol- date, while sketches given lowed by the book Munari’s to collectors were almost festo Arte meccanica (Mechanical Art) co- ABC (Cleveland/New York: always dated, it is logical to The World Publishing Com- deduce that the date was authored by Vinicio Paladini, Ivo Pannaggi, pany, 1960), the education- added only later, and can and Prampolini—who, alongside Depero, al game ABC con fantasia therefore be taken with the produced by Danese in 1973, benefit of the doubt. In this were its most significant proponents—ex- and an installation Munari specific case, such suspicion altation of the machine as a visual anal- curated for the printer Lu- is reinforced by the fact that cini (Alfabeto Lucini, Milan: the signature appears along ogy for states of mind tended toward a Lucini, 1987). the border of the sheet, not 77 . The signature Bruno, within the drawing itself, as identical in all the drawings, was Munari’s usual practice. allows us to hypothesize a 79 . See Lista, Masoero similar date, around 1928– 2009) in which the period 29. The drawings are now divisions between early and in the Maria Fede Caproni late (primo and secondo) collection, Rome. 22×12 cm, Futurismo are supplanted 23.5×29 cm, and 22×12 cm, by the use of dominant respectively. The Caproni aesthetic: mechanical art Ca.100 aircraft, designed in in the 1920s and aeropaint- 1928, was a commercially ing in the 1930s (ibid.: 19). succesful single-engine Cf. Crispolti 1980: 149–51; aircraft that remained in Lista 2001a: 132–45. production through 1938 in

Futurism, advertising, rationalism body/machine made its most convincing The illustrations accompanying Marinet- appearance in costumes for the balletti |11| ti’s theatrical text Il suggeritore nudo are meccanici (mechanical ballets).80 done in the same style, and were reproduced in Comoedia on the occasion of its we feel mechanically. we feel we’re built run at Rome’s Teatro degli Indipendenti 68 of steel. we, too, are machines. we, too, 87 are mechanized! (...) we futurists want: in December 1929. The line drawings 1st, that the machine’s spirit, not just its exterior form, be rendered (...); 2nd, that these 80 . From Pannaggi and generally seen as children’s expressive means and mechanical elements Paladini’s Balletto mecca- products and adopted for be coordinated by an original lyrical law, and nico futurista (Casa d’Arte educational purposes. In not by some learned scientific law; 3rd, that, Bragaglia, Rome, 1922) to addition to images created Depero and Casavola’s bal- by American artists, ac- by ‘essence of the Machine,’ one under- let Anihccam del 3000 (Tea- quired with exclusive rights, stands the strengths, the rhythms, and the tro Trianon, Milan, 1924), the Corrierino (as it was also infinite analogies the Machine evokes (…)81 Ruggero Vasari’s L’angoscia known) featured numerous delle macchine (performed characters created by Ital- in 1926, with costumes ian artists—often major il- Because Munari’s earliest works were so by Pannaggi and music by lustrators (like Sergio Tofa- strongly shaped by both Depero and Pram- Casavola), and Prampoli- no, who created the famous ni’s Théatre de la pantomime Signor Bonaventura, the polini, that impact was reflected not only futuriste (Paris, 1927). Cf. character associated with Lista 2001a: 146. the weekly for the longest in the works made for gallery settings, but 81 . From the Arte mec- period). Luigi Albertini, his- first and foremost in his daily work as canica manifesto, signed by toric director of the Corriere Enrico Prampolini, Ivo Pan- della Sera, decided to replace graphic designer and illustrator—which naggi, and Vinicio Paladini, the characteristic nuvolette processed those influences into freer, more published in Noi, second (balloons) with rhyming series, i; 2 (May 1923): 1–2; lines of text (underneath 82 accessible, often ironic work. Although text reproduced in Birolli the vignettes), which were 2008: 194–8. considered more in keeping its chiaroscuro volumes still followed in 82 . À propos of similar with middle-class tastes. Cf. Prampolini’s tracks,83 this different ap- illustrations also published Bona 1998; Santoro 1998b: in Lidel during the summer 82–3). proach was characteristic of a series of il- of 1930, Di Corato writes 85 . Lidel x; 8 (15 August lustrations Munari did in 1929–30, which of an ‘ironic translation of 1929): 22–3. For the story Prampolinian aeropainting’ ‘Fra due mantelli’ by Lyana also responded to specific editorial crite- (2008: 213). In fact, the Cambiasi Munari made 3 playful tone also came from line illustrations plus the ria. These illustrations had two key fea- the Futurists’ ‘mechanical’ title; the layout of text tures: affinities with comics, as was the theatrical works. and images appears rather 83 . Crispolti 1992: 193. conventional, based on the case with those done for the Corriere dei Within Prampolini’s me- page’s central symmetry, Piccoli;84 and a visible quest for an imme- chanical period, which went and does not seem to reflect from 1924 to ’28, Crispolti (as maintained in Di Corato diate, graphic signature with modern con- specifies two phases: the 2008: 210) ’an initial inter- first characterized by planar vention in terms of editorial notations, as was the case with those that geometric depictions, the graphic design.’ Liana Cam- accompanied sentimental short stories second by an ‘accentuated biasi Negretti (1897–1995) 85 plasticity (...) of an almost adopted the pseudonym or entertaining pieces in Lidel. Yet with “purist” order’ in which Liala for her first novel, Si- respect to the theoretical assumptions of the color is overlayed with gnorsì, published in 1931 by chiaroscuro modeling. For Mondadori, and became a the manifesto, in his illustrations of this a more in-depth discussion very prolific author, as well of the mechanical theme as the uncontested queen of period Munari uses a ‘mechanical’ visual in Futurist art see Masoero the romance novel. language while omitting all its ‘cosmic’ 2009. 86 . Contrarily, this 86 84 . Corriere dei Piccoli aspect was present not only connotations. xxi; 23 and 25 (9 and 23 in the pictorial works but June 1929, respectively), cit. also in the complex illustra- in Di Corato 2008: 210. The tions and photomontages weekly supplement of the created for the press during Corriere della Sera, launched the 1930s, once again influ- in December 1908 (con- enced by a ‘cosmic realism’ ceived of by Paola Lombro- (a spiritual variant of aer- so Carrara, but entrusted opictorial poetics) Prampo- to the oversight of Silvio lini championed during that Spaventa Filippi), is consid- same period. ered the first Italian comic. 87 . This work debuted Compared to North Ameri- 12 December 1929, directed ca, where comic strips were by Carlo Ludovico Braga- aimed at adults, within glia, with set designs by Italian culture they were Anton Giulio Bragaglia, and

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 illustrating a few of the play’s scenes seem mark making, characterized a series of il- like preparatory sketches, or drawings ob- lustrations published alongside lifestyle tained from the set curtains Munari (in |12| articles in Lidel in the summer of 1930.94 his first theatrical experience) prepared, These were small, hatched drawings, syn- 68 along with costumes, for the stage.88 The thetic little pictures that drew literally, and 69 experimental theater directed by An- sometimes jokingly, from the text, winking ton Giulio Bragaglia—who, alongside his at the cosmic atmospheres of aeropaint- brother Arturo, was a key exponent of Fu- ing through a play of perspectival planes. turist photography—in Rome was one of Printed in plain black or another color, set the major reference points of avant-garde in the margin or within the text column, theater, and presented a broad range of they helped animate the page, creating a domestic and foreign experimental, sceni- unity with the headlines. More than the cally innovative works.89 Marinetti’s text, art deco geometric patterns predominant considered among his best contributions to in French and Italian posters of the period, the genre, is a more balanced summary of the titles’ lettering (aside from their still earlier Futurist stagings,90 constucted as ‘a uncertain outcome) recalled the stencil series of comic skits’ of stereotypical char- typefaces in vogue at the time and the de- acters based on the Pirandellian theme of constructed forms of Cassandre’s Bifur.95 the author’s disappearance.91 Although it scenery curtains and cos- http://www.scuolaromana. is difficult to assess Munari’s scenographic tumes by Munari. The text it; and http://it.wikipedia. work without the help of contemporary ‘Il suggeritore nudo. Simul- org/wiki/Teatri_di_Roma. taneità futurista in undici 90 . Verdone 1988: 173; documents, we can get an idea of it from sintesi’ appeared in Como- cf. Girolami 1993: 1125; and published illustrations: the automaton-like edia xi–xii; 1 (15 December Schnapp 2004: xxvi–xxvii. 1929–15 January 1930): 91 . Schnapp 2004: xxx- figures, while lacking color, nevertheless 38–44, with 5 drawings by vii. The opera’s thematic Munari depicting the first, core could be summarized show an unmistakable similarity to Depe- fourth, sixth, eighth, and as a series of characters ro and Pannaggi’s mechanical costumes eleventh scenes. For Ma- who refuse their own au- 92 rinetti’s text, see Schnapp thor (Verdone 1988: 174). and stage sets, which allowed Munari to 2004: 381–408. 92 . In addition to the come up with similar solutions—so much 88 . Schnapp 2004: 407 Balletto meccanico futurista 89 . Like the Casa d’Arte of 1922, Pannaggi’s book so that they are replicated on the promo- Bragaglia gallery, an impor- cover and costume de- 93 tant center of the capital signs for Ruggero Vasari’s tional postcard. Yet his fourth stage cur- city’s artistic scene, the L’Angoscia delle macchine tain is more interesting: built upon a typo- Teatro sperimentale degli (1925–26) are also worth Indipendenti opened in mention, as are the sculp- graphic collage of letters with vaguely pa- 1922. Anton Giulio Braga- tural costumes designed rolibero (albeit not particularly dynamic) glia (1890–1960) managed for a dance set to music it as a private club, where by Stravinsky at the Teatro compositions, it may have become the re- he staged (with his brother degli Indipendenti in 1927 Carlo Ludovico as director) (reproduced in Lista 2001a: current motif for the show’s other curtains. works by playwrights who 147–9)—examples Munari Ultimately, the show met with a warm wel- were under-represented was certainly aware of. in Italian theaters (Cam- 93 . Example reproduced come from both critics and audiences. panile, Pirandello, Svevo, in Fanelli, Godoli 1988. A different approach, leaving behind Shaw, Jarry, Apollinaire, 94 . Luciana, ‘Bibite Strindberg, Brecht), as well estive’ in Lidel xi; 7 (15 July geometric rigidity in favor of a more fluid as pantomime, marionette, 1930): 25; Lucio Ridenti, and dance performances. ‘Sotto il tetto di un amico’ in Marinetti’s works staged Lidel xi; 8 (15 August 1930): there included (in addition 50–1; Luciana, ‘In cerca to shorts and Il Suggeritore di funghi’ and Dancing, nudo)—Bianca e Rosso and ‘Quest’inverno balleremo…’ Fantocci elettrici (Verdone in Lidel xi; 9 (15 September 2005: 22). The theater’s 1930): 23 and 47 respec- intense period of activity tively; ‘Cantano i bimbi’ ended in 1931 because of and Luciana, ‘Trofei di cac- serious financial problems cia’ in Lidel xi; 10 (15 Oc- and Mussolini’s direct re- tober 1930): 20 and 26–7 pression of the endeavor. Cf. respectively. Cappa, Gelli 1998; Archivio 95 . The Deberny & Pei- della Scuola Romana at gnot foundry, Paris, 1929.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Stile aeropittorico, Aereopictorial style The cover for the November 1930 is- The intensification of Munari’s collabo- |13| sue of Lidel was the last work Munari pub- ration with Lidel is indicative of his early, lished with the magazine before their col- increasing professional autonomy; during laboation drew to a close,100 and marked this period he expanded his network in a definitive change in his visual language— 70 Milan’s publishing world, and began to col- noticeable also in his paintings of the same laborate with other periodicals, all while period, which fell decidedly within the developing his illustration skills. Some car- cosmic vein of aeropainting (evident in the icatures published in 1930 in the current- works shown in 1931 at the Galleria Pesaro). events weekly Il Giovedì can be traced back A stylized portrait of a woman, in a hybrid- to the previous period96—a small caricature ized manner between abstract and art deco, of Buster Keaton, and another, fairly large appears to hover in a cosmic space shaped series of ‘synthetic’ portraits published by the play between perspectivally projected in the May issue of L’Ufficio Moderno,97 planes and geomorphic shapes rendered in a monthly business publication that be- a strong chiaroscuro that accentuates the came the forum for an intense debate on work’s depth.101 economic rationalization.98 The magazine became a promotional voice for the gar Presented in no.9 (January 99 . L’Ufficio Moderno, 1929) of Arts et métiers gra- La pubblicità v; 7–8 (July/ or Gruppo amici della razionalizzazione phiques (578–9), the graph- August 1930). As was cus- (Group of Rationalization’s Friends), and ic arts magazine published tom for most magazines up by the foundry itself. Bifur until the 1930s, aside from Munari’s personal involvment in their ac- is an ornamental alphabet the background color, the composed of deconstructed cover remained the same, tivities brought him into contact with the uppercase letters reduced and was ‘distinguished by economic leaders most sensitive to new to their minimal elements, a symbol—Mercury seated which can be variably com- atop a line of books inside developments in advertising—a step that bined through four differ- a gilt tondo set between the also coincided with his professional part- ent variants with different title (…) and the subtitle’ parts fo the letter in black (Bauer 1998b: 162–3). In nership with Ricas. or hatched (cf. Wlassikoff 1929, when Mazzali took 2005: 84–5). In addition the lead, the magazine re- This openness of interests also led to a to the obvious influence newed its graphic layout transition in his work. His stylistic sensibil- of Renner’s Futura Black and began to vary the color (Bauer, 1929), other sten- of the cover with each is- ities became more sophisticated, as can be cil alphabets Munari was sue, entrusting the design to seen in his cover for the July/August 1930 certainly aware of included various commercial artists Albers’s experimental type (Carotti 2001: 71). |14| issue of L’Ufficio Moderno, wherein two me- (c.1925), used on the cover 100 . Di Corato 2008: of one of the Bauhausbü- 214. Munari’s collabora- chanical figures move within a rudimen- cher (Walter Gropius, Bau- tive relationship with Lidel, tary urban scene. The innovative touch hausbauten Dessau, 1930) intermittent as it was, was and lettering on a cover tied to the management with respect to earlier illustrations in the Prampolini designed for the of Gino Valori, a journal- same genre comes from his accentuation Italian-American magazine ist and comedy writer who Broom (no.3, October 1921). had succeeded de Liguoro of the two mannequins’ volumes and their 96 . M. Serandrei, ‘Bust- in 1927. Under his lead, the er l’impossibile’ in Il Giovedì, magazine’s graphic look was insertion in a scenographic space (however cit. without further refer- entrusted to art director schematic), in which the magazine’s title, ence in Di Corato 2008: 213. Francesco Dal Pozzo, who 99 97 . L’Ufficio Moderno, La welcomed the contributions reduced to basic forms, also appears. pubblicità v; 5 (May 1930), of young illustrators like cit. in Di Corato 2008: 213. Renato Gruau, Brunetta, 98 . Magazine conceived Giorgio Tabet, and Muna- of and directed from 1926 ri, whose work with the on by Francesco Muscia, magazine ended in late 1930, and (from 1929) by Guido when Valori left the edito- Mazzali. L’Ufficio Moderno rial team (Vergani 2009: was the first Italian maga- ‘Lidel’). zine dedicated to modern 101 . Lidel xi; 11 (15 No- business office organiza- vember 1930). For the cover, tional systems, sales, and Di Corato records the title advertising. Cf. Valeri 1986: Futurismo (2008: 214). In 60–3; Bauer 1998b: 162–4; that same issue, Munari Carotti 2001: 67–72. illustrated and likely did the layout for a brief article

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The novelty of the illustration, which emphasis on the alphabetic elements (in was a personal version of aeropictorial po- keeping with contemporary art deco mod- etics, was also featured in similar solutions els) which close two stage curtains around Munari adopted in some of his graphic two synthetic winged figures. Bare-bones as 70 work of the same period, directly related to it is, the image successfully evokes the ir- 71 Futurism: two published covers, a theater rational dimension of Masnata’s theatrical poster, and his participation in a disputed works, focusing on a scenic visualization of (it failed in the end) advertising project. the characters’ inner worlds (akin to the Munari’s graphic design debut in the pub- cinematic flashback). |15| lishing realm came in 1929 with Aquilotto The poster Munari created for the the- implume, Giuseppe Romeo Toscano’s ad- |17| atrical run of Simultanina (1931), one of venture novel for young-adults, for which Marinetti’s last plays, stylistically belongs Munari made the cover and illustrations to the same group of works.104 Compared throughout.102 The cover, in two colors, to their collaboration two years before, for refers to the storyline celebrating the Ital- Munari this was a more demanding test: it ian exploration of Africa. Composed ac- was the first time he had worked on a post- cording to aeropictorial ideas, it depicts er (a format he seldom returned to in later an aerial view of the African continent work), and on the one hand it affirmed the against a skewed blue background, against growing recognition he was gaining among which the silhouette of an aircraft in flight the Milanese Futurists, while on the other stands out, done with the characteristic the sheer visibility of the event served as airbrushed gradient. Below, the novel’s title validation for the artist. During the spring appears in sturdy geometric lettering, and and summer of ’31 the tour traveled to is integrated with the rest of the composition through its angled layout, echoing on women’s fashion, ‘Sera’ La moglie infedele, Colori di (60–1)—a drawing of two laboratorio, and Francesca the airplane’s orientation. The black-and- female figures, rather linear da Rimini (written in 1927). with the exception of the A tempera sketch (not the white illustrations accompanying the story background, extended over final version) of the cover appear more coarsly drawn, but are still a two-page spread, allowing is in the Casaperlarte Fon- for the inclusion of some dazione Paolo Minoli col- interesting because of the contrast between photographs as well—and lection, Cantù (reproduced elements, as well as their accentuated drew the headline for a se- in the catalogue Mostra rial novel ‘La triste vittoria’ di Bruno Munari. Artista, perspective. (62), which featured the designer, architetto, grafico, same design solutions he scrittore, inventore gioca con i Shortly afterward, yet with dissimilar had previously used. bambini. Mantua: Corraini/ effects, Munari designed the cover of a col- 102 . Giuseppe Romeo Cantù: Associazione Amici Toscano. Aquilotto implu- dei Musei Cantù, 1995). lection of theatrical works by the poet Pino me. Avventure di terra e di Pino Masnata (1901–1968) |16| Masnata titled Anime sceneggiate, published cielo. Milan: Casa Editrice poet, playwright, and radio Gianbattista Rossi, 1929. author (in collaboration in 1930 by Marinetti’s Edizioni futuriste The book was issued in an- with Carmine Guarino). 103 other—identical and simul- Author of the Manifesto di «Poesia». In this case the illustra- taneous—edition published del Teatro Visionico (1920) tion is unadorned, and plays upon a more by Ambrosiana Editoriale, and, with Marinetti, of the Milan. 22.5×15.5 cm, paper- Manifesto della Radia (1933) allusive, raw composition, with a greater back, pp. 178 (6); duotone (Bassi 2001d: 712–3; Bossa- cover, 4 b/w illustrations, glia Zatti 1983: 85–7; Verdo- 2 geographic maps. Printed ne 1988: 405–15). by Officine grafiche Schor 104 . Marinetti/Si- SA, Milan. Giuseppe Romeo multanina/Tournée Teatro Toscano (1895–1981), popu- Futurista. 100×140 cm. lar young-adult fiction au- Printed by Industrie Grafi- thor, teacher, and writer. che N. Moneta, Milan. The 103 . Pino Masnata. Ani- image was also reproduced me sceneggiate. Rome: Edi- as a postcard (cf. the speci- zioni futuriste di «Poesia», men at Mart, Archivio del 1930. 13.5×20 cm, paper- 900, fondo Giannina Censi: back, pp. 326; preface by F. Cen 5.01). Marinetti’s text T. Marinetti; duotone cover. was published in Milan by A. A collection of the texts & G. Carisch (1931).

Futurism, advertising, rationalism many Italian cities, and was accompanied Continuing with Munari’s theatri- by the usual notoriety Futurist soirées gar- cal work, during 1931 he developed the set nered.105 Recalled Ricas: designs for the Futuristic drama Dottor |18| Mattia by Angelo Rognoni,108 staged for At the time, the Teatro Manzoni was across the first time on 10 May 1931 at the Sala 72 the street from San Fedele and the police precinct, and was later wiped out by bombs. Bossi in Milan by the experimental com- [In ’31] a heartbreaking Simultanina (played pany Teatro Nuovo dell’Arte Drammatica, by the marvelous Anna Fontana, whose back directed by Ettore Gian Ferrari.109 Gian was bare all the way to her buttocks) had two types of audience—those who admirered the Ferrari chose Munari to design the sets, show, and those who were shocked by it—and which were particularly well adapted to ran from 8 in the evening to 10 the follow- the Futurist text, and was completely satis- ing morning, with shouts, tossed tomatoes, and repeated intervention by the cops.106 fied with them: ‘I love Munari’s sketches. They are absolutely beautiful!’110 Only four sets sketches are known of (created by the The poster composition centers on the Milan-based Ercole Sormani company), contrast between stylized airplane silhou- and they confirm the maturity of Munari’s ettes and a synthetic female bust—a direct pictorial style—even when, as in this case, reference to the play’s two main characters the representation is more realistic, all the (Simultanina and the aviator), whose di- versity is further emphasized by the back- 105 . The Compagnia (…)’ (Apice, Fondo Reggi: ground’s contrasting colors and shapes. del Teatro Futurista staged 0003-0522). There is also Simultanina at the Teatro a promotional postcard (in The aeropictorial stylistic elements not only Manzoni in Milan, open- addition to the one repro- allow for an immediate association with ing on 10 May 1931. It was ducing Munari’s poster) directed by Marinetti and that draws upon one of the the Futurist world, but also, thanks to the Piero Cornabuci, with stage graphic syntheses in Bene- image’s allusiveness, relate to the symbol- sets designed by Benedetta detta’s book Le forze umane (made by Gino Galli), and (1924) (reproduced in Lat- ism of Marinetti’s theatrical characters. music by Carmine Guarino tarulo: 1995). with lyrics by Marinetti. 108 . Angelo Rognoni, Il Although it does not yet include references The tour ran through Au- Dottor Mattia. Tre atti. Pa- to the cosmic and surreal atmospheres that gust, with stops in Turin, via: Edizioni S.U.P.E.R., 1931, Gorizia, Fiume, Trieste, reprinted in 1942. Teatro distinguished Munari’s illustrations for Rome, Bari, Lecce, Brindisi, series. Angelo Rognoni most of the decade, the poster nevertheless Potenza, Foggia, Padua, (1896–1957) was, alongside Modena, Mantua, Reggio Masnata, a proponent of shows a degree of maturity in the handling Emilia, Ferrara, and Lu- the Futurist group in Pavia; gano (Schnapp 2004: 441, he was a painter, poet, and of the figurative and typographic elements, 821; Crispolti 1980: 566). prolific playwright (Zatti in especially his ability to control different Among the ‘clever touches’ Godoli 2001: 979–80; Ver- that enlivened the show done 1988: 417–8; Bossaglia, letterforms and visually articulate various were interventions by Esco- Zatti 1983: 15–7, 28, 80–1). levels of information in a striking image.107 damè before and after the 109 . Rognoni’s work, performance, the presen- which dates back to Note the presence, next to Munari’s sig- tation of a carneplastico (a 1929/30, gained a degree of meat-based Futurist recipe) notoriety (for its opening nature, of the acronym crea, the advertis- in the middle of the audi- night, Marinetti gave a pres- ing studio linked to the Milanese Futurists ence, a Futurist dance (per- entation as well) thanks to formed by Giannina Censi), the Gian Ferrari company’s Munari was affiliated with. perfume wafting through- staging. The following sea- out the theater (a scent cre- son they staged another ated by Gi.Vi.Emme), and play by Rognoni, La gelosia an exhibition of aeropaint- di Alfredo Rossi (Bossaglia, ings in the foyer (cf. the Zatti 1983: 16n, 28). In show poster in Apice, fondo addition to theatre, Ettore Reggi: 0003-0522). Gian Ferrari was also an 106 . Ricas in Lopez art patron, and opened his 1994: 8. eponymous gallery in 1936 107 . From the poster it (Grazia Gian Ferrari, email is clear that the tour’s ad communication to author, campaign included other 31 August 2010). materials: ‘Advertising ma- 110 . From a letter to terial created from sketches Rognoni, cit. in Bossaglia, by Benedetta and Munari Zatti 1983: 80.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 while maintaining his illustrations’ syn- of airplanes between dawn and dusk. [It will thetic line quality and rich colors.111 have] a machine-gun launch. [It will have] repeat editions. —F. T. Marinetti, art director118

72 Futurist publishing 73 The context surrounding the ambitious 111 . Done in tempera of Milan’s Fiera (trade fair), (24×32 cm): these were worked as a journalist and |19| publishing project for the Almanacco dell’I- sketches for act I, scene 1; documentary director, and talia veloce, an advertising publication, was act III, scene 2; and another taught at the experimental two for unidentified scenes cinematography school in more complex. Alongside Depero’s Numero (reproduced in Lista 1989: Rome (the Scuola speri- unico futurista Campari (1931), it was the 253 and 1990: 119). They mentale di cinematografia). originally belonged to Vini- He became a Partisan after Futurists’ largest promotional project of cio Paladini. ’43, but his political career 112 . The Edizioni Metro- was cut short by his sudden the 1930s, and Munari not only took part poli offices were located at 4 death (Cammarota 2001: in it, but he was also instrumental in its of the Galleria del Corso, in 491–2). 112 the center of the city, where 115 . Almanacco dell’Italia organization. The idea of a Futurist an- Ricas and Munari opened veloce: prime adesioni, primi nual summarizing ‘all the arts, inventions, their first studio in 1931 collaboratori. Milano: Edi- (cf. Bassi 1994: 8). They zioni Metropoli [1930]. In- award winners, and industries’ of Fascist may have taken over the 16º; pp. 16, perforated index 113 Edizioni Metropolis spaces with increasingly large page Italy aimed at the international luxury following the failure of the size. It is quite likely that tourist circuit was launched by Oscar Fu- Italia Veloce project. See the idea for the format Munari’s letter to Thayaht, was influenced by Vladimir setti, who founded the Edizioni Metropoli 20.9.1930, written and Majakovsky’s Dlia Golossa in Milan for that express purpose.114 An- signed by hand on Edizioni (For the Voice), edited by Metropoli letterhead: ‘My El Lissitzky and published nounced several times over the course of dear friend, thanks for in Berlin in 1923 (Lutze the photos which, once & Vogt), the same year in 1930 to spread word of Marinetti’s art di- Marinetti sees and selects which Diulgheroff attended rection and Fillìa’s technical consultation, them, will be published. the Bauhaus in Weimar Share the material I sent (Salaris 1986: 151–2). advance promotional copies designed by you as widely as possible. 116 . Almanacco Italia Diulgheroff began to circulate: these were I’m awaiting the badge for veloce. Milan: Edizioni Me- uomini veloci (fast men). tropoli, 1930. Printed by Ar- 115 done in the form of a brochure index Best wishes from Hoscar chetipografia, Milan. Fold- Fusetti. Sincere regards, out with 3 panels, 23×30 cm (of the first subscribers and collabora- Munari’ (Mart, Archivio (closed); duotone printing tors) and a foldout flier116 for recruiting del 900, fondo Thayaht: (black and red). The speci- Tha 1.2.19.11). men in the collection of the new subscriptions; this was followed by a 113 . The inevitable Biblioteca Braidense has lengthier specimen (program), presented homage to the regime is a dedication to Mussolini emphasized on both the written by Marinetti. In ad- 117 at the IV Triennale di Monza in May 1930, letterhead (cf. Fusetti’s let- dition to the detailed list of ter to Thayaht, 20.10.1930: subscribers, the document as well as the book pavilion of the Fiera di ‘Almanacco dell’Italia ve- has typographic composi- Milano in July, announcing a 30 December loce (…) the most Fascist tions created by Diulgheroff book / dedicated to “Benito and clearly based on con- publication date. In his introductory text, Mussolini, fast leader of structivist models. There Marinetti proclaimed: fast Italy”,’ Mart, Archivio is also a flier, with similar del 900, fondo Thayaht: typographic layouts, in the Tha 1.2.19.12) as well as in collection of Mart, Archivio The typographic look will be entirely original: print advertisements (cf. Il del 900, fondo Thayaht: nothing ever seen or foreseen before. [It will Giovedì no.22, 9 October Tha 1.2.19.4-4. 1930). 117 . The fourth Exposi- include] a selection of papers and inks that 114 . Oscar Fusetti tion of modern decorative can be compared only to the changing colors (1900–1947) joined the and industrial arts was Florentine Futurist group the last one to be held in in the early 1920s and the historic Villa Reale in directed the magazine Monza, from 11 May to 2 Firenze Futurista; he also November 1930; with the participated in the Futurist shift of management to the Congress held in Milan in state, the later expositions 1924, but soon broke off his became triennial and were ties to Marinetti because held in the Palazzo dell’Arte of political differences. He in Milan. returned to the movement 118 . This quote was in ’29 through Fillìa, and taken from the manifesto launched the Almanacco text published in both the publishing project. In the foldout and in the promo- 1930s he was commissioner tional specimen.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism The specimen, also laid out by Diulgheroff, factors certainly added to the difficulties was a collection of promotional composi- (despite his interest in Futurism, Fusetti tions by Balla, Diulgheroff, Dottori, Mu- was tagged as an anti-Fascist and put under nari, Pozzo, and Prampolini, interspersed special surveillance).121 with parolibero typographic composi- Munari’s contribution to the specimen 74 tions and photographs with commentary consisted of two advertising plates. The penned by famous supporters.119 curators’ selection criteria are not known, The intention of the editors was that but the inclusion of two pages in his case, the publication’s strength would lie not compared to the other participating art- only in its content, but also in the shape ists (Diulgheroff was the other exception, of the printed object itself, presented as a as he created the overall constructivist repertoire of the technical possibilities and graphics), can be read as a recognition of creativity of Futurist graphic design. A true his role in the organization, or his grow- typographic tour de force, the specimen ing professional achievement as graphic features: an aluminized paper cover and designer for advertisements. They are ficti- the Edizioni Metropoli logo printed in re- tious creations: the first plate is an aeropic- lief with gold ink; eight types of paper with torial depiction of a plane in flight through varying colors, finishes, and weights; and space—it feels like a sketch for an aviation- printing in metallic inks, serigraph, and industry magazine cover, and even the title on cellophane.120 The financial investment Ali d’Italia (Wings of Italy) recalls the Ala for a publication of this sort—consider- d’Italia Munari collaborated on the year ing the volume’s format (a quarto of 1,000 before; the other is a sort of collage of dy- pages), planned print run (300,000 cop- namic symbols cherished by the Futurists ies, printed in rotogravure), international (a ship, plane, car, gears, with the addition distribution, the collaborators’ compen- of a book) diagonally intersected by the sation and subscription fee (rather high title Pubblicità a scoppio (Internal-combus- for the time), and the complexity of the tion advert),122 in which certain elements various promotional efforts—evidently cor- (an economy of means, the absence of a responded to the Futurists’ ambitions, as background) foreshadow a more autono- they were always looking for the regime’s mous manner, freed from painting and support. However, despite the numerous open to graphic ideas from outside of the and prestigious subscriptions received from the highest state offices and the culture 119 . Programma Al- fondo Thayaht relating manacco dell’Italia veloce. to the Almanacco is titled sphere, the Almanacco project remained Milan: Edizioni Metropoli, ‘Aborto dell’Italia veloce’ unrealized. The reasons for its failure are 1930. In-quarto, pp. 36. (The Abortion of Fast Italy), 120 . Among the Alma- which is indicative of the unknown, but the most obvious hypothesis nacco’s announced publish- delusion felt by the organizing innovations were some ers, regardless of their sig- is that funding was insufficient for an edi- pages in the form of discs nificant dedication to it. torial achievement of such scale and tech- with recordings of Il Duce 122 . The sketch’s title and poetry performances. refers to the expression nically complex requirements; and political An idea Depero returned to used to promote the pub- in 1931 for his book-object lication: ‘(…) we will cre- project (never realized) ate the Futurist internal- New York—film vissuto con- combusion advert, full of taining parolibere plates, unexpected, improvised photomontages, and two contrasts, so as to cre- discs (Lista 1984: 102). ate the atmosphere most 121 . Cammarota 2001: favorable to the products’ 491–2. Cf. Crispolti 1980: presentation’ (letter sent 408–9; Lista 1984: 102; Fa- to subscribers, 21.3.1930, nelli, Godoli 1988: 145, 147; on Edizioni Metropoli let- Salaris 1995: 32; Ceriani terhead; in Mart, Archivio 1998: 158–9; Cammarota del 900, fondo Thayaht: 2006: 203. The envelope Tha 1.2.19.01). in Mart, Archivio del 900,

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 movement. The latter echoes a similar il- lirica (1934), wherein a vaguely surreal at- lustration that appeared a few months later mosphere predominates.126 as the cover of a sports and travel maga- |20| zine from Trentino titled Vie Latine (March 74 1931), for its special issue on the Fiera di Lito-latte, Tin-litho books 75 Milano;123 the previous January Munari In the spring of ’33 in a letter to Tullio had published a color plate in the maga- d’Albisola, between word play and poking zine that anticipated his later explorations fun at business correspondence, Muna- in collage.124 ri mentioned he was very busy with work Therefore, in the 1930s the attempt to for the trade fair, but had nevertheless ac- create a new advertising trend shaped by cepted the job of creating illustrations ‘for aeropictorial innovations (a trend Munari, eleven kisses,’ whimsically adding that he Dottori, Diulgheroff, and Prampolini were had refused Campari’s offer of ‘1,000 lire associated with)—for which the Almanac- per drawing.’ The conclusion is instructive, co dell’Italia veloce was basically the most and helps one understand the kind of non- advanced experiment—met with moderate sense humor Munari so loved: success and remained limited primarily to the Futurist realm; much as they had tried We will pay no attention whatsoever to your graciously attractive letter, because we have a to do the previous decade with mechani- rather poor opinion of the crap you create (tin cal art, which remained far from becoming books) and if you would kindly accept a one- a dominant force.125 While this held true way ticket (at an 80% discount) for the Gates of Hell, we’ll gladly arrange it for you. With in general for the poster, in Munari’s case our sincerest contempt, / Bruno Munari [and the transposition of the style into his il- Ricas] / P.S. Dirty old man, do tell us the final 127 lustrations was successful, as proven by his submission date for these drawings. Go on. published work in 1929–31 and his cover for Lidel in November 1930. The latter were the 123 . Monthly founded (A Futurist view of the Scala first concrete examples of his application in 1921 and published in as the radio spreads the of an aeropictorial visual language to the Trento by the Studio Edi- sound of its performances toriale Dolomiti. Its name throughout the world) field of graphic design, although they do was in continual flux up un- shows an axonometric view til 1926, when Gazzetta del of the Scala inserted into a not yet take full advantage of the expressive turismo was substituted by planisphere emitting rays possibilities of the Prampolinian cosmic the more Roman name Vie representing radio trans- latine. How Munari came mission (14.8×19.8 cm; current that would come to the fore a little into contact with its edito- duotone). later. Indeed, the work where such ‘cosmic’ rial offices is unknown, but 125 . Fanelli, Godoli one could suppose it was 1988: 145. evocations were most evident was in his through Depero (also from 126 . Tanchis writes of the Trentino region) or ‘a propensity towards Sur- more distinctly painterly publishing pro- through the plant where the realism (…) checked by a jects, beginning in the end of ’31 with the magazine was printed, the metaphysical estrangement, Officine Perego in Milan. Cf. or by a cool constructivist Cantastorie collection for Campari (1932) Di Corato 2008: 214. approach’ (id.: 1987: 13). and the ‘litolatta’ or tin-litho L’Anguria 124 . Vie latine: Gazzet- Cf. Menna 1966: ‘(...) quite ta del turismo xi; 3 (March close to Prampolini’s imma- 1931) and 1 (January 1931), nent declinations of aerop- respectively. 23.5×30 cm. ictorial poetics (…) Munari The cover image not only did not aim to create a col- borrowed compositional el- lective stupor (…) as much ements from his two plates as he instead aimed to cre- for the Almanacco dell’Italia ate fabulous little worlds veloce, but also took chro- for what I would call a more matic elements (hinged everyday, domestic use’ upon brown and green-blue (orig. in La botte e il violino tones) from his contem- no.3, 1966, reprinted in porary poster for Sultani- Bruno Munari 1979: 73). na. The plate, titled ‘Una 127 . Letter Munari to visione futurista della Scala d’Albisola, 6 April 1933, in mentre la radio diffonde nel Presotto 1981: 149. mondo l’eco degli spettacoli’

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Thus began the collaboration between the materials in advertising carried out by the Ligurian ceramicist and Munari to create Futurists of Turin and Liguria.132 |21| L’anguria lirica, a book-object made up of

21 litho-printed tin plates hinged into a 128 . Tullio d’Albiso- of metal, consisting of 15 tubular spine, published in 1934 by Edizio- la. L’Anguria lirica (lungo litho-printed tin sheets 76 poema passionale) [The hinged into a tubular spine 128 ni futuriste di Poesia. It is a long poem Lyrical Watermelon (a and inserted into a metal Long, Passionate Poem)]. slipcase, weighing a total that describes the ‘five typical stages of Rome: Edizioni futuriste di of 850 gr. (Lista 1984: 103; passion’s trajectory (…) appearance of the Poesia/Savona: Lito-latta, Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 40; [August 1934]. Printed by Mainieri 2009: 3). woman and advent of passion; the insist- Lito-latta, Savona. Edition 131 . The development of ent and persistent image of the woman; of 101, of which 51 were a typographic theory that, nfs. 17×19.5 cm; pp. 42 (21 however fragmentary, could the fever of possession; alternations of litho-printed tin sheets); be pushed forward by the tubular hinged binding; in a Futurists ‘as a corollary to hope and disappointment; and the joy of a litho-printed metallic slip- the theoretical elaboration dream come true,’ for which d’Albisola had case; 700 gr. Cover and 11 of the words-in-freedom’ color lithographs by Bruno began with the Manifesto been proclamed Record Poet at the Second Munari, 1 black illustration tecnico della letteratura futu- Circuito di Poesia (Poetry circuit) in Turin (portrait of Tullio d’Albiso- rista (Technical Manifesto la) and the Lito-latta logo of Futurist Literature, 11 129 the previous year. by Diulgheroff. Preface by May 1912), followed by Marinetti, and an appendix the Supplemento al manife- It was a complex editorial project, an by Vittorio Orazi. The book sto tecnico della letteratura ambitious poetic work, and was Albisola’s was first exhibited in Rovigo futurista (Supplement to in July 1936 at the Seconda the Technical Manifesto of second tin-litho edition. It included contri- Mostra d’Arte Sindacale Futurist Literature, 11 Au- butions by Diulgheroff (the author’s por- Polesana (Maffei 2002: 17; gust 1912), in which, draw- Cammarota 2006: 115; Lista ing on Mallarmé, the idea trait), Vittorio Orazi (afterword), and the 1984: 121; De Grassi 1986: of the poetic text as musical 83–8; Iannaccone 2004: score was formulated, and omnipresent Marinetti. It was produced 4–6; Verdone 1988: 354; ultimately led to the ‘Ty- and copublished by the industrialist Vin- Mainieri 2009: 3). pographic Revolution’ Ma- 129 . Vittorio Orazi, rinetti lucidly announced cenzo Nosenzo (owner of a food-packaging from the ‘Clarification’ in L’immaginazione senza factory in Savona), another supporter of at the end of the book; fili e le parole in libertà (The cit. in Verdone 1988: 379. Wireless Imagination and the unique publishing initiative that had Poet, writer, critic, and Words-in-Freedom, 11 May playwright, Vittorio Orazi 1913). See Fanelli, Godoli aroused the Futurists’ enthusiasm two was the pseudonym of 1988: 11–2, 17; Cammarota years before.130 The tin books were, in fact, Alessandro Prampolini 2006: 23–5; cf. also Ravaioli (1891–1976), brother of the 1998: 12ff. the culmination of the progressive disso- more widely known painter 132 . The use of metallic lution of writing’s linearity launched by Enrico. The ‘Circuiti di po- effects in the graphic arts esia’ (poetry circuits) were (for its obvious mechanical Marinetti in 1912–13. Following the Futur- competitions held to elect connotations) gained solid Italy’s Record Poet (the footing as metallic papers ists’ various publishing experiences, his first year’s final competi- and cardboards became idea now came to the fore to challenge the tion was held at the Galleria available on the market 131 Pesaro on 31 October 1931) (cf. the cover of the afore- book’s traditional form and materials. organized annually in vari- mentioned specimen of the Materially, d’Albisola and Nosenzo’s pub- ous cities throughout Italy Almanacco dell’Italia Veloce), by local Futurist groups. As while earlier experiments lishing project was connected to Depero’s described by Marinetti: ‘a had used metallic inks (De- cyclonic racket of aerop- pero’s ‘bolted book’ cover). experiments with the book-object Depero ictorial, Futurist, critical, Regarding the use of metalic futurista/Dinamo Azari (1927), and, more glasses-wearing, relaxing materials in advertising, the students and shouting paro- most oft-cited precedents directly, to the experiments with metallic liberi climbing atop others’ are: the ‘cartelli lanciatori’ shoulders’ (from his pref- (enamel-coated metal no- ace to the Anguria lirica). tice boards printed on both 130 . The first volume of sides) made in Turin by this sort had been Marinet- Diulgheroff for the Arturo ti’s Parole in libertà futuriste Tucci advertising agency, as olfattive tattili-termiche well as by Farfa (1928–29); (Olfactive, Thermo-Tactile and the aluminum cover Futurist Words-in-Free- of the menu at the Taverna dom), a collection of texts Santopalato, also by Diul- published in November gheroff (1930). Addition- 1932. It is easy to imagine ally, in Liguria the Futurist the sensation this book group of Savona (Farfa and created upon its arrival, as Giovanni Acquaviva) made it was a book made entirely a triumphal arch of tin on

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The path paved by the new book-ob- has narrow margins, with a justified block ject was anything but linear. Already the of text alligned with the exterior border; choice of hiring Munari—who evidently the verses—set entirely in a boldface Sem- was not sufficiently well known, despite plicità138—take up (with a few variations) 76 the undeniable success of the Cantastorie two narrow columns, linked by syntactic 77 book—gave rise to some controversy in Tu- alignments or according to their meanings, rin.133 In the summer of 1934, in addition with a red thread framing prominent sec- to the delay due to production difficulties, tions and headers. Additionally, Munari’s the volume’s debut was further delayed by layout (echoing the schematic used in the a distribution ban imposed by police be- Cantastorie) is based on the double-page cause of two female nudes they considered spread, with the facing illustration inserted scandalous; it was only thanks to Mari- into a smaller rectangle printed atop a me- netti’s political connections that the ban tallic background, positioned to aid com- was lifted a month later.134 The tin-litho positional balance with regard to the text edition of L’Anguria lirica was preceded by as well. a first edition of the poem on paper, which the occasion of Mussolini’s he has finished his illustra- was substantially identical in content, but visit; in 1931 Farfa (who tions for l’Anguria, which illustrated by Nino Strada and published likely put d’Albisola in touch will be printed that same with the Nosenzo plant) week (in Presotto 1981: in July 1934 in Milan by Mario Chiattone’s published the parolibero 130); also cf. Mainieri 2009: Officine d’Arti Grafiche.135 The pamphlet’s poem ‘Litolatta,’ which was 3. Nino Strada (1904–1968), lithographically printed on Milanese ceramicist. After composition closely recalls the layout of a tin plate; and, following studying art at the Accade- the success of d’Albisola’s mia di Brera, he began his the first collection, Marinetti’s Parole in books, other objects were career as a draughtsman, libertà futuriste tattili termiche olfattive, ed- made in tin: passes, busi- painter, and model-maker ness cards, and calendars in Albissola Marina, where ited and illustrated by d’Albisola; it was spi- (Cammarota 2006: 22–5; he became a part of the ral bound, and the text was freely distrib- Lista 1984: 103; Lista 2009a: Ligurian group of Futurist 7–8; Crispolti 1980: 394–5; ceramicists, with whom he uted across the page, using a combination Salaris 1995: 31–2). showed work at all of Mi- 133 . Just as Munari was lan’s biennial and triennial of different faces. Compared to the first accepting d’Albisola’s offer, art exhibitions. In the 1930s collection, in which an approach inspired Fillìa wrote to ask: ‘Why did and then after wwiI he not you invite Oriani, Pozzo, collaborated with various by the constructivist work of Diulgheroff and Mino Rosso, who are Italian ceramics manufac- prevailed,136 with composition influences much more important, as turers, primarily in Liguria painters and sculptors, than and Umbria. ranging from abstraction to Futurist pa- Munari?’ (letter Fillìa to 136 . In the early 1930s d’Albisola, 2.4.1933, in Pre- Diuglheroff designed the roliberismo, Munari made the most of his sotto 1981: 69, cit. in Ian- Casa Mazzotti in Albissola experience as an advertising designer, per- naccone 2004: 4). Marina, the new headquar- 137 134 . In asking d’Albisola ters of Ceramiche Mazzotti, fecting d’Albisola previous graphic look. for news, Fillìa wrote: ‘(…) in pure rationalist style L’Anguria lirica was a typographically more In the bulletin that came (1934). out today we talk about 137 . In the first tin- sober work, beginning with its very format, your ceramics and your tin litho, with a layout by d’Al- book (Marinetti says it’s a bisola, the text had been which Munari made slightly smaller and myth, that it doesn’t exist) composed in a column brought into vertical proportions, facilitat- (…)’ (letter Fillìa to d’Albi- whose size/width varied sola, 11.8.1934, in Presotto from one page to the next, ing the volume’s easy handling. The page 1981, cit. in Iannaccone in a sans-serif face (Super, 2004: 7n). Schriftguss, 1930: see Jas- 135 . Tullio d’Albiso- pert, Berry, Johnson 1970: la. L’Anguria lirica. Milan: 343–4); while the illustra- Officine d’Arti Grafiche tions followed the poem on Chiattone, [July 1934]. the recto side of the sheet, In-8º. Edition of 500 num- rather than mirroring it bered copies. With 12 il- across the gutter in a two- lustrations by Nino Strada. page spread. Pamphlet spiral bound 138 . This was a face with wire. À propos of the from the Nebiolo foundry, object’s date, see the letter designed under the man- from Nino Strada to d’Albi- agement of Alessandro sola, 7 July 1934, in which Butti (1930–31); it is clearly the former tells the latter inspired by Futura (the

Futurism, advertising, rationalism The ‘abstractions’ inspired by the Comic illustration poem are of the same tenor as those made A graphic work done in a very different for Campari two years earlier, based on a context, Munari’s participation in the go- minimal design combined with an accen- liardic publication of the local University tuated perspectival layout, rendered here |22| Fascist Group, titled Cip! Cip!142 (Chirp! 78 in a limited color range which privileges Chirp!), is interesting from a biographical the contrast between the black type and point of view, and helps one understand the warm red and orange tones. The cover the type of scene he frequented in Milan. features a perfect integration of image and It was a ‘unique issue’—the traditional sa- typography, wherein the linear profile of tirical newspaper published occasionally a knife overlaid atop a red disc succinctly by students to raise money or show their depicts the watermelon the poem is named irreverence toward authority—’to benefit for. Some time before, in a letter to Tul- the birds of the guf (Gruppi Universitari lio d’Albisola, Diulgheroff had written: Fascisti),’ the student pilots of the aero- ‘I see the future reader of your book calmly nautics section. The aviation-related theme seated on a chromed steel chair, completely perhaps explains the presence of Munari as concentrated, turning the pages of colored well as other Futurists like Franco Grignani tin atop a smooth plane of shatterproof and Carlo Manzoni. The humorous illus- crystal that is axonometrically projected trations and short texts reflect the student- and mirrored in the rectangle of inlaid run context in which the publication was linoleum floor spread across the room’s created: Munari did a series of drawings, 50 rational cubic meters, in a light-filled hovering between his caricatures and his ambience full of lyricism’139—an evocative early mechanical puppets, which were evi- image that, in addition to including all the dently appreciated for their ironic take on major symbols of modernity as borrowed the Futurist mechanical mythology; and he from architecture, can easily be read as a also designed one of the two savvy covers. comment on the many illustrations Mu- nari made during this period. resemblance is most evident Marinetti’s preface was in the uppercase letters), taken from the original Despite the uncontested success of the but the lowercase letters edition (1933) of the artist’s two tin editions, thanks also to d’Albiso- take noteworthy liberties verses, as was the ‘distribu- and have a real originality. tion warehouse’ (Riolfo la’s considerable promotional efforts, no 139 . Letter Diulgheroff Marengo 1987: 51–2). to d’Albisola, 2 January 142 . Cip! Cip! Gor- other ‘mechanical books’ were ever pro- 1933, in Presotto 1981: 18–9. gheggio unico dei goliardi duced (though another had already been 140 . For the launch of milanesi [Chirp! Chirp! 140 Parole in libertà futuriste ol- The Unique Warble of the announced in September 1935) —except fattive tattili termiche a few Milanese Goliards]. Milan: for the tin-litho with verses by Farfa made pages printed separately informally published, Feb- were used as posters and ruary 1931. Printed by S.A. much later, again by Munari, with some of hung up at various exposi- Stampa Periodica Milanese, 141 tions; additionally, in Savo- Milan. 25×35,2 cm; pp. 54. his drawings from the 1930s. na d’Albisola set up a store Below the frontispiece a dedicated exclusively to sell- note reads: ‘a favore degli ing the book. A third edition uccelli [piloti della Sezione was announced by d’Albi- Aeonautica del Guf] del sola in an article published Gruppo Universitario Fa- in Stile futurista (no.11–12, scista milanese’ (’to benefit September 1935: 40) (De the birds [student pilots of Grassi 1986: 83, 86–7). the aeronautics section of 141 . On the occa- the GUF] of the Milanese sion of the major Futurist University Fascist Group’). retrospective at Palazzo Double cover in color de- Grassi, Venice, in 1986. The signed by Munari and G. volume was titled Farfa, il Duka; additional contribu- miliardario della fantasia tions by Carlo Manzoni (Savona: Marco Sabatelli and Franco Grignani (Bassi editore, 1986) and con- 2001b: 277–8; Di Corato tained three verses by Farfa 2008: 215–6). and six drawings by Munari;

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The publication’s original facing-page lay- his hand had taken on a degree of adapt- out—logically attributed to Munari, as are ability to different contexts which, com- the typographic illustrations of the double bined with his keen sense of humor, led frontispiece—allows the work to be read in him to develop an illustrational style suited 78 both directions, with a Dadaist parolibera to the humorous newspapers that were one 79 image set in the middle of the pamphlet of the decade’s most important editorial acting as a hinge between the two sections. phenomena.146 The text titled ‘Tragedia futurista’ (Futur- ist Tragedy, signed with a laconic Mah?/ Huh?), is probably also his. Comics, humour and literary newspapers A few years later Munari was again Munari’s first illustrations for Lidel and involved in another such initiative for the the Corriere dei Piccoli, as well as his ads same group of Milanese goliards (includ- for Campari, marked his debut in comics— ing Carlo Manzoni, Bassano Erba, and An- datable between 1927 and ’29—and his ad |23| gelo Uglietti) titled Latteria di Tripoli (Tri- shorts for the ipc can be traced back to the poli Dairy) and released in early 1934. The same period. Indeed, humour illustrations pamphlet—published in a double edition constituted an important part of Muna- of deluxe and common versions ‘for the ri’s illustration work during the 1930s, as benefit of needy students’—beginning with they meshed well with his personal sense its very title, is a parody of the homony- of irony and responded to the public’s mous lottery Lotteria di Tripoli (Tripoli growing taste for the new comic strip and Lottery) launched a year earlier by the Ital- humourous newspaper genres. Despite ian government.143 The color cover, signed the appearance of American comics in the Munari/r+m, depicts a Disneyesque cow144 Corrierino, aimed at an adult readership, with a student underneath wearing a In Italy comics were still considered a mi- tricked-out goliardic cocked cap and milk- nor genre, aimed primarily at a younger or ing banknotes from its udder; furthermore, semi-literate readership.147 Furthermore, the composition jokingly riffs on a famous conditioned by educational aims, the new poster by Fabrizio Seneca.145 The inside medium was inevitably affected by the includes humorous short texts, cartoons, general climate under Fascist rule, yielding and photomontages by Munari, who was to become a vehicle of nationalist propa- one of the magazine’s editors (all depicted ganda for both the regime and the Catholic in a color illustration by Balilla Magistri), and alongside Ricas designed the layout. 143 . Paired with the includes an advertisement Tripoli Gran Prix auto com- for the r+m studio. An illus- Compared to the caricaturesque tone of petition, the Lotteria di tration by Balilla Magistri the cover illustration, Munari’s develops a Tripoli (1933–41) was the shows the editors Bassano first annual lottery run by Erba, Berto Andreoli, Carlo surreal tone in the vignettes—similar to the the Italian government. Manzoni, Angelo Uglietti, ones he published in the Almanacco lette- 144 . See, for example, Pino Donizetti, and Bruno the short film Steamboat Munari—some of whom rario Bompiani 1933— thereby proving that Willy (1928). also authored work for the 145 . Fabrizio Seneca, previous special issue, Cip!… ‘Lotteria di Tripoli’ (1934), Cip!…(Cammarota 2006: 34×48 cm. Salce Collection, 226–7). Museo L. Bailo, Treviso. 147 . This prejudice did 146 . Latteria di Tripoli. not, however, prevent the Numero unico dei goliardi mi- Corriere dei Piccoli from lanesi a favore degli studenti reaching a weekly circula- bisognosi. Milan: unoffi- tion of 80 thousand from cially published, [February/ its first issue (1908) on, March] 1934. Printed by and reaching a vast reader- S.A. Stampa Periodica Mi- ship that extended into the lanese, Milan. 22.5×30 cm; postwar period after wwii paperback; pp. 64. With (Bona 1998). numerous caricatures;

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Church.148 It was primarily during the desire for criticism of Fascist-era rhetorics’, 1930s, in the wake of the economic crisis, those magazines became a custom of their that American adventure comics became own, and their characters and expressions a hit in Italy (thanks to all King Features were adopted for everyday use.153 This ex- Syndicate’s main characters, from Tarzan plains why comics—which were so popular 80 to Mandrake, as well as Disney’s, led by with a young readership, whose moods Topolino (Mickey Mouse), as evidenced by they interpreted, to a certain degree—also the appearance of countless new publica- circulated and were appreciated in intel- tions.149 Their increasing success (which lectual circles, and in Milan’s literary and the regime tolerated until 1938) inspired publishing world in particular: there’s no original Italian productions, whose artists other explanation for the collaborations came primarily from the fields of illustra- publishers like Bompiani and Mondadori tion and, above all, satirical papers. established not only with Munari, but also The juxtaposition of the two genres is many other satirical artists, cartoonists, not surprising, insofar as humour was, at and authors. the time, an emerging phenomenon of the cultural industry, capable of horizontally penetrating various broad, rather heteroge- 150 neous readerships. Although in the pre- 148 . Both Il Balilla Galantara, Attalo (pseudo- (published by the Fascist nym of Gioacchino Colizzi), vious decade the establishment of the re- daily Il Popolo d’Italia) and Mameli Barbara, Cesare gime severely limited freedom of the press, Il Giornalino (published by Zavattini, as well as Metz the Catholic Edizioni San and Mosca. It was a biweek- in the early 1930s comic papers—albeit with Paolo) debuted in 1923–24. ly, published Thursday and a different tone—made a comeback. Fol- 149 . The main publica- Saturday. Characterised tions: Jumbo (1932–38), to by a goliardic, slightly rude lowing on the tails of Marc’Aurelio’s (1931) which the Cossio brothers spirit (which was in turn 151 also contributed; L’Audace characteristic of the Roman phenomenal success, a series of papers (1934–41); L’Avventuro- scene), it was an immediate targeting an adult, bourgeois readership so (1934–43); L’intrepi- success and between 1935 do (1935–43); Topolino and 1940 reached weekly appeared; these periodicals marked the ar- (launched in 1932 by Nerbi- runs of over 350 thousand rival of ‘a new, intelligent formula for sat- ni, taken over by Monda- copies. See Gianeri (Gec) dori in ’35 under a Disney 1967: 148; Gianeri (Gec), ire, made up of allusions, suggestions, and licence); Il Vittorioso (1937). Rauch 1976: 33–4; Man- Such widespread circula- gini, Pallottino 1994: 163; indirect swipes more than openly expressed tion ultimately led to the Pallottino 1998: 324; Carpi things. It was the only kind of satire that adoption of speech balloons 2002: 60. 152 instead of the rhyming 152 . Gianeri (Gec), could be done’. It was a surreal humour, captions originally used by Rauch 1976: 33; cf. Murialdi based on nonsense and word play, following the Corriere dei piccoli in 1986: 103–4, 154. the teens (Pallottino 1998: 153 . Chiavarini 1998: in the footsteps of the absurdist humour 318–20). 139. See also the observa- 150 . Just as it is not sur- tions of Oreste Del Buono Ettore Petrolini innovated in the theatre prising that the main forces and Italo Calvino: ‘It does and Achille Campanile worked with in on the market were the two not seem insignificant that largest periodical publish- comics and humour papers prose. Deploying a kind of humour that, ers, Rizzoli and Mondadori. were so popular at the time ultimately, responded to the ‘widespread 151 . Marc’Aurelio (1931– (…)’ (Del Buono 1971: xvii); 1943) was a comic paper and ‘(…) certainly Bertoldo presence, throughout Italy, of a repressed founded in Rome in 1931 by gave youth a ‘somewhere Oberdan Cotone and Vito else’ where they could take de Bellis. It gathered all the refuge from the totalitar- best satire writers from oth- ian language (…)’ (Calvino, er papers of the early dec- ‘L’irresistibile satira di un ades of the twentieth centu- poeta stralunato’ in La Re- ry (Il Becco giallo, Il Travaso pubblica, 6 March 1984: 19, delle idee), which had been cit. in Mangini, Pallottino muzzled by the laws and 1994: 164). prohibitions imposed by 154 . Cesare Pavese, ar- the regime. Directed by the ticle published in L’Unità, 3 young Giovanni Mosca and August 1947, cit. in Braida Vittorio Metz, it featured 2003: 46. Cf. Pedullà 1997: some of the most famous 358, 360–1. contributors: Gabriele

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The publishing industry’s dynamism af- The compilation-oriented structure fected both the periodical and book sec- of the publication, centered on a review of tors: it was the decade of translations, as the year’s literature in Italy and abroad, in- Cesare Pavese later said, and publishers itially conformed to the literary customs of 80 both large and small aimed to popularize the time, and therefore appeared in a medi- 81 international literature—a goal facilitated um-sized format with vignettes and draw- by reduced royalties for foreign authors.154 ings but without any photographs. Thanks While Rizzoli focussed on mass-market il- to the new editorial formula launched lustrated magazines, especially women’s in ’33 (the first edition edited not only by magazines, the other key new publisher, Bompiani, but also Cesare Zavattini), the Mondadori, made an upward leap from Almanacco soon became a more unusual children’s books and textbooks to litera- publication, and its editors—attentive as ture, thanks to their aggressive author- they were to young talents, and open to recruitment campaign (which allowed innovation—allowed themselves (at least them to offer more than the competition), up until 1937) to indulge in unusual ap- their maniacal attention to books’ graphic proaches to both the layout and images. look, and their remarkable promotional efforts. Part of that strategy included the I met him in 1930 (…) Bompiani was the new publisher, and his Almanacco featured work 1925 launch of the Almanacco letterario, an by new draughtsmen, painters, caricatur- annual gift book of curiosities and un- ists, illustrators, graphic designers (…) who, published texts.155 In 1930 the Almanacco alongside literary news, ironic texts, and gos- sip (…) published their drawings; the young letterario was acquired and further devel- architects showed architectural sketches and oped by Valentino Bompiani—Mondadori’s drawings; basically, this Almanacco intro- former secretary general, who in 1929 left duced readers to a developing cultural spec- trum that went beyond just Italian culture.160 to found his own publishing house, focussing on contemporary fiction, especially 156 foreign titles —who made it a key publi- 155 . Founded by Monda- annual book edition. It was cation within his larger advertising strat- dori in 1925 and directed by only available in bookshops. Umberto Fracchia (literary It aimed to be a ‘summary’ egy, aimed at a broad public rather than a director of the publisher’s of the year in culture. It cre- more specialised readership.157 Munari had book division, and later ated a chance for Italian founder of the magazine writers, even from other already met Bompiani at the Libreria Uni- L’Italia Letteraria), the an- publishers, to meet. It be- 158 nual publication was edited gan with Zavattini in the tas bookshop, but his first contact with by Valentino Bompiani and 1930s (…)’ (Silvana Ottieri, the editorial offices on Via Durini must Enrico Piceni until 1928. ‘Valentino Bompiani: impa- The magazine went with ginare la vita’ at http://rcs- have taken place in 1931, perhaps through him, as a gift from Monda- libri.corriere.it/bompiani/ Marinetti, who alongside Masnata was a dori, when Bompiani briefly pantaeditoria/3.htm, last went to work at the publish- accessed 5 November 2010) contributor to the 1932 edition, in which er Unitas, and from 1930 158 . Opened by Bom- on it was run by Bompiani piani during his brief period Munari debuted with a series of caricatures as part of his own publish- directing the small publish- similar to those of his early career.159 ing venture (Valli 1990: 18; er (1928-29), it was fre- Bompiani 1976: 6; Piazzoni quented by Milanese writ- 2007: 55–64). ers, intellectuals, and artists 156 . Decleva in Rumi, (Piazzoni 2007: 43). Vercelloni, Cova 1994: 34–5, 159 . Almanacco lettera- 40; cf. Accame 1989: 30–49. rio 1932. Milan: Bompiani, 157 . Piazzoni 2007: 55. December 1931. Printed by The publication was initially Unione Tipografica, Milan. (from 1930 to ’33) accom- 15.5x20.5 cm, paperback, panied by an Almanacco pp. 368 (11). Cover by Bru- Aeronautico, edited by Orio no Angoletta. It included Vergani and Giuseppe Mor- 5 line drawings by Munari mino (ibid). ‘Bompiani was to accompany the ‘Dialogo not a periodical publisher, illustrato’ text by Falconi and he knew it. (…) The and Biancoli (ivi: 189). Almanacco Letterario was not 160 . Munari in Accame a periodical, but rather an 1989: 66.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism In 1932 Munari designed the cover of a longer yet more intermittent collaboration novel that became a bestseller for the with the monthly L’Ala d’Italia—consti- |24| small publisher, Un’avventura a Budapest tuted his most long-term professional ex- by the Hungarian author Ferenc Körmendi, perience of the 1930s. His name appears in which was soon followed by another title, each edition up to 1939 amongst those of 82 also designed by Munari.161 For both covers Bompiani and Zavattini’s closest collabo- the artist adopted an intentionally paired- rators; and in his role as graphic designer down, against-the-trend approach, with he was able to work not only with illustra- the title rendered in informal, immediate tion and photography, but layout as well. writing, without relying on the support of Observing each successive edition of the any imagery whatsoever.162 Published in annual, a clear transition from Munari’s the Letteraria Stranieri (Foreign Literature) comics-inspired style to the use of various series, the two books marked the begin- other techniques can be seen, from photo- ning of a long collaboration with Bompiani montage to collage to photograms, all the designing covers; his work with them in- while maintaining his distinctive ironic tensified in the 1940s, and continued even tone. Even though small, light-weight stronger in the postwar period. The success line drawings (a few featuring collage) of Körmendi’s books helps explain Muna- were still a part of the Almanacco letterario ri’s conspicuous role in the Almanacco let- 1935,166 by the 1934 edition photographic terario 1933, which explicitly credited him 163 in the colophon. In addition to a series 161 . Ferenc Körmendi, 164 . ‘Progetto di loco- Un’avventura a Budapest motiva per la nuova stazio- |67| of photomontages (‘Atmosfera 1933’) that (orig. title: A Budapesti ne di Milan’ (17), ‘L’annata attest to the editors’ unusual attention to kaland). Milan: Bompiani, letteraria in Italia’ (44–55), 1932. In-8º, pp.414. Pub- ‘marzo nudista (…), maggio photographic imagery, Munari contributed lished in Italian the same bellico’ (141), ‘Le grandi |25| illustrations for two texts by Marinetti (‘Il year that it won the inter- manovre navali della let- national competition run by teratura italiana’ (143–7), teatro totale delle masse’ and ‘Il Futurismo the Associated English and ‘giugno novellistico’ (187), American Publishers, this ‘Viaggio a sorpresa’ (193–4), al 1933’) and numerous drawings to ac- novel was issued in 13 edi- ‘Le donne letterate’ (239), company literary reviews, divertissements, tions over just a few years. ‘settembre avanti lettera’ 164 Ferenc Körmendi, Via Bo- (301), ‘Il teatro totale delle and miscellaneous columns. On the denbach. Milan: Bompiani, masse’ (Marinetti) (302–7), whole, these were comic- and caricature- 1933 (orig. title: Pa. 7, 15 Via ‘Il Futurismo al 1933’ (Ma- Bodenbach). In-8º, pp.275. rinetti) (312–5), ‘Panzini type illustrations, which sometimes veered Both novels were published and Pegaso’ (316), ‘ottobre in the Letteraria series, statistico’ (319), ‘liriche toward the grotesque; the quality of his which was the most long- di Luciano Folgore’ (355), contributions is not always the highest, lived. The two covers are ‘Indiscrezioni statistiche,’ reproduced in Almanacco ‘Milano proteste,’ ‘Dove va and the best examples are those in which letterario 1935 (for an exam- il romanzo?’. his comic verve unites with a sure-handed ple of Munari’s handwrit- 165 . For example, a ing, see his graphic work in few representations of the mark making, in forms reminiscent of his Almanacco letterario 1936: months (May, September), 165 99). Cf. Longoni in Braida an illustration opening the aeropictorial works. 2003: 78. text on Futurist theatre, Munari’s collaboration with the Alma- 162 . A completely dif- and drawings interspersed ferent approach applies to throughout the annual nacco letterario—with the exception of his the cover design of the next literary review. Manzoni’s novel, La generazione felice work in the same volume (Bompiani, 1935) which shows similarities to Mu- introduces a constructivist nari’s graphic style, which approach in his work. was also evident in the pho- 163 . Valentino Bom- tomontages and could be piani, Cesare Zavattini explained as a reciprocal in- (ed.), Almanacco letterario fluence or an exchange be- 1933. Milan: Bompiani, De- tween the two young artists cember 1932. 15.5x20.5 (as happened between Ricas cm, paperback, pp.(48) and Munari in painting). 384. Colour cover by Bruno 166 . Valentino Bompia- Angoletta; Carlo Manzoni ni, Cesare Zavattini (ed.), and Erberto Carboni were Almanacco letterario Bom- among the illustrators. piani 1935. Milan: Bompiani,

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 |68| works—photomontage and photograms in Toward mid-decade, basically, Munari had particular—took the upper hand.167 The rel- definitively embraced collage, and showed ative weight of traditional illustration (ink a predilection for the manipulation of fin drawings, albeit still in the style of comics), de siècle magazines and catalogues to diso- 82 declined, making way for formal experi- rienting and ironic ends: collage became 83 ments in collage and montage, which led his most relevant technique during this Munari—much like Manzoni and Carboni— period, and he used it primarily to create to try his hand first at incongruous collage illustrations for the most varied editorial (following the example set by Max Ernst contexts (but then abandoned it complete- and Jacques Maret), and later at bona fide ly after wwiI). In the following edition, ti- photomontage, often with graphic or pic- tled Almanacco antiletterario 1937—which, torial elements. as stated in the preface, was provocatively This trajectory can also be seen in his conceived of as a controversial and tongue- contributions to L’Ala d’Italia, an avia- in-cheek book—photography in all its man- tion monthly published in Milan, whose ifestations (photomontages, photocollage, editorial team, led by Federigo Valli, was photo sequences) did not act exclusively as surprisingly open to the innovations of the a visual support for the text, but rather as- Milanese avant garde—while, conversely, sumed its own role as an autonomous, par- aviation’s ‘mechanical’ connotations allel narration.171 made it an important meeting point be- 1934. Printed by Tip. Pizzi founded in 1919 as Gazzetta 168 tween Futurism and Fascism. In 1932 the & Pizio, Milan. 21×28 cm, dell’aviazione, but published paperback, pp.128 (civ). regularly only beginning in magazine changed its format and layout; Colour cover by Erberto 1922. Directed by Attilio Munari’s hand is evident on the covers as Carboni. Munari is incor- Longoni, and later Federigo rectly listed as ‘C[arlo] Valli. In 1935 L’Ala d’Italia well as the layout of several articles that, in Munari’ amongst the con- was named ‘the national pe- both their photographic cropping and text tributors, together with riodical of Fascist aviation’ Giorgio Tabet and Mario and the publisher moved formatting, introduce a constructivist-type Vellani Marchi. His draw- to Rome, into the newly ings (small coats of arms) built Ministero dell’aero- approach. Throughout his long collabora- accompany a collection of nautica; the editorial offices tion with the magazine, which continued authors’ declarations (12– remained in Milan. Regard- 3), while the divertissement ing the connection between up until ’39, Munari (sometimes alongside ‘Multa rinascentur…’ recy- Fascism and Futurism, see Ricas) produced noteworthy humorous cles drawings already pub- Schnapp 2008: 146. lished in the 1933 edition 169 . For the article by and propagandistic photomontages, the (20). A curiosity: on p.38 Pietro Maria Bardi, ‘At- an engraving by Eric Gill is tenzione, attenzione!’, in first of which appeared in the February 1933 reproduced, and was almost L’Ala d’Italia xii; 2 (Febru- issue; and (as a unique case) the same is- certainly taken from an ary 1933): 33–6. One of the article published in Arts et three drawings is signed sue featured line drawings analogous to the Métiers Graphiques (no.25, Munari+D (Mario Duse, comics he had illustrated for Bompiani.169 September 1931: 357–64). of the Milanese Futurist 167 . V. Bompiani, group; Di Corato 2008: The change in style appears fully com- C. Zavattini (ed.), Alma- 224). nacco letterario Bompiani 170 . V. Bompiani et al. |71| pleted in the Almanacco letterario 1936, in 1934. Milan: Bompiani, (ed.), Almanacco letterario which Munari published a series of collage 1933. 21×28 cm, paper- Bompiani 1936. Milan: Bom- 170 back, pp.112 (lxviii). ‘This piani, 1935. 21×28.5 cm, images that supplanted comic drawings. catalogue was compiled by paperback, pp., (lvii) 112 Valentino Bompiani and (2). Munari, in addition to Cesare Zavattini with the doing the layout, created collaboration of the painter a series of collage illustra- Munari and the photog- tions (‘Film documentario rapher Egone’. Cover by dell’anno 1935,’ pp.19–28; Erberto Carboni. Munari ‘Peccati letterari,’ pp.42– did various photomontages, 43), two photomontages photograms, and photo- and a little graphic scherzo graphs for this edition, (p.99). Note also the photo- in addition to designing its collages by Carboni and the layout. group of architects known 168 . The official pub- as bbpr. lication of the Regio Ae- 171 . Emilio Radius, Dino ronautico Club Italiano, Buzzati, Bruno Munari,

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Setting aside political satire, which was ef- of the Rizzoli paper’s authors and artists, fectively impossible, Marc’Aurelio marked Munari was not included in the circle of its the transition to a more imaginative hu- contributors—who nevertheless almost all mour as an end in itself: throughout the crossed paths again as the editorial team 1920s, the earlier satirical papers had ex- of Settebello, the competing humour weekly 84 perienced changes in direction and adap- Mondadori launched in 1938, to which tations of their editorial line that ended Munari was a regular contributor up until up conforming to the climate imposed by 1939.177 the regime.172 In addition to vignettes and Il Settebello was associated with the short pieces making fun of Fascist Italy’s editorial team of Marc’Aurelio, which Mon- enemy du jour, these papers took aim at dadori acquired and entrusted to Zavattini the same bourgeois public of which their and Campanile to turn it into an illus- readerships consisted: ‘pre-fab motifs: trated magazine. For its relaunch, Zavattini women in crisis, sterile couples, bon vi- focused on contributions from well known vants and fat bourgeois’.173 Rizzoli’s Ber- artists and writers (Trilussa, Campani- toldo and Mondadori’s Settebello were the le, Guasta, Steinberg, and Zavattini him- chief papers to fully perfect the formula self, all of whom formed the new editorial begun by Marc’Aurelio, accentuating its

surreal aspects: on a graphic level, that type Valentino Bompiani (ed.), Gianeri (Gec), Rauch 1976: of humour translated into a space without Almanacco antiletterario 33–4; Mangini, Pallottino Bompiani 1937. Milan: Bom- 1994: 37–47, 183; Carpi perspective or gravity, accentuated by a lin- piani, 1936. 21×28.5 cm, 2002: 62–4. paperback, pp. 236. Munari 176 . Zavattini: ‘Rizzoli ear mark in which objects and characters designed the layout, the gave me some papers to are immersed.174 Faced with the commer- cover, and a series of pho- manage (…) I brought out tomontages and collages. some young cartoonists cial success of Marc’Aurelio, in 1936 Rizzoli There are also two small and humour writers, Gua- (which had tried to acquire the Rome- line illustrations for the reschi, Manzoni, Brancacci, piece by Marinetti, but they because we’d decided to based publication to no avail) created its are minimal (112–3). publish that kind of weekly’, 172 . Aside from from an interview in Parlia- own humour weekly, Bertoldo, planned Marc’Aurelio, the most mo tanto di me (Milan: Bom- alongside Zavattini—who, however, due widespread comic papers piani, 1977): x, cit. in Man- were Il Travaso delle idee, gini, Pallottino 1994: 39. to a last-minute clash with the publisher, 420, Guerin Meschino, and 177 . Founded in Rome went to Rizzoli’s competitor, Mondadori.175 Pasquino (Gianeri (Gec), in 1933 by Egeo Carcavallo Rauch 1976: 32–4). and Bepi Fabiano, mod- Rizzoli then entrusted Giovanni Mosca 173 . Gianeri (Gec) cit. elled on the French Ric et in Aloi, Moretti 2006. Rac (a comic-strip weekly and Vittorio Metz with its management, 174 . Mangini, Pallottino published by Fayard, 1929), and hired an editorial team of very young 1994: 41–2. later compiled by the edi- 175 . Bertoldo (Milan: tors of Marc’Aurelio, in 1938 humorists adept at the new style, includ- Rizzoli, 1936–43). Biweekly Il Settebello (1938–1943) ing Giovannino Guareschi, Carlo Manzo- (Tuesdays and Fridays), was acquired by Mondado- but when Rizzoli ended up ri, who moved its editorial ni, Walter Molino, Giaci Mondaini, and acquiring Marc’Aurelio in offices to Milan and hired 1940, Bertoldo turned into a Zavattini and Campanile as Saul Steinberg (who was an architecture weekly. The masthead was directors. It has been called student in Milan at the time).176 Although designed by Mario Bazzi, ‘the most peripatetic paper the layout (which remained in all Italian journalism, it he certainly knew and frequented several virtually unchanged over passed through so many the years) was by Guareschi, hands’ (Gianeri (Gec) who was also managing edi- 1967: 151). In 1939 the pa- tor until its closure. Aside per changed its title to Ecco, from a few colour editions, and later switched back to Il the graphics were entirely settebello: nipote settimanale black and white, in order del Bertoldo and the news- to distinguish itself from paper format; in 1941 it was illustrated women’s maga- acquired by Rizzoli, with zines, which were identified Giovanni Mosca as director. more by the colour of the See Gianeri (Gec), Rauch ink than by their content 1976: 34; Cf. Mangini, Pal- (Manzoni 1964: 20). See lottino 1994: 38–39; Pal- Manzoni 1964: 22–32; Gia- lottino 1998: 324–5; Carpi neri (Gec) 1967: 151–152; 2002: 59–90.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 board), on improving the editorial formula Einaudi, titled Le macchine di Munari (Mu- (with more vignettes and fewer texts), and nari’s Machines, 1942).182 on a new graphic look.178 The contributors During the first phase of its relaunch, included those who worked with Rizzoli's with editorial offices still centered in Rome, 84 Bertoldo, like Steinberg, Bazzi, Manzi, Mo- Settebello kept its large-scale format, albeit 85 lino, Mondaini, and new names, including with variations to the original typographic Boccasile, Gec, Tabet. Munari, according layout; the editorial offices moved to Mi- to Zavattini’s ‘name policy’, ran his own lan between October and November 1938, space in the paper: indeed, in his rather whereupon the weekly adopted a smaller unique contributions he presented, follow- format and different graphic look, with ing the example of the American cartoon- a colour cover and higher page count.183 ist Rube Goldberg, a series of implausible Although there is no concrete proof, Mu- contraptions that were as complicated as nari may have been directly involved with they were useless.179 Whether it was a deliberate choice or not, Munari avoided the 178 . Large format root of it: ‘(…) I’ll gladly more hackneyed types of humour with his (40×56 cm) and 6 pages accept your proposal but I (later 8); news announced think it would be advisable |28| machines—for example, types of satire ex- in issue no. 232, 16 April to revisit those machines ploiting women and the more advanced 1938 (Carpi 2002: 71). and do them better, and in 179 . Already well colour. I could also man- cultural currents—and instead embodied known in Italy: cf. Munari age the graphic design and the paper’s nonconformist spirit, which 1966 (Arte come mestiere): binding. I’d like to make it 15. Rube Goldberg (1883– ‘my book’ (…)’; ‘Dear Cesa- was more popular with his younger gen- 1970), American cartoonist rissimo, the book I’m do- and draughtsman. He rose ing with Einaudi is in good eration. This ironic and detached attitude to fame with ‘Foolish Ques- shape and I often think of can also be seen in his use of surrealist col- tions’, vignettes published your altruism and your now in the New York Evening long-standing friendship. I lage in other editorial contexts (that were Mail in the teens, charac- hope it is a success. Einaudi not specifically humour-based), where the terised by a surreal sense will also publish the silla- of humour. Beginning in bario (you remember the technique allowed him to carve out his 1914 he created a series of primer?) (…)’ (Archivio 180 satirical vignettes featur- Zavattini, Biblioteca Panizzi, own original space. In light of such de- ing improbable gadgets that Reggio Emilia: Zavattini/ velopments, it is worthwhile to reflect on performed chain reactions Munari correspondence, to complete banal tasks. His m844/4 and m844/1 re- two interesting examples from the early success led to such inven- spectively; italics mine). 1930s: Tullio d’Albisola’s letterhead, which tions being named after 183 . The new format him. Winner of the 1948 was 19.5×28 cm, pp.24/32. Munari designed around 1932 or ’33, fea- Pulitzer Prize. On 16 May 1939 the weekly 180 . Cf. Mangini, Pal- changed its name, Ecco turing a drawing that foreshadowed such lottino 1994: 167–8. Mu- Settebello (later just Ecco) |25| inventions; and an illustration that ap- nari himself considered and returned to the news- his comic output with a paper format. The change peared in the Almanacco letterario 1933 de- slightly condescending eye, can most likely be attrib- picting an imaginary mechanism similar to as if it belonged to his ju- uted to the goal of shutting venilia: ‘(…) those comic the publication down; the the ‘comic machines’ that made him a suc- [machines] that I drew regime did not approve of it, 181 during my student years, with but because it was on good cess in the pages of Settebello. Later on, in the sole aim of making my terms with Mondadori it one of Zavattini’s ventures, those images friends laugh’ (Munari offered them a way out: the 1966: 15, italics mine) weekly could continue pub- were collected into a book published by 181 . D’Albisola’s let- lication for a year or so (but terhead can be seen in the in 1940 both Campanile Mazzotti-Thayaht corre- and Zavattini left) reduc- spondence dated 3 March ing the page count to 16 and 1934 (Mart, Archivio modifying its content to a del 900, fondo Thayaht: more literary focus. Dur- Tha 1.2.07.63); the illustra- ing the war, other Mon- tion titled ‘Settembre avanti dadori mastheads had to lettera’ is in Almanacco lette- cease publication: Il Milione rario 1933, cit.: 301. (which replaced Le Grandi 182 . See Munari’s cor- Firme) and Novellissima, respondence with Zavattini while the illustrated week- [late 1941/early ’42], which lies Tempo and Grazia car- clearly leads one to believe ried on (Carpi 2002: 78–9). that Zavattini was at the

Futurism, advertising, rationalism the magazine’s redesign; actually it is Yet even that became a brief experiment: quite probable, since within the next few by 1939 Mondadori was already working months (if not as early as November) he on the new illustrated magazine Tempo, became an artistic consultant for another which joined the women’s weekly Grazia of Mondadori’s illustrated magazines, (launched in November of the previous 86 Grazia—which paved the way for him to year): thus the last issue of Il Milione closed become art director of Tempo only a few with the editors saying their farewells to months later. the readership by effectively saying ‘see you As an illustrator, during this same pe- soon in the pages of the new periodical.’ riod Munari occasionally contributed to another periodical associated with Zavat- tini: Le Grandi firme, a literary magazine Realist style founded and directed by the writer Piti- Through this exposure to the complex re- grilli.184 In 1937 Zavattini had Mondadori alities of a major editorial group like Mon- acquire the Turin-based biweekly, became dadori, Munari caught a glimpse of new managing director, and turned it into an possibilities for working within the nascent illustrated weekly, characterised by Bocca- cultural industry. Such experiences were sile’s voluptuous colour covers.185 While quite distant from both the niche environ- keeping the editorial formula of the short- ment surrounding Futurism as well as the fiction magazine, the new management editorial offices of minor magazines and secured (thanks to the publisher’s strong publications not affiliated with an indus- catalogue) better authors, and the colour- trial group nor conceived of as illustrated illustration format, weekly schedule, re- magazines, which were the real publishing duced price, and inclusion of photography innovation of the 1930s. These possibilities all helped the magazine gain greater visibil- were fundamentally different with respect ity, setting itself apart from other literary to the paths taken up until then, insofar as and specialist periodicals.186 Because it was they allowed for a broader and more capil- a sui generis literary magazine, Munari’s lary influence on the social landscape and contributions were limited to a few line mass communications. Therefore it was, illustrations, such as the ones that accom- once again, in Milanese magazine publish- panied an article by Angelo Frattini, ‘La ing, where he had already experienced his Lamentevole istoria di Giovannino rovina- to dalla passione per il cinema,’ in March 184 . Literary magazine to begin the endeavour with 187 founded and directed by Rizzoli, but Mondadori 1938. Dino Segre (a.k.a. Pitigrilli) ultimately made it happen. Despite its success, the magazine was in Turin in 1924, Le Grandi The provocative ‘signorine firme was a bimonthly of grandi firme’ were the Ital- forced to shut down in October 1938, re- novellas and serial novels, ian equivalent of American which adopted the French pin-ups, and entered the placed by the new Il Milione, which con- custom of including a fac- male psyche of the times tinued along the same lines, with the simile of the original sig- with equal ease. natures (firme) below each 186 . ‘(…) Today the same editorial team and graphic look. text. Focussing primarily on public is not content to just comic novels and erotica, it read. They want photogra- became the fashional maga- phy. The stadium and the zine of Italy’s ‘decent mid- cinema have taught them to dle class’ (Pallottino 1998: see. Between the columns 256, 325; Carpi 2002: 91– of typographic composi- 120. Cf. http://it.wikipedia. tion and fantasy, they want org/wiki/Le_Grandi_Firme, to see some photographs, last accessed July 2010). or some window into life Segre (1893–1975) was a and into reality’ (Zavattini, writer, journalist, and spy from the editorial in issue for Ovra, the Fascist secret no.308, 22 April 1937; cit. police. in Carpi 2002: 91). 185 . As with Bertoldo, 187 . In Le Grandi firme, Zavattini originally planned xv; 357 (31 March 1938).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 first significant graphic evolution—from the various publishing products he worked comics and humour illustrations to col- on.188 lage and photomontage—that at the dawn This type of repertoire belonged pri- of the 1940s Munari discovered a new pro- marily to illustrated periodicals directly 86 fessional realm as art director for Monda- tied to the regime, like La Rivista illustrata 87 dori’s periodicals. But he did not take this del Popolo d’Italia, and secondarily to il- step without first exploring other possibili- lustrated current-events monthlies like La ties in the broader field of illustration. Lettura and Natura, which nevertheless re- At the time, the field of graphic design flected the increasingly repressive climate. was still developing, and reflected a prac- The control the Ministry of Popular Cul- tice that included disciplines now consid- ture wielded over any and everything that ered autonomous, even if complementary: was published was exercised through both illustration, photography, advertising, ty- preventive censure and seizure as well as pography, exhibition design, interior deco- the self-censure of publishers themselves. ration—Munari’s experience went fluidly Not surprisingly, beginning in 1935 with from illustration to advertising and vice the war in Ethiopia and the international versa (not to mention his strictly artistic sanctions, there was a return to order in all endeavors). Along this open, non-linear sectors of culture that was clearly reflected route he did not hesitate to try out well in the press’s esthetic choices and con- beaten paths, if he felt they were the ap- tent.189 The Almanacco letterario Bompiani is propriate choice within his given context. a case in point: as early as the monograph- Thus, parallel to his work in comic draw- ic edition of 1938, dedicated to the passing ings, Futurist illustration, and avant-garde of Luigi Pirandello, and even more in the photomontage, Munari also explored tra- following editions, the periodical’s typo- ditional visual languages that were curi- graphic look was decidedly more sober and ously close to the expressive values of the traditional, and both comic illustrations Novecento movement. He used a realistic and photomontage were newly absent.190 approach for the covers of the periodicals Beginning in the late 1920s, the avail- most in keeping with the regime and the ability of a broader range of columns more generalist press. Many of his tempera and the appearance of illustrated supple- illustrations from the early 1940s (at the ments favoured newspapers’ spread to height of the war) while documenting oc- ever greater swaths of the population.191 casionally embarrassing political themes, often resort to an iconography that is any- 188 . One must remem- alongside Bompiani and thing but original, expressed in a crude ber the meticulousness with Zavattini; in addition to the which Munari constructed duotone photomontage on mannerism. Incongruous as it may seem his own personal mythology the cover, Munari also did during the postwar period, the layout. Almanacco lette- with his Futurist militancy and artistic in- emphasising certain aspects rario Bompiani 1939. Milan: clinations, such a choice is explicable when of his work and exclud- Bompiani, 1938. 27,8×20,8 ing others that could seem cm paperback, pp. (xcviii) one considers the communicative ends of contradictory, less original, 192. Printed by Società Gra- or even embarrassing when fica G[iuseppe] Modiano, compared to the persona of Milan. The typographic the rational, creative de- design basically followed signer. Cf. Schnapp 2008: that of the previous edition, 144. while the cover featured a 189 . Braida 2003: 48. design based on a wooden 190 . Almanacco letterario texture (on which a sheet of Bompiani 1938. Milan: Bom- letterhead is depicted) and piani, 1937. 27,8×20,8 cm, the photographic illustra- paperback, pp. (lxiv) 160. tions (aside from the ones Printed by Società Grafica of architecture) were sim- G[iuseppe] Modiano, Mi- ple realist montages. lan. Munari was amongst 191 . Cannistraro 1975: the many compilers, 202–3.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Of the Milanese newspapers, the Fascist Munari did for the Rivista up until 1940 all daily Il Popolo d’Italia192 had created its featured political themes and iconography own monthly supplement in 1923, founded that were near and dear to the regime’s and directed by Arnaldo Mussolini and rhetoric: toeing the magazine’s line, the Manlio Morgagni.193 As a widespread images translate themes like ‘Roman-ness’, 88 current-events periodical that was richly autarchy, swamp drainage and land recla- illustrated and played a strong role as a mation, the war in East Africa, the Empire; showcase for the regime’s achievements, La at times they are literal transpositions of Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia enjoyed propagandistic slogans (like the ubiquitous constant contributions by Mario Sironi— inscriptions covering the façades of public who strongly influenced its graphic aspect buildings). Beginning with the Septem- through his large repertoire of covers, il- ber 1935 issue, which painted a nationalist lustratons, and headings—as well as those picture of the Ethiopian war, the montage of important artists like Nizzoli, Garretto, technique was abandoned in favour of a Prampolini, Depero, and Sepo.194 Between less precise, more immediate type of draw- late 1931 and early ’32 Munari also joined ing, which was part of a tendency that grew the magazine’s team of contributors, ini- stronger over the years and culminated in tially doing aeropictorial illustrations and an elementary, two-dimensional, almost his first compositions based on photomon- childlike style.197 Other covers, generally tage. His collaboration with the magazine lasted until 1940, with alternations be- 192 . Il Popolo d’Italia, politics to sports, fashion, historic Milanese Fascist art, theatre, and literature tween more sophisticated illustrations and paper founded by Benito (Pallottino 1988: 314, 256; propagandistic covers modelled on picto- Mussolini in 1914 (directed Lattarulo 1995: 94; Mar- by his brother Arnaldo gozzi, Rum 2007: 76–7). rial realism. and, following his death in Mussolini’s daily paper also His first cover appeared on the March ’32, by their brother Vito), published a weekly supple- remained a relatively wide- ment, L’Illustrazione fasci- |29| 1934 issue, and depicted the foot of a co- spread party paper (largest sta, which had difficulty print run, 200,000 copies competing with established lossal statue overlaid with the outline of in 1938), despite the pre- periodicals like L’Illustrazio- Italy atop a blue background. Despite the dominance of the Corriere ne Italiana and Domenica del della Sera (Cambria 1994: Corriere; in 1931 the weekly form-emphasizing graphic treatment, it 135). became the official publica- is ultimately just a retouched photograph 193 . Manlio Morgagni tion of the Opera nazion- (1879–1943) journalist and ale dopolavoro, based in inserted into a drawing: the image basi- political figure closely tied Rome, and one can easily to the regime: contributor, imagine that the editorial cally seems like an attempt at integrating, and later administrative offices in Milan would have through concealment, the principle of director of Il Popolo d’Italia, decided to invest their new along with Arnaldo Musso- resources in a current- photomontage with very traditional illus- lini he founded La Rivista events monthly of its own, |30| tration.195 Even the following cover, in No- illustrata del Popolo d’Italia alongside the sumptuous (1923), and later Natu- editions of the Almanacco vember, was created by the same technique, ra (1928). He is primar- fascista (Cambria 1994: 141; ily known for having been cf. Margozzi, Rum 2007: and depicts a plough in the foreground the general director of the 76–7). while offering a glimpse of a tank in the Agenzia Stefani, the historic 195 . La Rivista Illustra- 196 press agency that became ta del Popolo d’Italia xii; 3 background. On the whole, the covers the official mouthpiece of (March 1934). 33.5×24.5 the regime in the 1920s. cm, pp.92. Morgagni was unwaveringly 196 . La Rivista Illu- faithful to Mussolini, and strata del Popolo d’Italia committed suicide in July xii; 11 (November 1934). 1943 upon hearing news of 33.5×24.5 cm, pp.120. This his arrest. issue is dedicated to drain- 194 . La Rivista Illustrata age of the Pontine Marshes, del Popolo d’Italia (Milan, and the image echoes Mus- 1923–1943). General- solini’s motto ‘È l’aratro interest monthly directed che traccia il solco, ma è the by Arnaldo Mussolini until spada che lo difende’ (It is 1931, thereafter by Manlio the plough that makes the Morgagni. The subject mat- furrow, but the sword deter it covered ranged from fends it).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 without any particular distinction in ei- normally used for magazine. This cover ther the drawing quality or the choice shows a foreshortened view of the statue of subject matter, followed at the rate of of Emperor Augusts overlaid by the sche- about one per year: in April 1936 (an im- matic structure of an airplane wing, while 88 age dedicated to autarchy, with an Italian a flock-like formation of large airplanes 89 flag waving from a chimney in front of the diagonally cuts across the background sky. Coliseum);198 April 1937 (on the occasion It is quite probable that the stylistic choice, celebrating the ‘birth of Rome’ the cover paired with ancient Rome-inspired ico- depicts the tower of an industrial plant);199 nography, was to some degree dictated by |31| December 1937 (Roman legioneers’ in- the publication’s international context, as signia, symbolising the Imperial subject it was a collection of numerous technical matter);200 September 1938 (wheat shocks and institutional texts and was published against a blue sky crossed by three bomb- in five languages. Again here the illustra- ers);201 March 1939 (Italy’s intervention tion seems to be a compromise between in the Spanish civil war, represented by a drawing and photomontage; nevertheless, Fascist tank rolling forward);202 May 1939 the asymmetrical, diagonal composition (a view of the Gulf of Naples, dominated and the subtle play between planes give by an Italian navy submarine);203 and De- the image some dynamism and depth.205 cember 1940 (with the war underway, the The illustration published in the January image evokes a nighttime air raid).204 From 1938 issue of L’Ala d’Italia is in the same this brief overview it is easy to see how Mu- vein, and celebrates Italy’s victory in the nari adopted a deliberately paired-down, Rome-Dakar-Rio de Janeiro aeronautical loose, almost sketch-like approach for the competition.206 Rivista; and that choice is also visible in the magazine’s masthead, which was often 197 . La Rivista Illu- (December 1940). 33.5×27 strata del Popolo d’Italia cm, pp.80. imprecisely outlined. Despite his falling xiii; 9 (September 1935). 205 . L’Ala d’Italia xv; 33.5×24.5 cm, pp.92. The 10–11 (October/November back onto facile, mannered formulas, Mu- iconographic choice of a co- 1936). 21×28 cm. The statue nari’s work for two other magazines, Natu- lonial helmet hanging from is visibly retouched by a a rifle, with a bunch of texts brush (to the point of ap- ra and La Lettura, showed a greater degree in honour of the Fatherland pearing out of focus), while of liberty, and, indeed, those publications and Il Duce, appears fairly the airplane silhouettes are predictable… The same can photo clippings glued onto were less politically driven; even in his re- be said of the other covers the crudely painted sky. described here. The image’s propagandist alistic covers Munari sometimes managed 198 . La Rivista Illustra- content is unquestionable, to include his personal research on percep- ta del Popolo d’Italia xiv; 4 and associates aviation (April 1936). 33.5×24.5 cm, with the celebration of the tive phenomena (tâches, textures, figure/ pp.188. ancient Roman Emperor ground). 199 . La Rivista Illustra- Augustus during the ‘Anno ta del Popolo d’Italia xv; 4 Augustano’ (Augustan Year) |32| A cover created in 1936 for L’Ala d’Italia (April 1937). 33.5×24.5 cm, proclaimed by Mussolini to pp.116. celebrate the conquest of can also be traced back to this group, and 200 . La Rivista Illustra- Ethiopia and the proclama- its type of imagery was quite unusual com- ta del Popolo d’Italia xv; 12 tion of the empire. It was (December 1937). 33.5×24.5 during this final phase that pared to the photographic work Munari cm, pp.80. ancient Roman archaeol- 201 . La Rivista Illu- ogy became yet another tool strata del Popolo d’Italia for reinforcing the idea of xvi; 9 (September 1938). Fascist power: in 1937 the 33.5×24.5 cm, pp.80. Mostra Augustea della Ro- 202 . La Rivista Illustra- manità (Augustan Exhibi- ta del Popolo d’Italia xvii; 3 tion of Romanness) opened (March 1939). 33.5×24.5 in Rome (cf. Silk 1996: 63; cm, pp.80. Schnapp 2008: 162n). 203 . La Rivista Illustra- 206 . ‘Sorci Verdi’ in ta del Popolo d’Italia xvii; L’Ala d’Italia xviii; 1 (Janu- 5 (May 1939). 33.5×27 cm, ary 1938): photo ill. The pp.80. title was taken from the 204 . La Rivista Illustra- name of the 205th Squad of ta del Popolo d’Italia xix; 12 the Regia Aeronautica. The

Futurism, advertising, rationalism The monthly Popolo d’Italia was printed meticulousness seeps into the masthead, by Alfieri & Lacroix, the most advanced which the artist had fun with, varying its typo-lithographic press in Italy; at the design and taking different typefaces as time, Antonio Boggeri worked in the office his model for each issue.210 The following of Luigi Poli, who managed the illustrated two covers, while less precise, show equally 90 supplement’s production. For a short while fascinating images—one hinged on the (while still working for Poli), Boggeri was comparison of a prehistoric bird fossil and also art director of Natura, a publishing |36| a hummingbird, the other on a couple of enterprise launched by Alfieri & Lacroix electrical insulators and a lightning bolt together with Morgagni (director of the piercing the night sky.211 But more than all Rivista) in 1928. Natura was among Italy’s |37| the others the cover of issue 3–4 in spring first popular science magazines and had a 1942—the last one of this sort Munari did— graphic look that was relatively sumptuous marked a further, definite evolution of his for that period.207 Boggeri or Poli himself work in illustration.212 The abstract com- may have been the go-between connecting position (which effectively winks, even in the editorial offices and Munari, who be- the title, at the cosmic vein of aeropainting gan to work with the monthly in the spring of the 1930s) was created by pressing an |34| of ’32, with an impactful aeropictorial cov- object soaked in colour, which instead of er depicting a stylised agrarian landscape centred on the line of a furrow dug by a monochrome illustration is seen in 1927 at the III Mo- 208 mechanical plough. This example is also printed in green; the em- stra Internazionale delle blem and a photograph of Arti Decorative di Monza, interesting because of how the masthead is the Savoia Marchetti sm79 where the Soviet Union designed, showing a gradual assimilation fuselage are featured atop had five sections, including 209 a schematic drawing of the one dedicated to Books and of the most advanced typographic work. transatlantic flight path Photography that exhibited While the contributions Munari published (http://it.wikipedia.org/ constructivist film posters. wiki/Sorci_Verdi, last ac- 209 . His awareness of between 1933 and ’36 consisted primarily cessed 23 November 2010). Renner’s Futura Black well 207 . Directed by Luigi before its ‘discovery’ during of compositions based on photomontage, Poli and published by Alfieri the Werkbund exhibition toward the end of the decade he did a series & Lacroix between 1928 and at the V Triennale in 1933 1943, Natura was an illus- is evident. A specimen of of four illustrated covers that are particu- trated monthly magazine the type was reproduced in larly interesting on both a technical and (as stated in the subtitle) ‘of Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 100 pages of high-quality no.18 (15 July 1930); and a compositional level. The first, titled ‘Scher- paper with 200 prints and a few covers of the German colour cover by famous art- monthly die neue linie (April |35| zo con agate’, opened the February 1938 is- ists (…) it covers everything 1931, February 1932) mod- sue and differs from his previous covers in that could be of interest to a eled their mastheads on its modern soul, from econom- forms (cf. Rössler 2009: its hyperrealism (which depicts two agates ics to science, art, nature, 141–2). and a beetle on a wooden surface). Both travel, and sports. The va- 210 . Natura xi; 2 (Feb- riety of subject matter and ruary 1938). 26×34 cm, the foreground figures and background splendour of the printed il- pp.64. lustrations make it the true 211 . Natura xi; 3 (March are rendered down to the smallest detail, magazine of the well-to-do 1938). 26×34 cm, pp.64; the to the point of looking more like a pho- family’ (from an advert illustration is titled ‘Attra- published in the bulletin Il verso i millenni’. Natura tomontage than a trompe l’œil; the same Milione, October 1932). See xi; 11 (November 1938). Fossati, Sambonet 1974: 17; 26×34 cm, pp.64; the il- Monguzzi 1981: 2; Pansera lustration is titled ‘Alte 1984 in Iliprandi: 19n; Lat- tensioni’. tarulo 1995: 96. 212 . Natura xv; 3–4 208 . Natura V; 4 (April (March/April 1942). 1932), 26×34 cm. The draw- 26×34 cm, pp.92; the illus- ing recalls the propaganda tration is titled ‘Fantasia co- poster of the Stenberg smica’ and explicitly recalls brothers, ‘To the Fallow similar compositions by Ground’, constructed Prampolini, Fillìa, and other through the photographic Futurists who belonged to repetition of a tractor in the cosmic aeropictorial successively smaller sizes, current of the mid-thirties. which Munari could have

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 leaving a flat or chiaroscuro field of color novellas and serial novels by drawings, and actually made a chance texture. The reced- the colour cover was done by famous il- ing ground creates a space in which this lustrators of the day (Sacchetti, Dudovich, organic form is suspended, intersected by Brunelleschi, Tofano).214 90 a thread rendered in a contrasting chro- Munari worked with the editorial of- 91 matic gradient. Both his abandonment of fices on via Solferino as an illustrator, and figurative representation for abstract form then as a graphic consultant as well, rela- (which nevertheless still steered clear of tively late, between 1936 and ’40, in the pure geometry) and his investigation into same period of the magazine’s relaunch the communicative value of organic forms with a larger format and new illustrators to prove Munari’s new interests in the visual enliven and give a more youthful edge to its field, and make this image the tangible sign earlier look.215 As with his work for Natu- of a significant change in his approach to ra, Munari’s contributions were generally illustration—which ultimately found its photomontages and collage influenced by ideal field of application (and further de- |38| Surrealism, but he also published articles velopment) in his cover designs for Bom- |39| on various popular topics (which marked piani, Einaudi, and Club degli Editori in the beginning of his writing career)216 and the postwar period. did a significant number of covers. Painted La Lettura, cultural supplement to the in tempera, these covers were characterised Corriere della sera, was a ‘typical railway by a traditional pictorial style; neverthe- magazine’213 that combined the character- less, in the best examples, in which there istics of high-culture magazines with mid- is a noticeable graphic and atmospheric dle-class ones: the visually sober monthly refinement, one can detect a clear emula- offered articles, novellas, poems, books tion of Bayer’s graphic work, while the last reviews, and current-events notes. Over covers from 1939–40 attest to Munari’s use the course of the 1930s, under the man- of solutions derived from his research into agement of Mario Ferrigni and later Aldo perception.217 Borelli, the magazine held its position in

the marketplace and took on a more jour- 213 . Giuseppe Prezzolini at least during the 1937–39 nalistic, consumer-product profile—while (from La coltura italiana, period, in certain cuts and Florence, 1927) cit. in Ca- montages of photographs still maintaining a noteworthy cultural merlo 1992: 10. and illustrations at the 214 . La Lettura (Milan, beginning of articles and level. Next to entertainment columns, the 1901–1945) was founded in the headings of columns. Cf. so-called elzeviro (elsevier) was established 1901 by Luigi Albertini, who Camerlo 1992: 48. was also its director from 216 . These first texts (symptomatic of the gradual emptying- 1900 to 1925, and created a were dedicated to model out of content), as an article of witty, light series of periodicals aimed airplanes (‘I modelli volan- at emerging social classes ti’ in xxxvi; 11, 1 November journalism entrusted to the pens of fa- to accompany the paper: 1936: 942–3), photograms La Domenica del Corriere (‘Che cosa sono i fotogram- mous writers. Another of the magazine’s (1898), Il Corriere dei Piccoli mi e come si fanno’ in xxx- strong points lay in its illustrations: the (1908), Romanzo mensile vii; 4, April 1937: 352–5), (1903). Albertini was suc- printing techniques (‘Ti- articles were accompanied by photographs, ceeded by Giuseppe Giacosa pografia’ in xxxvii; 5, May (successful theatrical au- 1937: 438–43), suspended thor and librettist), Renato sculptures (‘Che cosa sono Simoni (1906), Mario Fer- le macchine inutili e perché’ rigni (1923) and, in 1934, by in xxxvii; 7, July 1937: 660– Aldo Borelli (who was also 5), and the evolution of the the newspaper’s director) chair (‘Sedili’ in xxxviii; 9, in tandem with Emilio Ra- September 1938: 846–51). dius (Camerlo 1992: 10–1, During the war years Mu- 40–53; Contorbia 2007: nari refined his writing 1772; Santoro 1998a: 76). in the pages of Tempo and 215 . Although Munari’s Domus. name does not explicitly 217 . Cf. Tanchis 1986: appear in the colophon, his 45. art direction is recognisable,

Futurism, advertising, rationalism From a visual point of view, there are |42| of the November 1939 issue was similarly two noteworthy covers from 1937 wherein made, aside from the war-related subject Munari offers a glimpse of the varied in- matter.221 It is interesting to note that, in terests and graphic inventiveness he was general, despite the broad fields of uniform capable of creating. The illustration that colour that flatten the design, the compo- 92 |40| opens the April issue was entirely created sition is balanced by a degree of depth be- in mosaic, using small, coloured card- tween the foreground and background, in board tesserae; the technique was naturally a solution that perhaps took into consid- tied to the subject (the face of a Roman eration the magazine’s eventual visibility emperor), reinforcing certain connota- within the newsstands. tions, but can also be situated alongside The two illustrations opening the June the experiments with texture Munari was and October 1938 issues are more aestheti- carrying out at the time, as demonstrated cally appealing, and are openly modelled by several other covers.218 The cover of the on the subject of evasion, albeit still built July issue (which depicts an aerial view of a around the relationship between planes bather on the beach) took a completely dif- that, like theatrical curtains, rhythmi- ferent approach, between photomontage |40| cally divide the space. The first shows a and polymaterial compositions, and was foreshortened view of a ship’s bridge with made using a three-dimensional assem- a large wind sock, with a few passengers blage of various elements (photographs |42| looking at a distant island;222 the second, cut into unusual contours, cardstock, fab- showing a window opened onto the sea, ric, sandpaper) created with a fairly ‘tac- plays upon the idea of a picture within tile’ technique.219 The following covers, a picture (with the palpable influence of however, returned to the somewhat crude Magritte).223 Quite differently, the Janu- visual language evident in his work from ary 1939 issue features an unusual image, the same period for La Rivista Illustrata del whose main element (more than the ac- Popolo d’Italia, even if, compared to the lat- tual subject matter, a snow-covered tree) ter, war-related and nationalistic subjects consists of so-called tâches, created with did not appear until conflict broke out. The light brushstrokes, which Munari experi- cover of the October 1937 issue, for exam- mented with to depict natural phenomena ple, shows a pupil at the chalkboard seen like snow, waves, or reflections on water.224 from behind the teacher’s back, which This and the following cover exhibit a more takes up half of the image; riffing on the scholastic subject matter, the masthead is 218 . La Lettura xxxvii; been done in the 1930s (cf. also outlined in pen, as if a child had doo- 4 (April 1937). 19×28 cm, Piet Zwart’s puppets in pp.104. Examples of experi- his famous PTT Boek); in dled on it. The November issue, with the mentation with pictorial the sixties the technique means of creating natural experienced a revival, and faces of two newlyweds in profile, cleverly textures can be seen in was used primarily for winks at the regime’s rhetoric by depicting some details of the Octo- illustrations. 220 ber (the fabric of the two 220 . La Lettura xxx- the groom wearing a helmet. The cover jackets) and November 1937 vii; 10 (October 1937) (the bride’s veil) issue cov- and 11 (November 1937). ers, as well as the October 19×28 cm, pp.96. 1938 (ocean waves) and 221 . La Lettura xxix; January 1939 (snowflakes) 11 (November 1939). issue covers. 19×28 cm, pp.76. 219 . La Lettura xxxvii; 222 . La Lettura xxxviii; 7 (July 1937). 19×28 cm, 6 (June 1938). 19×28 cm, pp.96. Well before the pp.96. recent infatuation with 223 . La Lettura xxx- stop-motion in the fields of viii; 10 (October 1938). advertising and animation, 19×28 cm, pp.96. the creation of images made 224 . La Lettura xxix; 1 from three-dimensional (January 1939). 19×28 cm, paper objects had already pp.104.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 decisive inclination toward visual experi- parallel work as an illustrator, while it did mentation and research, above and beyond not exclude any specific styles, nevertheless the client’s brief: similarly, in February went in a direction of more frequent use 1940, the theme behind the compositional of collage, which he increasingly identified 92 framing of a fighter-plane cockpit is actu- with as a flexible expressive technique well 93 ally the optics of camouflage.225 During suited to his creative flair. Initially, in the the war, a few Futurist artists were hired black-and-white as well as colour illustra- by the military to work on camouflage: be- tions published in various periodicals between ’41 and ’43 Tullio Crali worked on tween 1931 and ’33, the spatial illusion cre- camouflage for the Italian Supreme Com- ated by perspectival foreshortening was ac- mand near Rome, and then in the camou- centuated by the layering of abstract forms flage centre in Macerata.226 Called to arms and polymaterial textures.230 This period in ’41, Munari was sent to an anti-aircraft saw the beginning of Munari’s collabora- battery not far from Milan.227 It is possible tion with La Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’I- he had a chance to work on camouflage talia, where he soon published two aeropic- patterns; but even if he did not, it seems |45| torial compositions with an athletic theme: clear from a number of illustrations he did despite the typical presence of geometric during this period that he was quite inter- elements, the first was dominated by a cari- ested in it. Certainly his study of percep- caturesque tone, while the second included tion-based figure/ground relationships was a photographic cut-out that was one of his the logical source of his additional research very first photomontages.231 Yet the im- into negative/positive visual relationships age’s layout remained pictorial, much like carried out in the 1950s. This new line of |44| the illustrations done for Natura toward pictorial research—like the one into organ- the end of ’32, in which cosmic overtones ic forms and textures—was reflected in his graphic work as early as the 1940s, as can 225 . La Lettura xxix; 1 228 . See for example, |43| be seen in a few covers for novels published (January 1939). 19×28 cm, the cover of Donald John by Bompiani.228 pp.84. Hall’s novel Spinosa ospita- 226 . Cf. www.tulliocrali. lità. Milan: Bompiani, 1943⁴ it, last accessed November (1938) [orig. title: Perilous 2010. sanctuary]. Letteraria se- 227 . Cf. letter to Za- ries. 12×21 cm, paperback, From the cosmic style to photomontage vattini, undated but evi- pp.301. The image on the dently from the end of 1941, dust jacket has a green In the early 1930s, as Munari’s painting in which he speaks of a background and a piece of and sculpture tended toward a more open ‘month-long licence’ (Ar- bark with the title in the chivio Zavattini, Biblioteca middle. The actual card- abstraction—as an observer noted as early Panizzi, Reggio Emilia: Za- stock cover has the series’ as 1931, ‘Munari, the youngest of all, is vattini/Munari correspond- standard typographic lay- ence m844/4). For a more out, with the publisher’s gaining ground in abstract interpretations recent quote, Munari him- logo. self said: ‘At the beginning 229 . Vittorio Orazi. ‘La that reveal the temperament of an origi- I did not go to war. I was mostra di aeropittura’ in La nal, self-assured artist through their visual rejected because of a prob- Rivista Illustrata del Popolo 229 lem with my chest (…) and d’Italia viii; 11 (November balance and pictorial harmony’ —his in the last year I was sum- 1931): 49–51. This was a moned to an anti-aircraft review of the Futurist show battery just outside Milan at the Galleria Pesaro in au- (…) It was a sad experience, tumn 1931; the article opens under a mafioso, profiteer- with a reproduction of Mu- ing commandant. (…) I was nari’s ‘Sosta aerea’. having stomach problems 230 . Cf. Ravaioli 1998: at the time and kept going 22; Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 83. to the infirmary, to no avail, 231 . ‘Il tifoso’ in La Ri- but then a doctor sent me vista Illustrata del Popolo home for something I did d’Italia viii; 12 (December not even have: that, too, 1931): 72¹; and ‘L’inutile was part of the Surreal- acrobazia’ ivi ix; 2 (Febru- ism…’ (in Branzi 1984: 42; ary 1932): 70¹. Cf. Di Cora- cf. also Manera 1986: 153). to 2008: 218

Futurism, advertising, rationalism rendered with a map-like precision were hand Munari absorbed the specific stylistic predominant,232 and the commemorative elements of aeropainting through the work illustration published in La Rivista Illustra- of Prampolini, Fillìa, and Diulgheroff, all |48| ta del Popolo d’Italia in August 1933, whose of whom worked in the cosmic vein;237 on subject matter, although reminiscent of a the other, he kept abreast of metaphysical 94 previous cover, took on an unusually meta- 233 232 . ‘Meteora e pianeta altered photomontages: the phorical aspect. spento’ and ‘Viaggio nello first was for a short article Elsewhere Munari made graphic modi- spazio’ in Natura v; 11–12 by Guglielmo Marconi (an (Christmas double issue, antenna and two electrical fications to photographic elements so as 1932). See also Raffaele poles are depicted against a to insert them into aeropictorial composi- Carrieri’s article ‘Munari: starry sky dominated by an illusionista degli spazi’ in eclipse); the second was for tions without creating an excessive break the same issue (ivi: 67–70). Gino Rocca’s article ‘Scena- Munari’s interest in carto- rio della nuova Italia’ (on from the overall atmosphere. He soon graphic marks emerges in top of chimney silhouettes adopted this technique for the covers that many of hiw works, both obtained through multi- pictorial and graphic: see, ple printing, several image most closely approached propaganda, and for example, Cartina co- boxes show a group of citi- it can also be seen in the illustrations pub- smica, 1930 (reproduced in zens and, overlapping them, the catalogue Officina del two theatrical masks, sym- |96| lished over the course of ’33 in L’Ala d’Ita- volo, 2009: 150–1) and the bolising comedy and trag- 234 wall map he made for the edy); the third was dedi- lia and again in May ‘34 in La Rivista V Triennale in 1933 (repro- cated to the Italian advance Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia,235 in which duced in Natura vi; 6 June into East Africa (illustrated 1933: 42–3). by two photographic col- graphic and photographic interventions 233 . ‘Volo di Verona del lages portraying two roman combine, proving that it was one of Mu- 2 agosto 1919’ in La Rivista swords). Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia 237 . Munari’s relation- nari’s tried and true procedures. In later xi; 8 (August 1933): 66. The ship to the two leaders of composition recalls the the Turinese Futurists, Fillìa examples—like the illustrations published crash in which a few pilots (Luigi Colombo, 1904– in La Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia lost their lives (including 1936) and Nicolaj Diulghe- 236 Tullio Morgagni, the sports roff (1901–1982), although |47| in November 1935 —the compositions journalist who founded the unintense, seem to have were still a combination of drawing and first Giro d’Italia, as well involved a mutual respect: as the magazine director’s in an article in L’Ufficio photography, but the latter was domi- brother), and features an Moderno (vii; 11, November image that, beyond the sym- 1932), next to the work of nant, and is evidence of his transition to bolic value of the plough, Ricas and Munari, three photomontage. also formally echoes the trade show installations by subject matter on the cover Diulgheroff are reproduced; of the April 1932 issue of Munari had worked with Natura (Di Corato 2008: him on the Almanacco dell’I- 222). talia veloce and more recent- Influences 234 . ‘I cento soldati di ly on d’Albisola’s tin lithos. Balbo’ in L’Ala d’Italia xii; Beyond their occasional Up to that point, as we have seen, Munari 7–8 (July/August 1933): 48. encounters (like at the Fu- utilised many different visual languages, 235 . ‘Giuochi atletici’ turist-inspired soirée organ- in La Rivista Illustrata del ised by L’Ufficio Moderno in going progressively from mechanical pup- Popolo d’Italia xii; 5 (May February 1931), Munari also pets to comics, aeropictorial illustration, 1934): 13. The composition had a direct relationship depicts jumping athletes: with Fillìa, and in particular and realism. Beginning in 1932–33 his ex- aside from the aeropicto- with La Città Nuova, the rial backdrop, it is similar to architectural and applied pressive repertoire became more clearly the contemporary photo- arts bimonthly he directed: defined, and this change indicates new montages published in the although it does not seem to Almanacco fascista del Popolo have published any images points of reference. Indeed, on the one d’Italia 1934 xiii (repro- or texts by Munari (aside duced in Lista 1985: 79). from a brief declaration on 236 . La Rivista Illustra- aeropainting in issue no.1, ta del Popolo d’Italia xiii; 6 February 1932), in a 1934 11 (November 1935): 58–9, letter to d’Albisola Munari 67, 127. This was a celebra- mentions having written tory issue dedicated to the to Fillìa to praise the maga- Fascist accomplishments of zine’s layout (by Ugo Pozzo), the previous year, including but adds, ‘Oh! My poor numerous illustrations and pages (...)’, which suggests photomontages by Ricas/ that he had written an arti- Studio Boggeri, Carboni/ cle or perhaps overseen the Studio Boggeri, Nizzoli, layout of a particular sec- Depero, and Munari, who tion (undated letter, 1934, contributed three manually in Presotto 1981: 147).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 and surrealist developments through the regularly distributed in Italy in the early European examples he saw reproduced in 1930s included: Cahiers d’Art, Cercle et Car- foreign publications. Despite the closed ré, Abstraction-Création, and Art Concret for intellectual climate imposed by the regime, art; L’architecture d’aujourd’hui and special 94 consumer culture—cinema, comics, sports, editions of the Éditions Cahiers d’Art for 95 and popular music (from America and architecture; Arts et métiers graphiques, La elsewhere)—enjoyed a degree of flexibility Publicité, Gebrauchsgraphik (distributed by and was sometimes able to slip through the publisher Görlich), Commercial Art, the censors’ sieve, such that a few foreign Farbe und Form (published by the Reimann publications on the applied arts and archi- Schule in Berlin), and the series of Bau- tecture were circulating in some of Milan’s hausbücher and technical periodicals like bookshops.238 In addition to the book- Deutsche Drucker, Archiv für Buchgewer- shops affiliated with the Galleria del Mi- be und Gebrauchsgraphik for commercial lione and Lino Pesaro gallery, a few others graphics.243 are worth mention: first and foremost the A few significant encounters between Libreria Salto,239 a constant point of refer- the Milan’s cultural scene and the Central- ence for the spread of modernist culture in European exponents of Surrealism and Milan; the Futurist bookshop run by Um- Constructivism are also worth mention: as berto Notari; and the publishers Sperling & early as 1927, at the III Mostra Internazio- Kupfer and Editoriale Domus, who acted as nale delle Arti Decorative (Third Interna- commission-based merchants for the pub- tional Decorative Arts Exhibition) in Mon- lications reviewed in their magazines.240 za, the Soviet Union had presented five And it is likely that the Futurist Headquar- sections, including one dedicated to books ters in Milan also had a library or archive. and photography, which included contem- Certainly, as Giuseppe Salto recalled, such porary film posters (Prusakov, the Stenberg ‘openness to the world, in a country as pro- Brothers) that had never been seen in Ita- vincial and backward as Italy, could only ly;244 and in ’33 the exhibition installation last a few years’, more or less into the mid-

1930s, when the Italian involvement in 238 . Cf. Forgacs, Gun- 242 . From an advert in Spain and annexation of Ethiopia sparked dle 2007: 272–3. the bulletin Il Milione, pub- 239 . Opened in 1933 by lished by the eponymous a return to autarchic order and restrictions, Alfonso Salto, the Libreria Milanese gallery and edited Salto was a bookshop spe- by Giuseppe Ghiringhelli ending up in stark wartime isolation- cialised in Italian and for- (bulletin of 7 November ism.241 As for art galleries, the Milione, Tre eign publications on archi- 1933, cit. in Pontiggia 1988: tecture and the applied arts. 16). Arti, and a few other exhibition spaces of- Located in the rear court- 243 . The magazines fered ‘free entry and consultation of books, yard of via Santo Spirito 14, mentioned here were regu- in the postwar period it larly distributed in Italy: newspapers, and art and literature maga- was run by Alfonso’s sons see the announcement in Giuseppe and Giancarlo, Campo grafico (no.5, 1935: zines. [Access to] the modern debate in its who also made it available 65) and various reviews in entirety’, as a period advertisement pro- as an exhibition space. In the bulletin Il Milione. Cri- 242 particular, it was the centre spolti (1992c: 81) mentions claimed. The international magazines of many events surrounding Minotaure as a source, but the Movimento Arte Con- the magazine run by Albert creta (mac Concrete art Skira appeared only in 1933, movement) (Salto 1996: 6; well after the first evidence also Piera Salto, interview of Surrealism showed up in with author, 15 July 2009). Munari’s work (cf. Di Cora- 240 . Di Corato 2008: to 2008: 213). 217 and 217n. 244 . At the time, the 241 . Nevertheless, al- striking contrast between though it catered to a small Russian posters and the clientele, the Libreria Sal- narrative style predominant to continued importing in Italian posters provoked books from around the unmistakably perplexed re- world, even during the war, actions (Mori 2007: 64). through neutral Switzerland (Salto 1996: 7). Futurism, advertising, rationalism curated by Paul Renner for the Mostra I was continually keeping on top of things, delle arti grafiche (Graphic Arts Show) of looking for books and publications (…) but I did not have any direct ties. (…) I was try- the Deutsche Werkbund at the V Triennale ing to assimilate those developments through caused a stir; on a more local level, in Janu- the newspapers, in whatever field they hap- ary 1932 the Galleria del Milione mounted pened to be in, because I’ve never considered 96 art to be divided into separate fields.248 an exhibition of French painting, including work by Max Ernst, which had significant consequences for Munari’s work;245 in ’33 Munari’s exposure to such a range of Villani of L’Ufficio Moderno organised an stimuli pushed his visual language in two exhibition titled Cartello internazionale e distinct directions: on the one hand, he cartello nazionale rifiutato (International developed a taste for the semantic bait and Poster and National Reject Posters), which switch between graphically heterogeneous included the work of Bayer, Moholy-Nagy, elements, clearly inspired by Ernst’s col- Carlu, Cassandre, and the Russian con- lages; on the other, he deployed recurring structivists; and through the mid-thirties metaphysical elements influenced by the there were solo shows by Kandinsky, Vor- work of Herbert Bayer, which ended up en- demberge-Gildewart, Albers, and Bau- riching and transforming his sense of aer- meister.246 Although Munari did not travel opictorial space.249 A key example of this is much, his indirect personal relationships |49| his cover for the January 1933 issue of Na- with artists and intellectuals must not be tura, a suggestive composition wherein the underestimated—at a time when modern surrealist transformation of the Futurist means of communication (like the telephone) were just beginning to take hold 245 . During the show 247 . Crispolti (1969: copies of Ernst’s romans- 13) mentions—à propos of in Italy, these contacts were a fundamental collage were probably avail- the Lombard abstraction- vehicle for exchange. One example from able for purchase through ists affiliated with Milanese the bookshop. In these Futurist and rationalist close artistic circles was the ‘travelling works—La femme 100 têtes circles—trips to Paris taken (1929) and La jeune fille qui by Veronesi, Licini, Reggia- salesman of Marinetti & Co.’, as Pram- rêvait d’entrer au Carmel ni, and Veronesi’s personal polini was known, who lived in Paris for (1930)—Ernst carried the contacts with Moholy-Nagy, technique of the ‘disorient- Vantongerloo, Max Bill, and extended periods and was in contact with ing collage’ to its fullest Delaunay. The ironic state- nearly all the European art movements; he heights. ment about Prampolini was 246 . The exhibitions by Ivo Pannaggi, quoted in also knew the fairly nonconformist artists at the Galleria del Milione Verdone in Crispolti 1995: generally lasted a fortnight 50. Paladini was a vital link Vinicio Paladini and Ivo Pannaggi, the only or so. Aside from the afore- to Russian visual culture Italians to gain in-depth experience with mentioned ‘Tre pittori di during the 1920s, while Parigi: Jean Lurçat, Max Pannaggi played a key role the Soviets; finally, his friend Luigi Vero- Ernst, Louis Marcoussis’ (9 as a foreign correspondent nesi knew Moholy-Nagy personally and January 1932), other show in Berlin for many archi- included ‘Wassily Kandins- tecture newspapers and exhibited with Albers at the Galleria del ky’ (24 April 1934); ‘Fre- magazines. 247 derick Vordemberge-Gil- 248 . Munari in Branzi Milione in 1934. dewart’ (15 October 1934); 1984: 42. As Munari himself recalled: ‘Josef Albers/Luigi Veronesi’ 249 . Many critics cite (23 December 1934); ‘Willi Bayer with regard to the Baumeister’ (25 May 1935); metaphysical overtones ‘Arp, Domela, Kandinsky, in Munari’s work: see Cri- Magnelli, Seligmann, So- spolti (1992: 92) regarding phie Täuber Arp, Vézelay’ (5 the pictorial work, Tanchis March 1938); in the field of (1987: 28, 45) regarding the graphics, the Esposizione graphic work. Neverthe- del cartello internazionale less, such references remain e del cartello italiano ri- fairly generic, and do not fiutato, organized by Dino indicate how Bayer’s graph- Villani of L’Ufficio Moderno ic and pictorial work would (June 1933), and a solo show have spread in Italy: at least by Xanti Schawinsky (Sep- Di Corato (2008: 217) pro- tember 1934). Cf. Pontiggia vides some information on 1988: 104. reproductions and reviews of it in the press.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 legacy appears complete.250 This photo- vocabulary, Bayer aimed not so much at montage, which depicts a sort of meta- decontextualisation and disorientation as physical dialogue between a Greco-Roman ends in themselves, but rather more for an bust and an ultra-modern, metal tubular evocative atmosphere, made up of concrete 96 chair,251 is noteworthy in many respects. objects set within an irreal space, the end 97 It shows not only a perfect integration of target being mass communications.257 The photography within pictorial space, but allusion to the classical world falls into this also a radical leap forward compared to the approach; above all—especially in Fascist esoteric evocations of cosmic aeropaint- Italy, which was increasingly interested in ing.252 A number of illustrations published returning to the image of ancient Roman in ’32–33 in Natura, L’Ala d’Italia, and La monumentality—such a stance took on a Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia docu- strong nationalist resonance, if not explicit ment this transitional style.253 consensus. It is therefore difficult to sort out the references that are at work in the |50| cover Ricas and Munari designed for L’Uf- Bayer and Moholy-Nagy ficio Moderno inMay 1935, and although it The playful approach Munari took to such is technically a photomontage, it can be illustrations is similar to Bayer’s visual grouped with the aforementioned illustra- advertising vocabulary, and well ahead of tions featuring altered photographic im- its first appearance in Italy in the pages of ages. The cover depicts the face of a Roman Natura,254 Munari must have been aware 250 . Natura vi; 1 (Janu- no.18, July 1930) and reap- of his refined style, as the presence of the ary 1933). 26×34 cm, pp.84. pear in Bayer’s work for the classical imagery proves.255 It is difficult 251 . Just introduced in Studio Dorland throughout Italy by Columbus, under the 1930s (see the exhibi- to think of any other explanation for cer- licence from Wohnbedarf, tion catalogue Das Wunder tain formal similarities between Munari’s Zurich (1932). des Lebens and the advert 252 . Prampolini’s pic- for Adrianol, 1935), just as graphic work of this period and the rarely torial works focus on the they did in the work of his transfiguration of apparent friend and colleague Xanti exhibited compositions hovering between reality: ‘I see aeropaint- Schawinsky (the poster for the abstract and the surreal that Bayer ing as a means for crossing Princeps Cervo, 1934). The 256 over the frontiers of visual atmosphere of this work painted between 1925 and ’28. The most realities (…) and experi- owes more to the metaphys- characteristic images include amorphous encing the occult powers ics of de Chirico than to of cosmic idealism’ (from Surrealism. bodies, animated geometries, clouds, and ‘L’Aeropittura. Valori spir- 256 . In 1929 Bayer ituali della plastica futurista’ exhibited drawings and stage sets, all recurring elements in Muna- in Futurismo i; 4–5, 1932, cit. paintings at the Galerie ri’s aeropictorial work. In the advertising in Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 82). Povolozky in Paris and 253 . See the composi- the Künstlerbund März work of Bayer’s Berlin period, he proceeded tions at the beginning of in Linz, Austria; in ‘36 he in similarly proto-surrealist vein, tak- Raffaele Carrieri’s article exhibited at the Salzburg in Natura v; 11–12 (Novem- Kunstverein. His paintings ing them into his own graphic repertoire, ber/December 1932): 67; had never been exhibited ‘Amori subacquei’ in Natura in Germany, although a which clearly echoes surrealist work as vi; 7 (July 1933): 58; ‘I 42 number of his works were much as functionalist typography. And yet, minuti di Colacicchi’ in in German museum collec- L’Ala d’Italia xii; 2 (February tions—such that they were even though he made use of that visual 1933): 12–3; ‘Vertigini’ in eventually included in the La Rivista Illustrata del Po- ‘degenerate art’ exhibitions polo d’Italia xi; 2 (February of 1937–38 (Cohen 1984: 41, 1933): 74. 56n, 404–5). 254 . Article by Luigi Poli, 257 . Cohen 1984: 25–8, ‘Herbert Bayer, un maestro 43, 404n. Bayer was among dell’arte grafica’ in Natura the artists selected for the vi; 11–12: 53–60. Dada and Surrealism retro- 255 . Greco-Roman stat- spective at the Museum of ues had already appeared Modern Art in New York in in the advertising work of 1936, and upon his arrival Alexei Brodovitch (see Aux in America he became as- Trois Quartiers, reproduced sociate more with Surreal- in Arts et Métiers Graphiques ism than with Modernism no.14, November 1929 and (ibid: 43).

Futurism, advertising, rationalism statue in an extreme close-up that con- most accessible source in early-thirties sumes the entire page; on half of it, con- |52| Milan regarding Bayer’s work was die neue veniently out of focus and divided along linie, a luxury women’s magazine also dis- the nose, a Futurist synthesis of Roman tributed in Italy.262 This German monthly iconography appears. The graphic render- 98 ing of the image leans toward abstraction, 258 . L’Ufficio Mo- return to the Futurists a derno x; 5 (May 1935). few years later). In 1927 he but the linear elements seem to be de- 21.5×28.5 cm. Cover signed co-launched a short-lived ployed more as stylistic touches than in any ‘Ricas+Munari’. This image surrealist movement, the 258 is similar to a photographic Movimento Immaginista functional sense. work Munari later made (Imagist movement). He Compared to Bayer, however, in the for the weekly Film, also could not stand Italy’s pre- reproduced in the Alma- vailing air of conformity, photomontage-based illustrations Munari nacco Letterario Bompiani and constantly travelled 1938 with the title ‘Antica e throughout Europe (France, seems to make the most of the paradoxical recente iconografia romana. Germany, Belgium, Rus- implications created by the juxtaposition La razza è sempre la razza’ sia), and finally settled in (ivi: 8). New York in 1938, where he of incongruous elements precisely in order 259 . This held to such stayed until 1953, working to create a surreal or comic atmosphere. an extent that his most as an interior architect and famous posters, even graphic designer. Rampant So one cannot help but wonder why he so though based on a dynamic McCarthyism forced him composition with the use to return to Italy, and his rarely turned to this type of composition in of montage, are neverthe- architecture and set-design his advertising work, and instead limited less done with pictorial, career were cut short by his not photographic means: sudden death in late 1971 its use to magazine illustrations. Obvi- see the posters Princeps (Baldacci 2006: 6–11; Lista ously the answer can only be partial and Cervo (1934), Esposizione 1985: 129; Lista 2001a: 220; Aeronautica Italiana (1934), Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 84, would require further proof, but by observ- Aranciata S.Pellegrino 194–5). (1935). His work for Olivetti 261 . Photographs by ing what was being produced in Italy at the was an exception, as were Bayer appear in Werner time—if, that is, even the work Schawinsky the works done within the Gräff’s Es Kommt der neue context of regime propa- Fotograf (Berlin: H. Recken- was doing in Milan appears conditioned by ganda (his 1934 ‘poster for dorf, 1929, published on prevailing pictorial tastes—one could con- the plebiscite’, published the occasion of the Film und in La Rivista Illustrata del Foto exhibition in Stuttgart) clude that the most significant damper was Popolo d’Italia), which and in a special issue of was to some degree more Arts et Métiers Graphiques the provincialism of patrons and clients responsive. dedicated to photography as well as the public in general.259 The fact 260 . Vinicio Paladini (no.16, mars 1930, ed. Wal- (1902–1971), painter, archi- demar George); his adver- is that photomontage, which Munari be- tect, set designer, graphic tising compositions are re- gan to explore as early as 1930 following in designer, and art critic. produced in Publicité, edited Born in Moscow to a Rus- by Cassandre for the L’Art 260 the footsteps of Pannaggi and Paladini, sian mother but raised in international d’aujourd’hui Italy, he kept close ties to series (Paris: Editions d’Art gradually allowed him to distance himself Russian culture. He was Charles Moreau, 1929). from Bayer’s influence and find his own self-taught, and joined the Two articles on Bayer were Futurist movement in 1922; also published in Gebrauchs- more controlled, minimal style halfway along with Pannaggi he graphik: ‘Umbo–Herbert between the allusiveness of surrealist illus- wrote the Manifesto dell’Ar- Bayer’ by Kurt Hirschfeld te meccanica and presented (no.7, 1930: 44–51) and tration and the dynamic contrasts of con- the Ballo meccanico futurista ‘Herbert Bayer’ by H.K. at the Casa d’Arte Bragaglia. Frenzel (no.5, 1931: 3–19) structivist work. He earned a degree in archi- (Droste 1982: 198). Apart from occasional reproductions tecture (1931), and in the 262 . Published from 261 years between the wars he 1929 to 1943 by the Verlag included in collections and articles, the worked as both an art critic Otto Bayer in Leipzig, which and set designer for both specialised in women’s theatre and film, as well magazines, die neue linie as doing work in graphic was a relaunch of the ear- design and exhibition de- lier magazine Frauen-Mode, sign (Padiglione dell’Ope- with a new editorial ap- ra Nazionale Maternità e proach and important rede- Infanzia, at the Exposition sign by Moholy-Nagy. Un- Internationale in Brus- der the direction of Bruno sels, May 1935). Russian E. Werner and Arndt Bayer, constructivism was a major the magazine was an imme- infuence on his aesthetic diate commercial success, and ideological stance, an with an average print run in 1923 he publicly broke of 35 thousand copies. Of from Marinetti (only to these, approx. 10 thousand

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 stood out on newsstands and major Italian entrusted to significant photographers like hotels thanks to its unusual large format Umbo, Erich Salomon, Cecil Beaton, and and elegant graphics, which reflected the Germaine Krull.265 interests of its bourgeois target audience: This discreet yet constant presence 98 fashion, domestic lifestyle, travel, and cur- within the Italian press could explain the 99 rent events, all presented from a modern broader interest in Moholy-Nagy and Bay- angle. Its publishing strategy included a er’s work—which spread beyond the closed rather sophisticated graphic presentation, circles of Milan’s avant-garde even before which can be traced back to the formal the well known Werkbund exhibition innovations of the constructivist new ty- at the 1933 Triennale.266 Indeed, within pography: indeed, its typographic design the covers of die neue linie it is possible to and art direction were entrusted to László identify the themes and graphic cues later Moholy-Nagy and Herbert Bayer, with the found in Munari’s work, after he had as- collaboration of many former Bauhaus similated them in various ways.267 On the students (including Irmgard Sörensen- other hand, even though it was not the Popitz, Kurt Kranz, and Georg Teltscher). sole stimulus for the revivification of the Aside from a series of photographic cov- graphic arts in Italy, die neue linie neverthe- ers, Moholy-Nagy also designed the format less is a concrete example of the channels and layout, which remained essentially the through which that generation of adver- same up until the war years, while Bayer tising designers absorbed certain aspects designed the masthead, set in his famous of Central-European modernism—and in universal alphabet, and numerous cov- particular the stylistic elements less directly ers.263 Moholy-Nagy determined the pe- linked to rationalist architecture, which in culiar visual style of die neue linie’s covers Italy was the main vehicle for the spread of through images based on a combination the new typography. |51| of photomontage and various illustration were distributed abroad, neue linie remained one of techniques, from line drawing to airbrush in over forty countries. A the biggest clients of the retouching, all characterised by an almost special issue dedicated to Dorland-Studio, which he Italy appeared in January was director of. surreal atmosphere. It was precisely that 1938, and another in Au- 265 . The colophon of approach that became Bayer’s distinguish- gust 1940 (Rössler 2009: 13, the first issue (Septem- 19, 25, 39, 73). As proof of ber 1929) credits ‘Prof. ing style, and he ably made use of montage the magazine’s circulation Moholy-Nagy, Berlin’ with in Italy, a spread from die the magazine’s cover and and the graphic manipulation of photogra- neue linie was reproduced typographic layout; both phy to create evocative images.264 Although in Guido Modiano’s article Moholy-Nagy and Bayer ‘Fotografia 1931’, published are listed as members of he translated such typo/photographic in Campo grafico ii; 12 (De- the editorial committee in principles into his own less radical version, cember 1934): 276–7. Addi- the December 1931 issue tional proof can be seen in (Rössler 2009: 29–33, 35, adapted to the realities of the commercial the magazine’s fairly broad 39–45, 47–53, 59). availability in the antique 266 . Photographs by press, Moholy-Nagy’s approach was also publications market (con- Moholy-Nagy appear in La reflected in the use of photography, which firmed by researcher Pa- Rivista Illustrata del Popolo squalino Schifano, in corre- d’Italia in June and August played an essential role and was often spondence with the author, 1933; the same year, Natura 21 May 2010). hired Bayer for the cover 263 . Presented in the and devoted an article to pages of the magazine Off- him in the December issue. set, Buch und Werbekunst 267 . For example, the no.7 (1926): 398–400. use of crumpled-up kraft 264 . Rössler 2009: paper to resemble rocklike 41–5. Moholy-Nagy did a forms (vi; 11, July 1935; by dozen covers in all, from H. Bayer) recalls similar the first issue (September work by Munari for covers 1929) to the May 1933 is- made in the postwar pe- sue; Bayer did 26, begin- riod; the cover image of the ning in 1930, espcially in August 1935 issue (vi; 12; the magazine’s early years; by E. Kreimer) recalls Mu- in any case, up until ’38 die nari’s mosaic cover for La

Futurism, advertising, rationalism [With Kandinsky, Braque, Picabia, and in Rome and Paris).269 It is important to Magritte I did not have] any personal rela- emphasise that, beginning with photo- tionship, just the awareness and study of their [work and] experiences, which I then tried montage, Munari almost simultaneously out so as to understand them better. Ditto began to try his hand with layout according for Man Ray, Duchamp, and a few others to constructivist principles, and there, too, 100 (…) I made all these acquaintances through the Galleria del Milione, or through friends one can reasonably conclude that Paladini who had been to Paris, especially Prampo- had a significant influence. lini (…) I’ve always dealt with graphics and Like many of his contemporaries, Mu- visual research (…) During that period I was following and experimenting with the nari knew Moholy-Nagy’s fundamental [work and] experiences of Arp, Bill, Schwit- theoretical text, Malerei, Fotografie, Film, ters, Cassandre (for the alphabets), Herbert published in 1925.270 The photographs re- Bayer, and others from the Bauhaus.268 produced in the book offered an up-to-date repertoire of the most recent international Photography research, which made it—alongside the Any consideration of the network of influ- special issue of Arts et Métiers Graphiques ences acting on a given artistic milieu, de- (1930) and the two collections published spite the risk of some schematic generalisa- on the occasion of the Film und Foto exhi- tion, is nevertheless useful for contextu- bition in Stuttgart (1929)—one of the first alising more precisely the activity of those international resources to reach Milan in working in the cultural field, especially in those years.271 Although he did not know a context as closed-off as Italy was during German, it was not hard for Munari to stay the Fascist period. Concerning the inclu- abreast of Moholy-Nagy’s main theories, sion of photography in Munari’s work, his which were more or less explicitly adopted initiation into photomontage took place, by almost everyone who favoured a revivi- even before the examples set by Moholy- fication of Italian photographic culture, Nagy and Bayer, through Paladini and Pan- which was still strongly tied to pictorial- naggi—artists who were in contact with Eu- ism.272 The significance of that text, which rope’s most significant avant-gardes, and whose graphic work Munari was certainly Lettura (April 1937). More Höch, and Moholy-Nagy familiar with, despite their marginal status than a direct lift, these himself), as well as a typo- were primarily cues taken graphic storyboard for a in the Futurist movement and their lack of for visual experimentation film about the city (Moholy- with texture. Nagy). The reproduced direct ties to the Milanese group (as both 268 . Munari in Quinta- images include, in par- lived in Rome). Likely of equal importance valle 1979: 15–6. ticular, many photograms 269 . Founded by Paladi- (Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray) was his discovery of the imagist move- ni along with Roman lite- and photomontages (Han- ment, which Paladini founded in 1926, and rati and artists (Dino Terra, nah Höch, Paul Citroen, Umberto Barbaro, Antonio Moholy-Nagy), as well as wherein Munari saw the same metaphysi- Fornari), the Movimento animated film sequences. immaginista championed 271 . Arts et Métiers cal atmospheres (Paladini actually knew an aesthetic somewhere be- Graphiques no.16 (March both De Chirico and his brother Alberto tween that of the Dadaists 1930), cit.; Werner Gräff, and metaphysicists, but was Es Kommt der neue Fotograf, Savinio quite well, and they often met up short-lived (Baldacci 2006: cit.; Franz Roh, Foto-auge 9–10). (Stuttgart: Akademischer 270 . The eighth book in Verlag Dr. Fritz Wedekind the Bauhausbücher series, & Co., 1929). In Munari’s published by the Albert close circle, the architect Langen Verlag in Munich in Enrico Peressutti, who had 1925 (and in a second edi- taken part in the Stuttgart tion in 1927). The volume exhibition in ’29, acted as consists of a theoretical a milanese spokesperson introduction (c.42 pp.) and for the new photographic a collection of a hundred or currents, and architects like so black-and-white photos Gian Luigi Banfi and Giu- (including work by Stei- seppe Pagano were excel- glitz, Renger-Patzsch, Man lent photographers (Paoli Ray, Lucia Moholy, Hannah 1999: 115).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 introduced Italy to the principles of pure experimentation with cronophotography— photography, was echoed in the contro- later abandoned because of the opposi- versies that erupted in trade magazines, tion mounted by the painterly current led fueling theoretical debate. In Italy, the by Boccioni274—it was not until 1930 that 100 argument had two opposing sides: accord- Tato’s Manifesto della fotografia futurista 101 ing to one, the ideal photography would be (Futurist Manifesto of Photography, 1930) subordinate to pictorial aesthetics; accord- appeared, whereupon Marinetti belat- ing to the other, it would explore the pho- edly condoned the field that many young tographic medium’s inherent possibilities. Futurists working in graphics had already It is significant that Moholy-Nagy’s book begun to investigate on their own. While was taken up as a fundamental reference contributions from the field of architecture by those in Italy who—like Boggeri, Persico, leaned more toward formalist or documen- and Ponti, that is, people outside of the tary photography, and advertising explored professional photographic circles—sought the technical possibilities of framing and to capture the essence of this ‘new vision.’ lighting to arrive at an abstract representa- Indeed, over the course of the 1930s the tion, graphic artists like Paladini, Pannag- influence of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New gi, Veronesi, Grignani, and Munari took Sobriety) movement found fertile terrain a more ‘technicist’ stance, which turned in Milan’s artistic and literary avant-garde to both optical/chemical procedures (like circles and cross-bred with the photo- double exposures, solarisation, negative graphic practices of advertisers, graphic prints, and superimposition/overlapping) designers, and architects. In addition to as well as experiments without any camera Persico’s reviews in Casabella, even a typo- at all—like photograms and photomontage, graphic magazine like Campo grafico dedi- in which the latent potential for interpret- cated ample space to the subject of photog- ing reality in a non-objective, conceptual, raphy, adhering to the precepts of the Bau- or even metaphysical way enjoyed free haus, which echoed throughout Boggeri, reign.275 Modiano, and Veronesi’s texts calling for

an optically pure visual language: 272 . Almost all the October 1913, by the group main theoretical texts on of Futurist painters includ- modern photography from ing Boccioni, Carrà, Rus- Another current (…) counters the pho- the early 1930s look to the solo, Balla, Severini, and tographic version of pictorial means, and ideas expressed by Moholy- Soffici, who excluded the trusts the inherent qualities of the me- Nagy: Antonio Boggeri idea of any link between the dium itself to produce a different way of (‘Commento’ in Luci e om- Futurist’s pictorial research seeing the world and all its objects, un- bre. Annuario della fotografia and the Bragaglias’ ‘pho- artistica italiana, 1929), Giò todynamism’. After 1914 veiling the hidden photogenic charac- 273 Ponti (‘Discorso sull’arte Anton Giulio Bragaglia left ter in never-before-seen images. fotografica’ in Fotografia, photography to focus on 1, 1932), Guido Pellegrini cinematography and thea- (‘La nuova fotografia’ in Il tre (Lista 1985: 8–9). Not that independent photographic Progresso Fotografico no.3, 275 . Zannier 1978: research was not taking place within 30 March 1933 and no.4, 30 70–1; Alinovi 1982: 409–11; April 1933; Pellegrini direct- Paoli 1999: 106–12; Pelizzari the Futurist movement, but after early ed the magazine Fotografia). 2010: 93–4. The broad hori- That same year, Moholy- zons of Fotografia, the an- Nagy published an article in nual published by Domus in Italian in Note fotografiche 1943, reflect the joint con- (‘Su l’avvenire della foto- tributions of architecture grafia’ in ix; 2, August 1932) and graphics: the review in- (Paoli 1999: 101–2, 105; cludes architects (Mollino, Alinovi 1982: 409–10). Pagano, Peressutti), graphic 273 . Antonio Boggeri, artists (Munari, Veronesi, ‘Commento’ in Luci e ombre. Steiner, Grignani, Nizzoli), Annuario della fotografia ar- film directors (Comencini, tistica italiana, 1929 (quoted Lattuada), photojournalists in Monguzzi 1981: 8). (Patellani) (Pelizzari 2010: 274 . See the ‘Av- 97–8; Paoli 1999: 109–11). viso’ published in Lacerba, 1

Futurism, advertising, rationalism Photomontage Various Milanese artists tried their In the early 1930s photomontage enjoyed a hands at photomontage, including Nizzo- fair degree of popularity in Italy as a form li, Veronesi, Carboni, Munari, and Ricas, of modern illustration in periodicals, pub- who preferred cropping and the syntactic lishing in general, and advertising, as well juxtaposition of photographic fragments— 102 as in the large-scale ‘fotoplastici’ (photo- often completed by the insertion of drawn mosaics) in trade-fair installations and portions—to the Futurists’ technique of exhibitions. ‘Photomontage is the only overlapping negatives. While superimposi- type of modern illustration’, Luigi Vero- tion lent itself to a poetic and psychologi- nesi asserted.276 Beginning with the very cal investigation of the subject,282 collage, first rudimentary Futurist attempts,277 the which worked with thematic short-cuts technique of photomontage appeared in based on the semantic recombination of Italy toward the mid-twenties, in the work |54| of Paladini and Pannaggi, who, thanks to |55| their close ties to Russian culture, helped 276 . Luigi Veronesi, covers of Dino Terra, Ioni. Pallavera [pseudonym of Milan: Edizioni Alpes, 1929; introduce Italy to the work of the Soviet writer and director Mario Diotima, L’orologio innamo- Soldati], ‘Del fotomontag- rato. Rome: Edizioni d’Italia, avant-garde. For both artists, that media- gio’ in Campo grafico ii; 12 1930; Elio Talarico, Tatuag- tion took place through both their im- (December 1934): 278; this gio. Rome: Edizioni d’Italia, 278 was a special issue focussing 1931; Dino Terra, Anima portant work in art criticism, as well on photography, including e corpo. Milan: Bompiani, as their own graphic work, modelled on articles by Boggeri, Modia- 1934; Armando Ghelardini, no, and Veronesi on ad- Malessere. Milan: Corbaccio, photomontage. Between 1926 and ’31 vertising photography and 1934 (reproduced in Lista photomontage (cf. Dradi 1984 and as ads in Almanac- Paladini created many covers with pho- 1973: 29–31). co Letterario Bompiani 1934). tomontages, in which Dadaist humour 277 . In 1915 Carrà and 280 . See, for example, 279 Dottori made their first the photocollage series melds with constructivist principles; his mixed collages, inserting titled Giochi olimpici, 1934 photomontages regularly appeared in the photographic fragments (reproduced in Lista 2001b: into their graphic compo- 238–40). The shift in tone magazines Occidente and Quadrivio, where sitions, but this practice was a consequence of the remained sporadic (Lista ‘imagist’ period, as Pannaggi they became characterised by large fields of 1985: 11). As Paladini wrote recalled: ‘(…) I went to Ger- colour, coloured papers, and photographic in 1929: ‘In Italy, as far as many (…), Paladini slowly I know, Ivo Pannaggi and faded, or just distanced fragments, with results similar to Bayer’s Vinicio Paladini were the himself from Futurism to advertising work.280 Compared to Paladi- only ones who felt the value focus more on his post- of this new art. The for- metaphysical loves (…)’ (cit. ni’s style, which was more attuned to visual mer expressed it through in Verdone 1995: 43). procedures influenced 281 . In Pannaggi effect than formal balance, Pannaggi’s by the constructivist aes- the influence of Russian photomontages have more controlled, sce- thetic, and the latter did models in particular re- so through what one could calls Rodchenko’s pho- nographic or set-like composition, and are call Proustian procedures’ tomontages for Vladimir also set apart by their subject matter, taken (‘Fotomontage’ in La Fiera Mayakovsky’s books (Pro Letteraria v; 45, 10 Novem- eto, 1923), while in his from mechanical art (Pannaggi and Pala- ber 1929; cit. in Verdone postal collages echoes con 1995: 40, 448). be seen of the abstract work dini penned the Futurist Manifesto of Me- 278 . In addition to the of Schwitters, with whom chanical Art, published in 1922).281 articles published in various he was in touch (Crispol- literary and art magazines, ti: 1995: 337–8; Lista 1985: Paladini’s book L’Arte nella 129; Fanelli, Godoli 1988: Russia dei Soviet (Rome: 84, 195). See the covers for: Ed. La Bilancia, 1925) is Vasari, Raun. Milan: Edizio- particularly relevant. From ni il libro futurista, 1933; the late 1920s Pannaggi SA Luciani, L’antiteatro. Il was based in Germany and cinematografo come arte. worked as a foreign cor- Rome: La Voce, 1928; IDieci, respondent for important Lo zar non è morto. Rome: magazines and newspapers. Edizioni dei Dieci, 1929 (re- 279 . Not just from produced in Lista 1984). avant-garde publishers 282 . From the Bragaglia (Edizioni d’Italia, Edizioni brothers to Depero, Tato, Alpes), but also from mass- Unterveger, Wulz, and oth- market publishers (Bom- ers: see Lista 2001b: 225–7, piani, Corbaccio); see the 234–51.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 elements taken from reality, allowed artists referents. Well aware of the new visual to build an image in a broader variety of language’s range of expressive possibilities, registers, from the grotesque to the satiri- Munari initially followed the ‘piled-up’ ap- cal, from the realistic to the surreal, from proach commonly used by the Dadaists, 102 the narrative to the abstract—which was with minimal reworking; but the mean- 103 the compositional formula developed by ing of the resulting images was not always both the Berlin Dadaists and the Russian immediately or clearly comprehensible. At constructivists.283 Nevertheless, compared the same time, and to an increasing degree, to the chaotic and subversive compositions Munari was exploring formulas of allusive of the former, the latter (Moholy-Nagy and narrative juxtaposition, which related and Rodchenko in particular) opted for an to his interest in the spatial possibilities of approach based before all else on the com- the composition, and were also quite simi- position’s coherence, capable of expressing lar to Moholy-Nagy’s work: an Uberrealität. Moholy-Nagy emphasised the constructive and conceptual aspect of Linear elements, structural pattern, close- up, and isolated figures are here the ele- this type of photomontage, which ments for a space articulation. Pasted on a white surface these elements seem to be are pieced together from various photographs embedded in infinite space, with [a] clear and are an experimental method of simul- articulation of nearness and distance. The taneous representation; compressed inter- best description of their effect would be penetration of visual and verbal wit; weird to say that each element is pasted on ver- combinations of the most realistic, imitative tical glass planes, which are set up in an means which pass into imaginary spheres. endless series each behind the other.285 They can however also be forthright, tell a story; more veristic ‘than life itself.284 In reality, a clear-cut demarcation between Basically, when compared to Dadaist an- the various types of photomontage is quite archy, this type of photomontage was seen rare: in any given composition the various as a form of calculated disorder, and pos- options are often simultaneously present, sessed a precise meaning and centre that regardless of one or another formula’s pre- allowed for its immediate comprehension; |56| dominance. The cover of the August 1932 and it is precisely in that form, thanks to issue of L’Ufficio Moderno exemplifies the its associative powers, that photomontage first tendency: the photomontage is limited gained its greatest popularity in the fields to a simple juxtaposition of two photo- of advertising and poster design as well as graphs symbolic of modernity (the Ameri- political propaganda. can metropolis and the crowd), but with a Munari’s first attempts at photomontage date back to 1932; they were published 283 . The principle of photogram: see, in particu- montage signals a break not lar, ‘Fotoplastiche Reklame’ as illustrations in the usual periodicals, only from the fine arts train Offset Buch und Werbe- and immediately showed his attentive dition, but above all a shift kunst no.7 (Leipzig, 1926: in the syntactic and seman- 386–394) and ‘Fotografie ist awareness of the key Italian and foreign tic levels of the image, as it Lichtgestaltung’ in Bauhaus ruptures the spatial conti- no.1 (Dessau, Januar 1928: nuity of Renaissance per- 2-9), both quoted in French spective and the coherence translation in the catalogue of the image (cf. Ades 1986: László Moholy-Nagy: Compo- 48, 107–9; Spies 1991: 11). sitions lumineuses 1922–1943. 284 . Moholy-Nagy, Paris, Centre Georges Pom- Malerei, Fotografie, Film, cit. pidou, 1995: 189–91 and (English translation, Paint- 193–7, respectively. ing, Photography, Film. Lon- 285 . Moholy-Nagy, don: Lund Humphries/mit commenting on the pho- Press, 1969: 36). Moholy- tomontage ‘Leda and the Nagy repeatedly revisited swan’ (1925) in ‘Space, his definition and practice Time and the Photographer’ of photomontage and (in Kostelanetz, 1970: 65).

Futurism, advertising, rationalism more visible intervention in the masthead, recall Moholy-Nagy’s assertions almost positioned at the centre of the two images literally: in order to create a visual connotation.286 The result still seems rough and somewhat One can, among other things, use it to sum- marise an entire film or theatrical work, tentative, in both the photographic ma- theatrical scripts or screenplays can be 104 nipulation and the lettering. And yet just condensed into a single image of this sort. a few months later, the same idea of pho- One can also use it to illustrate an idea or a feeling. [It can be used] for propagandist tographically describing the magazine’s ends, for advertising, for posters. [It can be field of interest (labour organization and used] to satirise the current times, etc.288 |57| advertising) translated into a cover that exudes an entirely different compositional Indeed, it is impossible to miss the relation strength and balance, thanks to a differ- to the comic and surreal realms Munari ent approach that is more informed about so readily explored in his photomontages, Moholy-Nagy and Baumeister’s work. The especially in his long series of illustra- image is centred on a perspectival play tions completed around 1936 for the more between a rationalist building and the fa- general-audience magazines with which he çade’s mosaic advertisement as observed by collaborated, dominated by an allusive or a group of passersby in the foreground: it is metaphorical exploration of the assigned a minimalist composition that, through a subjects. A good example is his composi- surrealist-inspired approach, constructs a tion ‘Per il quinto di secondo’, published space that is at once plausible and abstract, |58| in La Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia in wherein the perspective and contrast in 1932: this collage deals with athletics and scale create an impression of great depth, depicts a runner set to sprint, in front of a reinforced by the red background.287 The background featuring a large stop-watch composition’s synthetic nature and the and a photographic frame showing a crowd simultaneity of everything taking place of spectators. The image, which includes in the image appear fully in keeping with a few painterly interventions, shows his Moholy-Nagy’s postulations, according having surpassed the constructivist model to which photomontage’s resulting image, taken from Paladini, evident in its mini- aimed at expressing an idea, must be con- malism and rigorous spatial construc- centrated and economic in its means, so as tion.289 This example is accompanied by to quickly activate the viewer’s visual sen- many other, similar illustrations: the il- sations and mental associations. Munari lustration ‘Vertigini’, published in the seems to have closely followed Moholy- same magazine in February ’32; the cosmic Nagy’s instructions, which mention sim- |60| self-portrait and series of photomontages ple overlapping and the importance of the

verbal element—the title—in providing the 286 . L’Ufficio Moder- echo Persico’s work in nega- key with which to read the image. Even the no vii; 8 (August 1932). tive for the titles and head- 21.5×28.5 cm. The cover is lines of Casabella (see ‘Città context and applications of photomontage printed in duotone (black 1932’ in La Casa Bella no.59, and red). November 1932: 24–7), also 287 . L’Ufficio Moderno taken up by Munari in the vii; 11 (November 1932). Almanacco Letterario Bom- 21.5×28.5 cm. This composi- piani 1933. tion is unsigned, but in an 288 . Cf. Moholy-Nagy, advert for Studio r+m pub- ‘Fotografie ist Lichtge- lished in the following is- staltung’ in Bauhaus no.1 sue they specified that ‘The (Dessau, January 1928: cover of the previous issue 2–9), cit. was created by the scissors 289 . La Rivista Illu- of the painter Munari’. The strata del Popolo d’Italia x; masthead, in simple sanser- 6 (June 1932). Photo ill., if capitals, appears within 24.5×33.5 cm. Cf. Di Corato small white rectangles that 2008: 218–9.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 that accompanied the article by Raffaele the resulting image clearly suggests a Carrieri in Natura at the end of the same meaning, outlined in a metaphorical, sur- |61| year; the illustration ‘Amori subacquei’ in real, or, more often, comical fashion. And Natura, July ’33; ‘I bimbi d’Italia sui monti indeed, upon closer consideration, beyond 104 and al mare’ in the August ’34 issue of La the variety of forms it assumed, Munari’s 105 Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia, with work in photomontage throughout the a polymaterial inclusion; the composi- 1930s shows a constant quest for the inde- |59| tions published in the Almanacco fascista pendence of the visual register from the del Popolo d’Italia 1934; and the splendid verbal register, which gradually led him to two-page spread titled ‘Logica elementare free his images from their subordinate role |62| del rinnovamento’ published in Campo as mere illustrated comments. In the latter grafico in February 1935.290 All these com- half of the decade, in fact, his investigation positions show how, beyond the strictly into photography splits—focussing on the surrealist register, this type of montage (in one hand on surrealist collage inspired by Munari’s hands) was also ideally suited to Ernst, and on the other on the narrative experimentation with the straightforward implications of image sequences.292 expressivity of the image, through dynamic compositions and surprising associations. That approach also matches Veronesi’s L’Ala d’Italia vision—he viewed the composition in pho- The use of photography was not limited tomontage primarily as a question of sur- solely to the interior illustrations of L’A- faces, forms, and colours, which only later la d’Italia; beginning in 1934 Munari also are translated into photographic elements used it on the cover. Up until then the fit to obtain a ‘lyrical whole’; a pictorial covers of L’Ala d’Italia focussed exclusively composition, therefore, that refers to a spe- on illustration, with an advertising layout cific ‘narrative content’.291 And the atten- that was occasionally entrusted to vari- tion to content is one of Munari’s constant ous artists who then freely interpreted an preoccupations, obviously tied to the pub- aeronautical theme: for example, during lishing realm as well, where illustrations ’33 as a cover for Shell Munari and Ricas remain subordinate to the written text. proposed both an illustration (a schematic Certainly, even in his case the captions af- representation of the urban fabric, crossed fected the meaning of the images, specify- by an automobile and the shadow of an ing how they were to be read; but it was airplane) and a photomontage (an associa- rare that his compositions ever lacked their tion between various means of land, sea, own coherence and clear connection to and aerial transportation, unified within their given theme. Whether the montage the oil company’s trademark).293 Although makes technical use of the juxtaposition or overlapping of fragments, or is articulated 290 . In La Rivista Illu- 292 . The photomontage strata del Popolo d’Italia x; 2 types outlined by Zannier in a more complex and dynamic manner, (February 1932): 74; Natura (1988: 291ff), Ades (1986: v; 11–12 (Christmas issue, 48, 107–9, 116–88, 135–6), 1932): 67–70; ivi, vii; 7 (July and Pelizzari (2010: 89–90) 1933): 58; La Rivista Illu- are useful for such analysis. strata del Popolo d’Italia xii; 293 . These are two 8 (August 1934): 10; Arrigo original sketches now in the De Angeli (ed.), Almanacco collection of Maria Fede fascista del Popolo d’Italia Caproni di Taliedo, Rome. 1934 (reproductions in Li- One of the two drawings is sta 1985: 79); Campo grafico mounted on an earlier cov- iii; 2 (February 1935): 36–7, er, facilitating an exact date. respectively. 19×22 and 16.5×18.5 cm, 291 . Veronesi, Pallavera respectively. There is also a in Campo grafico ii; 12 (De- third sketch from the same cember 1934): 278. series, now in a private

Futurism, advertising, rationalism |63| the January 1934 issue respected the cov- Over the span of a few months, then, the er’s traditional advertising format, it also graphic layout Munari and Ricas developed heralded, in no uncertain terms, the use for the cover seems to have been accepted of photography on the cover with a richly |66| by the editorial team, but with the April concise conceptual image. Munari and Ri- issue, dedicated to the Esposizione Aeronau- 106 cas proposed an innovative solution based tica (Aeronautics Show) in Milan, Munari on minimalist photomontage, wherein once again changed the rules and used a the diagonal of the aircraft’s reflectors more radical photomontage, featuring the converge in the night sky above the hybrid profile of an aircraft in which typographic form of a bird/Stanavo-brand aircraft (the elements and photographs of the Palazzo underwriters) printed over it in red.294 dell’Arte (Giovanni Muzio’s brand-new In the following months the two design- building for the Triennale) and the nearby ers continued to propose photographic Torre della Radio (by Ponti) are collaged. solutions, even though they no longer re- The image’s iconic feel is the result of the mained anchored to one sole formula. The synthetic collage’s isolation within the |64| February issue saw the disappearance of blue background, the overall configuration the frame that held the masthead and de- (with intersecting diagonals), and the care- limited the image on all four sides; the cov- fully chosen photographs highlighting the er (unsigned, but certainly by Munari, who architectural structures and constructed is the first illustrator credited) adopted a forms of the aircraft.297 full-bleed image, once again a photomon- The following issues instead signalled tage, but of a different type, centred on the editorial team’s return to illustration, the juxtaposition of two photographs that and only toward the end of the year did are integrated with one another thanks to Munari’s name again appear on the cover, their dynamic cropping and chromatic sep- with a black-and-white photomontage aration of blue and sepia tones (the blue (this time more realistic) with which he colour also maintained its visual associa- |65| packages an inevitably striking Christmas tion with the previous issue and those to image: in the foreground is a pilot fly- come). The image shows a bunch of clouds ing a plane, and on the horizon, beyond ‘pierced’ by an aerial view of a city (prob- the clouds, a small comet appears, as if to ably Milan, where the Caproni company evoke a modern crèche.298 The cover of the headquarters recalled on the cover were following issue was again by Munari and located, on the outskirts of the city).295 Ricas, and again used photomontage, albeit This device was also used on the cover of with a return to more aeropictorial stylistic the March issue, with a different photo- elements. The duotone image has a back- graphic cropping yet similar effect (this ground gradient that goes from brown to time a group of biplanes stands out against blue, against which stylised profiles of air- the sky) that allows for the inclusion of planes are set, and through their shapes we an elegant, clear typographic summary.296 catch a glimpse of the clouds.299 This was

collection (I am indebted to and never again appeared Maria Fede Caproni for this on the cover of L’Ala d’italia, information). was set in Semplicità, and 294 . L’Ala d’Italia xiii; 1 the layout made able use (January 1934). 21×28 cm. of the type’s various bodies Cf. Schnapp 2008: 147–8. and weights. 295 . L’Ala d’Italia xiii; 2 297 . L’Ala d’Italia xiii; 4 (February 1934). 21×28 cm. (April 1934). 21×28 cm. Cf. 296 . L’Ala d’Italia xiii; Pelizzari 2010: 89–90. 3 (March 1934). 21×28 cm. 298 . L’Ala d’Italia The table of contents, which xiii; 12 (December 1934). was a one-time experiment 21×28 cm.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the last cover Munari made for L’Ala d’ita- print runs (quite respectable for the time, lia: soon thereafter the Futurist Filippo Ma- between 10 and 15 thousand copies).302 Its soero was appointed photographic director informal style was accentuated beginning of the magazine.300 with the 1934 edition, with a new octavo 106 format that left ample room for images 107 and photographs.303 It was precisely this Almanacco Letterario Bompiani visual aspect that, according to Munari, Compiling a list of the photography by Mu- characterised the Almanacco’s look during nari that appeared in the Almanacco Lette- that period: rario Bompiani between 1932 and ’37 reveals a body of work with varied degrees of qual- I made an effort to be sure that the image was never just a repetition of the text. I tried to set ity, and highlights his simultaneous crea- up a relationship between different images. tion of the different types of photomon- [I did so] a bit through Dadaist techniques, tage outlined above. The magazine was a through contrasts. Also with the techniques Max Ernst used in his collages. One time, for special kind of training ground for the art- example, I edited the calendar of the year’s ist, given the type of publication it was, the events [1935]. There was, I remember, a black intellectual context in which it was created, box with ‘New York was left in the dark’ written underneath. It was exhausting. For an and the tastes of the readership of the time. entire year I had to choose all the most impor- The publication offered a singular mixture tant events in the newspapers, cut them out, of serious and facetious work—something and archive the clippings. (…) [In the illustrations] I sought a visual parallel to the textual quite rare by the standards of today’s liter- tone, and I brought these images together and ary reviews—with the precise goal of being also tried to give them a pleasing, communi- popular and accessible. As Valentino Bom- cative aspect. It is almost the same principle by which one should do a book cover (…). It piani recalled, ‘Literature did not make the seems to me that [this type of visual commu- news. The publication’s excessive pleas- nication] was well received. The public does antness and agreeability were a deliberate not distinguish between one type of visual communication and another. Everyone’s attempt at giving the writers a semblance used to it, it is all over the streets (…).304 of “citizenship” and presence, to somehow 301 make them seem familiar’. Basically, the In the 1933 edition, Munari published a Almanacco Letterario was a new genre, hov- series of photomontages indicative of his ering somewhere ‘between journalism and eye for a wide variety of formal solutions criticism, between information and advertising’: in addition to literary reviews and 299 . L’Ala d’Italia xiv; 1 He volunteered in the Ethi- current-events columns, it also gave ample (January 1935). 21×28 cm. opian War, and made mag- space to cultural topics; and the carica- 300 . Filippo Masoero nificent photographic cov- (1894–1969), a member of ers for L’Ala d’Italia in 1937, tures, comic vignettes, and photomontages the Roman Futurists, was which are sometimes incor- a pilot, photographer, set rectly attributed to Munari were ‘intermezzos’ of sorts in which irony designer, and director. In (Lista 2001b: 268). and humour were given free reign. The 1926 he was appointed 301 . Bompiani 1976: 7. director of photography 302 . Ibid. Cf. Piazzoni formula was a success, judging from the and cinematography at the 2007: 55–64. Aeronautical Ministry un- 303 . Valli 1990: 14, 40, der Balbo’s reign, where he 51. From 1936 on, such free made documentary films spaces gradually diminished, and experimented with to the point where the war- aerial photography with time volumes have a much effects similar to those of more rigid structure and aeropainting; he went on more serious content (Valli to become director of the 1990: 22, 39). The 1937 edi- Istituto luce (L’Unione per tion, Almanacco antilettera- la Cinematografia Educa- rio, on the other hand, met tiva, the Union for Educa- with a fair amount of con- tional Cinematography, the troversy in the specialised State’s film institute, whose press (cf. Valli 1990: 56n). acronym also means ‘light’). 304 . Munari 1976: 10.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism and content.305 Of the dozen compositions creates connotations relating back to the |67| grouped under the title ‘Atmosfera 1933’ object represented in the silhouette (here, not all carry his actual signature, but their the female figure and rationalist architec- stylistic cohesion and type of humour hint ture).306 This was an original variant that at his hand. Some of them have paired- Munari also deployed in metaphorical and 108 down compositions based on the juxta- celebratory ways (for example, for L’Ala position of a few photos or photographic d’italia) but in other cases he used it for fragments (Anno Xº, Che cosa meravigliosa highly surprising formal experiments, like è l’uomo, Sport), others have pictorial or a photocollage (from the same period, but collage insertions (Ginevra, Dopo la guerra reproduced only in Libro illeggibile 1966) vien la pace, Arte moderna), and still oth- in which the human forms are ‘expand- ers are straightforward photographs with ed’ through the outline, which is thereby a humorous caption (Nudismo razionale). transformed and takes on new shapes.307 The images’ uniqueness lies in their preva- The contributions to the following vol- lent comic tone, at times vaguely surreal or ume, whose layout Munari edited—taking Dadaist. Regarding their content, on the full advantage of the new format—include other hand, the repertoire includes: more not only photomontages, but also photo- or less openly political themes, spanning grams, collages, and the first photographic from a metaphorical celebration of the |68| sequences. The few photomontages stay regime’s accomplishments (Anno Xº, Ra- within the humourous vein, and take aim dio) to facile satire against the enemies of at the traditionalist tendencies of Ital- Fascist Italy (Che cosa meravigliosa è l’uomo, ian art. And although they are not signed, Hanno eletto Roosevelt, Ginevra), to explicit many of the visuals interspersed through- war propaganda (Dopo la guerra vien la out the texts can be attributed to Munari, pace); and lighter subjects, which included as they are based on an ironic play between surprising effects (Sport, Arte moderna, Sex photographs and captions, and include appeal, Tendenze dell’architettura) or witty a Dadaesque collage titled Una vetrina del jokes (Nudismo razionale, Stars). While museo letterario dell’anno 2000.308 the caricatural or disorienting effects were generally created through changes in 305 . Almanacco Lette- Libro illeggibile, published rario 1933. Milan: Bompia- by the Galleria dell’obeli- scale and perspective, in certain instances ni, 1932. 15.5×20.5 cm. 12 sco, Rome, 1966 (cf. Maffei b/w photomontages titled 2002: 119). they come instead from the overlapping ‘Atmosfera 1933’: Anno Xº, 308 . Almanacco Lette- of unrelated forms to create interpreta- Ginevra (Munari), Dopo la rario Bompiani 1934. Milan: guerra vien la pace (Munari), Bompiani, 1933; cit. Munari tive tension: from this viewpoint, the most Radio (Manzoni), Che cosa contributed three photographically interesting photomontages meravigliosa è l’uomo (Mu- montages: Sogno di Carrà nari), Tendenze dell’architet- and Sogno di Sironi to ac- are Sex appeal and Tendenze dell’architettu- tura (Munari), Hanno eletto company the article ‘An- Roosevelt (photography), nata artistica’ (88); and the ra, which introduced the use of the biva- Nudismo razionale (photog- illustration V Triennale (91). lent object—an outlined shape filled with raphy), Stars (photography), Also attributable to Munari Arte moderna (Munari), Sex are a photomontage illus- photographs whose content is read and appeal (Munari), Sport. trating the article ‘Festa del 306 . One peculiar char- libro’ (19) and the Dadaist acteristic of photomontage collage Una vetrina del mu- is that the photographic ele- seo letterario dell’anno 2000 ments have a double aspect, (83), as well as various com- as they are first perceived ic illustrations with photo- as objects, and then as sym- graphs. The photographic bols (John Berger, The politi- sequence Vita privata dello cal use of Photomontage, cit. scrittore (33) is also inter- in Ades 1986: 48). esting, and likely portrays 307 . This photomontage Munari himself in the act is reproduced in a portfolio of making the gesture for consisting of loose sheets ‘silence’ (photographed by with photographs of the Egone), which foreshadows artist’s work, enclosed in his interest in gesture as a

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 In addition to the aforementioned the bordering realms of the photogram and legacies of Paladini and Pannaggi—one tied of collage. After taking a slight break from to Russian culture, the other to German the Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1935—in culture—and the impact of Moholy-Nagy’s which his role was limited to the layout 108 book, Milanese artists stayed abreast of |69| and a few drawings—in the 1936 edition 109 European artistic advances in the 1920s Munari returned to photomontage with through numerous avant-garde magazines renewed imaginative vigour.311 The unique tied to Dadaism and constructivism that aspect of these new compositions, done in were distributed in Italian artistic circles a clearly surrealist style, was the evident de- (from the Hungarian Ma to the Polish gree of maturity he had reached in combin- Blok), as well as through commercial pub- ing heterogeneous elements and accentu- lications from the advertising sector (like ating their dreamlike atmosphere, thanks Das Plakat).309 At the beginning of the also to his pictorial definition of space (in 1930s echoes of the Berlin photomontage contrast to his earlier collage on a plain exhibition mounted in 1931 by Domela white ground). The collection also includes probably reached Milan, as did word of form of language, further Berman’s photomontages other shows organised by members of the developed in the book Sup- actually took place in War- ring Neue Werbegestalter (New Advertis- plemento al dizionario italia- saw in 1936, with the Czap- 310 no, published in 1958 in a ka frygijska (Phrygian Cap) ing Designers), who used photomon- non-commercial edition by group, while from 1930 tage not only in their sculptural and visual Carpano (later reissued by on his attention shifted Muggiani in 1963) [Speak to realistic photomontage experiments, but even more often in their Italian: The Fine Art of the focussed on social satire. Gesture. San Francisco: Furthermore, the formal advertising work—even if it is hard to say Chronicle Books, 2005] resemblances can also be exactly how much of the commercial 309 . The magazine Ma explained in light of the (1919–25) founded and two artists’ shared points work by Domela, Zwart, Schuitema, Bau- directed by Lajos Kassak of reference: Lissitsky, meister, and Burchartz actually trickled with Moholy-Nagy, was Rodchenko, Klutsis, and the mouthpiece of the Moholy-Nagy. On Berman all the way to Italy. What is certain is that main currents in modern see Mieczysław Berman 1973. European art, with many 310 . Two exhibitions in Italy—with the exception of theoretical reproductions; Szczuka’s at the Gewerbemuseum texts, for which language was a virtually photomontages appeared in in Basel, Ausstellung Neue Blok (1924–26), published Typographie (1928) and Neue insurmountable barrier—reproductions by the eponymous group of Werbegraphik (1930) were remained the main vehicle through which artists (Strzeminsky, Szczu- among the most important ka, Berlewi); Das Plakat, in terms of public attend- people stayed informed. which was internation- ance, illustrated catalogue ally distributed, published publication, and (last but So, from his first experiments with many Dada photomontages not least) their geographic costructivism (an approach he continued (regarding avant-garde proximity to Milan. Cf. Hol- periodicals of the interwar lis 2006: 41–2; Lavin 1992: to use in situations tied to propaganda), years, see Bury 2008; cf. 39–41. Munari passed with ease into working with Ades 1986: 37, 116–8, 156). 311 . V. Bompiani et al. Lista insisted on the influ- (ed.), Almanacco letterario conceptual photocollage, which was more ence of Mieczysław Berman Bompiani 1936. Milan: Bom- (1903–1975), a Polish artist piani, 1935. 21×28.5 cm, flexible and adaptable to the allusive type who used photomontage paperback, pp. (lvii) 112 of illustration the press often requested, as a means of personal ex- (2). Munari oversaw the pression (id. 1985: 11–2; layout and contributed and took more or less frequent dips into id. 2001b: 220). However, some photomontages and that hypothesis is not very collages. The two photo- credible, insofar as—riffing montages are titled Il pub- on Heartfield’s work—Ber- blico che fotografa (48): in man did realist photomon- the first image, a photo of a tages focussing on social Greco-Roman statue and a issues. Despite some formal lion wearing eyeglasses are similarities in his first con- set against a background structivist photomontages of a branch-like structure (published in the literary (a negative print of tree magazine 1930), it is un- branches); in the second, a clear how Munari could representation of the vascu- have known his work, at lar system is placed in front least before the postwar pe- of a female figure playing riod: the first exhibition of golf.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism a series of photomontages by Erberto Car- square-format book composed solely of boni (others were included in the 1937 edi- colour photomontages; the compositions tion), whose visual language appears at consist of photographic and typographic first to have many points in common with clippings taken from period prints, without Munari’s work, and can be traced back any manual interventions, and are set up 110 to the same models. Yet, comparing their in a long sequence, with photomontages compositions, a fundamental difference covering one and sometimes two pages. In between the two artists becomes evident: its present condition it is impossible to compared to the minimalism of Munari’s determine whether this was a dummy for compositions, Carboni’s not only have a a publication that was never realised, a more technically polished look, but they storyboard for an animated film, or per- also have a more orderly structure, as well haps a personal divertissement made for as a greater degree of control over the com- a friend. Certainly—judging by the variety positional, photographic, and typographic and dynamism of the compositions, subtly elements—and often include classical ele- balanced along the thin line between for- ments similar to those in the work of Bayer mal experimentation and surreal humour— and Agha.312 Munari, for his part, never these photomontages are absolutely among seems to give up his natural inclination for Munari’s best work. They mine the artist’s ironic playfulness and disorientation, cre- most highly original vein, and can be con- ated by the subtle incoherence of juxtaposi- sidered among the most successful exam- tion, and it is precisely this aspect that sets ples of the art of photomontage in Italy. him apart from other artists working with The same is true of the following Alma- photomontage. |72| nacco antiletterario Bompiani 1937, in which everything, including the cover, is charac- The taste for graphic techniques has always terised by the good-humoured polemical been a kind of picklock for me, a tool for trying my hand at other, more articulated and tone of a call for a return to seriousness, a composite expressive forms and instruments natural consequence of the surrounding (…) As for my work in publishing (…) my first political climate.315 Munari, who was again commissions came from Bompiani for their first issues of the famous Almanacco letterario. one of the editors, contributed a notable I continued to work for that publication for a long time, producing results that were unani- 313 312 . Scudiero 1997: xxii. (isisuf), Milan. A few mously considered absolutely brilliant. The same is true of the pho- spreads are reproduced in tomontages produced by Maffei 2008: 52–3. the architecture group bbpr 315 . Emilio Radius, Dino (one appears in the 1935 Buzzati, Bruno Munari, To get a sense of Munari’s developed com- Almanacco, while others Valentino Bompiani (ed.), mand of this medium (outside of the pub- were exhibited at the Gal- Almanacco antiletterario leria del Milione in January Bompiani 1937. Milan: Bom- lishing realm), all it takes is a short look ’37 in the Mostra insolita di piani, 1936. 21×28.5 cm, pa- Arte Grafica e Fotografica; perback, pp.236. Munari’s through an extraordinary, one-off docu- see Pontiggia 1988: 22–3). photomontages include: An- |70| ment titled Le forze ignote dell’anima, which Other artists working in tidiluviani (117), Basta con la 314 photomontage in a comic or letteratura ortopedica (119), was recently rediscovered. This is a small, surreal vein similar to Mu- Basta con la letteratura da nari’s were Carlo Manzoni pianeti della fortuna (121), and Ezio D’Errico (a con- Basta con la letteratura da tributor to L’Ala d’italia and vin santo (123), Basta con editor of the typography la letteratura pullman (125), magazine Graphicus). Che manchi davvero qualcosa 313 . Munari in Borelli al mio sistema? (126), Poeti 1993: 110. (127), Nuove trame poetiche 314 . Le forze ignote (128), Un ignobile genere dell’anima. Unique copy, letterario (129), Situazione with original collages. della letteratura galante (130, 19×18 cm, pp.48, staple- for the text ‘Radio mattu- bound. Now in the archives tina’), La nostra radio quo- of the Istituto Internazio- tidiana (131), Fuori l’autore nale di Studi sul Futurismo (132, for the article ‘L’uomo

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 number of photomontages, photographic in the technically innovative use of col- sequences, and collages, as well as the cover lage—which is doubtless due to the influ- illustration. His photomontages in particu- ence of Ernst, to whom Munari seems to lar, which take aim at purportedly light- have paid explicit homage, much as he did 110 weight literary genres, are distinguished with the small collage included in the 1937 111 by their refined comic style (also evident edition.317 Indeed, collage was the medium in other work from the same period), and in which Munari did a great number of il- were made with an almost surrealistic col- lustrations (at least up until 1939), primar- lage technique. The main series has a back- ily for L’Ala d’Italia and La Lettura. Aside ground made up of newspaper clippings from Ernst’s earliest photographic collages, and other printed matter, on top of which which had been shown at the Galleria del he has created juxtapositions of photo- Milione in January of ’32, Munari’s pho- graphs and illustrations whose meaning is tocollages also drew inspiration from his completed by an ironic title, inserted into romans-collage, La femme 100 têtes (1929) the composition within a black ribbon. The and La petite fille qui rêvait d’entrer au Car- second series, alternated with the first, is mel (1930), which could be viewed and instead based on the juxtaposition of ti- bought at the gallery, and introduced the tles and curious images. Even if in some idea of using old print clichés as an expres- cases these illustrations were made to ac- sive material.318 Next to Ernst, Munari also company articles, generally speaking the likely took inspiration from the Feuillets full-page photomontages were no longer inutiles of the French artist Jacques Maret, subordinates of the written texts; rather, which was a unique poetry magazine inter- the image-based contributions had by now mittently published beginning in 1928 and assumed a parallel function within the publication, and were on par with the text- che viveva dei diritti d’auto- article ‘Peccati letterari’ re’, with drawings by Ricas) (42–3) and the volume also based contributions, to such an extent that and, toward the back of included a graphic scherzo the volume (after another titled Finito di correggere even the figurative arts reviews (overseen series of photomontages by le bozze dell’Almanacco, ho by Carboni) had a purely visual execution. Carboni), Carriera letteraria scritto una lettera d’amore a 40 anni (178) and Cinema (99). americano (179). Cf. Valli 317 . Almanacco antilette- 1990: 53; Piazzoni 2007: rario Bompiani 1937, cit.: 63 62–3. for Enrico Sacchetti’s arti- Surrealist collage 316 . Almanacco Lettera- cle ‘Niente da dire’. rio Bompiani 1936, cit. The 318 . ‘3 Pittori di Pari- Another significant innovation of Munari’s main collage, ‘Film docu- gi: Jean Lurçat, Max Ernst, contributions to the ’36 Almanacco is a col- mentario dell’anno 1935’ Louis Marcoussis’, Galleria (19–28) consists of the del Milione, 9–21 January |71| lage titled ‘Film documentario dell’anno series: Nascita dell’anno 1935, 1932 (cf. Pontiggia 1988: 1935’ which is a succession of small im- Punti nevralgici d’Europa, In 104). The collages, two of Germania, Il Giappone ha un which appeared in Foto- ages created with clippings from old line appetito da Gargantua, La auge, were exhibited for the 316 corsa agli armamenti, La de- first time at the Galerie illustrations. The importance of this linquenza è in aumento, Intel- Sans Pareil in Paris in 1921. long strip, which ironically comments on ligence service, La crisi fa un The magazine La révolution viaggio, Le pitture italiane a surréaliste (1924–29) was the salient events of the year, lies precisely Parigi, Venizelos arriva a Na- also a likely source of inspi- poli con i suoi non-Ministri, ration for Milanese artists, Inchiesta sulla fabbricazione not so much for photo- di armi a Washington, Wotan montage (which, outside of aspetta la sua ora…, Lindber- Ernst, was not much used gh inventa il cuore artificiale, by the surrealists), as much I pesci in fondo al mare si as for experimental photog- abituano all’uso del caffè, A raphy (photograms, solari- Hollywood: nozze e divorzio, sations, double prints, and Inchiesta su San Giuseppe, double exposures); in any Meteorologia delle stelle del case, Ernst’s collages were cinema, La moda è questione reproduced in the final is- di busti, Merci giapponesi in sue (Ades 1986: 116–8). On Mediterraneo. Other comic Ernst’s collages, see Spies collages were made for the 1991, and Aragon 1930.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism was repeatedly presented in Arts et Métiers and organic structures, which frequently Graphiques: Maret’s collage illustrations, returned in his work, in the most varied made from found papers of all sorts, were configurations. Aside from the mechani- modelled on the Dadaist taste for visual cal theme, which clearly came from Fu- play as an end in itself, nonsense, and sur- turism, no other personal subjects ap- 112 prise, in both the images and the selection pear in this work, nor is there any sign of of poetic texts they accompanied.319 The eroticism (which was an essential aspect work of Ernst and Maret showed Munari of even Ernst’s work) or engagement in how—unlike with photography, but rather social rather than political issues: instead, by combining fragments from an unusual there is a degree of convergence with the or past visual realm (independent of their graphic language of some cartoonists asso- literal meaning)—one could create the se- ciated with Bertoldo and Settebello—Mosca, mantic paradox or ambiguity that, trans- Manzoni, Guareschi—united by their use posed into the everyday context of printed of period typographic collage material for periodicals, readily lend themselves to their vignettes. Such mannered and em- comic play and humour. Thus, in the very phatic forms, associated with fin de siècle same publishing world in which he had bourgeois traditions—and therefore good created allusive and propagandist photo- alternatives to the bombastic rhetoric of montages, from the mid-thirties on the the regime—took on a highly ironic charge hybrid visual language of photocollage al- in the vignettes. Similarly, in Munari’s lowed him—in an increasingly suffocating photocollages the strange combinations political and cultural climate, as exempli- of forms and styles, often accompanied fied by the rapid shift in tone of the Alma- by piercing captions, could be compared nacco after ’36—to eke out a nonconformist to witty jokes, as they offer a humourous space in which he could express his natural openness not through comic illustration ironic and detached attitude.320 but rather through the technique of photo- Regarding the boldly surrealist bent of montage—much as Moholy-Nagy had pre- the juxtapositions, some of the photomon- dicted.323 Yet in this case an examination |73| tages Munari published in L’Ala d’Italia between 1933 and ’34 could be read as pre- 319 . See Max Jacob, 1934): 51–6 (Adone Nosa- views of his upcoming work as an illustra- ‘Feuillets inutiles’ in Arts et ri, ‘Mezzo pratico per non Métiers Graphiques no.38 divenire aviatore’); ivi xiv; tor, which appeared for the first time in (November 1933): 34–7 3 (March 1935): 18–9 (Fa- 1935.321 A refined, clearly surrealist-inspired and Jean-Marc Campagne, rinata degli Uberti, ‘Eliche ‘Papiers collés de Jacques e parole’), 31–3 (Emanuele |76| composition published in L’Ufficio Moder- Maret’, ivi no.45 (février Recchia, ‘Cos’è il “numero no is from the same period, albeit from a 1935): 61. di ottano”’), 55–57 (Menka 320 . After the call for a [Igino Mencarelli], ‘Passeg- 322 different field. Already in these early, return to order in the 1937 geri–Propaganda’); ivi xiv; 4 edition, and the mono- (April 1935): 33–36 (Federi- particularly successful attempts one can graphic issue dedicated go Valli, ‘Volerà o non vo- see his formal preferences for mechani- to Pirandello (1938), the lerà?’). Some compositions breezy tones that had char- from 1935 were made and cal structures (machines, motors, looms) acterised the Almanacco in signed together with Ricas. the early 1930s began to 322 . L’Ufficio Moderno dim, and the space given x; 5 (May 1935): 238, for the to photography and comic column ‘Consensi e dissen- illustration was reduced to si’. Tanchis emphasises the make way for the adoption frequent ‘mechanical’ rep- of a more serious tone in resentation of the human keeping with the regime’s body in photomontages and totalitarian, war-mongering collages, where it appeared evolution (Piazzoni 2007: in the form of anatomical 62–3). diagrams, one of whose 321 . L’Ala d’Italia xii; 10 sources he identifies as a (October 1933): 43–5 (P.M. medical atlas with plates on Bardi, ‘Volare: pensieri e transparent acetate (Tan- casi’); ivi xiii; 12 (December chis 1987: 14).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 of the circumstances leads one to see that allusion provide the key with which to read it was Munari’s work that had an influence the composition, which basically associates on his colleagues at Bertoldo, and not vice the role of the pilot to that of the poet.326 versa (as they shared friendships as well as The surrealist style of Munari’s collages 112 professional relationships).324 with prints and photographic clippings 113 Even without occupying an exclusive grows even stronger toward the end of the spot within his larger versatile œuvre, Mu- decade; they continued to accompany ar- nari’s work on collage illustrations hover- ticles with a relatively lightweight tone, for ing between the surreal and the humour- which he produced brilliantly concise and ous intensified in 1936, in particular in humourous images, like the series for ‘La L’Ala d’Italia, where they were included retorica del primo amore’, evidently an alongside more straightforward visuals as homage to Ernst and Maret, the double well. In general, they illustrated literary article ‘Realismo ed egocentrismo’ and texts (autobiographical memoirs, articles |77|‘Tipi e temperamenti’, and ‘L’aeroplano about customs and lifestyle), and more innamorato’, which proved the variety of rarely popular science or technical texts. his repertoire, in addition to being his last Even where the single images do not have documented collaboration with L’Ala d’Ita- any particular value or appear to be too lia.327 By 1938, in response to the changing |75| stylistically different325 a degree of cohe- cultural and political climate, the maga- siveness is guaranteed by the conceptual zine was returning to the use of more sober uniformity of the whole, which acts as a 323 . Moholy-Nagy: ‘Les della produzione’ ivi xv; 8 bemused and complementary commentary humoristes de l’avenir ne (August 1936): 13–16. to the readings. The best examples are nev- travailleront vraisembla- 326 . L’Ala d’Italia xv; blement plus à partir de 10–11 (October/November ertheless those in which the image is not dessins mais à partir de 1936). This issue contained only surprising but also has its own pre- photoplastiques’ (from ‘Fo- numerous photo illustra- tografie ist Lichtgestaltung’ tions with colour photo- cise iconic strength, like the collage titled in Bauhaus no.1 (Dessau, montages (48¹, 120¹, 248¹, Januar 1928: 2–9), cit. 312¹), full-page and smaller |74| Poeta incompreso (Misunderstood Poet), 324 . Guareschi used b/w photomontages (56, published along with many other images various collage techniques, 78, 136, 152, 189, 191, 212, ranging from drawing on 213, 254); and a colour pho- in the October/November 1936 issue. The photographs to photocol- tomontage by Ricas (32¹). image depicts a radial engine suspended in lage, paper sculptures and The compositions provide stage sets, collage with an inventory of sorts of the a cloud-covered sky; on the lower right is a clippings from old publica- styles of Munari’s photo- tions (almanacs, catalogues, montages: surrealist photo- human bust (represented by an anatomi- papiers trouvés) which he collages (Poeta incompreso, cal diagram), over which is placed a box then reused in his vignettes C’è chi vola e c’è chi sta a ter- and as visual headers and ra); photographic mosaics with poetic verses aluding to the moon as footers for columns; Mo- (Forme della natura oppure ‘aereo (…) astro d’argento [che] naviga il sca also worked in a similar natura delle forme); photo- fashion, inserting period graphic clippings inserted firmamento’ (aerial/airplane … silver star illustrations and photo- into illustrations (Volo graphs into his vignettes, notturno, Il paracadute) or that navigates the firmament): the play on often as a [visual] equiva- into fine-art reproductions words, with ‘aereo’ as both adjective (aer- lent of the bourgeois world (Invito al turismo); and evoked in his intentionally straightforward photomon- ial) and noun (airplane), and the title’s affected prose; Manzoni tages (Precisione costruttiva, also assimilated Steinberg’s Sanzioni). graphic manner, and in 327 . In L’Ala d’Italia certain respects up until the xviii; 1 (January 1938): mid-1930s he was highly 63–6; ivi xviii; s/n (1 De- influenced by Munari. Cf. cember 1938): 25–6; ivi xx; 1 Mangini, Pallottino 1994: (1–15 January 1939): 57–60; 68–9, 82, 89, 99, 105. ivi xx; 10 (1–15 May 1939): 325 . Like in ‘Aggiunte al 41–47, respectively. Cf. Silk vocabolario delle idee ful- 1989: [9]: ‘[These] illustra- minanti…’ in L’Ala d’Italia tions address a variety of xv; 5 (May 1936): 59–63; ‘La issues and most are humor- convivenza nello spazio’ ivi ous, many with verbal- xv; 7 (July 1936): 51–5; and visual puns, some slyer and ‘L’uomo-ora e la strategia cleverer than others’.

Futurism, advertising, rationalism graphics—first changing the masthead, was accustomed to,329 in 1930s Italy the then the cover, abandoning photography montage technique still inspired some per- in favour of more traditional illustrations, plexity and reserve. Especially in the vari- and finally the interior illustrations, where ants more closely tied to constructivism, it photocollage replaced photomontage. Yet was viewed with increasing annoyance in 114 the end of Munari’s collaboration with intellectual circles, such that after its early that magazine also coincided with his success in the press, photomontage lived transition to art director of Mondadori’s on in blander, more comic, and therefore periodical division, which took place in less perturbing forms.330 One exception to early 1939. Thereafter, the original graphic this general state was the field of exhibi- approach of his humourous collages was tion design, which ever since the Mostra taken up by other illustrators (including della Rivoluzione Fascista (Exhibition of Canevacci, D’Errico, Ricci, and Guerra). the Fascist Revolution) in ’32 had assimilated—under a different ideological guise, The association between surrealist illustra- of course—the work of the Russian con- tion and light-hearted content also fit the structivists.331 Therefore, in the field related bourgeois tenor of La Lettura, the magazine affiliated with the Corriere della Sera, which 328 . See, for example, march on Rome, the Mostra La Lettura xxxvi; 11 (No- della Rivoluzione Fascista is a Munari began a long collaboration with vember 1936): 901–7 (G. prime example of the re- in 1936. Once it had abandoned all refer- Titta Rosa, ‘Panorama della gime’s propagandist efforts. poesia italiana d’oggi’); ivi Set up in the Palazzo delle ences to constructivism, and was no longer xxxvii; 6 (June 1937): 552–7 Esposizioni on via Naziona- (Luigi Barzini jr., ‘L’attesa le in Rome, it opened the 28 chained to the directives of official rhetoric, dell’amore-passione nella October 1932 and remained his imagination freely expressed itself in società americana’); ivi open continuously for two xxxix; 3 (March 1939): 283– years, with extraordinary |78| photocollages that bordered between the 7 (Ettore Allodoli, ‘Parole public attendance (over 4 ironic and the surreal, which became his moribonde e frasi fatte’); million visitors). Conceived ivi xxxix; 4 (April 1939): of and directed by Dino characteristic style during this later period. 317–20 (Dott. Andrea Doni, Alfieri, who was affiliated ‘Splendore e decadenza dello with the Istituto di cultura In addition to designing the covers and svenimento’). fascista (Fascist Cultural the popular science articles he wrote, his 329 . In relation to the Institute) in Milan, the widespread presence and exhibition reviewed the graphic contributions can also be seen in banality of the ‘photomosa- timeline of the ‘revolution’ almost every issue through late 1939, and ics’ of the 1937 Exposition beginning with the party’s Universelle in Paris, Lavin seizure of power in 1922 his surprising images not only accompany records the opinions of and illustrated the social Gisele Freund (‘La photo- and economic organization articles, but also distinguished some of the graphie à l’Exposition’ in of the Fascist state. The |79| column headings, like the fantastic ‘Gio- Arts et métiers graphiques, monumental installations 328 no.62, March 1938: 37–41) in various galleries com- chi, enigmi, bizzarrie’. and Amadée Ozenfant (in bined to create a path made Cahier d’art, 1937: 242) expressly to have a strong (Lavin 1992: 35). emotional impact on visi- 330 . Although this re- tors through a modern use Photomosaics fers mainly to the intellec- of architecture, photogra- tuals linked to the regime, phy, graphic design, and While in Europe photomontage had be- who supported its strong wall decoration never be- nationalism, it must not be fore seen in Italy. Its execu- come a form of visual expression the public forgotten that the Italian tion—carried out primarily culture of the period was by Sironi and the rationalist dominated by the idealism architects Terragni, Nizzoli, of Benedetto Croce: see Libera, and De Renzi, with Munari’s statement: ‘In contributions from artists those years Croce had sig- of various currents (includ- nificant influence, so the ing the Futurists Prampolini idea of thinking culture and Dottori)—was strongly could also be made through influenced by Futurist and visual images could have constructivist work, El been irritating to some’ Lissitsky’s in particular, (Munari 1976: 10). whose Soviet pavilion Sironi 331 . Organized in cel- had seen at the 1928 Pres- ebration of the ten-year sa Exhibition in Cologne anniversary of the Fascist (Schnapp 2003: 17–60;

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 to the major exhibitions promoted by the proves his willingness and ability to try out regime, photography and photomontage the expressive possibilities of every artistic in particular held onto their relevance medium. thanks to their role in propaganda. As early 114 |80| as 1933 Munari had created a large photo- 115 mosaic for the Aeronautical Press pavilion Photograms and other experiments at the V Triennale, probably thanks to his Toward the end of the 1920s, Veronesi and relationship with L’Ala d’italia.332 For the Grignani were the main Italian artists to VI Triennale in 1936, Munari collaborated experiment with the technical manipula- with the architect Piero Bottoni on the tion of photographic negatives and prints, installation of the Sezione Internazionale as well as the expressive possibilities of the di Urbanistica (International Urban Plan- photogram—the luminous image obtained |81| ning section), creating a large photomo-

saic diorama dedicated to the themes of Kirk 2005: 88–92; Fraquelli photographer, and teacher. urban planning, housing, production and 1995: 131; Coen 1995: 179n; Born and raised in Ber- Malvano 1988: 159–161; and lin, he was in touch with distribution, transportation, and other as- http://it.wikipedia.org/ Herbert Walden’s artistic 333 wiki/ Mostra_della_Riv- milieu, and made the first pects of collective living. The photomo- oluzione_Fascista, last ac- collages in the ‘City’ series saic consisted of six panels, each of which cessed December 2010). in 1919; he attended the 332 . The attribution to Weimar Bauhaus from 1922 featured a collage of photographs whose Munari is based on a short to ‘25, where he made other borders faded into one another to form a note in L’Ala d’Italia xii, photomontages, including 7–8: 108 (July/August 1933) the well known Metropolis complex image in which the information- (Di Corato 2008: 225). A (1923), exhibited at the portion of Munari’s photo- Bauhaus Ausstellung that based and emotion-based aspects balance montages is almost certain- same year and included in one another. Later on these compositions, ly the one now in the Massi- Moholy-Nagy’s Malerei, Fo- mo & Sonia Cirulli Archive, tografie, Film. Cf. Ades 1986: with the addition of captions printed on New York/Bologna; repro- 99–100. translucent paper, were included in Botto- duced in Pellegrini 2009: 336 . Pietro Maria Bardi 21 (incorrectly credited to a (1900–1999), journalist, 334 |82| ni’s book Urbanistica, published in 1938. brochure). critic, gallerist. After the 333 . The photomosaic war he founded the Mu- Munari was certainly aware not only of was mounted to the walls of seum of Modern Art in Saõ Paul Citroen’s experiments in collage at the hemicycle, below a long Paulo. He ran the exhibition 335 title in relief (‘L’urbanistica space in via Brera, which the Bauhaus, but also the famous Tavola studia e risolve i problemi at the end of 1930 went to degli orrori (Table of horrors) which Bardi relativi’ in uppercase san- the Ghiringhelli brothers serif letters), while a low and was renamed Galleria exhibited at the Second miar (Movimen- wall separating a raised del Milione. He moved to platform overlooking the Rome, and opened his own to Italiano per l’Architettura Razionale, main floor featured photo- gallery in the via Veneto Italian Movement for Rational Architec- graphic enlargements of an in March 1931, where he eye with a mirror reflect- mounted the Second miar ture) exhibition in 1931 and showed again ing the diorama inserted exhibition, in an attempt to sometime later at the Galleria del Milio- into the pupil; this ‘quip’ validate rationalist archi- was accompanied by pho- tecture as a response to the 336 ne. Setting such precedents aside, and tographs highlighting the regime’s renewal program main problems identified by (Crispolti 1986: 44). In that despite the fact that photomosaic remains urban planning studies. In show, Bardi exhibited his a unique case in Munari’s larger body of the same section, Munari famous Tavola degli orrori, also made a large abstract a large photomontage that work, his experience with it nevertheless mosaic composition (Guida ridiculed the architectural della VI Triennale. s/l: s/n, eclecticism of the late nin- 1936²: 48–51; see Zannier teenth century and the 1978: 62). classicism of architects like 334 . Piero Bottoni. Ur- Marcello Piacentini. The banistica. Milan: Ulrico Ho- controversy that inevitably epli Editore, 1938. This vol- ensued was presented, in an ume was part of the series exhibition curated by the Quaderni della Triennale, architects Luigi Figini and directed by Giuseppe Paga- Gino Pollini, at the Galle- no; the layout was overseen ria del Milione in June 1931 by the architect Antonio (Belli in Anni Creativi al Mi- Marchi (Zannier 1978: 62). lione 1980: 17–9; Pontiggia 335 . Paul Citroen 1988: 51; Benton 1995: 39). (1896–1983), Dutch painter,

Futurism, advertising, rationalism without a camera, through the direct con- interventions then completed the picture. tact of objects with light-sensitive paper. Working through ‘analogous transposi- Although somewhat less systematic, ex- tion’, in this case Munari’s approach is periments similar to those carried out by almost the opposite of Moholy-Nagy’s Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray, and, of course, his abstract experiments, and is closer to the 116 friend Veronesi led Munari to try it as well. magical atmospheres of Man Ray, focussed We do not know exactly when he began, on the enigmatic character of the light-re- but his early photograms were published lated manipulation of objects. Yet, as Filib- almost simultaneously in early ’34 in the erto Menna preceptively noted, ‘contrary Almanacco Letterario Bompiani, Natura, and to the techniques of the Dadaists and sur- L’Ufficio Moderno, and others continued to realists, Munari is not looking to capture be published up until ’37.337 From the pub- the incongruous or the nonsensical, nor lished material it does not seem Munari mysterious fantasy—rather, he wants to had extensive experience with the medium, create, once again, fabulous, bright, limpid as it appeared intermittently as illustra- worlds pervaded by a vein of cheerful iro- tion (and more rarely as an image used in ny’.340 The critic is referring in particular advertising graphics), but judging from the to the photograms published in an article few reproduced examples it seems he had |84| in the January 1934 issue of Natura, many |85| a reasonable degree of technical compe- of which effectively express that magical tence (albeit not on a particularly high lev- feel.341 However—and it is not surprising, el, especially when compared to the work given his fundamental openness—Munari of Veronesi) which suggests he had a fair did not limit his work to this one approach amount of darkroom experience.

The two photograms published in the 337 . Munari’s first cit. The first image shows |83| 1934 Almanacco are a figurative synthesis photogram experiments a small boat suspended by date back to 1932: see the balloons near a black moon of two reviewed novels that, stylistically profile reproduced in the above an urban landscape; exhibition catalogue from the second shows a wall di- dissimilar as they are, lend themselves to the Galleria dell’Obelisco, agonally dividing the scene, interpretation in photograms (Campani- Rome, 1966, in which both with trees in both the fore- Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy ground and background, le’s for its absurd humour, Masino’s for are explicitly named; see and the moon and a few the magical realism of its childhood rec- also Munari’s interview clouds standing out against edited by Quintavalle in the sky. 338 ollections). The images are the fruit of Bruno Munari 1979: 27. Li- 340 . Filiberto Menna, sta (1985: 128) situates the ‘Munari o la coincidenza experimentation aimed at creating poetic, photograms in a phase that degli opposti’ in La botte e il dreamily atmospheric landscapes, which predates the photomon- violino no.3 (Rome, 1966), tages, but such a recon- reprod. in Bruno Munari in this case is a direct transposition of the struction is disproven by 1979: 70–5. Menna’s es- narrative.339 The photograms appear to the chronological dates of say is one of the few criti- the reproductions. Munari cal contributions of use to be made through placing cut-out masks combined photography and design historians. Cf. also old turn-of-the-century Zannier 1978: 70–1; Paoli and small objects (twigs, pieces of fabric, illustrations in his photo- 1999: 118; Molderings 2009: wristwatch parts) directly (or on a pane of montages only in the latter 15–25. half of the 1930s. 341 . Carlo Manzoni, glass) on the paper, and minimal graphic 338 . The forms created ‘Munari palombaro della by light inevitably evoke fantasia’ in Natura vii; 1 cosmic space; Moholy-Nagy (January 1934): 42–3. Six had already faced the same photograms illustrate the issue, and was careful to text: Suoni, Paesaggio sulla avoid any verisimilitude in collina, Un pianeta tra gli his compositions (cf. Mold- alberi, Costellazioni, Natura, erings 2009: 23 and Heyne Umidità dell’aria, some of 2009: 29). which are also reproduced 339 . Radiografia del libro: in L’Ufficio Moderno in ‘Amiamoci in fretta’ di Cam- ‘Quattro nuove (natural- panile (59) and Radiografia mente!) interpretazioni del libro: ‘Periferia’ di Paola futuriste’ (ix; 3, March Masino (61) in Almanacco 1934: 168–9). Letterario Bompiani 1934,

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 to the photogram: there is another group Munari also used photographic means, of compositions that date back to the same albeit only occasionally, for magazine cov- period yet use no such imitative effects. ers (aside from the specific context of L’Ala They reflect his investigation of composi- d’Italia), with results that not only attest to 116 tional, light-based experimentation with his constant visual investigations, but also 117 abstract forms—in other words, with the elude any risk of repetitiveness. An early, basic possibilities of the photographic pro- |90| highly original image for Natura dates all cess—and in that respect are faithful to the way back to late ’32, and shows a close- Moholy–Nagy’s experimental approach.342 up of a knit fabric, which then transforms In any case, it is a limited number of into an abstract motif and material tex- photograms.343 ture, within which the title was created, In 1936, again in Natura, Munari pub- much like an inversion, by cutting the |87| lished a photogram titled Fra due mondi, letters out of another photograph.349 His which hints at a new direction that was partially related to his previous work with 342 . Moholy-Nagy: ‘Les surreal landscapes, but now use exclusively photogrammes doivent also features photograms être créés à partir de leurs by Ricas, the wife of archi- organic forms (plant bits, insects, mineral moyens propres et premiers, tect Luigi Figini, and Dilma fragments).344 Similar photograms were leur composition ne faire (Munari’s wife). apparaître et ne signifier 346 . This refers to the published a few months later to accompa- rien d’autre qu’eux mêmes’ ‘photogenic drawings’ of |86| ny an article Munari himself wrote for La (from ‘Fotoplastiche Rekla- William Henry Fox Talbot me’ in Offset Buch und Wer- (1835–1839). In the nine- 345 Lettura. These experiments not only sig- bekunst no.7, 1926: 386–94, teenth century, photo- cit). graphic procedures without nal his new interest in natural textures, but, 343 . Suoni, Umidità the use of the camera were specifically with regard to photographic dell’aria, Costellazioni repro- used solely for documen- duced in the cited issues of tary or entertainment pur- media, looked back to the late nineteenth- Natura and L’Ufficio Moder- poses, not as artistic proce- century photographic impressions made no, as well as Alcool (where dures (cf. Molderings 2009: it was also reproduced). 16–7). During this same without a camera, by placing plant forms 344 . Natura ix; 11–12 period Veronesi was also 346 (November–December interested in photographic directly on the light-sensitive support. 1936): 64. The image depicts experiments with organic Finally, another photographic proce- two stylised human figures materials. of different sizes on a back- 347 . Bruno Munari, dure with formal parallels to the photo- ground made with the veins ‘Fotografie col pennello’ in gram that Munari tried out, however brief- of a leaf and other linear Numero unico: Fotografare, plant parts. Regarding Man Milan: Agfa Foto, Febru- ly, is also worth mention: negative printing, Ray, Munari seems to have ary 1943: 9–11. 16×23 cm. preferred organic forms This was a unique issue sent or the inversion of the image made from a with imprecise outlines. only to subscribers to com- slide. Aside from its occasional presence in 345 . Bruno Munari, plete (along with another ‘Che cosa sono i fotogrammi unique issue of Pose Istan- his photomontages, just one composition e come si fanno’ in La Let- tanee) the final year of the of this type is known, and was published in tura xxxvii; 4 (April 1937): magazine Note Fotografiche, 352–5. In the article (which which ended with the 10 1943 to accompany one of his articles in Fo- takes up ideas from similar April 1942 issue by ministe- writings by Moholy-Nagy, rial decree. In addition to |89| 347 tografare, while a second, similar image cf. UHU, 1928 and Kinema- Munari’s photographs, the appeared in 1944 in Fotocronache.348 tograph, 1929) Munari sum- article is illustrated with marily yet clearly explains a reversed print by Albe his technical procedure, Steiner. emphasising its aesthetic 348 . Bruno Munari, value: ‘The photogram is a Fotocronache. Dall’isola dei new artistic medium that tartufi al qui pro quo. Milan: can be grouped with wood- Editoriale Domus, 1944: 72. cut, drypoint, monotype, These are clearly two shots etc., but it is closer to the from the same series, given modern sensibility because that the contain practically it is full of unexpected ef- the same objects, many of fects. When you make which are in the same posi- photograms, you view the tion relative to the others. world in transparency’. In 349 . Natura v; 11–12 addition to his Due insetti (November/December su un pezzo di mica and In- 1932). 26×34 cm (cf. Di Co- setto e fili d’erba, the article rato 2008: 220).

Futurism, advertising, rationalism |41| photomontage for the cover of La Lettura From propaganda to documentary style in the summer of 1937 was no less stun- The propagandist photomontages Muna- ning, and once again exhibits his interest ri made for L’Ala d’Italia deserve separate in material perception and the synthetic consideration, and were largely inspired capabilities of a sophisticated conceptual by constructivist models. The magazine, 118 image.350 Lastly, at the other extreme of which primarily dealt with technical issues, the broad repertoire of manipulations pho- awards, and aeronautical events, targeted tomontage underwent in Munari’s hands, a diverse readership consisting of military |91| the cover for the Almanacco Letterario Bom- staff and aviation enthusiasts, and the un- piani 1938 is worth special mention. This breakable link between aviation and Fas- was a monographic issue dedicated to the cism is reflected in the nationalistic tone of passing of Luigi Pirandello, and featured its content.354 Because of its obvious mod- a photomontage created through overlap- ern connotations, flight was an important ping on top of a portrait of the writer, in a meeting point with Futurism—just think visual translation of the Pirandellian myth of characters in search of an author.351 350 . La Lettura xxxvii; 7 Ornano, Albe Steiner (ed.), The amateur aspect of a parallel photo- (July 1937). 19×28 cm. Fotografia. Prima rassegna graphic practice (shared by many artists of 351 . Almanacco Lettera- dell’attività fotografica in rio Bompiani 1938. Milan: Italia. Milan: Editoriale Do- that generation) allowed Munari to follow Bompiani, 1937. 21×28 cm, mus, 1943. The book opens his surrealist inclinations even in photo- paperback, pp.(lxiv) 160. with an essay by Scopinich Munari is amongst the (‘Considerazioni sulla fo- graphic portraiture, with the most original many compilers, along with tografia italiana’), two es- Zavattini and Bompiani, says by Ornano (‘Tecnica |88| outcome being a series of humourous self- Corrado Alvaro, Raffaele di ripresa’, ‘Riproduzione portraits in absurd costumes, apparently Di Muro, Stefano Landi, nella fotografia a colori’) Guido Piovene, and Mario and a text by Patellani (‘Il taken in a rural setting, perhaps on visits Robertazzi. In addition to giornalista nuova formula’). to his family in Badia Polesine.352 Munari the cover (a duotone print), The graphics were edited by he did the layout, which Albe Steiner. In the index took constant pleasure in playing in front is sober and classical but Munari is portrayed in one also articulated, with a few of his typically humourous of the lens, even in the postwar period, asymmetrical openings. poses (Zannier 1978: 77, 80; and sometimes did so with photographer 352 . Based on informa- Paoli 1999: 99–100; Peliz- tion provided by the art- zari 2010: 98). friends like Patellani and Ballo. At the ist, Tanchis confirms that 354 . In 1922 L’Ala d’I- same time Munari carried out abstract ex- Munari enjoyed dressing talia (originally called Gaz- up in costume and taking zetta dell’Aviazione) adopted periments begun with his work in the pho- such photographs when he its new name, inspired by a returned to Badia Polesine famous speech D’Annunzio togram, which were quite close to the work on holiday, where he also gave at the Roman airfield |92| of his friend Veronesi: one such work, Stu- photographed friends and at Centocelle, ‘L’Ala d’Italia relatives, around the mid- è liberata’ (Schnapp 2008: dio per film astratto—a colour photograph thirties. Although occasion- 145). After the creation of of moving objects (probably one of his use- ally reproduced in works the Aeronautical Ministry on his career (Aldo Tanchis, in 1923, the magazine al- less machines)—was included in Fotografia, in conversation with au- lied itself with the regime: 353 thor, December 2007 and from 1929 to 1933, coincid- the annual published by Domus in 1943. January 2008; see also the ing with Balbo’s ministry, catalogue Bruno Munari. the cover featured the Opere 1930–1986 (edited by omnipresent fasces, and Meneguzzo); Lichtenstein, in ‘34 the subtitle changed Häberli 1995; Ricostruzione to ‘Periodico nazionale teorica di un artista 1996) dell’aviazione fascista’ (Na- the photographs were never tional periodical of Fascist published, with the excep- aviation) and ‘Nata in 1919 tion of a portrait of his per volontà di Benito Mus- brother Giordano, included solini’ (Created in 1919 in Fotocronache): the origi- under the will of Benito nals belong to the Munari Mussolini); in ’35 its ties family, but a few prints can to the regime grew even be found in the archives of stronger, with the publish- the Fondazione Ferrania 3m er’s move to the Ministero in Milan. dell’aeronautica in Rome 353 . Ermanno Fede- (see Silk 1996: 47–8, 73n; rico Scopinich, Alfredo Schnapp 2008: 146).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 of aeropainting. The beginning of Muna- and accessibile at once.357 In general, when ri’s (and Ricas’s, occasional as it was) col- his compositions accompany current- laboration with the magazine dates back to event articles—even though as a whole they 1932, and coincides with the redesign of its maintain a degree of stylistic cohesion— 118 graphic look, which brought in a few mod- they do not stray from the conventional 119 ernist typographic innovations and gave approach of merely illustrative support more space to photography; the new edito- material. In 1934 the magazine began the rial approach also called for political and publication of a series of contributions by artistic current events columns related to artists and intellectuals on the subject of aviation. Although nothing was signed or ‘mass-theatre’—a controversial ‘total spec- credited as such in the colophon, in vari- tacle’ promoted by Mussolini and staged in ous issues from ’32 there are changes to the Florence in April 1934358—whose illustra- |93| layout of the main articles that reasonably tions were in many cases done by Munari. indicate his participation. In such exercises He drew inspiration from relevant passages Munari aimed to enliven the page through in the text, approaching the illustrations a more dynamic organisation of photos freely, often with the use of collage: for ex- and texts, most often obtained through ample, for Marco Ramperti’s article ‘L’avia- the use of diagonals and unusual cropping tore come personaggio’ (February 1934) a for the images (sometimes with painterly drawing, a mosaic of photographs, a photo additions), in which one can clearly see completed by a comic illustration, and a an early attempt at approaching the layout collage of evocative, surreal images were through two-page spreads.355 Such work strung together.359 In other cases, some was often uncertain, but was evidently in- variants were tried out, such as overlapping spired—aside from Soviet examples known schematic line drawings and aerial photo- only second-hand—by the celebratory vol- graphs, or collaging photographic images ume L’Italia fascista che avanza, published cut into the shapes of various objects.360 the same year by the Istituto l.u.c.e. (on the occasion of the Mostra della Rivoluzio- 355 . See for example d’Italia xii; 4 (April 1933): ne fascista) where the anonymous designer the articles ‘Gli ‘Oceanici’ 66–9; ‘Sesto Calende e il made ample use of photomontage and a convegno’ in L’Ala d’Italia 55 x’ ivi xii; 7–8 (July–Au- xi; 5 (22 May 1932): 2–13; gust 1933): 96; ‘Ogni epoca must have given a great deal of ideas to ‘La settimana azzurra roma- ha le sue macchine’ ivi xii; 356 na’ ivi xi; 6 (23 June 1932): 12 (December 1933): 10; Munari. 10–21; ‘L’Armata azzurra’ ‘L’aviazione sovietica’ and So, begining in the spring of ’33 Muna- ivi xi; 12 (22 December ‘Parla Lindbergh: basta tri- 1932): 54–5; ‘Evoluzio- motori! Risponde Fokker: |93| ri made his first mixed-media photomon- ne della guerra’ ivi XII; 3 distinguiamo!’ ivi xii; 10 tages, combining photographic and drawn (March 1933): 32–6; ‘L’avia- (October 1933): 25–6 and zione nelle Colonie Africa- 46–7 respectively. elements, in which he appears to waver ne Francesi and il prossimo 358 . Regarding this ex- ‘raid’ del Generale Wuille- traordinary theatrical ex- between constructivist and aeropictorial min’ ivi XII; 10 (October periment see Schnapp 1996. influences, once again in search of a visual 1933): 33–40. For a list of the various 356 . L’Italia fascista in articles published through language that could be defined, modern, cammino. Rome: Istituto April ’35 on the relation- Nazionale l.u.c.e., 1932. ships between theatre and Octavo, pp. (xvi) 239 (with aviation, see Schnapp 2008: 516 photographs). Cf. Zan- 162n. nier 1978: 62. Similar cues 359 . L’Ala d’Italia xiii; 2 came from the contem- (February 1934): 37–40. Cf. porary work of Paladini, Schnapp 2008: 148. who, in addition to publish- 360 . See ‘Il teatro di ing photomontages, also massa e l’aviazione’ in L’Ala worked on the layout of the d’Italia xiii; 12 (December magazines Occidente and 1934): 21–4, and ‘Il Teatro Quadrivio. di Massa e l’aviazione. Ri- 357 . Interesting exam- sposta a Ramperti’ ivi xiv; 1 ples appear with the articles (January 1935): 41–4. ‘Il turismo aereo’ in L’Ala

Futurism, advertising, rationalism As demonstrated by recent criticism, of hands raised in a Roman salute, through these collages—far from being simple artis- which we catch a glimpse of the crowd, is tic fantasies—played a part in the general proof that Munari knew of the installa- propagandist climate of the time. Never- tions designed for the Mostra della Rivolu- theless, beyond their questionable political zione fascista (Giuseppe Terragni’s ‘sala O’ 120 alignment, such an interpretation risks in particular), and had indirect knowledge losing sight of the fact that Munari’s main of Klutsis’s famous posters.364 It must be interest lay in visual languages, and that said, however, that this type of photomon- because of their fantastical or parody-like tage appears to be of a lower quality than style these illustrations certainly do not fall his other work, with occasionally mediocre within the conservative canons promoted or uncertain works next to compositions by the regime, and instead seem calculated that are more interesting for their dynamic solely to enliven banal or dry texts.361 balance or unusual combinations.365 The discussion changes when it comes In any case, by the mid-thirties there to compositions that explicitly celebrate is also a clear change in the content of the Fascism’s accomplishments: Munari actu- propagandist material, and constructivist- ally did create a fair number of celebrative inspired photomontage gradually gives photomontages and layouts to show off way to work on the layout, as a result of propagandist themes, at least up until ’36. increased attention to the possibilities of In these cases the photomontages, includ- typo/photographic composition: in this ed in articles or as illustrations unrelated |97| sense his work for articles like ‘Il coman- to any text, were done in a resolutely con- damento del Fondatore’ (June/July 1934), |94| structivist manner. As in the April 1933 is- ‘Nuove forze giovanili dell’aviazione itali- sue, where his hand can be seen in a photo- ana’ (February 1936), ‘L’aviatore Musso- montage that opens a summary of the cel- |98| lini’ (September 1936), and ‘L’anno che ebrations held on the tenth anniversary of finisce’ (December 1936) are interesting the Fascist ministry, which projected images of Mussolini and Balbo atop the air force 361 . Gerald Silk was ‘Italo Balbo’ (38) and anoth- the first researcher to ques- er for the article ‘Disciplina lined up on the field, all framed in a large tion the reductive, purely dell’Impresa e del Capo’ x (to indicate the year of the Fascist era, as aesthetic reading of these (39), the aeropictorial pho- compositions, and by juxta- tomontage ‘I cento soldati 362 was standard). Other eloquent examples posing the images and the di Balbo’ (p.48) and ‘Du-ce, articles’ content he proved Du-ce, Du-ce’ (88). Cf. Silk can be found in the following issues, like their primary function was 1996: 48–53. |96| the July/August issue, dedicated to Balbo’s to support the propaganda 364 . Federigo Valli expressed in the texts (Silk ‘L’Anno che finisce’ in L’Ala transatlantic flight, which included no 1989, 1996; cf. Schnapp d’Italia xv; 12 (December fewer than four celebratory aeropictorial 2008). 1936): 10–7. The layout is 362 . ‘28 marzo 1933’ in particularly interesting in 363 illustrations; while later photomontages L’Ala d’Italia xii; 4 (April that, next to the central 1933): 8–9. The photo- photomontage (14–5), adopt different solutions taken directly montage is not signed, but it contains two images |95| from Soviet examples, like in ‘L’anno che is certainly attributable to set according to the dy- Munari, who also published namic composition of the finisce’ (December 1936), where the detail other photomontages in photographs. the same issue (66–9). The 365 . Among the less custom of listing the names convincing examples are of illustrators at the bot- the illustrations ‘Aviazione tom of the table of contents italiana = massa’ in L’A- hadn’t yet been adopted by la d’Italia xii; 7–8 (July/ the editors. August 1933): 34–5, cit.; 363 . L’Ala d’Italia xii; ‘L’Italia deve raggiungere il 7–8 (July/August 1933). Primato aviatorio’ ivi xiii; Munari and Ricas made 4 (April 1934): 2; ‘Guerra’ various non-text-related and ‘I primi aviatori era- contributions: a photomon- no padroni del mondo’ ivi tage on a two-page spread, xiii; 6–7 (June/July 1934): ‘Aviazione italiana = massa’ 89, 112. (34–5), a composition titled

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 for their use of the two-page spread.366 But happened simultaneously to his adoption other contemporary works show a further of surrealist collage as a peculiar style for stylistic jump toward documentary-style entertaining illustrations: in other words, layouts, based on photographic sequences both options—the surrealist vein, tied to 120 that tend to become more independent themes of escape, and the documentary 121 than the texts, which are often reduced to vein, tied to propaganda—constituted a minimal length. His first work of this sort two-pronged solution to the risk of getting dates back to ’35, with a long geopolitical stuck in earlier formulas made increasingly |99| reportage on Eritrea, in which the photo- rigid by the changing political climate. graphs still accompany the article, albeit |103| ‘Udite! Udite!’(Hear, Hear!), published in a lively layout;367 those were followed in in the Almanacco antiletterario Bompiani |100|’36 by various articles set up as short pho- 1937, is a bona fide hybrid of celebratory tojournalistic essays,368 that sometimes photomontage and photographic series. It assumed the look of bona fide cinemato- is an articulated sequence of photomon- |101| graphic sequences, like ‘Atterraggio’, which tages commented upon by quotes taken appeared in the current events column of from Mussolini’s speeches, and its techni- the August issue.369 The series of photo- cal distinction lies in a circular punch or |102| graphic illustrations published in La Rivista cut-out through which you catch a glimpse Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia in April 1936, of Mussolini’s face, thereby creating a dedicated to autarchic policies in response kind of double screen—a crossed projec- to international sanctions, show a similar tion aimed at replicating the effect of a tendency.370 In the section on the XVII Fie- cinematographic montage. Munari could ra di Milano Munari created 7 double illus- have obtained a similar effect by reproduc- trations illustrating some of the key sectors ing a photo of Il Duce on each page, but of national manufacturing: the images are the hole in the sheet creates a physical in- macrophotographic enlargements of raw teraction that is more surprising for the materials with touches of colour (that re- reader. The 16-page signature opens and call the colours of the flag…) on black-and- white photos, while the other side shows a 366 . In L’Ala d’Italia xiv; ‘Turismo fotoaereo’ (36), different photo without any retouching. 6–7 (June/July 1934): 2–3; ‘Vertigine della fotoacroba- ivi xv; 2 (February 1936): tica’ (37), ‘Da 12.000 metri’ This venture into documentary, per- 16–21; ivi xv; 9 (September (38–9). 1936): 10–1; and ivi xv; 12 370 . La Rivista Illu- haps arrived at from the editors’ photo- (December 1936): 10–7, strata del Popolo d’Italia graphic material, can in any case be related respectively. xiv; 4 (April 1936). B/w 367 . Arnaldo Cipolla, photo ill. printed on both to Munari’s contemporary research on ‘Eritrea italiana’ in L’Ala sides, with duotone over- movement in sculpture (with his useless d’Italia xiv, 4 (April 1935): printing on the recto. The 14–26. subjects depicted are: wool and arhythmic machines) as well as his re- 368 . See for instance and artificial fibres for ‘Attualità aviatoria’ in L’Ala textile production (100–1, flections on the structure of printed mat- d’Italia xv; 7 (July 1936): 124–5), wheat grains for ter, which riff on cinematographic prin- 33–48. The section consists the agricultural sector, lab 371 of several short articles, in- instruments for the chemi- ciples. Curiously, all this seems to have cluding: ‘Arma aerea/Civil- cal industry, a microscopic tà romana/Segno ammoni- enlargement of a reaction tore/Pace romana’ (33–5), for the electrochemical sec- ‘Gorrahei piana del sole’ tor, gears and mechanical (36–7), ‘Verso l’avvento parts for the iron and steel delle fanterie aeree’ (42–3), industry (156–7), wood ‘Con l’aviazione alla testa le shavings for the furniture truppe…’ (44–5), ‘Nostal- sector (160–1). gie somale’ (46). 371 . This refers to two 369 . L’Ala d’Italia xv; articles by Munari, ‘Ritmi 8 (August 1936): 33–40. grafici’ (published in Campo Again here the column is grafico, May/June 1937) and subdivided into one- and ‘Tipografia’ (published in La two-page photoreport- Lettura, May 1937), cit. age: ‘Atterraggio’ (34–35),

Futurism, advertising, rationalism closes with a starry sky, against which the photosequence, titled ‘Crisi interiore ovve- image of a microphone stand out just be- |104| ro una giornata spesa bene’ (Inner Crisis: low the title, while the second and penul- or, A Day Well Spent). It features photos by timate pages feature a sequence of images Gianni Calvi, but Munari was certainly the of Mussolini in different poses as he ha- brain behind the piece, and perhaps also 122 rangues the crowd, which is visible through wrote the captions that ironically comment the opening onto the following pages. The upon the images.375 This can be grouped sequence deals with current issues in Fas- |105| with the storyboard L’amore è un lepidotte- cist politics, from autarchic demands and ro (Love is a Lepidopteran), which Munari claims against the League of Nations to the published in 1941 in another literary alma- proclamation of a colonial empire, from nac, the Tesoretto.376 Be that as it may, his relations with Germany to the military interest in the communicative possibili- intervention in Spain, from satire of en- ties of the unmanipulated photographic emy nations (England, France, the United image anticipated the photojournalistic States) to a critique of the capitalist and work published soon thereafter in the Soviet systems, from a eulogy on Japanese Mondadori-owned Tempo, where Munari expansionism to the exaltation of physical was art director from 1939 to ’43.377 The activity…372 Without a doubt, it was a bra- original humourous articles Munari pub- vura piece, not so much for its unique pho- lished there were equally characterised by tocompositions (of ultimately questionable the investigation of narrative through pho- value) as for its use of the cinematographic tographic means, and were later collected concept of the sequence, which was a suc- into a volume titled Fotocronache, published cess. It is decidedly more difficult to catch by Editoriale Domus in 1944, after Tempo the irony that Munari more recently spoke was shuttered.378 of as the real intent of those photomontages, despite their apparent exultation of Mussolini: ‘You could not avoid doing 372 . ‘Udite! Udite!’ in Sera, Rome, 11/02/1977; cit. these homages (…) But you could create Almanacco antiletterario in Carpi 2002: 84). Bompiani 1937, cit.: 65–80. 375 . Almanacco antilet- some veiled satire, which was allowed be- The titles of the individual terario Bompiani 1937, cit.: cause it was not understood’.373 But such illustrations are: Udite! 118–24. The photos are by Udite! (65), Duce (66), Gianni Calvi. intent to revolt cannot really be found in L’Italia è un’isola (67), Gi- 376 . Il Tesoretto. Alma- nevra (68), A.O. (Africa nacco dello ‘Specchio’ 1942. the Bompiani publication or anywhere else, Orientale) (69), Olimpiadi Verona: Mondadori, 1942: much less at that precise historic juncture— di Berlino (70), Spagna (71), 290–5. The sequence’s Inghilterra (72), Giappone subtitle is Cortometraggio and anyway, it has been repeatedly denied (73), URSS (74), America a colori and consists of 29 by many of his contemporaries, including (75), Francia (76), Io non photograms accompanied amo i sedentari (77), An- by a description of the ac- 374 Zavattini. nunci (78), Duce (79), Cie- tion. Schnapp hypothesises lo stellato (80). that it was a storyboard for As proof of Munari’s growing interest 373 . Munari 1976: 11. an animated short that was in visual narratives, the ’37 edition of the 374 . ‘(…) none of us planned but never realised ever did political satire in by Munari and the Cossio Almanacco contained another humourous those glorious days, it did brothers: given the use of not even cross our minds, montage in the images, the nor did we have any desire project likely dates back to to, under the eyes of the the mid-thirties, perhaps Minculpop [Ministero della 1937, as the absence of Ri- cultura popolare, the Min- cas might suggest (Schnapp istry of popular culture]. If 2008: 154; and correspond- anything we liked to create ence with the author, De- work on the verge of the ab- cember 2010). surd, stray a bit, talk about 377 . Cf. Schnapp 2008: other things, but it was not 149–50, 154. possible to throw punches 378 . Bruno Munari, Fo- at Mussolini’ (Zavattini tocronache. Milan: Editori- in C. Carabba, ‘La bussola ale Domus, 1944. Cf. review satirica di Zavattini’ in Paese in Domus no.201 (1944).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Ricas+Munari Pioneering graphic design

Toward a modernist style 127 Olivetti 128 The Milanese 123 advertising scene 131 L’Ufficio Moderno and gar 133 Changeover (1933–35) 136 The modernist controversy 141 Relationship to architecture 142 Installations, set designs, window displays 145 Italian modern typography 149 Studio Boggeri 155 Examples of Modern Typography 163 Pubblicità m 168 A new path 173

Ricas and Munari became associates with their own graphic design studio in 1931, and two adverts published a few years apart in the Guida Ricciardi, a famous advertising annual, give a good idea of the position their work occupied at mid-decade. The first, which appeared in the 1933 edition, is laconically la-

|106|belled: ‘Pittori Ricas+Munari Milano’ (Ricas+Munari, Painters, Milan) and shows an evocative photomontage with aeropictorial retouching, which depicts a fantastical landscape wherein a passerby contemplates a photographic composition with a glove, a sphere, and a paintbrush.1 The second advert, included in the 1936 edition, focusses not only on the suggestive nature of the image—again a metaphysical landscape—but almost equally as much on the text, about which it amusingly remarks: ‘Our artistic imagination is at your disposal for any and every advertising challenge, especially the most difficult. Designs for adverts, surprise brochures, firecrackers, stamps, frescoes on skulls, photograms, triumphal arches. Ricas+Munari, Painters.’2

1 . Guida Ricciardi 1933: on translucent sheets cre- la pubblicità in Italia. Milan: ated by the youngest graph- L’Ufficio Moderno, 1934. ic designer’s of the time 2 . Guida Ricciardi 1936: (Veronesi, Carboni, Dradi Pubblicità e propaganda in and Rossi), as well as nu- Italia. Milan: Ricciardi, 1935. merous reproductions of This edition is graphically print advertisements and more elaborate, with photo- posters. montages and overprinting

Ricas+Munari Beyond the minor stylistic differences, given the intellectual climate of Republi- which reflect the evolution of Munari’s can Italy, which, because of the ambigu- language in illustration, two considera- ous relationship that linked Futurism and tions stand out: first and foremost, the two Fascism, long relegated Marinetti’s move- adverts show a persistent emphasis on sur- ment and everything connected with it to a 124 prise (deployed as an effect) and a gener- grey zone—although the natural evolution ally pictorial approach, tied more to the al- of the artist’s taste and aesthetic interests lusive power of the image than to objective certainly counted as well. Be that as it may, communication; secondly, although these the fact remains that virtually no mention two aspects are closely linked, the visual of that period can be found in Munari’s approach recalls that of French surrealism writings or numerous interviews, including more than Central-European functionalist more recent ones.3 currents; and this aspect is even more evident when compared to the adverts of Ve- The first time I worked in advertising I was taken advantage of. It was in 1930. Some ronesi or Dradi-Rossi, not to mention the guy asked me to do a small job, but it was Swiss-born designer Schawinsky, featured important for me, since I was just start- in the same edition. Ricas and Munari’s ing out. In the end the guy did not even pay the printer, who then forced me to position, therefore, although it was up-to- pay. Even today, when I think about it….4 date in terms of photography (and on photomontage in particular), expresses a con- As we have seen, from illustration Mu- cept of graphic design still in evolution, yet nari went on to work in graphics as early also still substantially pictorial—which was as 1930, if we can trust the date given in precisely the stylistic element most evident this statement. Yet according to current in the pair’s advertising work. research, after his earliest Futurist works, Reconstructing the events surrounding no other known examples of his graphic Ricas and Munari’s professional collabora- work predate 1931, when he opened his own tion is now extremely difficult, given the studio with Riccardo Castagnedi, widely scarcity of available information—which known by the pseudonym Ricas. The re- is due in part to the scattering or destruc- lationship between the two artists began tion of their archives during the war, and around 1929, when Ricas, who was attend- in part to the delay and scarcity of the his- ing the Accademia di Brera, joined the Mil- torical research devoted to the key figures anese Futurist group.5 Younger than Mu- of Italian graphic design. Furthermore, the nari, Castagnedi was born in 1912 in Colico, lack of information can also be traced back in the Valtellina, where his father, an elec- (to a significant extent) to the substantial trician with the State Railways, had moved ‘underplaying’ adopted by both artists—es- for work, but he grew up in Milan, where pecially by Munari—with regard to their the family had moved in 1920. In 1926, still professional experiences between the wars.

Such an attitude might well be understood 3 . Without the possibil- That is not the equivalent, ity of direct contact with however, of taxing Munari the artist, any hypotheses with Fascism: his disinterest regarding the reasons for in politics is unanimously such an attitude cannot but recognized as a character be partial and question- trait, and after the war able: aside from critics’ and he proved to have an un- historians’ ostracism of doubtable sense of social Futurism, it is difficult to committment. overlook Munari’s accom- 4 . Munari cit. in an un- modation to Fascism—a dated [c.1985] newspaper tendency shared by every- clip (cortesy Aldo Tanchis, one in his generation, but Milan). of which (unlike other in- 5 . Bassi 1994: 81. tellectuals) he never spoke.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 a teenager, he found a job with the Officine organized, in jacket and tie, he was an an- 8 Grafiche Ricordi as a puntinàtt (a draughts- gel, always happy, very lively and friendly. man who transferred original drawings to lithographic stones for reproduction) The r+m associates’ studio opened in Mi- 124 alongside high-calibre poster artists like Le- lan in 1931 and, insofar as it was expressly 125 opoldo Metlicovitz and Marcello Dudovich; devoted to advertising design, was one of thereafter, he worked as a studio assistant the first initiatives of its kind in Italy, and for the painter Renzo Bassi, where he made even predated the Studio Boggeri, which 9 his first graphic works. At the same time opened in 1933. Regarding the circum- he took evening courses at Brera (where he stances surrounding the two young artists’ earned his diploma in ’43); nevertheless, friendship (Munari was 24 years old, Ricas 10 the academy’s conservative climate led him just 19), a statement by Ricas indicates to frequent the Futurists, which is probably their first studio was in the very central when he adopted the pseudonym Ricas.6 Galleria del Corso, across from the famous 11 In ’29 he met Munari and exhibited work Sartoria Ventura (where Dilma Carne- with other young Futurists at the Galleria vali, Munari’s future wife, worked). One Pesaro; that same year he won a competi- plausible hypothesis is that it was located tion funded by the Savinelli Pipe company at the same spot (no.4) where the Edizioni to design an advertising poster, and did an- Metropoli had its offices in 1930: upon other for the Crippa-Berger pharmaceuti- abandoning the Almanacco dell’Italia Veloce cal company, proving his major interest in project, Fusetti may have left the space to the graphic design field.7 Munari, who had worked with Metropoli’s editorial team. The dates would seem to It was 1928–29, we went to Brera each even- support this: indeed, the Futurist publica- ing, I was taking the evening course at the tion had been announced for the end of academy (…) We met, we liked one another, and so we started working together. We had 1930, but the project must have somehow to try and make a living, and we did illustrations and adverts. We worked a lot, happily, in 6 . Riccardo Ricas The Galleria del Corso, situ- perfect harmony, always listening to music— Castagnedi (1912–2005) ated between the Duomo one of us would do something, and the other probably adopted his and San Babila, arose fol- added something else. pseudonym, derived from lowing demolitions carried (…) We had a large studio, in via Carlo Raviz- Ri[ccardo] Cas[tagnedi], out in Milan’s historic cen- za 14 [in reality at 16], with eight rooms—they when he joined the Futurist tre in the twenties. group. As his daugther re- 11 . Milanese fashion were ‘cleaned up’ basement storage rooms: a calls: ‘Later on it became a house founded in 1815 by studio/exhibition space with two paintings, legally recognized last name, Domenico Ventura, which on by me and one by Bruno; in the middle and when I went to school became famous in nine- of the studio was a white cube with two beg- I always had the two names, teenth-century Italy for its gars’ shoes, destroyed from walking through which still appear on all my ability to re-create Parisian documents’ (Paola Ricas, designs; its vast clientele the desert; a salon; our studio; two rooms for author correspondence, belonged to the aristocracy administration; and then two bedrooms, be- 20.6.2010). and upper-middle classes. cause we slept there. 7 . Lopez 1994 in Bassi: Its intense tailoring activi- (…) Bruno was always straightlaced, always 8; Bassi 1994: 78, 81. ties after wwi, directed by 8 . Ricas in Finessi 2005: Vittorio Alberto Montana, 62–3. with almost 800 workers 9 . In this sense, Ricas at their locations in Milan, and Munari’s studio dif- Rome, and Genoa, won it fered from both the Dina- the ‘Fornitore di Casa Reale’ mo-Azari gallery-laboratory distinction (as supplier to (opened in 1927) and Ce- the royal house); it reached sare Andreoni’s applied- the height of its fame in arts workshop (founded in 1930 with the creation of a 1929), and was more like an wedding dress for Princess advertising firm (Di Corato Maria José of Belgium’s 2008: 212). marriage to Prince Amedeo 10 . Ricas in Bassi 1990, of Savoy. The atelier closed interview given 20.2.1990 in the early ‘40s (Vergani (unpublished transcript, 2009: ‘Ventura’; Gnoli courtesy of Alberto Bassi). 2005: 51n, 53).

Ricas+Munari come to a standstill over the summer, as agency, probably in the autumn of ’31. Fur- no other promos were published; Ricas thermore, the transformation of Milan’s and Munari must have launched their new Centrale Futurista was completed in early business venture in 1931, parallel to, if not 1934, when it moved into Ricas and Muna- precisely coordinated with, the closure ri’s studio just a few steps away;15 this move 126 of the Futurist publishing house. In any could be read as an attempt to rationalise case, it must have been a temporary setup, its overhead, or as a bona fide unification since by January ’32 the studio had moved with the studio of the two artists—who to via Ravizza 16, not far from the Futurist were now considered key figures of Milan’s headquarters: ‘a basement with windows, graphic scene, and also had space available an amusing procession of ankles’, recalled to house the Futurist movement. Ricas.12 Ricas and Munari’s professional rela- Curiously, during that same period tionship lasted into the beginning of 1937, the Milanese Futurist group—also in via and was characterised by a remarkable flex- Ravizza, but at number 14—ran an advertis- ibility and openness, allowing each of them ing and publicity office under the name of to work both in tandem and individually, |107| Centrale Artistica (Artistic Headquarters), as the various signatures on their work in- which offered graphic and pr services like dicate: ‘munari+r’, ‘ricas+m’, and ‘r+m’. ‘furnishings, window displays, kiosks for The adverts from their early period (up un- trade fairs, advertising, posters, editions’.13 til about ’33), as well as their illustrations In reality it was the c.r.e.a. advertising of- and photomontages for magazines, were fice, which had existed at least since the primarily signed by Munari, confirming previous year, and for which Munari had his lead role—works signed solely by Ricas, not only made the Simultanina poster and much fewer in number, began to appear some adverts for Campari, but also curated only in ’35. It is therefore logical to assume the interior design and furnishings.14 All that, at the beginning, the studio was con- this indicates how, at the beginning of the ceived of more as a shared workspace (in 1930s, the Futurist group led by Munari addition to shared housing) where each aimed to professionally establish itself in worked independently, and that their col- the advertising sector, with the intent of laboration gradually grew more intense as extending its initiatives to the commercial they undertook more demanding, more realm. The situation also suggests that if Munari was not outright manager of the 12 . Cf. letter from Mu- stica in the Turin-based La proto-advertising establishment, he was nari to Tullio d’Albisola, città nuova six months later. at least a close collaborator; nor can Ri- 20.1.1932, on the letterhead The c.r.e.a logo is visible of the Centrale Futurista di on the left-hand side of the cas’ probable collaboration be excluded. Milano (also signed by Ri- Simultanina poster, under cas, Lepore, and Escodamè), the frame showing airplane Therefore the opening of their own associ- in which Munari gave him silhouettes, while Munari’s ated studio must have been an extension the new address (in Presot- signature appears in the to 1981: 142). The quoted upper right–hand corner of their previous work with the c.r.e.a. statement is Ricas’ (Lopez of that frame. Around 1935 1994 in Bassi: 8). Munari and Ricas also de- 13 . Cf. related advert in signed the interiors and La città nuova no.2 (25 Feb- furnishings for the new r+m ruary 1932): 4. studio in via Ravizza: cf. ‘Ri- 14 . Cf. photographs cas e Munari, arredamenti in ‘Aspetti diversi del gusto e decorazioni d’interni’ in attuale’ in Casabella no.44 L’Ufficio Moderno x; 5 (May (August 1931): 24–7. The 1935): 246–55. interior depicted on p. 25 as 15 . Cf. the letterhead the ‘advertising director’s on which Munari’s letter office at the c.r.e.a. studio to Thayaht is written, [c. in Milan’ is the same as the 20.4.1934], Mart, Archivio photograph used in an ad- del 900, fondo Thayaht: vert for the Centrale Arti- Tha 1.2.07.66.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 complex projects, along with their repeated trade-fair installations, wherein the graph- collaborations with ad agencies and other ic visual language, not yet drawing from companies’ advertising offices: the Mau- constructivist models, relies heavily upon zan-Morzenti studio, the Ufficio Propagan- the suggestive powers of the representation. 126 da Campari, the Ufficio Sviluppo e stampa This can be seen in the stands installed for 127 Olivetti, and Studio Boggeri. the Federico Dell’Orto company (producer of industrial kitchens) and the Carlo Erba pharmaceutical company,19 which were Toward a modernist style quite conventional in terms of set design. A brief review devoted to Futurist advertis- In the December 1931 issue of Natura, |108| ing in L’Ufficio Moderno at the end of ’32 |109| alongside an article about the Rodier tex- focussed on the studio’s first significant tile manufacturer, a colouradvertisement accomplishments.16 Beginning with a poly- by Munari was published: it is a hybrid, material artwork for perfumes depicting a composite synthesis, which, although still female head—probably an installation for linked to aeropictorial stylistic elements, a window display (an anticipation of the integrates his discovery of photographic compositions Munari exhibited at the Gal- collage using textures to evoke the product, leria Pesaro the following year)—the works while the explicit message is spelled out reproduced give a good overview of the ser- in the geometric lettering style common vices the studio offered, ranging from post- at the time.20 A similar solution appeared ers to catalogues, trade-fair installations, soon after in his advert for the Milanese and interiors and furnishings. Two posters |110| Casa dell’arredamento, in which the draw- Ricas and Munari created for Casa Ameri- ing’s accentuated axonometric lines are ca/el hogar de la musica (a radio shop in balanced by the photographic rendering of Buenos Aires) document an early collabo- the textiles.21 In both cases, the highly sug- ration with the Mauzan-Morzenti studio, gestive image not only echoed the formal still associated with the French poster art- possibilities of new inclusions like photog- ist then living in Argentina.17 Both focus raphy, but also indicated a redefinition of on a synthetic suggestion of the product, the Futurist register with the gradual sub- and both stylistically reveal their formal stitution of figurative means with a more roots in aeropainting. The cover of a cata- concise, abstract visual language. logue for arsa (Anonima Riscaldamenti Munari’s interest in photography and Sanitari e Affini, a boiler producer) in Bo- developments in the graphic field outside logna is equally interesting, and is laid out Italian borders was shared by other Mil- around a paired-down axonometric draw- anese artists working in advertising—even ing reminiscent of a scientific diagram.18 16 . Noi due, ‘Il futur- calore nell’industria. Bolo- In this early phase the studio’s work had ismo alla pubblicità’ in L’Uf- gna: Anonima Riscaldamen- a clearly figurative emphasis, evident not ficio Moderno vii; 11 (No- ti Sanitari Affini, n.d. [c. vember 1932): 661–4. The 1932]. Printed by Bertieri, only in its printed work, but also in its article is illustrated with Milan. 22×29.5 cm, pp. 36; work by Ricas/Munari and bound by a ribbon and two Diulgheroff, reproduced reinforced eyelets. 3-Colour in b/w, accompanied by a cover, illustrations and lay- short comment, but without by Munari (Cammarota out any other indicators. 2006: 158). 17 . In 1929–30 Mauzan 19 . The photographs reproduced four posters for produced in the cited article the same client (reproduced are now all that remains of in Weill 1983: 64–5 and these installations. Carnévalé–Mauzan 2001: 20 . Natura iv; 12 (De- 14–5). cember), 1931. 18 . Moderni impian- 21 . La Casa bella v; 50 ti sanitari–Moderni im- (February), 1932. pianti di riscaldamento–Il

Ricas+Munari those outside Futurist circles such as Car- had a rudimentary idea of business com- boni, Veronesi, and Muratore, who were munication, and the creation of the first nevertheless tied to the rationalist archi- few agencies was met with an increasing tects’ quest for new aesthetic and func- number of companies adapting their own tional canons. In 1933, amidst this crucial internal ad offices.22 Often called Uffici 128 and rapidly shifting context surrounding Propaganda (literally Propaganda Offices) the applied arts, a curious convergence of or Uffici Stampa (Press Offices), they were external influences came to Milan: Paul generally run by journalists, cultural fig- Renner’s exhibition of graphic work by ures, or artists23—categories that could the Deutsche Werkbund was shown at compensate for the lack of a specific tech- the V Triennale; Xanti Schawinsky began nical or educational background.24 Pushed working in Milan; Studio Boggeri opened; away from journalism in particular by the Campo grafico began publication; Persico repression of political rights and freedom and Pagano were appointed directors of of expression after 1925, important con- Casabella; and the fourth worldwide ad- sultants like Guido Mazzali, Dino Villani, vertising congress was held—all of which and Antonio Valeri began working in ad- created an atmosphere ripe for the renewal vertising; all of them associated with the of graphic visual language through an ut- magazine L’Ufficio Moderno.25 terly new relationship with photography Because of its openness to collabora- and architecture. The temporal and geo- tors of the most disparate cultural back- graphic convergence of these events created grounds, the Ufficio Sviluppo e Pubblicità a unique cultural climate, which had long- (Development and Advertising Office) lasting effects on graphics as well as the of Olivetti—founded in 1931 and directed broader scope of visual arts throughout the by the photographer Renato Zveteremich 1930s in Italy—painting, photography, ar- (1931–38), then by poet/engineer Leon- chitecture, advertising. It is no coincidence ardo Sinisgalli (1938–40)—became a kind that Ricas and Munari’s professional paths, of experimental laboratory, in which during the studio’s most productive period between 1933 and ’36, crossed the paths of both Antonio Boggeri and Olivetti, who 22 . Pitteri 2002: 21–2; advertising techniques pro- were among their first close collaborators. Valeri 1986: 68–70. moted by the Milan Cham- 23 . Regarding the two ber of Commerce, but was terms reclame and pubblic- soon abandoned because of ità (advertising) as used in the changing political cli- Olivetti the contemporary language, mate (Ceserani 1997: 127). on the one hand they betray Advertising techniques were Intent on defining its own identity follow- the probable influence of then taught in courses for Fascist terminology (propa- managers and vendors, as ing the struggle to get off the ground in the ganda), and on the other well as in economics classes [they indicate] a yet-to-be- at technical institutes, but 1920s, over the next decade Italian advertis- determined disciplinary it was not until the thirties ing continued with a gradually increasing definition (press/print) that, following the suc- (Falabrino 2001: 112). The cess of the International professionalisation of the sector: specialists designers who worked with Advertising Congress held famous companies included in Rome and Milan in Federico Seneca for Perugi- 1933, regular courses were na-Buitoni (1919–35), Dino established in many cities’ Villani for Motta and later technical and commercial GiViEmme, Renato Zvetere- institutes (Valeri 1986: 58, mich for Olivetti, Pier Luigi 74). In the private sector, Balzaretti for Fiat (1921) in 1928 the editorial offices and Rinascente, and Giulio of L’Ufficio Moderno began Cesare Ricciardi for Alfa a correspondence course Romeo (1923) (Valeri 1986: with the École supérieure 68–70). de publicité pratique in 24 . The first initiative of Paris (Bauer 1998b: 164). this sort dates back to 1922; 25 . Falabrino 2001: it was an evening course in 115–6.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 collaborative and multidisciplinary pro- decade, Pintori and Nizzoli became the duction set the stage for the creation of the chief creators of the Olivetti style, both in ‘Olivetti style’ of the postwar period.26 The graphics and in industrial design. A prime structure included—both internally and example of this new approach—also re- 128 through external networks—collaborations sulting from the company’s ties to Milan’s 129 with literati like Sinisgalli, architects like rationalist cultural current—is the celebra- Figini and Pollini, graphic artists/design- tory pamphlet 25 anni Olivetti (25 Years of ers like Marcello Nizzoli, printer-typogra- Olivetti) edited and printed by Guido Mo- phers like Guido Modiano, and even young diano (1933),31 in which Futurist innova- graduates of Monza’s isia (Istituto di Arti tions meet the new continental typography, Decorative e Industriali) like Giovanni featuring an album format, layout accord- Pintori, Costantino Nivola, and Salvatore ing to the ‘two pages in one’ principle, the Fancello.27 The Olivetti company, founded use of photography and photomontages, in Ivrea by Camillo Olivetti in 1908, was sans-serif type and black rules, duotone still relatively young, but was already dis- printing, printing on cellophane, and a spi- tinguished by the quality of its typewriter ral binding.32 models and rapidly established its place in Munari was amongst Olivetti’s earli- the market.28 In the early 1930s, as Adriano est collaborators, although it is difficult Olivetti gradually assumed leadership of his father’s company, Olivetti was recover- 26 . Cf. Vinti 2007: 28ff. over the family printshop ing from the economic crisis and exporting 27 . In the early thirties, (G. Modiano & Co.) and 29 Edoardo Persico (Decora- specialised in printing pres- its brand internationally. Beginning in tive arts and advertising), tigious editions and cultural 1928 its advertising campaigns, which had Giuseppe Pagano, and Mar- periodicals like Quadrante, cello Nizzoli all taught at Edilizia Moderna, and Le vie been entrusted early on to freelance paint- the institute in Monza. d’Italia. Both designer and ers and other unaffiliated suppliers,30 were 28 . From the m1 in 1911 printer, alongside Edoardo to the m20 in 1920, the Persico he played a major overseen by an embryonic in-house Servi- semistandard m40 in 1930, role in the evolution of the portable mp1 in 1932, Casabella’s graphic look zio Pubblicità (Advertising), which gained and the Studio 42 in 1935— in the early thirties. As a increasing autonomy, leading to the crea- followed by the Divisumma critic, Modiano published line of calculators launched numerous articles in all the tion of the Ufficio Sviluppo e Pubblicità in in the late forties. main specialised magazines, 1931 at the Milanese office in via Clerici. 29 . Lupo 1996: 112. Re- maintaining the contribu- ferring to Elio Vittorini’s tions of abstract art and ar- With the new setup the company shifted definition of umanesimo chitecture (later reworked pubblicitario (humanist in a long text published its advertising communications, making advertising) formulated in serially in L’industria della the most of collaborations with young pro- a 1939 promotional publi- stampa, 1941–42), and for cation (Una campagna pub- the VII Triennale in 1940 he fessionals aware of the latest avant-garde blicitaria. Milan: Olivetti, was curator of the graphic international trends. In ’34 Olivetti began 1939), the author maintains arts exhibtion. Called to that the advertising office arms in 1935 and drafted working with Studio Boggeri and, through was ‘one of the most inter- into the anti-aircraft ser- esting cultural crossroads in vice, during the war he took Boggeri, with Xanti Schawinsky; in 1936, Milan, in the thirties, and part in the disastrous Rus- on Pagano’s recomendation, Nivola and to some extent returned to sian campaign. He lost his the synthetic ideals of fif- life when his barracks were Pintori joined the office; at the end of the teenth-century humanism’ bombarded in Germany (ibid: 119–20, 223–8). (Vinti 2005: 50–52ff; Bagli- 30 . The first poster, one 2008: 21n; Chiabraudo depicting Dante Alighieri 2006). as an authoritative ‘spokes- 32 . Pigozzi 1982: 469– man’ for the m1, was de- 70; cf. Vinti 2005, quote. signed by Teodoro Wolf For the history of Olivetti Ferrari (1912). communications between 31 . Guido Modiano wwi and wwii, which his- (1899–1943) printer and torians have yet to examine critic, was a key figure in the in a more in-depth manner, debate surrounding the re- see the Olivetti Historic Ar- newal of Italian graphic arts. chive website, www.storia Upon the death of his father olivetti.it. Gustavo (1916) he took

Ricas+Munari to pinpoint an exact date (a few sources adverts done in late ’33 by Studio Boggeri. point to 1928,33 but 1930 seems more plau- |112|They are two variations on the same com- sible). He was apparently commissioned position, wherein the concepts of speed to do a few newspaper adverts for Olivetti and lightness are metaphorically translated before Zveteremich’s arrival; these were into the form of an airplane and a dove, 130 tiny, 1 cm–high black-and-white classifieds both cut from an enlarged image of the printed in columns, which Munari dealt product, whose image is therefore doubly with by placing the few lines of text on present. Its innovative aspect, aside from the diagonal, so they jumped out on the the use of photomontage, is the accentu- page.34 In 1932–33 he did a few other ad- ated simplification of the layout, reduced verts (still working independently of Ricas) to the minimum, and the importance for the famous Olivetti mp1 portable, an of white, which cancels out any sense of innovative product for the time. Compared depth—a solution that clearly reflects simi- to previous models, the mp1 was promoted lar developments in Munari’s illustration not only for office work, but also for use work.37 in the home and for leisure activities, and Another series of heterogeneous ad- therefore targeted a new clientele through verts for Olivetti from the same period can adverts emphasising the product’s elegance easily be attributed to Munari, perhaps more than its technical strengths.35 An through Boggeri, even though they’re un- |111| early advert that, judging by the illustration signed: an advertorial in Casabella illus- style, can roughly be dated to 1932, subtly |113| trated in colour; a series of adverts based |114| plays with the idea of leisure time: in an on a similar illustration, combined with a abstract landscape, almost like a theatri- simple title set in Bifur,38 for the m40 and cal backdrop, someone is intently writing portable models, whose illustrations and on a typewriter while falling from the sky, photomontages closely recall Munari’s suspended from a parachute; this visual |115| graphic mark-making, datable between |116| quip nodded to flight as an icon of modern 1934 and ’35;39 and an earlier advert that— existence, and also breathed life into the although based primarily on text, and aside scene through the depiction of sheets of 33 . Henrion, Parkin adverts (Veloce) appeared paper flying down from the typewriter; the 1967: 86. in Domus no.71 (Decem- product is named on a sheet of paper in the 34 . Lichtenstein, Häber- ber 1933): xii. The portable li 2000: 275. The infor- typewriter debuted in 1935, foreground, and the composition closes mation provided by the and based on the payoff of with an angled photograph of the typewrit- curators of the 1995 retro- other advertisement series spective in Zurich must be for it (some of which might er and the name Olivetti in large, all-caps based on the designer’s own be attributed to Munari)— 36 account, but nevertheless ‘Olivetti Portatile / leggera Futura, another clear nod to modernity. gives no useful indication of elegante robusta veloce’— The same angled photograph of the the originals’ whereabouts. one could hypothesise that 35 . Cf. Schawinsky’s there were four photo- typewriter appeared again—in the same po- 1934 poster, based on a montages, each paired with sition and serving the same function, prov- photograph of an elegant various adjectives (the dove woman with her hands rest- would be associated with ing the campaign’s continuity—in other ing on the mp1, in which the lightness, the airplane with Olivetti name appears only speed, and so on). on the typewriter’s body. Cf. 38 . In Casabella iv; 57 www.storiaolivetti.it. (September 1932) and Do- 36 . The advert is repro- mus vi; 68 (August 1933), duced in Salaris 1986: 156, respectively. with no further references. 39 . ‘Distinzione’ in 37 . The two adverts are Casabella iv; 58 (October reproduced in the appen- 1932); ‘Evoluzione’ in Do- dix of a short feature on mus no.75 (March), 1934: the photogram in L’Ufficio xvi; the series (Evoluzione, Moderno (ix; 3, March 1934: Solidarietà, Identica) in a 168–70, cit). The Studio smaller size in Guida Ric- Boggeri/Munari signature ciardi 1936 (1935): 79. is at lower right. One of the

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 from the similar illustration style—took and production context are unclear; the up the typographic layout and oblique product marked Olivetti’s debut in the slogan from the series for the portable mechanical calculator market, which un- typewriter.40 til then had been dominated by American 130 A brochure for Studio 42 that Munari producers. Designed by Natale Capellaro 131 designed between late 1935 and ’36 deserves and Marcello Nizzoli, the calculator began its own analysis. All that now remains of production in 1948—so the photo must be |117| the project are a pair of layouts with print- from just after wwii,42 which would con- ing instructions41 (his handwriting is rec- firm the otherwise undocumented rela- ognisable), from which we can surmise tionship between Olivetti and Munari dur- that the printed version was a loose riff ing the postwar period. on the layout of an earlier brochure for the m40 designed by Schawinsky. The fact that Munari was hired to do it—and not The Milanese advertising scene Schawinsky, who since ’34 had played an Over the course of the 1920s, despite pro- essential role in the development of Oli- gress in the business world, the size and vetti’s brand, and with the architects Figini organisational scope of the advertising sec- and Pollini had been directly involved in tor nevertheless remained limited. The few designing the new typewriter—could mean Italian advertisers, all perforce located in that by the spring of ’36 Schawinsky was the major cities of the country’s industrial no longer available. Indeed, at the begin- triangle, and above all in Milan, worked ning of the year Schawinsky returned to in small artisanal organisations, despite Milan after a trip to Paris and London the fact that the previous decade brought (where he also got married) to complete about the first initiatives independent of his last works before emigrating to the commissionary agents and graphic-arts United States that autumn, following Josef printshops. Marcello Dudovich, for exam- Albers’ invitation for him to teach at Black ple, in 1920 founded his own agency Star, Mountain College. Munari may have been and at the same time stepped up to become chosen through Boggeri, with whom both art director of igap (Impresa generale di Munari and Ricas collaborated throughout affissioni, or General Posters and Handbills the 1930s. The fact that later adverts for Enterprise), which printed his posters. In the model were done by Nivola and Pintori, step with the gradual, timid modernisa- in-house graphic designers at Olivetti, sug- tion of market and psychological research, gests Munari was hired for contingent rea- the range of available creative services grew sons, rather than any conscious preference. more complex: by the end of the decade the Finally, one other work identified as Casa Maga, founded in 1920 by Giuseppe Munari’s remains somewhat mysterious: it is an airbrushed photo of the Di- 40 . ‘Da ogni lettera 41 . Now in the col- sorge la vostra ombra’ in lection of the Massimo & visumma 14 calculator whose purpose Domus no.74 (February), Sonia Cirulli Archive, Bolo- 1934: iv. For a point of com- gna/New York, exhibited at parison cf., for example, a the restrospective in Mi- similar advert (Vacanze, in lan’s Rotonda della Besana, Domus no.79, July 1934), December 2007–February which nonetheless has sig- 2008. Unfortunately, in the nificant differences in the Archivio Storico Olivetti in layout and type used for Ivrea there are no examples the slogan/logotype, in the of any similar print. visualisation of the product 42 . Sketch in the col- through drawing (instead lection of the Massimo & of photography) and in the Sonia Cirulli Archive, Bolo- mark-making and graphic gna/New York. style of the illustration accompanying the text.

Ricas+Munari Magagnoli, was the largest Italian advertis- and was instead shaped more by the per- ing studio, and offered a complete range of sonality of the owner—who came up with services—from a campaign’s conception to projects and slogans, while the visual work its printing and distribution, aided by the was usually delegated to outside collabo- most famous poster artists of the day (even rators, as we have seen with Campari and 132 producing its own in-house publication, Il Olivetti. So the market consisted largely pugno nell’occhio). In 1922, after extensive of freelancers, poster artists, and graphic experience abroad (in the United States artists who worked in their own studios, in particular), Luigi Casoni Dal Monte reflecting an artisanal concept of advertis- returned to Milan and founded the Acme- ing.45 In addition to major names like Fe- Dal Monte company, the first true adver- derico Seneca (who settled in Milan after tising agency based on rationalist working a long stint as art director for Perugina- methods; and in 1928, also in Milan, Erwa Buitoni) and Marcello Nizzoli (consultant opened—this was an Italian branch of the for Campari, and later on for Olivetti), the American Erwin-Wasey agency, run by best graphic artists working in Milan at the Nino Caimi (who had worked for some beginning of the decade included young time in their us offices), which worked creatives from various backgrounds such as with the budget of brands like Ford, Texaco, Erberto Carboni (architect), Luigi Verone- and Camel, yet it was short-lived after the si (painter and photograper), Carlo Dradi arrival of the American economic crisis. and Attilio Rossi (printing technicians and Nevertheless, the Italian advertising scene founders di Campo grafico), Remo Murato- in the early 1930s was largely a continu- re (architect) and, from the Futurist realm, ation of the previous decade, despite the Ricas and Munari.46 repercussions of the economic crisis.43 In 1930 Caimi founded Enneci (responsible for important national campaigns for sugar, beer, and bananas); during that same 43 . Although less dras- 1975² (1968): 517–20; cf. period Anton Gino Domeneghini founded tic than in America and Falabrino 2001: 118–9). Germany, the effects of the 44 . See Abruzzese, Co- ima (Idea Metodo Arte), which grew to 1929 crash caused prices lombo 1994: 49, 57, 157, 165, twenty-odd employees; and Giulio Cesare and stocks to collapse in 169, 253, 392; Valeri 1986: Italy as well, leading to a 56, 65–8; Ceserani 1988: Ricciardi and Pier Luigi Balzaretti opened sharp curtailing of produc- 127–9; Falabrino 2001: 44 tion and rise in unemploy- 112–8; Pitteri 2002: 22; Studio Balza-Ricc. ment. Nevertheless, despite Arvidsson 2003: 48–9, 52– Despite Italian agencies’ references to the noticeable drop in 3; Arvidsson 2001: 169–75; wages and living standards, Alberti 2007: 98; De Iulio, the American model (almost all Italian ad- political-economic factors Vinti 2009: 63–4. vertisers and publicists had formative pro- in the early thirties—the 45 . Pitteri 2002: 22; forced revaluation of the Valeri 1986: 67–8; Ceserani fessional experiences with American agen- lira in 1927 to balance 1988: 104, 129; Falabrino paybooks, political public- 2001: 116, 137. The contrast cies), the advertising practices within these works initiatives, and state between the American ad- structures ignored the subdivision of roles intervention on behalf of vertising tradition, tied to business—led to a situation the development of market- and teamwork so prevalent in America, that was generally favour- ing research, and the com- able to the expansion of mercial arts tradition, grew advertising in Italy, push- more pressing and led to ing the productive sector to more interesting results in further develop the domes- the postwar period follow- tic market. This trend grew ing wwii: cf. De Iulio, Vinti stronger in ther latter half 2009. of the decade, following the 46 . Valeri 1986: 68; proclamation of autarchy Ceserani 1988: 104, 129–30; in response to international Falabrino 2001: 137. The sanctions (imposed by the names mentioned here ap- League of Nations following peared in the two editions Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia of the Guida Ricciardi from in 1935–36) (Arvidsson 1933 and ’36. 2001: 169, 179n; Procacci

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 L’Ufficio Moderno and gar as illustrators and advertising designers In terms of professional organisation, in like Carboni, Nizzoli, Dradi, Brunetta, Mu- 1924 the Sindacato nazionale pubblicitario nari and Ricas, brought together by their (National Advertising Union) was founded need to discuss common problems. The 132 in Milan, and was the first official associa- initial convivial format gradually mor- 133 tion to welcome advertising technicians, phed into more structured meetings, with middlemen, and industrial managers.47 thematic presentations on aspects of the An important venue for research and re- economy, business modernisation, ad- flection arrived in 1926 with the debut of vertising, staff education, and corporate L’Ufficio Moderno, a magazine dedicated to politics,52 and Mazzali’s magazine became company organisation on all levels which the movement’s de facto official publica- soon became the centre to which the field’s tion, regularly reporting on the meetings.53 new practitioners flocked, and quickly be-

came a point of reference for its most inno- 47 . Ceserani 1997a in École supérieure de publi- vative figures.48 In the early 1930s the mag- Cimorelli, Ginex: 127. With cité pratique in Paris (1928), the imposition of the Fas- and also helped organize azine, directed by Guido Mazzali and Dino cist corporate system (codi- two advertising congresses fied in the 1927 Carta del in Rome in 1930 and 1931 Villani, held convivial meet-ups at the La Lavoro) advertisers were (Valeri 1986: 62–3, 66; Penna d’Oca (a restaurant in via S. Carlo, filed first in the Print and Abruzzese, Colombo 1994: 49 Press Corporation category 465). In January 1929 the in Milan’s Navigli neighborhood), where (1926), and later on in monthly added the subtitle professionals from various fields united— the Commercial Auxiliary La Pubblicità, and in March category (1928) under the came under the direction of poster artists, advertising technicians, jour- label National Fascist Un- Guido Mazzali (1895–1960). ion of Advertising Agencies Mazzali was a journalist, nalists, administrative consultants, and (Ceserani 1988: 103–4). publisher of Avanti! until manufacturers. The first meetings generat- The corporate-sector pano- its suppression in 1926, and rama was completed by: the collaborator of Erwin, Wa- ed the idea of forming a group, which took Industrial Confederation, sey & Co. In 1928 he met the name Gruppo amici della razionalizza- comprised of publicity and Francesco Muscia, who advertising producers; the had founded the magazine tione (gar, Group of the Friends of Ration- Professional and Artists in 1926, joined the edito- Confederation, comprised rial team, and then became alisation) and met at irregular intervals of graphic artists (like Mu- director, aided on the edito- beginning in February 1931 in a small room nari) and text editors; and rial team by Dino Villani the Autonomous Federation (co-director from 1931 on). at the Orologio restaurant, just steps from of Artisanal Communi- Dino Villani (1898–1989), the Duomo.50 Within the broader context ties, comprised of sign- and Italian advertiser. After gift-makers (Valeri 1986: working with Mazzali, in ’34 of the time, in which exchanges between 60). With the intent of he became director of Mot- creating a ‘third way’ as an ta’s advertising office, then professionals from different sectors were alternative between capital- of GiViEmme’s, for whom sporadic at best, it is understandable why ism and Marxism to resolve he launched famous award class conflict—which was in competitions (Abruzzese, such encounters also attracted economists, the state’s greatest inter- Colombo 1994: 277, 467–8; statisticians, legal practitioners—contribu- est—employers and employ- Ceserani 1997: 127; Bauer ees were associated with a 1998 in Colombo: 162–4; tors to L’Industria Lombarda (the official broad range of corporations Carotti 2001: 68–9, 69n; corresponding to their vari- Alberti 2007 in Salsi: 99– publication of the general confederation ous economic activities, all 100; Fioravanti 1997: 91). of Italian industry) interested in a studied, controlled by the govern- 49 . La Penna d’oca 51 ment and grouped under restaurant was also a meet- ‘scientific’ organisation of labour —as well the Camera dei Fasci e delle ing point for the Milanese Corporazioni (Chamber goliards (cf.. advert in Cip! of Fasces and Corpora- Cip!, 1931). tions) (http://it.wikipedia. 50 . See Valeri 1986: 71– org/wiki/Corporativismo, 2; Ceserani 1988: 99–100; last accessed 29 December Ceserani 1997a: 131; Bauer 2010). 1998: 164; Falabrino 2001: 48 . In the thirties the 149; Carotti 2001: 72–8. magazine actively pro- 51 . Carotti 2001: 73. moted the introduction Bauer 1998: 164. of the American advertis- 52 . Cf. Carotti 2001: ing model, often through 76–7. sideline initiatives like the 53 . Given the poten- office’s launch of a corre- tially subversive character spondence class with the of the discussions (many

Ricas+Munari Even after the authorities forced gar’s dis- an emerging artist capable of assimilating solution, the head group at L’Ufficio Mo- the new trends, including Carboni, Araca, derno continued organising cultural events: Hrast, Piombanti, and Nizzoli.57 Nizzoli it mounted an international exhibition was likely responsible for the monthly’s re- of advertising posters at the Galleria del newed graphic layout, visible in the mast- 134 Milione (June 1933); and helped organise head’s restyling, in the stylised figure of the IV International Advertising Congress, the thinker (who replaced the old winged held in Rome and Milan the 17–21 Septem- Mercury), and in the column headers (de- ber 1933, to which the magazine devoted a cidedly more controlled than Munari’s), special issue.54 while the layout assumed a more modern As we have seen, Munari became affili- tone through the exclusive use of the new ated with the magazine in 1930, where he Semplicità typeface, an Italian version of published his first works. A photo from an Futura produced by the Nebiolo foundry.58 evening at the Taverna degli artisti of the Penna d’Oca Club, published in February intellectuals and academ- state of Italian graphic arts: ics were socialists, liberals, the first part contained a 1931, shows him amid key figures of the catholics), in 1933 the re- chronological overview of gime’s control forced gar to the evolution of advertising entrepreneurial, academic, and advertis- be absorbed into a ‘Centre in Italy through the profiles ing worlds, and the article makes it clear for the Study of Corporate of a few advertising com- Economics,’ which effec- panies and agencies illus- he was directly involved in organising the tively sanctioned its dissolu- trated by examples of their event.55 Munari and Ricas also had last- tion. A new initiative, limit- adverts; the second part ed to the advertising sector, dealt with poster design, ing relationships with the editorial team, was launched in 1938 by graphic design studios, and the so-called Brigata della printers. Curiously, neither and through 1937 contributed covers and Spiga (a name, taken from Munari (who was included illustrations, as well as managing the art the Firenze restaurant in in the Mostra del Cartello via della Spiga, assumed in publicitario internazionale, direction of one issue, printed promotional order to pass through the con bozzetti italiani rifiutati material for the magazine, and adverts for censors’ restrictions). The nei concorsi (Exhibition of group tried to launch a International Advertising 56 businesses in the sector. national advertising prize, Posters and Italian Rejected which nevertheless was not Posters) curated by Villani Mazzali’s appointment as director of followed up on because of at the Galleria del Milione L’Ufficio Moderno in ’29 also brought with the climate surrounding the from June 2–17 that same imminent conflict (cf. Gino year) nor any other graphic it visible changes in the magazine’s graphic Pesavento, ‘La Brigata della designers of his generation look, to reflect its broader interest in both Spiga’ in L’Ufficio Moderno were profiled. Neverthe- xiii; 6, June 1938: 321–3; less, among the adverts advertising’s technical aspects as well as its and ivi xiii; 8, August 1938: included toward the end 430). In ’40 Mazzali and of the volume, reproduc- aesthetic aspects. Up until then the cover other collaborators were tions (by Alfieri & Lacroix) had remained tied to symbolist aesthetic arrested and sent into exile; of Munari’s cover for the the building housing the ed- January ‘33 issue of Natura elements, albeit with some graphic updat- itorial offices was destroyed and a photomontage from ing of its lettering, and each issue repro- by the bombardments of the Almanacco Letterario August 1943 (Valeri 1986: Bompiani 1933 are included duced the same basic design—only the col- 72, 75–6; Ceserani 1988: (Ceserani 1988: 103–4, 129; 99–100; Bauer 1998 in Co- Bauer 1998: 164). ours changed—as was standard for maga- lombo: 164; Carotti 2001: 55 . ‘I pubblicitari’ in zines in the early 1930s. Mazzali introduced 70–1, 74–6. For the refer- L’Ufficio Moderno vi; 2 (Feb- ences regarding the various ruary 1931): 95–96 (Valeri the idea of having each new cover done by reports of the gar meetings 1986: 73; Di Corato 2008: that appeared in the maga- 214–5). zine between 1931 and ’35, 56 . It is equally prob- cf. Carotti 2001: 88–91). able that studio r+m re- 54 . Published under ceived direct (or indirect, the title Arte pubblicitaria through Studio Boggeri) 1900–1933, Milan: L’Ufficio commissions for adverts Moderno, 1933. Supplement through Mazzali, who was to the September issue of also a consultant for the L’Ufficio Moderno, published Lagomarsino and Alpestre on the eve of the IV Inter- companies. national Advertising Con- 57 . Bauer 1998: 162–3; gress. Edited by Dino Villani, Carotti 2001: 71. the volume aimed to be a 58 . Despite the tempta- significant review of the tion to attribute it to Ricas

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Much like the covers created in 1932, three columns, with a clear structure that in terms of advertising Ricas and Munari took two-page spreads into consideration— |118| designed a small promotional brochure for thereby demonstrating its assimilation L’Ufficio Moderno, which from a stylistic (albeit without excessive rigour) of the 134 point of view could be placed in the tran- lessons learned from the new typography 135 sitional phase following their involvement popularised in Italy by periodicals like Ca- with aeropainting, as it shows an inclina- sabella and Campo grafico. The two graphic tion toward modernism, and pays more designers’ interventions can most clearly attention to the typography and the use of be seen in the selection and positioning photomontage, and can therefore be dated of the images (primarily cut-out photo- to around 1933.59 graphs), in a few vertically positioned titles, In the spring of 1935, opening the edi- and in the margins’ balance, They carved torial team to collaborations with promi- out a space for typographic experimenta- nent Milanese graphic artists, Mazzali |119| tion in the article on themselves, partially made Ricas and Munari art directors of printed in duotone, with the text com- the May issue. The goal of the initiative, posed entirely in lowercase letters, remi- which was instructional more than aes- niscent of some work done at the Bauhaus. thetic, was to document—as the editorial The opening two-page spread is a fantasti- states—‘how even a trade magazine, ed- cal composition that makes the most of ited and printed to be read and meditated the anamorphic reflexion of the studio and upon, can and must break out of the nar- the stratification of various elements (a row confines imposed upon it by the pub- technical drawing, two pencils, a frame) lishers.’ The formula’s success led them to almost creating a surreal rebus. Aside from repeat the initiative, as can be seen in the the verbose introduction, the content of October issue, edited by Xanti Schawins- the article—with the exception of the re- ky. The entire publication shows signs of productions of graphic artefacts—is highly the two artists’ interventions, not only in photographic. It places an emphasis on the layout, but beginning with the cover interior design, even if in reality it does and continuing through the many illustra- not show trade-fair or commercial instal- tions and adverts, as well as a long article lations, but rather their own studio on via on interior design in which the studio’s Ravizza and the two artists’ living spaces. stylistic marks are given ample attention.60 The images of the studio, on the basement The layout does not exhibit any significant level, focus primarily on the furnishings, shifts with respect to the usual typographic

layout (it maintained the use of the Sem- and Munari, the magazine’s (26×10 cm open), printed plicità and Landi faces), but showed great look can more reasonably in 3 colours. Milan, n.d. [c. be attributed to Nizzoli: in 1935]; only known copy, flexibility in the arrangement of text and addition to the illustration now in the Bruno Munari images according to variously symmetrical style, the editorial offices’ Collection, clac Galleria letterhead (reproduced in del Design e dell’Arreda- and asymmetrical schemas, in one, two or no.5, May 1932: 115) and its mento, Cantù. Given the use of typographic screens presence of a typo in the recalls both his ‘Sintesi text and the reproduction Parolibere’ adverts for of a sketch rather than a Campari (in Ferrigni 1937) photo of the open magazine, and the poster ‘La moda. this is likely an unfinished Decorazione della donna’, blueprint. from 1930 (in Falabrino 60 . L’Ufficio Moderno, 2001: 117), in which Nizzoli la pubblicità x; 5 (maggio), uses screens and collages of 1935. This article, untitled decorative papers to create and signed ‘Armodio’, is textures. listed in the table of con- 59 . ‘L’Ufficio Moderno. tents as ‘Ricas e Munari, La pubblicità’, 2-flap bro- arredamenti e decorazioni chure, 18×10 cm closed d’interni’ (246–5).

Ricas+Munari made up of work tables, desks, chairs and perhaps because as a medium it was closer other rationalist-style pieces; aside from to illustration), the use of white spaces to the showroom and administrative spaces, create compositional balance, and the use the studio appears filled with paintings, of duotone, all elements that heralded the sculptures, ‘useless machines’, a long black passage to a different graphic approach. 136 panel for pinning up sketches, and is gen- |121| The logotype for ava, a company that erally characterised by colour accents on made boilers and heating devices and was both the furnishings and the walls; ulti- part of the Dell’Orto group (for whom Ri- mately, they appear quite similar to the do- cas and Munari had already curated trade- mestic interiors designed by Ricas and Mu- fair stands) is typographically built like a nari (the latter had married in 193461 and monogram, in which the vertical shifting lived not far from the studio, in via Vittoria of the central letter leaves room for a small Colonna 39, where he remained for the rest concession to figurative representation. of his life). The variety of their graphic in- The logo was still in use in 193962 and, as tervention and the works presented in the proof of the company’s lasting relationship magazine, ranging from the field of graphic with the studio, a dummy for a brochure design to that of furnishings and interior or catalogue also survives, with photomon- decoration, made this issue a nearly com- tages and headlines, roughly datable to the plete review of Ricas+Munari’s entire out- mid-thirties.63 The logotype for Aeromec- put, and therefore allows us to outline a canica Marelli, on the other hand, appears survey of sorts of where they stood in the based on a more figurative Futurist typog- mid-thirties, when both artists had already raphy, in which the two overlapping letters gained solid experience in Milan’s cultural form one stylised figure, without hindering scene. the acronym’s legibility in the least, thereby making it more memorable. |122| Their configuration of the Movo logo Changeover (1933–35) was markedly more allusive and original— The article features a review of graphic the company produced model airplanes, works including commercial brands, cov- and the logo was based on a double posi- ers, adverts, and illustrations documenting tive/negative image that reflects the nature the effective passage from the primarily of the product: the design schematically Futurist first phase toward a more con- combined the silhouette of an assembled structivist visual language. This new sensi- model and the instructional diagrams that bility, undoubtedly affected by the debate came with the package. The go-between surrounding the new typography—which linking engineer Gustavo Clerici, Movo’s influenced all the figurative arts a bit, especially in Milan—was characterised by 61 . Cf. letter to Tullio which it is clear that, in ad- the use of photography (even if Munari d’Albisola [spring 1934]: dition to the boiler division, ‘(…) when you next come the company also had kitch- and Ricas primarily used photomontage, to Milan you’ll see our new, en (Febo), electrical, and typically ‘Munarian’ home laundry (Lava) divisions; and we’ll have the honour, as for the ‘paternity’ of the esteemed commander, of respective brands, in lieu of counting you first amongst any additional information, our highly sought-after Ricas and Munari may well guests (…) I’ll send you a have played a role in their little bag of confetti to share creation (although this is with our friends in Albisola pure speculation). (say hello for us) and a little 63 . The original sketch, bag for esa’ (in Presotto attributed to Munari, be- 1981: 147). longs to the collection of 62 . See the advert in the Massimo & Sonia Cir- Casabella Costruzioni no.134 ulli Archive, New York/Bo- (February 1939), from logna. 50×34.5 cm.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 founder and author of a highly success- in blue, occupied by photographs of an ful model-airplane hobbyst’s manual,64 airplane in flight and a model airplane, and Munari was his younger brother respectively; the upper portion features Giordano, who joined him in Milan in the the letters of the company name, which 136 mid-thirties: Giordano also had a techni- emerge in relief thanks to a subtle use of 137 cal background in mechanical draught- shadow, while the centre has a black stripe ing, and before taking a job with Edison with the text ‘Modelli volanti and parti as a turbine draughtsman and designer staccate’ (Flying models and individual he worked for a time as draughtsman at parts) and the store’s address printed in Movo.65 At the time, model airplane build- negative. The same horizontal empha- ing was a hobby not many could afford, sis characterises the pages of text: some and Clerici, well aware of the importance pages are based on a three-column module, of an image on par with the prestige aero- with colour titles slightly unaligned (with nautics enjoyed—a phenomenon also nur- 64 . Gustavo Clerici, Il wikipedia.it, last accessed 2 tured and exploited by the regime, thanks modello volante. Vademecum July 2010). to the record-setting flights of Ferrarin, De dell’aeromodellista. Milan: 67 . Movo Modelli vo- 66 Edizioni Movo, 1938. There lanti e parti staccate. Mi- Pinedo, and Balbo —entrusted a Futurist is no evidence of Munari’s lan: Movo, 1937; printed artist to promote Movo. The logo, which involvement in the vol- by Muggiani, Milan. ume’s production, which 22×14.5 cm; pp. 32; staple certainly appeared on the company’s let- typographically belongs to binding; printed in two the category of technical colours. This edition is the terhead and other commercial printed instruction manuals (like oldest in the company’s matter (of which, however, no specimens those published by Hoepli). archives. The information 65 . Alberto Munari, claiming the catalogue’s have survived), predates 1935. Two years author interview 1 Febru- interior was overseen by later Munari edited the company’s annual ary 2008. As far as is cur- Clerici doubtless refers to rently known, however, the the content rather than the 67 |123| catalogue of original models. The precise reverse hypothesis cannot graphic layout (Alessandro |124| be excluded—that is, Mu- Clerici, author interview 17 date of the first exemplar is not known, nari may have introduced July 2009). nor is Munari’s role in its creation; in any his brother to Movo. His 68 . The catalogues’ brother (or perhaps Munari covers maintained the case, he definitely oversaw the 1937 edition, himself?) is depicted hold- photographic layout of the which was later reprinted (unmodified) ing one of the models in a original (with the excep- photograph accompanying tion that the photo in the the following year, and taken up substan- the article ‘I modelli volanti’ lower portion changes) up published by Munari in La until 1941. The later edi- tially unaltered (aside from the cover) in Lettura xxxvi; 11 (November tions (including those of the layout of the following editions up 1936): 942–3. the immediate postwar 68 66 . Arturo Ferrarin period) have a different through the postwar period. (1895–1941) obtained cover, no longer illustrated The catalogue appeared in a small al- worldwide fame in 1920 but rather typographic, with his Rome-Tokyo flight; and more traditional; the bum format, which allowed for an articu- in 1928 he set the world- structure is similar, divided wide records for duration into two horizontal stripes, lated, varied layout combining texts and and distance of a nonstop but of different colours photographs, and was a successful experi- flight by flying from Rome and heights. Its creator to Touros (Brazil). France- is unknown—however, if |125| ment using a grid-based layout on both sco De Pinedo (1890–1933) compared to the case for the interior pages and cover. The latter is carried out the exceptional Mondo Aria Acqua Terra, a feat (for the time) of flying collection of children’s divided into two horizontal stripes printed from Rome to Melbourne, books published by Munari Tokyo, and back; in 1927 in 1940 (Milan: Italgeo), he flew from Italy to Cape whose cover has a similar Verde, Buenos Aires, and layout, it is possible that finally Arizona. Italo Balbo even the new typographic (1896–1940) led two Trans- cover was designed by Mu- atlantic flights: the first in nari. The interior, on the December 1930 to Rio de other hand—aside from Janeiro, and the second—on a few new insertions and the occasion of the 1933 rearrangement of a few Universal Exposition in pages—largely followed the Chicago—to Montreal, Chi- original layout of ’37. The cago, and (en route back to format and the graphic Italy) New York (source: look of the Movo catalogues changed only in 1959.

Ricas+Munari respect to the columns); these alternate Movo catalogue clearly indicate Munari’s with pages based on a two-column module, proximity to the precepts of the new ty- dominated by photographs and diagrams pography and his evident assimilation of a accompanied by technical notes; and pages few modernist stylistic elements, like the of tables follow, in various modular ar- functional use of duotone, the layout based 138 rangements according to the function of on the two-page spread, the importance of their data. On a typographic level, the use white in the composition, and the coher- of a single sans-serif face (Semplicità) gives ent arrangement of illustrations, texts, and uniformity and coherence to the effective captions, which recall the recurring recom- arrangement of titles and headlines that— mendations that appeared in the pages of using a combination of sizes, weights, cases, Campo grafico and Modiano’s writings.70 and colours—facilitates the information’s The Movo catalogue is without doubt one readability. of Munari’s best creations—and one of the ‘A brochure must be thought of as a best works in general within the graphic |126| single strip’—wrote Munari in an article scene of the time, as the reproduction of its that appeared that same year in Campo gra- cover and some of its two-page spreads in fico. Here for the first time he put into prac- an article by Giuseppe Pagano in a special tice the principle of ‘graphic rhythm’, com- issue of Gebrauchsgraphik devoted to Italy paring it to a cinematographic sequence: in autumn 1937 attests.71 Ricas and Munari’s situation between a certain sense of movement, similar to 1933 and 1935 might best be summarised cinema, created by a succession of pages much like the succession of film stills (…) as a changeover. Their openness toward a has to balance the white space, text, and il- more resolutely modern graphic approach, lustrations in a clear, fluid way, and above more apprised of constructive principles, all it must remain as hidden as possible.69 came about through their intense collaboration with Antonio Boggeri’s advertising In other words, speaking of the impor- studio, where the two artists were able to tance of the alignments as of an invisible measure themselves against graphic de- ‘central thread on and around which the signers like Xanti Schawinsky. Their cover other minor rhythms form the harmony of the whole’, Munari postulates the modu- 69 . Bruno Munari, ‘Rit- aesthetic and informative lar grid, an innovation brought to Italy by mi grafici’ in Campo grafico communication. Persico and Modiano’s pioneering work v; 5–6, June 1937: 33, 35. At 71 . Giuseppe Pagano, the beginning of the article, ‘Die Entwicklung der Typo- for Casabella (in particular, their work Munari presents a modular graphie in Italien/Evolution from 1933 on); yet its elaboration remains grid, probably the same one of typography in Italy ’ in used in the layout of the Gebrauchsgraphik vol.14, primarily intuitive, far from the system- Movo catalogue. It is inter- no.10 (October 1937): 52– esting to note that, among 60. Reproductions of the atic concept of the grid that was already the images accompanying catalogue also appear along- widespread in Central Europe. More gener- the text there are, in addi- side Munari’s article, ‘Ritmi tion to a selection of indi- grafici’, which appeared in ally, the formal solutions adopted in the vidual pages from the cata- Campo grafico (no.5–6, June logue, also works by studio 1937: 32–5), later reprinted r+m (an advert and cover) with the illustrations in the and an American catalogue ‘Consensi e dissensi’ column by Lester Beall. of L’Ufficio Moderno (xii; 70 . See, for example, 9, September 1937: 441–6). the article ‘Cataloghi’ (in Given its traditional lay- Campo grafico iii; 1, Janu- out, an unsigned advert for ary 1935: 6–8) in which, Movo that appeared in L’Ala based on an example de- d’Italia that same autumn signed by Max Burchartz for (n.10, October 1937: xxxvi) Wehag, Modiano analyses is difficult to read, and the catalogue as a modern therefore likely cannot be graphic product, discuss- attributed to Munari. ing its twofold function of

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 design for L’Ufficio Moderno, successful as |129| and a number of recently rediscovered tex- it is for the genre, still has not entirely shed tile design sketches signed Munari/Studio the traditional pictorial heritage. The cover Boggeri can probably be traced back to that |128| designed a few months later by Schawins- occasion: these are particularly interesting 138 ky is characterised instead by the skillful examples, insofar as the drawings no long- 139 integration of photography and typogra- er show any trace of the old aeropictorial phy, the controlled dynamism of the com- stylistic elements, and are instead modelled position, and the expressive use of colour on organic and geometric motifs in coordi- and typographic screens. A comparison nated ranges of spot colours.74 between these examples shows the sheer Also in 1933 Dino Villani, editor of distance that still separated the most ad- L’Ufficio Moderno, organised an important vanced Italian graphic designers from the exchange between the European avant- concept of modern graphics developed in garde and the Milanese graphics and archi- continental Europe.72 tecture scenes at the Galleria del Milione. This phase of research was also when |131|Proposing an Esposizione del cartello in- Ricas and Munari participated in a textile ternazionale e del cartello italiano rifiutato design competition launched by De Angeli- (Exhibition of International Posters and Frua, an important textile firm, aimed at Rejected Italian Posters), which included the exhibition of unique fabrics at the 1933 work by Munari and Ricas alongside that Triennale. The competition was announced of high-calibre European artists such as in Domus and Natura in November ’32 and, Bayer, Carlu, Cassandre, Cappiello, Gar- in addition to noteworthy monetary prizes, retto, Sepo, Dudovich, and Soviet poster offered artists a chance to publish their designers. Controversially, the Italian own work in a prestigious context as well graphic designers exhibited only rejected as contribute to the production of a textile sketches to criticise patrons’ aesthetic series. The jury consisted of representa- incomprehension: tives from the company and the Diretto- rio (Steering Committee) of the Milanese Here [in Italy] people still ask that posters be nice illustrations, they want them to be exhibition, the directors of the two maga- full of laudatory descriptions, when instead zines (Gio Ponti and Luigi Poli), and artists and architects including Mario Sironi,

Giuseppe Pagano, and Luciano Baldessari. 72 . L’Ufficio Moderno ten artists whose designs The competition results were published x; 5 (May 1935) and ivi x; were selected, in addition 10 (September 1935), by to Munari and Ricas, were the following February, and Ricas and Ricas+Munari and Scha- Nizzoli (two prizes and the Munari were among the winners with an winsky, respectively. special prize), Lucio Fon- 73 . Cf. Gio Ponti, ‘Verso tana, Fausto Melotti, and aeropictorial-style design that (per the an- gli artisti…’ in Domus no.59 Giulia Veronesi. (November 1932): 686–7 74 . Now in the col- nounced conditions) was exhibited at the and ‘L’esito del concorso lection of the Massimo & V Triennale.73 The next Triennale in 1936 per dieci stoffe d’autore Sonia Cirulli Archive, New bandito da De Angeli-Frua’ York/Bologna. The lot in- also included a review of printed textiles, in Natura vi; 2 (February cludes drawings of various 1933): 56–7. The competi- sizes (the smallest meas- tion was expressly designed ures 10×16 cm, the larg- without excessive stipula- est 34×40.5 cm), done in tions in order to guarantee tempera in different colour the participation of the combinations (from 2 to 5); best artists, and offered some compositions are only 10 prizes of 1,000 lire plus partially completed, with a special juried prize of the main image sketched in 2,000 lire—by way of com- pencil. All carry the artist’s parison, 1,000 lire was signature, often accompa- the equivalent of a decent nied by an illegiblescrawl. monthly wage, as a famous The client they were done song (Mille lire al mese) of for, on the other hand, re- the time attests. Among the mains unknown.

Ricas+Munari they should consist of very few elements that hand (made with typographic screens) is 75 instantaneously synthesise a concept. mounted, and atop the hand is a block of moveable type, the only really figurative el- In terms of Munari’s stylistic progress, 1934 ement; the title of the magazine and other was marked by two somewhat contradic- text appear within the horizontal stripes. 140 tory events: on the one hand, the profes- The result appears even more noteworthy sional recognition from a competition |134| when compared to the typographic poster promoted by Il Risorgimento Grafico; and, he produced for an aeropainting exhibition on the other, a typographic poster created in Reggio Emilia during that same period. for a Futurist exhibition that exposed all The exhibition was the same one organised the limits in his self-taught educational in March at the Galleria delle Tre Arti in background. The competition was one in Milan, for which the artist had designed a series of promotional initiatives carried |133| a brochure with a twofold function—act- out in Bertieri’s nearly forty years of activ- ing as both a programme and a theoretical ity: the assigned theme was a cover for the manifesto—quite effective in its striking magazine, and was therefore inspired by simplicity.77 In April, when the show trav- the press and print world, and accepted elled to Reggio Emilia, Munari created a work in two categories, artistic (illustrated) purely typographic poster, an absolutely and typographic, evaluated by two separate unique piece in his entire production. The juries. Despite the usual debates surround- composition seems to have been assem- ing such initiatives, participation was quite bled directly on the press with moveable high, with over 130 designs submitted be- wood type, according to the artist’s loose tween the two divisions. Not only did the directions (perhaps aimed at achieving a magazine devote two issues to the compe- Dada-esque effect), in the disorderly ar- tition results, publishing all the selected rangement of the texts, which lacked any works, it also organised a public exhibition

at the Istituto Bertieri. The designs by the 75 . Galleria del Milione, art publisher) and Elio three winners in each category were also Milan, 3–30 June 1933. Cf. Palazzo (director of the Dino Villani, ‘Presentazio- Scuola dell’Umanitaria) for published as covers of Il Risorgimento Gra- ne’ and (ed.) ‘In Galleria’ in category B (typography). Il Milione no.16 (3–30 June Cf. Il Risorgimento Grafico |132| fico that year. Munari’s composition won 1933): n.p. Over the course xxxi; nos.2 and 3 (February second place, and was published in the of the 1932/33 season the and March 1935), wholly 76 Ghiringhelli brothers’ gal- devoted to the competi- April issue. It is significant that Munari lery (thanks also to Persi- tion results. The exhibition submitted a figurative design, confirming co’s unflagging contribu- opened to the public on 24 tions) mounted significant March and was installed in his personal inclination toward pictorial group exhibitions on the the printshop rooms, ‘atop emerging field of design, the typesetters’ cases and expression rather than the rigour of typo- ranging from modern fur- the printshop’s countertops’ graphic composition, even if the image did nishings to set design and (ibid.). In addition to be- fashion. ing published, Munari won have a decidedly abstract aspect: the back- 76 . 46th Competition 300 lire. ground is a geometric motif with alternat- announced by Il Risorgi- 77 . Scelta futuristi mento Grafico in Septem- venticinquenni, brochure, ing stripes, atop which the silhouette of a ber 1934. The two juries, 70×50 cm. Printed on the composed of 3 members, occasion of the exposition included—in addition to the at the Galleria delle Tre Arti, categories’ union repre- Milan, 4–18 March 1934. sentatives, from the Unione The recto contains a short Provinciale professionisti ‘Antipolemica/Noi lavoria- e artisti and the Sinda- mo contando’ presentation cato Provinciale Fascista (by Munari), a calendar of dell’arte grafica—respec- events, and a catalogue of tively: Guido Marussig (il- the works; the verso repro- lustrator, poster artist, set duces the Manifesto tecnico designer) and Raffaele Cal- dell’aeroplastica futurista zini (writer) for category A (reproduced in Lista 1984: (art); Gabriele Chiattone 68). (printer-typographer and

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 clear structure, in the unusual horizon- ‘magazine of graphic aesthetics and tech- tal format, and above all in the decision niques’ founded in January 1933 by a group to print it on papers of various colours of technicians (typesetters, lithographers, (reminiscent of the Italian flag, although printers) working at various Milanese 140 it is not clear whether this gesture was de- printing plants, whose antagonism toward 141 liberately playful or just plain nationalis- ‘Il Risorgimento Grafico’ had a strong im- tic). But aside from the riff on the stylistic pact on the stagnant environment in Italy elements of Dada, the composition has at the time.82 The young ‘campisti’ shared no formal relation to the brochure of the an urgent desire to expand the typographic Milan exhibition, and appears rather com- positionally limp, in both its choice and 78 . Mostra aeropittu- all produced by the Fonde- ra venticinquenni futuristi, ria Nebiolo, where he also use of type as well as in its tendency to fill poster, 100×70 cm. Printed supported the creation the page, ignoring the white spaces.78 Nor, by the Stabilimento tipogra- (in 1933) of the Art Studio fico P. Notari e figli, Reggio run by Giulio Da Milano, truthfully, does it demonstrate any greater Emilia. Printed in three ver- later run by Alessandro typographic competence than the plain sions on green, white, and Butti (Rattin, Ricci 1997: red paper. Reproductions in 63, 86–90, 97; Pigozzi 1982: self-promotional advert Ricas and Munari Lista 1984 (green), Mughini, 468). Despite the contro- Scudiero 1997 (white), versies in the specialised published in the goliard students’ Latteria Mughini collection, Rome press that pitted conserva- di Tripoli.79 (red). For the exhibition in tives against innovators for Reggio Emilia cf. ‘I futuristi nearly a decade, thanks to venticinquenni a Milano e the prestige Bertieri enjoyed a Reggio’ in Sant’Elia iii; 67 as a ‘cultural figure’ he (15 May 1934): 6. continued to receive impor- The modernist controversy 79 . ‘Se vi trovate in tant commissions for the imbarazzo (…)’ in Latteria Triennale: after the graphic The proposition Munari outlined in his di Tripoli. Numero unico dei overview he installed in brief contribution to Campo grafico took goliardi milanesi a favore de- the Padiglione della stampa gli studenti bisognosi. Milan: (Print Pavilion) in ’33, and up current ideas from the heated modern- n.p., [February/March] the absence of any graphic ist debate that throughout the 1930s pitted 1934: p. 48. 22.5×30 cm. arts presentation in ‘36, in 80 . Raffaello Bertieri 1940 Bertieri curated the the traditionalism of book typography, em- (pseudonym of Carlo Loret- book section of the Mostra toni, 1875–1941), printer- dell’arte grafica (Graphic bodied by Raffaello Bertieri and his maga- typographer, bibliophile, Arts Exhibition) installed by zine Il Risorgimento grafico,80 against the and publisher. A pupil of Guido Modiano, who also typographer Salvatore Lan- played a key role in creat- new generations of technicians and graph- di, at the beginning of the ing Italy’s new typographic ic designers who, looking to the broader century he moved from style (cf. Vinti 2005). Florence to Milan, where 81 . Although the first range of European work, saw a clear affin- he sold presses. In 1906 he texts date back to 1929 opened a printshop/graph- (‘Del nuovo stile tipografico’ ity—of both intent and, secondarily, for- ic office with Piero Vanzetti, in L’Industria della stam- mal qualities—between typography, archi- which in the twenties be- pa no.9, September 1929: came the Istituto Grafico 275–280), in 1931 Modiano tecture, and nonfigurative painting. The Bertieri (in 1926 Vanzetti effectively opened the de- voices in favour of a rational, expressive and Luigi Vanoletti founded bate by launching Tipografia, the eponymous printing a magazine published by the renewal of the graphic arts—anticipated facility). In 1902 Bertieri Fonderia Reggiani (a short- founded the trade maga- lived publication, with only by the critical thinking and print work of zine Il Risorgimento Grafi- 3 issues) and at the same exceptional typographers like Guido Modi- co (literally ‘The Graphic time designed and printed 81 Resurgence’), which he graphic works according ano —were heard in Campo grafico, the directed for nearly forty to the new functionalist years, becoming spokesman criteria (catalogue Compag- for a renewal of printing nia Continentale Sellerie arts based on a return and ciclistiche e affini, 1932) (cf. revival of Renaissance and Vinti 2005: 51, 55). Bodonian book models. 82 . The magazine, Director of the Scuola del launched in January 1933, Libro della Società Umani- ceased publication in May taria (from 1919 to 1925), 1939. In the absence of any he also designed typefaces in-depth historic examina- based on Renaissance (In- tion of the magazine, see cunabula, 1911; Sinibaldi, the clear accounts given by 1922–28; Ruano, 1926) and its two main figures, Attilio neoclassical calligraphic Rossi and Carlo Dradi: Ros- models (Paganini, 1926), si 1973: 11–4; Dradi 1973:

Ricas+Munari field to include everyday printed mat- took a moderately progressive stance, half- ter (brochures, catalogues, magazines, in way between the more extreme positions which the photographic image was as- held by the traditionalists and Futurists.86 suming an ever greater role) overturning the traditional preeminence of the book, 142 defended by Il Risorgimento Grafico, which Relationship to architecture represented the erudite side of Italian The modernist controversy arose amidst |135| printing arts. Campo grafico’s uniqueness the broader context of Italian rational- lay not only in the fact that it was a spon- ism, characterised by age-old controversies taneous publishing initiative, without great regarding the role of modern architecture means, founded on the collaboration of its

prime movers—material suppliers and the 19–23, 26–8, 36–7; Rossi printing on cellophane, etc.; various plants in which it was printed.83 1983: 8–11. (Cf. also Pigozzi the reviews covered exhibi- 1982: 468–9; Fioravanti tions by known artists con- Above all, it positioned itself as a ‘demon- 1997: 74–5; Baroni, Vitta sidered close to the field of strative’ magazine that, contesting the 2003: 135–6; Caccia 2007: graphics, such as the shows 49–52) by Vordemberge-Gildewart rhetoric of ‘Italian-ness’ in the neoclassi- 83 . Each issue was ed- (November 1934) and Willi 84 ited, typeset, and printed Baumeister (May 1935) at cal book-publishing model, adopted an after working hours at the the Galleria del Milione. experimental formula that was reevaluated various printing facilities Three important mono- in which the workers and graphs were devoted to the with each issue—whereby the cover, layout, technicians were employed, work of painter Atanasio and even the adverts became a ‘training coordinating the various Soldati, sculptor Lucio Fon- steps in weekly meetings. tana, and architect Alberto ground’ of sorts in which to prove the in- Even the distribution, as Sartoris, accompanied by well as subscription en- critical texts by Alfonso herent possibilities of the new typographic rollment, depended on Gatto, Leonardo Sinisgalli, aesthetic. Beyond the strictly formal level, volunteer work. Despite Edoardo Persico, and Raf- the economic difficulties, faello Giolli. Even on the Campo grafico made important contribu- from January 1933 through covers the editors always tions to the modernist debate through its mid-1939 a total of 66 is- sought to combine aesthetic sues were published; it grew ends (commissioning work content as well, with polemical and theo- from an original 16 pages to from artists in various cur- a total of 24 within the first rents: Veronesi, Soldati, retical writings, critical and popularising year, although the print run Dradi-Rossi, et al.) and articles, technical columns, and reviews; generally remained around technical aspects (experi- 500 copies (Dradi 1973; menting with printing on all this was augmented by adverts with col- Rossi 1983; Dradi, Rossi cardboard and other new our reproductions and a few monographs 2003: 8). materials, like metallic or 84 . Italian typographic velour papers, in some cases dedicated to contemporary artists, con- traditionalism (champi- combined with offset print- oned by Bertieri, Cesare ing) (Dradi 1973: 35). firming the deep ties between typography Ratta, and Alberto Tallone) 86 . A technical-typo- and all the other manifestations of mod- was constantly targeted by graphic monthly founded in 85 the ‘campisti’ (contributors Turin in 1911 under the title ern aesthetics. And it was not an isolated to Campo grafico): cf. Rossi, Piemonte grafico. In 1932 instance. A similar attempt to rejuvenate who derides the mentality Graphicus began a fruit- of the illustrious printer- ful collaboration with the typographic culture was carried out by a typographers ‘who honed Scuola Tipografica Vigliar- their tastes during the di Paravia, which led to a group of printer-typographers in Turin, led inauspicious floral period generational renewal of its by Giulio Da Milano and Ezio D’Errico, and then returned to the editorial team and in 1934 simplicity of Bodoni, which a new directorship under who founded the magazine Graphicus; it seemed to them a revolu- Giulio Da Milano (who had tionary step’ (Campo grafico previously run the Art Stu- v; 9, September 1937) or dio of the Nebiolo foundry), Modiano, who, in a review Edoardo Orecchia, and about Tallone, labelled Ezio d’Errico, champions such ‘tipografia granducale’ of a more decisive updat- (grand-duchy typography) ing/modernisation of the anachronistic (Campo grafi- graphic arts; in particular co iii; 7, July 1935). the covers of the thirties 85 . The technical arti- show a bona fide emulation cles offered information of the work being done by and solutions for common the Milanese campisti (So- printing problems, as well lia 1969: 39–45; Dradi 1973: as news on such topics as 12; Pansera 1984: 16n; Pri- the use of metallic inks, arone 1989: 12).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 in the Fascist state. In particular, the cam- particular reaction, once the first works paign for rational architecture regarded the were built (Terragni’s Novocomum in exhibition installation and public com- Como, 1929; Pagano’s Gualino office build- petition sectors, but above all it occupied ing in Turin; Figini and Pollini’s Casa elet- 142 the specialised press (Casabella first and trica at the Monza Triennale, 1930) it be- 143 foremost), trade newspapers, and even came clear that the rationalists’ intentions the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber of were really too radical for the academicism Parliament).87 Nevertheless, despite a few dominant in Rome. Despite efforts to vali- significant achievements, the attempt to date the rational style as a response to the develop an Italian modernism ended up in- reformational values of Fascism—which, it evitably yielding to the conditions imposed should be noted, many young architects, by the regime, and was forced to compro- including Terragni and Pagano, staunchly mise with the monumentalism spreading supported—the Seconda Esposizione italia- through Italy’s urban centres. na di architettura razionale (Second Ital- In 1926 the avant-garde Gruppo 7 ian Exposition of Rational Architecture) at (Group 7) came to the fore with a series the Galleria Bardi in Rome in 1931 caused a of articles published in the magazine Ras- great stir.89 Marcello Piacentini—the most segna Italiana. These texts were a kind of influential architect in Rome, and advocate manifesto of Italian rationalism in which of a ‘simplified neoclassicism’ in keeping new principles for modern architecture, in with the regime’s authoritarian vision90— line with the theoretical underpinnings of accused the rationalists of ‘Bolshevism’ in the International style, were announced: the press; the architects’ union, part of the an adherence to the essential form, cor- Fascist corporate order, withdrew its sup- respondence between form and function, port and threatened the participating ar- and refusal of decoration—while neverthe- chitects with expulsion from the Order of less laying claim to ties with the underly- Architects; the inevitable defections led to ing Italian tradition.88 In 1928 the group the dissolution of miar in September 1931. organised the Prima Esposizione italiana di architettura razionale (First Italian Exposi- 87 . Following the con- sull’architettura [per Mus- troversy—brought as far as solini]. Polemiche. Rome: tion of Rational Architecture) at the Palaz- Parliament—surrounding Edizioni di Critica Fascista, zo delle Esposizioni in Rome, which gave it the plans for Sabaudia and 1931), what really got a reac- the Florence railway station from academics was his a degree of notoriety on the national level, tion Mussolini intervened ‘Tavola degli orrori’, a pro- and in 1930 it grew into the miar (Movi- (up until then, as with all fane photomontage that im- aesthetic issues, he had not plicitly attacked the eclecti- mento Italiano per l’Architettura Razionale, gotten involved), and in cism popular under King June 1934 summoned Gio- Umberto and Piacentini’s the Italian Rational Architecture Move- vanni Michelucci’s Gruppo monumental classicism. ment), with the aim of increasing its vis- Toscano to Palazzo Venezia 90 . In these years many and unexpectedly praised Italian cities were rede- ibility and influence through exhibitions, rationalist architecture: signed: parts of their histor- conferences, and publications. Although ‘because, as an old revolu- ic centres were demolished, tionary, he sensed that the new streets were opened, the first public launch did not garner any architecture we proposed and many public buildings was a slap in the face of the were redefined in an ec- lazy, sly bourgeoisie’ (Carlo lectic style inspired by the Belli 1980: 18). ‘Roman-ness’ championed 88 . The group included by Marcello Piacentini. His the young architects Ubal- ‘simplified neoclassicism’ do Castagnola, Luigi Figini, was essentially an exterior Guido Frette, Sebastiano modernisation character- Larco, Gino Pollini, Carlo ised by simplified forms, Enrico Rava, Giuseppe Ter- smooth walls, full balconies, ragni, and Adalberto Libera. and blunted arches and col- 89 . Despite Pier Ma- umns, while the structure ria Bardi’s manoeuvres to still had symmetrical plans win Mussolini’s support and closed volumes. of rationalism (Rapporto

Ricas+Munari From then on the more radical version of An attempt at establishing a direct link the rationalist movement was defeated, between Futurism and rationalism was and internally lost steam as the architects mounted by the Turin group, and in partic- gave up on winning any major public com- ular by Alberto Sartoris and Fillìa who, af- missions, where the Fascist style promoted ter organising the first exhibition of Futur- 144 by the regime was rampant. Conversely, ist architecture dedicated to Sant’Elia and the collaborative strategy enacted by Pia- Chiattone in 1928 in Rome, in 1931 pub- centini managed to break the rationalist lished the first study of rationalism to ap- front, bringing in those architects open to pear in Italy, La nuova architettura. In this compromise on broader projects like the critical review he postulates a relationship Città Universitaria in Rome and, later, the between Futurism and rationalism, not un- Esposizione Universale e42 (commonly re- like the presumed Futurist primacy with ferred to today as eur).91 Nevertheless, in- respect to the European avant gardes in the dividual architects managed to carry out a typographic realm: indeed, the Futurists— few important achievements: in 1933 work with a fair dose of presumption—repeat- on the new railway station began in Flor- edly claimed chronological and creative ence (designed by the Gruppo Toscano led paternity of the typographic renewal.96 But by Giovanni Michelucci); the urban plan-

ning of Sabaudia commenced (coordinated 91 . In 1932 Piacentini writer Massimo Bontempel- by Luigi Piccinato); and a few minor public decided to include the ra- li, with the collaboration of tionalists in the installa- the rationalist architects of buildings were completed (railway stations for the Mostra della Milan and Como, as well as Rivoluzione Fascista, for Belli and the abstract artists tions, post offices, and community centres which Libera collaborated of the Galleria del Milione. known as Case del fascio).92 That same with De Renzi on the im- Compared to Casabella the posing façade and with magazine was more multi- year Bardi and Bontempelli launched the Valente on the Memorial disciplinary, and dealt with new architecture magazine Quadrante,93 (the central element), while literature, photography, Nizzoli and Terragni curated cinema, art, music, and mouthpiece of the Fascist intellectual Left the other rooms. For the politics. It was supressed completion of the new Città in 1936 under orders of the led by Giuseppe Bottai and his final at- Universitaria (university pnf Secrertary Starace be- tempt to defend rationalism, in opposition campus, 1932–35) Piacenti- cause of a short controver- ni invited Pagano, Minnucci, sial commentary by Bardi to intellectuals like Ugo Ojetti who defend- and Michelucci, amongst (Baglione 2008: 99–100; ed Piacentini’s architecture.94 Furthermore, others; for the design of Belli 1980: 17). the Esposizione Universale 94 . As for general refer- the broader backdrop of these complex (1936–42) Piccinato, Libera, ences for modernist archi- Minnucci, BBPR, and Paga- tecture in Italy between the events was the clash between proponents no (Kirk 2005: 88–90, 133– two wars: Benevolo 1971: and opponents of modernism within the 6; Schnapp 2003: 155–7; cf. 561–74; Fontana 1999: 133– Belli 1980: 18–9). 58; Gregotti 1968: 9–37; government and pnf, which influenced all 92 . Amongst the most Zevi 1961: 231–41, 277–81, forms of artistic activity; after the call for important designs built by 643–5; Kirk 2005: 67–141; the rationalists in Italy: the and http://it.wikipedia.org/ a return to sobriety imposed by the procla- Casa del Fascio in Como wiki/Architettura_razional- (Terragni, 1932); the Istitu- ista and http://it.wikipedia. mation of autarchy, the Futurists and ab- to di Fisica at the Università org/wiki/MIAR. stract artists sided with the rationalists in degli studi di Roma (Pagano, 95 . Crispolti 1986: 220– 95 1934); the Università Boc- 223; Poretti 2004: 467. defence of the avant-garde. coni in Milan (Pagano and 96 . The Turin-based G. Predeval, 1938–41); Casa printer-typographer Carlo Malaparte on Capri (Libera, Frassinelli, in a letter pub- 1938); the Case della Foce in lished in Il Risorgimento Genoa (Luigi Carlo Daneri, Grafico in 1929 maintained: 1936–40); and several exhi- ‘The Germans’ ‘elemen- bition installations for the tal typography’ (…); the Triennale (Albini, Figini and French’s elegant and de- Pollini, Persico and Nizzoli, lightful ‘avant-garde typog- BBPR, 1933–40). Cf. Kirk raphy’; the United States’ 2005: 92–108. ‘modernist typography’ (…) 93 . Quadrante (1933– and, finally, the Italians’ 36), an architecture month- ‘novecentist typography’, all ly founded and directed by fundamentally stem from Pier Maria Bardi and the Italian Futurism’ (ivi xxvi;

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 such proclamations—often tinged with a for reasons of survival—in any and all ex- nationalist take on some presumed Futur- hibition events or trade expos ‘where the ist or Bodonian superiority (depending on ephemeral character of the constructions the point of view, modernist or tradition- allowed for experimentation with formal 144 alist)—dotted the drawn-out debate on languages, techniques, and new materials, 145 modern typography and reveal the Italians’ where the pictorial or sculptural element thinly masked inferiority complex with often staked out its own space’, thereby regard to the rest of Europe. And again in managing to do more advanced formal re- the early 1940s a similarly nationalist read- search than would have been possible in a ing of Futurist typography appeared in two more strictly artistic realm.100 monographic issues of Campo Grafico and Graphicus.97 But by then the prevailing ‘My’ painters no longer knew how to live (…) The architects got by somehow (…) but atmosphere did not allow for any real con- the abstract painters and sculptors were frontation or comparison with the Euro- literally on the ground. Even Munari, in- pean avant-gardes.98 genious inventor of forms and volumes, somehow eked out a living and survived by doing exhibition installations, decorations, and interiors, because his verve Installations, set designs, window displays was always so pleasant, because he ex- uded such intelligence and elegance.101 With rationalism the new Italian typography proved it had more than just a straightforward formal affinity. Upon Persico and The Fiera di Milano (Trade Fair) logically Pagano’s 1930 arrival, Milan was at the constituted a key commercial opportunity centre of the debate and rationalist archi- for graphic work tied to installations for tecture’s many innovations in Lombardy, business, industry, and manufacturing. which, in lieu of public commissions, de- Ricas and Munari certainly contributed pended on private-sector ties. Such projects to the fair, but aside from a few indirect included the interior designs for De Angeli- references there does not seem to be any Frua, the Caffè Craja, the Nodari book- documentation that would allow for even shop, and the creations for the Triennali a rough reconstruction of their creative that, ephemeral as they were, allowed for work for it, or at least their business-world close collaboration between architects and artists. The early 1930s were a period of 7, July 1929: 387–9, cit in significant developments in particular synergy between rationalist ar- Fanelli, Godoli 1988: 36). Italy probably derives from chitecture and the most advanced graphic 97 . Vol. vii; 3–5, March– his refusal to align the Eu- May 1939 (edited by Enrico ropean graphic avant-garde work being done in Milan, leading to the Bona) and xxxi; 5, May 1942 with the political right, as is completion of important integrated pro- (edited by Alfredo Trima- further proved by the sur- rco), respectively. prising lack of contact with 99 jects. Artists and graphic designers be- 98 . Aside from recog- Marinetti (Burke 2007: nizing the early Futurist 129–30). The Bauhausbü- longing to both the Futurists and abstract contributions, Tschichold cher series is also worth artists groups participated—and not only effectively ignored Italian mention, as it featured developments in Die neue contributions by Marinetti Typographie (1928), which and Prampolini on Futur- is understandable, given ism, which were never pub- the country’s cultural back- lished, perhaps for similar wardness in the late twen- reasons (cf. the prospective ties. However, he ignored titles in preparation in 1926, noteworthy examples of reproduced in Fleischmann the new Italian typographic 1984: 150). aesthetic also in his later 99 . Gregotti 1968: 15; treatments in Eine Stunde Ravaioli 1998: 53–4. Druckgestaltung (1930) and 100 . Fochessati, Mille- Typographische Gestaltung fiore 1997: 47. (1935). According to Burke, 101 . Belli 1980: 21. Tschichold’s negation of any

Ricas+Munari affiliates.102 It is different with the Trien- response to protectionist measures as also nale and other major (often propagan- gave the project a modern feel on par with dist) expos promoted by the regime, where its furnishings.104 Munari’s large mural the Futurists’ idea of the ‘plastica murale’ |137| decoration for the Sala d’Icaro at the Mo- (wall decoration) as a prime collective ar- stra Aeronautica (Icarus Room at the Aere- 146 tistic expression—in the form of polymate- onautics Show), organised in the Trienna- rial decorations on social themes designed le’s exhibition spaces in 1934, had a similar for public buildings—was brought to frui- format and function, although it played tion. Although they contrasted with the a larger role in the overall installation.105 bare surfaces of rationalist architecture, the same is true of the ‘photoplastics’ and polymaterial wall decorations constituted abstract mosaic for the urban planning a shared ground with modern architec- section of the 1936 Triennale (previously ture.103 Limited as the Futurists’ role in discussed) and the composition with spe- the V Triennale was, the Stazione per ae- cial Max Meyer enamels in the section on roporto civile (city airport) designed for construction systems and building materi- the park was its most visible contribution; als.106 The only fully documented installa- Prampolini draughted up the rationalist tion is the Mostra dell’arte grafica (Graph- architectural design, and called upon the ic Arts Exhibit) at the VII Triennale in 1940, collaboration of several Futurists from Mi- curated by Modiano. It marked the conclu- lan and Turin for its decoration and fur- sion of the decade-old debate between the nishings. The building was articulated in ‘campisti’ and traditionalists, and summed three sections: a circular central hall (with up Italian graphic arts’ overall situation on waiting areas and a café/bar for travel- the eve of conflict; Munari contributed an lers); and two smaller wings to each side, important section on the relationships of housing the service areas (ticket counters, modern figurative arts. telephone and telegraph station, baggage Also worth mention are Munari and check, customs, supply rooms and filling Ricas’s participation in two mural deco- stations, and emergency medical services) ration exhibitions organised in Genoa in all linked through an underground pas- 1934 and Rome in 1936, which relaunched sage—where Munari created an aeropic- |136| torial mural which, especially in light of 102 . In addition to the of the work done in the simple stands for Carlo postwar period, from pro- its location, appears to have been a rather Erba and Federico Dell’Or- jections to kinetic and pro- modest contribution. The technical aspects to (reproduced in L’Ufficio grammed art (Ballo 1964: Moderno in late 1932), Mu- 26). Nor should it be for- of the interior designs are more interesting, nari hinted at a work he gotten that Munari shared as they use the newest chemical and con- described only as a ‘job for Prampolini and Depero’s the trade fair’ in a letter deep interest in the use of struction materials available—masonite, li- to Tullio d’Albisola in the industrial materials, which spring of 1933 (Presotto he took on as a constant of noleum, aluminum alloys, synthetic paints, 1981: 143). his method. like the Silexore-brand paint used for all 103 . The critic Aldo Bal- 104 . Pirani 1992: 287–8; lo read the second wave of Poretti 2004: 459–60. Cf. the pavilion’s decorations—which were a Futurism in terms of its set- Enrico Prampolini, ‘Lo stile, design aspirations, and his la funzione e i nuovi ma- most original contribution teriali edili’ in Natura vi; 6 was identifying its ‘concept (June 1933):35–43, in addi- of spatiality’ in which ex- tion to the event catalogue. perimentation in set design 105 . Cf. Giuseppe Paga- and polimaterialsm com- no, ‘La Mostra Azzurra’ and bined to effectively form an (ed.) ‘L’ordinamento delle architectural context that sale alla esposizione dell’ae- responded to the ‘need for ronautica italiana’ in Casa- a new spatiality’. The two bella no.80 (August 1934): most representative figures 4–5 and 10–21, respectively. of this tendency were Pram- 106 . Cf. Guida della polini and Munari (consid- sesta Triennale. [s.l.: s.n.], ered from the perspective 1936 (in part. p.42).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the Futurists’ interest in architectural style, with faint traces of aeropictorial rem- decoration and function, a imed primarily nants in the figurative elements. Yet even at the public works’ sector (following the in this case their contribution seems sec- rationalist architects’ failed attempts).107 ondary, at the same level as other artists 146 The Futurists proposed a modern decora- involved in the decoration.111 147 tion (in opposition to the return to fresco advocated by Sironi) adapted to the state’s (…) later on I met the abstract artists of the Galleria del Milione (…) and also designed commission stipulations: hence both a type of exhibition quite novel for its day. At events featured designs and works for pre- the time I had many architect friends (Albini, set public building types, in which the Figini, Pollini, Pagano, Gardella, Rogers…) who, when they installed an exhibition, usu- rhetorical tones of propaganda were pre- ally built a nice brick wall and then, on the dominant. While Munari’s participation in wall, would hang a sheet of paper with a draw- the first exhibition took a minor tone,108 in ing. Instead, I exhibited sheets of my graphic work like housewives exhibit their sheets the next exhibition the two artists jointly when they hang them out to dry: on each wall presented sketches, including proposals for I mounted a horizontal wire twenty centime- Case del Fascio (on the theme of the Ital- tres from the wall and two metres from the floor, and on that wire I hung, at regular in- ian War in East Africa), government build- tervals, a bunch of white Bristol boards with ings in the colonies (on the theme of eco- my graphic work. This kind of installation nomic siege), a summertime marine resort cost less, was quicker to do, and did not take up too much of the space—rather, the shad- (on the theme of aviation in Fascist Italy), ows of the boards, all uniformly cast on the and a Palazzo del Mare (Maritime build- wall, gave it a pleasantly architectural look.112 ing, on the theme of marine transportation), in which the figurative aspect and 107 . Pirani 1992: here? a protrusion? what 289–94; Fochessati, Mille- do you think of it, do you a reduced degree of formal experimenta- fiore 1997: 49–51; Crispolti suggest I submit something? tion prevailed.109 Such contributions carry 1992c: 71–92. (…)’ (in Presotto 1981: 147). 108 . Prima mostra di 109 . Seconda Mostra di more value as lines of investigation than plastica murale per l’edili- plastica murale per l’edilizia zia fascista (First Exhibi- fascista in Italia e in Africa as concrete productions, although they tion of Wall Art for Fascist (Second Exhibition of Wall do attest to the fact that the two graphic Buildings), Genoa, Palazzo Art for Fascist Buildings Ducale, November 1934– in Italy and Africa), Rome, designers had unusually broad interests January 1935. Organised by Mercati Traianei (Trajan’s and a rare openness to collaborating with Prampolini along with Ma- Markets), November 1936– rinetti, Fillìa, and F. Defilip- January 1937. Organised by architects. pis; Prampolini curated the Marinetti, Prampolini, and installation alongside the Defilippis. Cf. catalogue The only real documented example in architect Giuseppe (Pip- published by the Edizioni that sense was a collaboration with ration- po) Rosso. Cf. the exhibi- futuriste di Poesia (Rome, tion catalogue (Turin: Stile 1936). alist architect Angelo Bianchetti for the futurista, 1934) and Stile 110 . Cf. Casabella xi; 121 Mostra del tessile italiano (Italian Textile Futurista, i; 5 (December (January 1938). The collab- 1934): the absence of repro- orators included Bramante Exhibition), which opened in Rome in ductions of work by Munari Buffoni, Costantino Nivo- 110 (who was amongst the sign- la, Salvatore Fancello, and 1937. Ricas and Munari created two pan- ers of the Futurist Manifesto Leonardo Spreafico. |138| els for Lanerossi for the wools section; their of Wall Art) would indicate 111 . A profile of the a latent participation on fifties credits Munari with work was done in a resolutely typographic his part, just as the hesit- other exhibition instal- tations he expressed in a lations from this period, letter to d’Albisola in early including the Mostra del 1934 would suggest: ‘will giocattolo (Toy Exhibition, you come for the [exhibi- 1930s?) and the Mostra tion at the Galleria] pesaro? della caccia e pesca (Hunt- I don’t know whether to ing and Fishing Exhibition), participate or not, and feel of which, however, no docu- the same about the wall art ments or reproductions show in genoa. is it serious? have been found (Pesavento I received some half-assed Palieri 1953). architectural drawings, and 112 . Munari inter- these [things here], for viewed by Quintavalle in example, are they windows, Bruno Munari 1979: 15. This or what? and there’s a door could refer to the Mostra

Ricas+Munari Another connection between rational the use of the most varied materials, cut architecture and the new generation of into special shapes and overlapped: he pur- Futurist and abstract graphic artists was sued this line of research in both figurative established when the Galleria del Milione and abstract directions, relating to the Fu- opened its doors to contemporary set de- turist project of injecting the expressive po- 148 sign, with an exhibition dedicated to young tential of modern industrial materials into Milanese set designers held in the autumn the artistic repertoire. Polymaterial appli- of 1932, after a showing at Anton Giulio cations also occasionally appear in his pho- Bragaglia’s gallery in Rome.113 Like other tomontages, used to build metaphysical avant-garde artists, Munari was also inter- landscapes or evoke the surface qualities ested in theatre, even if only on a strictly of various materials. It is easy to imagine experimental level: in 1935 he made two that realistic images of this sort would have |140| studies for Futurist set designs, one a cho- been an original instrument for advertise- reography for actors performing on stilts, ments designed for displaying wares at the other a set design in which acrobatic points of sale or at trade fairs. Toward the actors jump from one trapeze to another end of the decade this interest took shape like birds in a cage.114 He submitted more |141| in a series of vitrines Munari installed for concrete and articulated proposals to the GiViEmme, a major perfume manufac- Mostra internazionale di scenotecnica turer and lead company of the Carlo Erba teatrale (International Exhibition of The- pharmaceutical group.116 They were likely atrical and Technical Set Design), which put in touch with Munari through Dino Prampolini organised at the 1936 Triennale: Villani, former editor at L’Ufficio Moderno the Italian section in particular, overseen who from 1938 on worked as an advertis- by Bragaglia, presented a review of ‘sceno- ing consultant for Carlo Erba.117 Munari’s tecnici senza teatri’ (set designers without theatres) including the work of young Fu- insolita di arte grafica GiViEmme catalogue in- and fotografica (Unusual cluded essences created by |139| turists from Milan. Munari’s proposals—a Graphic and Photographic Visconti for the Carlo Erba set design model for Nô theatre (Joshi- Show), held at the Galleria brand (Contessa Azzurra, del Milione in January 1937 Dimmi di sì, Subdola, Nina tomo, act iii), a few opera masks, and a (cf. Pontiggia 1988: 104–5). Sorridi). In the twenties dance instrument—were characterised by a 113 . Nove scenografi and thirties new perfumes milanesi (Nine Milanese arrived (La Rosa Giviemme, minimal vision similar to the metaphysical Set Designers), Galleria Acqua di Fiume, Giacinto del Milione, Milan, 1–15 Innamorato, Gardenia, strains of his illustration and polymaterial November 1932 (Pontiggia Tabacco D’Harar), whose work, both in the fine arts and advertising 1988: 19). success (aided by refined 115 114 . Danza sui trampoli, packaging and the first mar- realms. c. 1935, original drawing in ket research carried out in Beginning with Munari’s first known the Hajek-Zucconi collec- Italy) led to the creation of tion, Novara; and Acrobati a new plant in Dergano, a polymaterial works (dating back to 1932) musicali in gabbia, c. 1935, suburb of Milan (now in drawing reproduced in Tan- the Bovisa neighborhood), he shows a clear inclination toward three- chis 1987: 31. which allowed the company dimensional compositions—not using 115 . Cf. Guida della sesta to broaden its production to Triennale. [n.p.: n.p.], 1936: include complete cosmetic drawing so much, but rather emphasising 67–71; De Angelis 1938: 157; lines. Its ties to the Carlo Continuità dell’avanguardia Erba pharmaceutical com- in Italia. Enrico Prampolini pany were also strength- (1894-1956) 1978: 52–3. ened by Visconti’s marriage 116 . GiViEmme was one to Erba’s daughter (sources: of Italy’s largest perfum- www.accademiadelprofumo. ers in the thirties, created it and http://it.wikipedia. in 1921 by Count Giuseppe org/wiki/Giuseppe_Vis- Visconti of Modrone, Mil- conti_di_Modrone, last anese patrician and entre- accessed January 2011). preneur. The company’s 117 . Previously, from specialties was fragrances 1934 on Villani had di- obtained from synthetic rected Motta’s advertising products (not plant or ani- office, bringing in high- mal extracts): in fact, the calibre graphic artists like

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 compositions exude a surreal poetics, with (including Schawinsky, Huber, and Viva- artificial landscapes built of just a few ele- relli), who had techniques more in keep- ments (branches, butterflies, stones and ing with the new demands of commercial pebbles, and various textiles) in which the graphics. 148 products are arranaged with a calculated 149 attention to colour balance.118 As always, Attracted by the avant-garde movements, like all young artists, Italians turned to ra- his parallel work in the fine art and adver- tionalist architects for inspiration (…) the tising realms is evident here; and its formal installation of the sections [of the Trien- convergence with the three-dimensional nale and other expositions] offered an opportunity to put forward experimental compositions he exhibited at his solo show proposals. (…) thus the new Italian adver- Oggetti Metafisici (Metaphysical Objects) tising art was born on the walls of those at the Galleria del Milione in the spring of expositions. Nothing else was needed, it just had to be transferred to paper (…).121 1940 is equally clear. Villani reviewed the show in L’Ufficio Moderno: There was enough going on to spark a lively Objects, pieces of wood, dried-out branches, debate amongst practitioners touching broken mechanisms, butterflies, and popular figures all appear in these compositions and upon typography, rationalist architecture, stay there, under the glass bell, supremely and abstraction. In Italy, too, the debate light, suspended in pure poetry. [They’re] sprung from a dialectic confrontation with Magnificent vitrine subjects (…).119 outsiders, that is, artists, architects, and literati traditionally excluded from the printing trades, which implicitly touched Italian modern typography upon the definition of the new profession- Nineteen-thirty three was a time of major al figure of the graphic designer. Yet com- ferment for the visual arts in Italy, thanks pared to the situation in Germany in the to a unique convergence of events that early 1920s the situation in Italy was quite took place in Milan over just a few months: different, as it lacked both the professional parallel to the debut of Campo grafico, Per- organisations (there were none compara- sico and Pagano radically remodelled the ble to the Werkbund or ‘ring Neue Werbe- |144| form and content of Casabella; in May gestalter’ groups) and adequate education- the V Triennale opened in the new spaces al institutions (there was nothing like the of the Palazzo dell’Arte, where the exhibi- Bauhaus or the many German applied arts tion of graphic works from the German schools) in which the new constructivist |143|Werkbund curated by Paul Renner met concept might have developed. In Italy the with great acclaim;120 and Antonio Bog- geri opened his advertising studio, which Cassandre, Schawinsky, calibre artists like Bayer, and Carboni; along with Baumeister, and Burchartz, would play a major role in updating Italian Zavattini he also began a Renner’s comprehensive ex- graphic culture, thanks in part to the direct hugely successful Christmas hibition included all types of competition. printed matter (from com- contributions of Swiss graphic designers 118 . Munari’s window- mercial forms to posters displays for GiViEmme and books), which placed were reproduced in Tempo it on a more advanced level no.80 (5 December 1940): than the Italian overview 36; Vetrina e negozio ii; 9–10 of printing firms organised (September–October 1942): by Bertieri: cf. ‘Arti grafiche 18 and ivi ii; 11–12 (Novem- alla Triennale’ in Campo ber/December 1942): 10; grafico i; 10 (October 1933): and Valeri 1986: 78. 171–3 (Vinti 2005: 52). 119 . Dino Villani, ‘Mu- 121 . Antonio Boggeri, nari’ in L’Ufficio Moderno ‘Advertising art in post-war xv; 3 (March 1940): 111 Italy’ in Graphis vol. 3; 18 (emphasis mine). (1947); the Italian text is 120 . In addition to the reprinted in full in Fossati, presence of work by high- Sambonet 1974: 31.

Ricas+Munari confrontation took place primarily in trade typographic composition.127 The corollary magazines, be they graphically or architec- of ‘graphism’ and foundation of the new turally focussed.122 Nevertheless, the quan- typography in its Italian version—which tity of polemical and popularising texts Modiano claimed was an original contri- that appeared in the specialist press did not bution128—was the principle of ‘two pages 150 necessarily constitute a real articulate or in one’, that is, a layout based not on sin- coherent stance, since such reflexions ech- gle pages divided by the binding but rather oed the custom (typical of the journalism on the mirrored two-page spread. Indeed, of the time) of expressing views in abstract terms, with a lot of indirect allusions and 122 . Vinti 2002: 8. outsider that he earned the 123 scarce explicit references or examples. 123 . In addition to unbridled appreciation of oblique ad hominem at- many specialists in the field’ The subject matter dealt with (in the tacks and sterile debates (Vinti 2006: n.p.). pages of Campo grafico, Il Risorgimento Gra- on ‘mohair issues’—an obvi- 126 . Cf. Dradi 1973: ous makeshift solution to 28–9, 33–6; Pontiggia 1988: fico, and Graphicus) contemplated the cen- the lack of free expression. 22. tral assumptions of elemental or rational In this sense Modiano is a 127 . While on the one happy exception, who had hand the observation of (in Italy the preferred term, co-opted from ‘an aptitude for deep analy- ‘graphic’ compositional sis that could not be found schemas (linear, geometric, architecture) typography drawn from the in any other commenta- two-dimensional) in instal- theories developed during the 1920s in tors of the period’ (Vinti lations, window displays, 2005: 51). and interiors led Modiano Germany by Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, and 124 . The main refer- and other modernists to Tschichold, which by then trickled into ences are: El Lissitzky, ‘To- view rationalist architec- pographie der Typographie’ ture as a typographic con- Italy:asymmetrical balance as a composi- in Merz, no.4, 1923, repro- struct in three dimensions duced by Tschichold in die (‘Insegnamenti della pittura tional principle, and the integration of the neue typographie (1928); astratta’ in Campo grafico photographic image into current printed Laszló Moholy-Nagy, ‘Ty- ii; 11, November 1934: 249), 124 pophoto’ in Pasmo 2, 1926 on the other he also drew matter. Other ideas, perhaps more per- (Brno) reprinted in Typo- compositional cues from tinent to the Italian scene, recurred more graphische Mitteilungen 22, non-representational art no.10, October 1925, re- that were capable of renew- frequently: in particular, the ‘necessity of printed (with some changing typography, beginning es) in Malerei, Photographie, with its essentially geomet- the sketch’ or, from the printers’ point of Film (1925); ibid. ‘Zeitgemä- ric nature (‘Un posteggio e view, the ‘collaboration with the artist’— ße Typographie’ in Offset, una vetrina nel commento Buch und Werbekunst no.7 di un tipografo’ in Domus aspects of a shared emphasis on the con- (July 1926); Jan Tschichold, xvii; 134 (February 1939): tributions of non-specialists to the graphic ‘Elementare Typographie’ in …; cf. Idem, ‘Situazione gra- Typographische Mitteilungen fica’ in Quadrante, i; 1, May 125 arts. References to non-representational 22, no.10, October 1925: 1933). Such a concept devel- 191–214 (cf. Kinross 2004: oped along a parallel path art and architecture (exhibition installa- 106–8). Nevertheless, a in nearby Switzerland, and tions in particular)126 were equally fun- problem historians have yet was taken up by Tschichold to confront is the ways in in his famous article ‘Die damental, and returned in the concept of which modernist aesthetics gegenstandlose Malerei und grafismo, a term Modiano used to describe reached Italy. Aside from a ihre Beziehungen zur Ty- couple of articles by Tschi- pographie der Gegenwart’, the convergence of various artistic veins chold translated [into Ital- which appeared in Typogra- ian] from the French and phische Monatsblätter 3; 6, in constructivist schemas—reminiscent of published much later (after June 1935: 181–7 (cf. Burke the implicit ‘tendency toward openly geo- ’33), it is difficult to imagine 2007: 259–60). how theoretical texts writ- 128 . Modiano claimed metric and elementary construction’ in ten in German could have paternity in ‘Lettera a been distributed and read in Raffaello Bertieri’ (Il Ri- Italy in anything other than sorgimento Grafico xxxv; an indirect manner—that is, 8, August 1938: 333–40), through hearsay—with the albeit without answering exception of Modiano, who the question of whether it probably knew German was an imitation, an Italian both because of his educa- discovery, or simply a coin- tion and because of familiy cidence: ‘Whether they’re tradition (he was Jewish). references to what we’ve 125 . ‘Persico was a ‘dil- done, or [newly] discovered ettant’ in typography just originals: it does not matter. as he was in architecture, What matters is the prior- but it is precisely thanks ity of the Italian application to his status as a cultured [of it]’ (334).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 aside from references to a ‘continuous se- other European countries, where the mod- quence of pages’ mentioned by Lissitsky ernist renewal had reached even book pub- and Moholy-Nagy, the two-page spread as lishing, in Italy—because of the lack of con- structural principle does not explicitly ap- tact between the print worlds and graphic 150 pear in the writings of leading European artists—the publishing world as a whole 151 designers.129 Instead, the new Italian ty- remained untouched by the new develop- pography took its first steps precisely in ments. There were a few exceptions, like response to the invasive presence of pho- book covers, for both niche publishers af- tography in commercial printed matter,130 filiated with Futurism and for mass-market which pushed the printer-typographer to publishers like Bompiani and Mondadori, rethink the traditional frameworks. The but only toward the end of the decade.133 earliest attempts used a simple bleed for This assumption may have provoked—not illustrations, which was not sufficient be- so much for mere controversy, but for the cause it was still based on the symmetrical appeal of empirical proof—Munari’s later module of the single page; this gave way in investigations into the expressive possibili- the early 1930s (especially in the layout of ties of the codex form, above and beyond illustrated periodicals) to a unified frame- the book’s textual and visual content.134 work linking the two neighboring pages. In short, the Italian concept reveals— The first experiments in this realm date through its constant reference to architec- back to 1931–32, in which Modiano tended ture and concrete art, but above all through to create a rhythmic unity by ‘expand- its lack of real dialogue with the European ing the measure of the text column and avant-garde and any radically different the illustration modules’ straddling the political or social context—a formalist, at sewn binding to the point of linking the two pages.131 But the rigidity and legibility problems of such solutions led to a more 129 . El Lissitsky, ‘Topo- September 1937: 4–7). graphie der Typographie’ 133 . Modiano, like mature phase, in which the layout aimed (1923), cit; Moholy-Nagy, Renner, expressed a mod- to establish a dynamic balance between ‘Zeitgemäße Typographie’ erate position with regard (1926), cit. (cf. Kinross to books, for which he re- text and photo by ‘fragmenting the meas- 2004: 105, 116). See the served a more traditional synthetic yet comprehen- typographic approach, inso- ure and manoeuvering with smaller visual sive overview of articles far as it was a ‘construction blocks’, as seen in Edilizia moderna, 25 anni by Schwitters, Tschichold, carried, by a centuries-long Moholy-Nagy, Dexel, Bau- selection, to a form that is, Olivetti and the new Casabella layout done meister, and van Doesburg perhaps, definite’ (‘Trien- alongside Persico (1933–34).132 in Fleischmann 1984: 325ff. nale 1936’ in Il Risorgimento 130 . ‘Not the book, but grafico, xxxvi; 1, 31 Janu- On the other hand, even in Italy the the magazine, the brochure, ary 1937: 25). The printer- the catalogue are the arche- typographer refers to the new constructivist concept was limited to typal products of our time’, literary book (as opposed a small minority, and did not extend be- Modiano in Quadrante to the illustrated or techni- 1933: 21. cal–scientific book, whose yond certain types of periodicals and the 131 . Catalogue Sellerie content brings it closer to commercial printed matter of determined Compagnia Continentale the modern-day periodi- (1931) and Tipografia (1932), cal), suggesting that there industrial sectors. Yet unlike Germany and as Modiano himself recalled is nevertheless room for (‘Lettera a Raffaello Bertie- innovation by working with ri’, 1938, cit.). micro-typographic details 132 . Guido Modiano in rather than the old codified ‘Lettera a Raffaello Bertieri’ layout. (1938), cit.: 339. Cf. Il Cam- 134 . Think not only of pista, ‘Recensione tipogra- his famous libri illeggibili fica a Edilizia Moderna’ in (Illegible Books), but more Campo grafico ii; 10 (Octo- specifically of his children’s ber 1934): 222–7. A similar books, from the Albi Mu- position was taken by Atti- nari series (1945) to Nella lio Rossi, historic founder notte buia (1956) and Nella of Campo grafico (‘L’evo- nebbia di Milano (1968) and luzione della tipografia in Prelibri (1980). Italia’ in Campo grafico v; 9,

Ricas+Munari most stylistic, inclination, rather than any directing Bardi’s gallery—which a year exquisitely functional or structural inclina- later was left to the Ghiringhelli broth- tion.135 Indeed, compared to Germany, in ers, and changed its name to the Galleria Italy there was only marginal discussion del Milione—but their relationship ended of the questions considered fundamental after a few months, and in the spring of 152 everywhere else—issues like: the function ’30 Persico joined the editorial team of La of print and consequent attention to the Casa Bella, led by Arrigo Bonfiglioli. In visual articulation of content; the legal as- 1932 the magazine was acquired by Edito- pects tied to industry and manufacturing, riale Domus, owned by Gianni Mazzoc- such as the standardisation of formats; not chi, was renamed Casabella, and Pagano to mention aspirations to social renewal, was appointed director. His first editorial which were intimately intertwined with announced a programme centred on ra- the modernist debate in Central Europe. tionalism and functionalism as synonyms Even purely typographic details—like the of modernity and beauty: the magazine preference for sans-serif faces, the exclu- aimed to popularise contemporary design sive use of lowercase letters, ragged versus culture, and targeted a broader readership, justified text, and the relationship between no longer limited to the technical and spe- leading and legibility—received less atten- cialised realm. Persico played a key role in tion or were only considered in light of the magazine’s transformation, both in its concrete examples, rather than broader editorial philosophy and graphic look.137 theoretical pronouncements. Texts by for- In a fruitful exchange with Modiano,138 he eign graphic designers and artists appeared gradually modified the layout to make it only rarely,136 proving that the debate—im- more functional: he renewed the masthead passioned as it was regarding Central Eu- ropean examples—was not based on a true 135 . Fossati, Sambonet Italian typographic realm, (1974: 13) highlight a degree established on formal as- exchange of ideas with the non-Italian of imprecision in defining pects to the exclusion of any the new graphic discipline, and all social dimensions. protagonists of new typography. Much like which sets the limits of 136 . Jan Tschichold pub- France, therefore, albeit for different rea- the renewal promoted by lished two articles in Campo Campo grafico, entrusted grafico: ‘Schemi di tabelle’ sons, Italy was, in its own way, a cultural to modern taste as a sty- in iii; 6, June 1935: 128–129; exception to the modernist paradigm dom- listic criterion. Pansera and ‘Le proporzioni nella maintains that the ‘camp- nuova tipografia’ in v; 4, inant in Europe at the time. isti’ looked more at Arts et April 1937: 5–8. An earlier Métiers Graphiques which article signed ‘Giovanni T.’ It is no coincidence that the most rep- offered examples more in appeared in the Turin-based resentative examples of the constructiv- terms of artistic approach magazine Graphicus in 1933: rather than of any underly- ‘Della Nuova Tipografia’ (ivi ist aesthetic were designed and printed by ing methodology (Pansera xxiii; 284, February 1933: Modiano, who in those same years closely 1984: 16n). Equally interest- 7–9; cit. in Vinti 2006). An ing Persico’s lucid analy- article by Baumeister on his collaborated with Edoardo Persico on the sis of Italian rationalism, own theories appeared in whose fundamental contra- Campo grafico on the occa- graphic look of Casabella. Persico left his diction he identifies as the sion of his exhibition at the native Naples for Milan in late 1929, and desire to reconcile modern- Galleria del Milione (ivi iii; ism and the Fascist regime, 5, May 1935: 17). Cf. Vinti as critic worked alongside Pier Maria Bardi the classical tradition and 2002: 8–10. modernity: ‘The truth is 137 . Giuseppe Pagano that Italian rationalism was ‘Programma 1933’ in Cam- not born of any deep need, po grafico v; 12, December but rather of a type of dab- 1932: 9–10. bling (…) the controversy 138 . ‘Their partnership has only created confused was founded on a fertile aspirations (…) that don’t exchange of knowledge, in any way adhere to real through which Modiano problems, and have no real learned how to be a critic, contenut (…)’ (from ‘Gli while Persico acquired architetti italiani’, 1933 cit. many secrets of the typo- in De Seta 1983: 221). Such graphic trade’ (Vinti 2006; a reading could be applied— cf. Baglione 2008: 108n). mutatis mutandis—to the

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 and its logotype as Casabella; he adopted a dell’arte grafica curated by Modiano at the new, nearly square format that, thanks to VII Triennale in 1940.144 Furthermore, he the layout based on two-page spreads, fa- frequented—and was actually an integral cilitated the insertion of photographs and 152 technical drawings.139 In 1934 the interior 139 . Persico worked on South American culture. 153 the margins, on the selec- Parallel to his important grid was extended to the cover, featuring: tion of typefaces (Futura artistic work as painter, and Landi/Welt, which Rossi worked as a graphic a white background; 4-column grid across became a classic pairing in designer in the fifties, and which line drawings (in a second colour), Italy, used even by Munari continued to work in pub- in Tempo, for example), as lishing even in Italy. Always the issue number in the foreground, and well as text measures and at Dradi’s side, he directed the new masthead (in all caps Futura, leading, in which he also the design magazine Linea took into consideration the grafica and the Centro Studi printed atop the illustration) were distrib- colour of the photographs Grafici in Milan (http:// 140 (Baglione 2008: 97, 101). it.wikipedia.org/wiki/At- uted. Alongside Campo grafico, in the 140 . In addition to the tilio_Rossi last accessed mid-thirties Persico and Pagano’s Casabella field of publishing, Persico 10/1/2011). Carlo Dradi was able to bring his graphic (1908–1982), lithographer represented the height of modern Italian ideas into three dimensions and graphic designer, co- graphic design. Thanks to its alignment through the exhibition founder of Campo grafico. installations he designed In the thirties he worked with architecture, it sharply distanced itself with Marcello Nizzoli: the alongside Attilio Rossi as a Parker shops (1934–35), the design studio. During the from the postcubist French tradition, the Sala delle Medaglie d’oro war, he worked with Mu- pictorial tradition prevailing in the autar- at the Mostra Aeronautica nari in the editorial office in 1934, the structure built of the weekly Tempo. Af- chic poster design, as well as from the im- with Innocenti tubes and ter 1945 he continued his provisations of Futurist experimentation. installed in the Galleria graphic design career, work- Vittorio Emanuele ii for the ing notably for clients such The editorial team of Campo grafico, 1934 elections, the Salone as agip and Ferrovie Nord di 141 d’onore alla VI Triennale in Milano. He was co-founder led by Attilio Rossi and Carlo Dradi, was 1936—in which a bona fide of the Centro studi grafici in contact with the Lombard abstract art- osmosis between typogra- and the design magazine phy and architecture is suc- Linea Grafica (Catalogo |142| ists affiliated with the Galleria del Milione cessfully created (Fioravanti Bolaffi del Manifesto Italiano, (Ghiringhelli, Reggiani, Soldati, Veronesi) 1997: 72–3; Vinti 2006; Ba- Torino: Bolaffi, 1995). glione 2008: 17–8, 97). See 142 . For a complete list and, thanks also to Persico’s lasting role also the lengthy article by of contributors, see Dradi Modiano on his recently de- 1973: 21; Rossi 1983: 13. at the gallery, to the Milanese rational- ceased friend: ‘Tipografie di 143 . Munari’s only ist circles; the magazine’s pages frequently Edoardo Persico’ in Campo proven contribution was grafico iii; 11–12, November/ the aforementioned article included contributions by key figures like December 1935: 230–45). from ’37 (there is no evi- Boggeri, Modiano, and Veronesi.142 As for 141 . Attilio Rossi (1909– dence that could lead one 1994), painter and graphic to suppose he made other Munari, although he was only an occa- designer. Educated at the contributions under a pseu- 143 Scuola serale (evening donym); of the 66 pub- sional contributor, his proximity to the school) of the Accademia lished issues not one cover editorial offices on corso Vercelli was solid di Brera, during his years carries his signature, even at Campo grafico he worked if his hand can probably be and continuous, as proven by his participa- as a print technician and spotted in some of the pho- tion in the Esposizione del cartello inter- graphic designer alongside tomontages, like that of the Carlo Dradi. Following a famous table ‘Logica ele- nazionale e del cartello nazionale rifiutato clash related to the publica- mentare del rinnovamento’ tion of propaganda posters (in Campo grafico iii; 2, Feb- (Exhibition of International Posters and created by Persico for the ruary 1935). Rejected Italian Posters) at the Galleria 1934 elections, Rossi re- 144 . In addition to signed from the magazine’s curating the section de- del Milione in June 1933 and the Mostra directorship—which went voted to the relationships to Luigi Minardi (typogra- between modern typographer and antifascist)—and phy and the historic avant in April 1935 emigrated to gardes, Munari was also Argentina. He remained included in the review of 12 there until 1950, pursuing a graphic designers, alongside career as illustrator, graphic Edoardo Persico, Guido designer (for the Casa Edi- Modiano, Marcello Nizzoli, trice Espasa Calpe, with Bramante Buffoni, Carlo whom he launched their Dradi and Attilio Rossi, Ezio first budget series, Aus- D’Errico, Luigi Veronesi, tral), and publishing editor Remo Muratore, Ricas, Er- (he founded the Losada berto Carboni, Renzo Bian- publishing house) as well chi, and Raffello Bertieri as deeply integrating into (Vinti 2005).

Ricas+Munari part of—the artistic circle affiliated with which Munari was able to assimilate (fil- |145| the Caffè Craja, another meeting point of tered through his own personal sensibility, the Milanese avant garde, located in piaz- of course) simply because he belonged to za Cardinal Paolo Ferrari, a stone’s throw the multidisciplinary milieu that developed from the Teatro alla Scala. At the time such in Milan between the wars. 154 cafés were a fundamental locus for the exchange of ideas, and were just as important The ‘Milione’ was frequented in those years—1928–1938 [actually 1931–1938], al- as time spent working in studio; the Craja beit without their feeling any committ- was special insofar as it attracted artists ment—by figures like Nizzoli and Munari, and intellectuals from different currents who had a refined intelligence and prevalently graphic, artisanal, postcubist taste, and disciplines, all of whom shared a par- which they brought to their vitrine and ty- ticular vision of modernity: abstract artists, pographic works—as well as Dradi and Rossi ‘campisti’, rationalists, set designers, lit- from Campo grafico—in posters, layouts, the 145 form of everyday objects, and so on, new erati, and poets. Much like the Milione’s typologies, foreshadowing the character- interiors, designed by Pietro Lingeri,146 the istic activity that appeared in Italy as well Craja owed part of its draw to the rational- under the name of industrial design, modeled to a certain degree on the Bauhaus.149 ist interiors designed by architect Luciano Baldessari along with Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini. ‘A group of artists managed to create its own café, built with the ideas and 145 . In addition to the dark windows and an un- group of abstract artists framed mirror, little square intentions of the group: essential, angular, affiliated with the Milio- tables with green slate tab- ne, the Caffé Craja was letops, and a long red-leath- glossy. In truth, it was a refrigerator. But we frequented by the poets er seat; in the back of the took care of heating it up’.147 As evidence Leonardo Sinisgalli, Alfonso second room was a fountain Gatto, and Salvatore Qua- by Fausto Melotti (three of the links not only between the various simodo, the critic Edoardo atheletes in metal), while a artistic communities in Milan, but also Persico, architects Figini sculpture by Nizzoli deco- and Pollini, Banfi Belgioioso rated the central window. between the gallery and some of the pro- Peressutti Rogers (BBPR), The radical interior design, Bottoni, and occasionally inspired by ‘neoplasticism’, tagonists of modern European culture, it Terragni and Lingeri (both was characaterised by the is worth mentioning an attempt (unfortu- from Como) and abstract accentuated theatrical ef- artists Radice and Rho, fect of the various materi- nately never realized) to establish in Milan campisti Dradi and Rossi, als—dark glass, mirrors, with the help of Gropius an international and the group of set design- cromed metal surfaces—not ers for the Scala (Kaneclin, unlike that of North Ameri- 148 training center similar to the Bauhaus. Broggi, Montonati, Cagnoli) can diners. It was demol- (Belli 1980: 15–7). ished in 1960 (Belli 1980: Ultimately, through the relationships link- 146 . The Galleria del 15–7; Dradi 1973: 23; Caccia ing the various groups, the Craja and the Milione, destroyed by the 2007: 48–9; Geerts 2007: 1943 bombardments, was 155–8). Milione were the two main poles around located at via Brera 21, ac- 148 . See letter Carlo which the protagonists of Milan’s intellec- cross the street from the Belli to Gino Ghiringhelli, Fine Arts Academy. Opened October 1934: ‘Last Monday tual avant garde orbited. at the end of 1930, its in- I was all day with Gropi- terior design was done by us. It was a full day and he This overview allows for a better un- Pietro Lingeri: the entrance was really moved when he derstanding of the significance of such had a large door with win- left Milan. He’ll probably dows (as novelty at the return this winter for a exposure—in terms of the concrete ideas time) which opnened onto conference and an exhibi- and examples—to the modernist aesthetic, an atrium surrounded by tion. We’ve been working the three exhibition spaces for quite some time on an and the bookshop (cf. ad- important and grandiose vert in the bollettino Il project. It’s about creating Milione, no.16, 3 June 1933) a center open to interna- (Pontiggia 1988: 11). On tional collaboration for the gallery’s intellectual the realization of the pur- environment, cf. Lupo 1996: est modernity. A kind of 162–4ff Bauhaus’ (unpublished, in 147 . Belli 1980: 15. The Fondo Carlo Belli, G. Ghi- Caffè Craja was composed ringhelli folder, cited in of two long, narrow rooms Lupo 1996: 94n). linked in an L shape, with 149 . Carlo Belli a mosaico floor, walls with in Lettera sulla nascita

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Studio Boggeri constructivist in nature for Delfini; from As we have seen, aside from a popular ar- an image with a surrealist feel for Fotomec- ticle published in 1937 in Campo grafico,150 canica to an approach that we might call Munari did not participate directly in the ‘conceptual’ for Lagomarsino and Pubbli- 154 theoretical debate that beset the graphic cità Tramviaria, where the photocollage is 155 arts world between the two world wars; his conceived as a sequence that, graphically contribution was, so to speak, of a practi- enriched by the two-color print, visually cal nature. He expressed himself through comments on the text, a rare example of his concrete production, where it is pos- copywriting signed by the two artists.152 sible to follow the transition from a work- Another ad published in the same is- ing concept tied to artistic practices to a |151| sue and created for Studio Boggeri dem- form of modern graphics based on rational onstrates a more complex composition, language and presumptions. If 1935 can be with a typographic structure based on the taken as the watershed between the two letter b, shaded and partially covered by a periods, the change occurs naturally by screen, within which are inserted images degrees, as exemplified by a promotional (the photography studio, prints, design |146| catalogue for the Oltolina cotton mill, pro- tools) that illustrate the studio’s unique- duced in 1934, in which the presence of el- ness; and in a second version (published ements tending towards abstraction within in Guida Ricciardi in 1936), the depth effect an otherwise traditional configuration is accentuated by the second color.153 This places it in a transitional phase.151 The first case also clearly shows the newness and signs of a new direction can be found in a the maturity of the language used, which |147| group of advertisements in the May 1935 is- attest to the search for a less intuitive more sue of L’Ufficio Moderno edited by Ricas and conceptual graphic language, designed ac- Munari. Even though these are not always cording to more rational criteria and based signed, they clearly lead back to their work, on the typo/photographic combination.154 certainly on assignment for the publisher. Studio Boggeri opened on via Borghet- These are ad inserts for technical compa- to in Milan in 1933, the annus mirabilis nies in the administrative and advertis- of Italian design, as a full-service agency ing sector, such as Lagomarsino, Indirizzi dedicated to the design and creation of ‘ad- Delfini, Adrema (office machines), Pub- vertising publications and photographs.’155 blicità Tramviaria (posters) and Fotomec- canica (printing services). As a whole they dell’astrattismo in Italia. not certain who is respon- Milan: Scheiwiller, 1978: sible for the designs inside seem marked by a minimalist approach, 28. Carlo Belli (1903–1991), the pamphlet, probably with compositions that favor white and writer, journalist, and art provided by the company critic, author of Kn, an (cf. copyright note on the are based on photomontage (which in gen- important theoretical text back cover). on Italian abstraction pub- 152 . In L’Ufficio Moder- eral represents the typical stylistic code of lished in 1935 by Edizioni no x; 5, May 1935: respec- r+m studio) expressed with various tones del Milione, the gallery he tively pp.268, 274, 2nd and collaborated with as event 4th cover. in style. These range from the purely ty- organiser and consultant 153 . In L’Ufficio Moderno pographic for Adrema to a style that is (Ciampi 2001: 129–30; x; 5, May 1935: 233; also in Pontiggia 1988: 24; Belli Guida Ricciardi 1936. Milan: 1980: 11–22). Ricciardi, 1935. 150 . ‘Ritmi grafici’ in 154 . Cf. Ravaioli 1998: Campo grafico, cit. 42–3. 151 . Asso Nova no.2, 155 . See Fossati, Sam- March 1934. (Como: Fra- bonet 1974: 7–40; Boggeri telli Oltolina). 16×23 cm; in ‘Una B rossa fra due pun- pp.16. Printing: Bertieri, ti’ 1981: 20–21; Monguzzi Milan. The cover illustra- 1981: 2–4; Fioravanti 1997: tion is signed Ricas+Munari, 76–79; Baroni, Vitta 2003: and the central spread is 136–139. Antonio Boggeri also certainly theirs, with (1900–1990) opened his the collage of textiles; it is homonymous studio in

Ricas+Munari Antonio Boggeri had a solid background more substantial experiences and meth- with experience as director of the major ods. He found this initially in Imre Reiner Milanese printing plant, Alfieri & Lacroix, and Käte Bernhardt, who in the fall of 1933 where he had the opportunity not only to introduced the new German printing cul- gain technical expertise in printing materi- ture and techniques to the studio.159 How- 156 als and processes, but also to oversee edito- ever, the fundamental figure in this first rial planning (for the monthly magazine period, not the least for the influence that Natura), and above all, through foreign he exerted in the Milanese environment, publications, to come into contact with is Xanti Schawinsky, permanently settled what was going on in the graphic art world in Milan from the end of 1933 until ’36; outside Italy. Essential references are the thereafter, from February 1940 and then new European typography and photogra- from immediately after the war, it was Max phy, viewed as an independent artistic me-

dium and in its complementary function 1933. It was one of the earli- que veut-elle ?’ ivi no.19, 15 to printing.156 Boggeri carved himself out est in Italy to provide a full September 1930: 46–52) communication service, (Monguzzi 1981: 2; Fiora- a role as the forerunner of the art direc- including graphic design. vanti 1997: 76). The studio had its heyday in 157 . Fossati, Sambonet tor, also devoting himself to photographic the late fifties and early six- 1974: 25; Anceschi in Mon- research of an advertising (still life) as ties; its customers included guzzi 1981: 6–8. companies such as Olivetti, 158 . Pigozzi 1982: 471. well as experimental (photogram) nature. Roche, Glaxo, Dalmine, 159 . Imre Reiner Based on this premise, the studio’s work Pirelli. From the outset (1900–1987), illustrator, Boggeri worked with de- calligrapher and designer from the outset, first in Italy, tended to- signers that would become of type. Born in Yugoslavia, internationally renowned he grew up between Ro- wards the most advanced graphic research professionals; in the post- mania and Hungary. After favoring an eclectic typo/photographic war period these include studying in Frankfurt and Max Huber, Carlo Vivarelli, Stuttgart (a student of Ernst language and, with respect to the func- Walter Ballmer, Franco Gri- Schneidler), he settled in tional approach borrowed from architec- gnani, Giancarlo Iliprandi, Switzerland, in Lugano, in Enzo Mari, Remo Murato- the early 1930s (cf. ‘Chro- ture, open to invention, seduction—for re, Marcello Nizzoli, Bob nology’ in Below the Fold Noorda, Albe Steiner, Heinz vol.1, no.3, winter 2003: 18). Boggeri advertising graphics are, first of Waibl, and Bruno Monguzzi. Contacted by Boggeri who all, spectacle, akin to a theatrical mise-en- Boggeri was invited by the had admired his work at 157 Alliance Graphique Inter- the Werkbund graphic arts scène. This view targeted at communi- nationale in exhibitions exhibit at the 1933 Trienna- cation is also apparent in the preference in Paris (1951), London le, Reiner traveled weekly (1956), Lausanne (1957) from Lugano to Milan ‘to given to print ads, pamphlets, catalogues and Milan (1961); in 1957 do sketches, improvise solu- he received the Gold Medal tions with amazing speed and folding cards, namely a ‘slower’ sort of of the Triennale, and in and the command of a cun- advertising, or one that is more educated as 1970 was appointed hon- ning profession’ (Fossati, orary member of the Art Sambonet 1974: 19–20). compared with the ephemeral nature of a Directors Club of Milan. He Käte Bernhardt: ‘The tall billboard.158 was active at the firm he and elegant Boggeri walked founded until 1973 (http:// back and forth trying to From the beginning and throughout it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anto- explain to me—in French— nio_Boggeri, last accessed 31 the work the had to be done. the 1930s, facing a national situation that March 2011). Any possibility for commu- he considered behind the times, Boggeri 156 . Boggeri’s inter- nication with the secretary est initially went to the was limited to smiles and a was constantly searching for artists with potential of photography, few gestures (…). In those discovered in the examples days, time was not money. of Steichen and updated in Once Boggeri got angry the theory on vision ex- because I had given a client pressed by Moholy-Nagy in a certain deadline for com- Malerei Fotografie Film(cf. pleting a job. How could Boggeri’s Foreword to the I know how many days it annual Luci e ombre, 1929, would take to achieve a suit- reprod. in Monguzzi 1981: able result? (…) We worked 7–8); while discovery of the on many different kinds of new German typography projects: large installations came through an article by for the windows of Motta; Tschichold in Arts et Métiers graphics and photography Graphiques (‘Qu’est-ce que montages’ (cit in Fossati la nouvelle typographie et Sambonet 1974: 20–1).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Huber’s turn.160 In a short time, then, the concreteness of sans serif) seems mirror- Boggeri studio became a center frequented inverted in a square divided according to by young recruits Ricas, Munari, Mura- the golden ratio into two spaces defined by tore, Veronesi, Buffoni, Carboni, even es- the red/black color contrast, subtly recall- 156 tablished graphic artists like Nizzoli, with ing the printing tradition. Boggeri would 157 whom Boggeri established external collab- then entrust the logo to the capable typo- orations, adopting the language most suit- graphic experience of Reiner, who would ed to the specific nature of the job in hand, place it on the studio’s letterhead designed without imposing a predefined style. This in 1934.164 sort of ‘working school in the field made Perhaps it was Ricas and Munari’s up for Italy’s lack of specialized schools’ limited printing experience that motivated and contributed to updating the visual Boggeri’s choice. Purely typographic exam- repertoire of Italian graphic arts as well as ples, like r+m studio’s different letterhead to defining the special qualities of the new from the early 1930s, in fact, lack a defi- professional figure of the designer.161 nite direction, almost as if they were the

I was a graphic artist, a job that no one knew of because when I would say, “I am a 160 . Max Huber (1919– classicist worship of tradi- 1992) arrives in Milan from tion and the ambition for graphic artist”, people would reply, “A ty- Zurich in February ‘40, on technical excellence; it is pographer?” No, not a typographer, but the suggestion of Gerard therefore natural that there a graphic artist, the person who deals Miedinger: ‘it is with his would be serious resistance with the space between the type, who contribution that the sty- against mediation with the chooses the kind of type that is used.162 listic profile of the studio new professional figure of is finally defined in a brand the graphic designer (Fos- new relationship between sati, Sambonet 1974: 10–1). The studio’s first identity was commis- “constructive” and “anar- 163 . Boggeri in ‘Una B chic”’ (Monguzzi 1981: 2; rossa fra due punti’ 1981: sioned to the advertising office of the Pa- von Moos, Campana, Boso- 21. In addition to following risian foundry Deberny & Peignot, which ni 2006: 82–6). After leav- the industrial work of the ing for Switzerland at the Deberny & Peignot foundry, inspired Boggeri for the name of his agen- outbreak of the war, Huber in the mid-1920s Charles would return to Milan in Peignot (1897–1983) cy: ‘(…) I wrote to Paris and a short while the spring of 1945 to con- launched an extensive pro- later I received a letterhead with the red B tinue his collaboration with gram of initiatives aimed at Boggeri. As for Schawins- promoting typography and between two black dots which I used in the ky, Herbert Bayer states: modern decorative arts: early years of Studio Boggeri.’163 And yet, ‘Schawinsky’s posters in from the printing type col- the 1930s were a strong lections of Divertissements already during 1933, Boggeri must have felt influence on the graphics Typographiques (1928–1934) of northern Italy; with a edited by Maximilien Vox the need for a trademark which was more few exceptions, perhaps in to the eclectic magazine suited to photography’s importance in the Paris, the Italian industry Arts et Métiers Graphiques seemed to be more sensitive (1927–1939); from the studio’s work. Munari would design the and more open to new ideas yearly publications dedi- |148| new logo, translating this emphasis into than the German industrial cated to advertising and |149| world was’ (in Fossati, Sam- photography to the opening an effective graphic synthesis based on the bonet 1974: 3). of the first advertising stu- 161 . Boggeri in ‘Una B dio (Service Typographique) principle of the camera obscura, where rossa fra due punti’ 1981: which would be adjacent to Boggeri’s initial (which changes from 20–1; Fioravanti 1997: 78; and then in 1930 absorbed Steiner in Salsi 2007: 113. by the photography studio the neoclassical elegance of Didot to the Cf. Anceschi: ‘An entire se- (Studio Deberny-Peignot) ries of graphic, or commu- led by Maurice Tabard with nicational, stereotypes that Roger Parry (Dufour 1994: pertain to Italian industrial 3–4, 16; Wlassikoff 2005: graphics [have] surfaced as 71–4; cf. Amelia Hugill- archetypes, if not actually Fontanel, ‘Arts et Métiers in “casa Boggeri”, at least in Graphiques’ at http://ellie. his disciplinary and design rit.edu:1213/ref.htm, last surroundings’ (1981c: 9). accessed 16 July, 2010). 162 . Munari in Politi 164 . Sheet 17.5×28 cm. 1991: 106. In a context that 2-color print. The Bog- was still for the most part geri-Monguzzi collection craft-related, the Italian also has the original ex- typographic environment ecutive design of the logo was shifting between the (15×10 cm).

Ricas+Munari product of experiments improvised on a d’Albisola (created in 1933) also seems to whim. One of the first examples (perhaps be made according to a similar formula, in the strongest and most original) dates back the sense that the part designated for the |150| to the beginning of 1932, with a rigorously text is enclosed by a thin border, above typographic style (moreover, in the brand which appears the name Mazzotti in large 158 new sans serif font made by Nebiolo, Sem- uppercase letters.169 This is echoed a few plicità). Two large initials r+m with below years later in the letterhead of the Tempo a small square bordered in red, followed editorial office (probably also by Munari) by the names written out in full (all up- in which the magazine’s logo is repeated per case), while the address is aligned at by a square below where the various offices the bottom; all the lines are justified to are listed, while the heading Anonima Pe- fom a column on the left side of the page, riodici Italiani (the Mondadori periodicals which is nearly square in shape. The result branch) crosses the width of the page in is simple, elegant and purely typographic, simple English italics.170 These examples in keeping with the precepts of the new show that despite the fact that there was typography.165 The style of a studio ad pub- no scarcity of typographic ideas, for some lished in L’Ufficio Moderno in December reason the two artists felt the need to vary 1932 is similar;166 but at the same time, we their graphic identity incessantly, while find a new size of letter paper, long and maintaining (consciously or unconscious- narrow (17.1×27.8 cm), based on a less dar- ly) some formal ties between the different ing typographic choice, with a block of versions. text aligned at the top right, in black Bo- Ricas and Munari’s working relation- doni type and accompanied by the writing ship with Boggeri would continue until ‘painters’ placed on a line in upper case at least 1937, when the two graphic artists justified across the entire width.167 A new would part ways. Even if the collection of letterhead follows in 1934, which takes a designs created during the five-year span few elements from the 1932 version, except for the via Borghetto studio seems some- in this case the heading is double, includ- what heterogeneous in the type of crea- ing both the r+m studio and the office of tions and in the visual language on which the Milan Futurist group, together at the they draw, a common stylistic feature can same location. Typographically, the design be found in their resorting to photomon- returns to the sans serif Semplicità and the tage, which in many cases seems to domi- bordered square reappears, but the head- nate over the other aspects (like the typo- ing is positioned horizontally across the graphic ones). Going over the body of work, width of the page, with a greater emphasis which seems highly diversified—starting on the Futurist group, which is promi- from projects for Studio Boggeri (logo, nent.168 Even though it includes an illustration that is somewhere between humor- 165 . Tullio d’Albisola/ 168 . Mart, Archives Casa Mazzotti Archive, Al- of 900, Rovereto: letter ous and surreal, the letter paper for Tullio bissola Marina: letter from to Thayaht signed by Mu- Munari to Tullio d’Albisola nari [April 1934], fondo [January 1932] (cour- Thayaht: Tha.1.2.07.66. tesy of Giovanni Rossello). 21×27 cm. 19.5×20.5 cm. 169 . Mart, Archives 166 . L’Ufficio Moderno of 900, Rovereto: let- vii; 12 (December 1932): ter to Thayaht signed by 700. Tullio d’Albisola (March 167 . Mart, Archives 3, 1934), fondo Thayaht: of 900, Rovereto: letter to Tha.1.2.07.63. 22×24.5 cm. Depero signed by Munari, 170 . Mart, Archives Ricas, Manzoni (November of 900, Rovereto: letter 24, 1932), fondo Depero: signed by Munari [Au- Dep.2.9.10. gust 1941], fondo Thayaht: Tha.1.2.07.89.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 advertisements, promotional brochure) to The photomontage makes it possible playbills (Lecco Quinquennial), folding to find a guiding thread in the different cards (Scaglia, Motta, Olga Asta, Tour- works Ricas and Munari did for Boggeri, ing Club Italiano), catalogues (RIV, Lino- grouping them according to their greater 158 leum), advertisements (campaign for sugar, or lesser photographic emphasis compared 159 Champion, Ulma), signs for counters or with the illustrative approach predominant windows (Farmitalia, Arquebuse)—one can in the previous stage. This also implies a observe a graphic style becoming no longer |151| secondary typographic role. An early ad- Futurist nor strictly functional. The graph- vertisement for the Studio Boggeri, perhaps ics tend, instead, towards a rational for- preceding Munari’s logo, already appears mula without forsaking invention, which, in Guida Ricciardi in 1933. This is charac- after all, would be the constant aspiration terized by a predominantly figurative style, of Boggeri, and from whom Munari could resolved in the combination of photogra- learn the profession of art director. phy and design in the picture of an archer, Apart from the heterogeneous nature accompanied by the slogan ‘colpisce nel of the projects for Boggeri, what first jumps segno’ (hits the mark) which fills almost out is the fact that these designs are dis- the entire page.171 The next version, taken connected; they are not secondary but they a couple of year later, shows an important respond to occasional commissions. In any adjustment in the formula through subtle case, they are not organic in terms of com- changes that, in addition to the color ef- munication strategy and coordination—as fect of the red background, align the com- is the case instead with Schawinsky’s col- position with a more constructive concept laboration with the Olivetti publicity of- of the ad: uncentering the illustration on fice, for example. This does not imply a the left frees up space for a second column reductive opinion about the value of these where an explanatory text and a schematic creations, if anything a correct framing of target are inserted, establishing a new fo- their real dimension. In the second place, cal point for the composition; a triangle is these are designs that appear less demand- created between the symbolic figure, the ing from a typographic point of view, based text and the graphic mark, which gives essentially on the image. Boggeri entrust- the whole ad a compact and dynamic ed these to the inventiveness of the two quality.172 graphic artists, taking advantage of their Growing in complexity, we find the playful spirit and surprising ideas. In the first collection of work resolved with a best cases the result is a sort of advertising simple, instrumental montage, where graphic art that has the ability to play with the photographic element figures within the public’s expectations through small the composition without being the main semantic slips, closer to the French version of modernism (without social or political 171 . Guida Ricciardi: la 392). The ties that existed pubblicità in Italia. Milan: between the advertising resonance) than to the constructivist mod- Editore L’Ufficio Moderno, environment and the group els of central Europe. 1933. Conceived by Giulio of leading graphic artists Cesare Ricciardi, contribu- are borne out in a long and tor at L’Ufficio Moderno and detailed technical chapter owner of the agency Pubbli- on printing prepared by the cità Ricciardi (founded in editorial office of Campo 1932 after the dissolution of grafico for the 1936 edition Balza-Ricc). Edited by Dino of the Guida. Villani, layout by Carlo 172 . Proof in the Dradi. There were three Monguzzi-Boggeri collec- editions in all (1933, 1936 e tion, Meride (Switzerland). 1941–42), the last two pub- 22.5×17.5 cm; two-color lished directly by Ricciardi print; signed and dated on (Priarone 1987: 12; Abru- the verso Ricas/Munari zzese, Colombo 1994: 49, 1936.

Ricas+Munari |152| mechanism; the folding card for Scaglia Ar- between the photo illustrations arranged redamenti (1933) in some way repeats the according to a rhythmic module, deter- lesson of Casabella, also referenced by the mine precise geometrical structures. This square shape. The line drawing of the fa- is a more controlled, rigorous method that çade of Palazzo dell’Arte, counterbalanced reveals its system, which supports the lay- 160 by the trademark in the lower opposite cor- out of the elements and is more functional ner, is cut by a wide diagonal colored stripe for technical communication.176 which isolates the symbolic element of the A preliminary mock-up remains for the hand and acts as a hinge between the two |157| design for a promotional brochure for riv illustrations and the text.173 The card for (1937) which returns to the combination |153|Motta (ca 1935), with the pop-up three-di- of industrial photography and photomon- mensional Duomo, represents an advanced tage. In the sketch, the parts are quickly level of complexity, in the controlled use of marked, defining the clutter as titles, text photography and color as narrative, along and photos. Nevertheless, it seems clear with an intelligent paper structure that re- that the pamphlet consists of two distinct solves the subject of the ad with a surpris- parts, one introducing the product and ing idea.174 one celebrating recent airplane enterprises, In later ads for national campaigns, connected by a central fold-out spread on dating back to about 1936, Ricas and Mu- silver paper, with an aerial view of the Tu- nari’s graphic language reaches sophis- rin factories. Undoubtedly the publication ticated levels (in some ways even radical uses photography as the main instrument: in the context of Italian advertising). A the first part in the form of large still lifes |154| double ad for the national sugar campaign alternating with designs; the second in (1936), which no longer played on the the form of a synthetic photomontage, in mechanical representation but rather on keeping with the style developed by Munari the association between the human figure for L’Ala d’italia.177 and the car (where the engine becomes a metaphor for the metabolism), uses photo 173 . ‘Scaglia Arredamen- Signed Ricas+Munari/Stu- ti presenta alla Triennale le dio Boggeri. The existence manipulation in a freer, almost anarchic, più recenti creazioni Ar- of other ads from the same fashion. The two images do not adhere to Ca’ (1933), a folding card, time, also created by Studio open 23×23.5 cm; two-color Boggeri with the collabo- a preset schema; they depend on the se- print; signed Studio Boggeri. ration of other artists (cf. Monguzzi-Boggeri Collec- ‘Zucchero alimento prezioso mantic juxtaposition of the elements, for tion, Meride (Switzerland). indispensabile’ in Domus a kind of surreal effect that plays on the An original note by Boggeri no.98, February 1936) al- 175 on the verso indicates that lows us to perceive a flexible emotional pedal. Instead, a contempo- it is the first or second work communication strategy, rary ad published in the same car-related created by the studio; ‘the that adapts its language hand is mine, I don’t re- according to the public in |155| context for Champion spark plugs is remember the author!’ —but question; this explains Ricas in all likelihood the work and Munari’s choice for an solved strictly constructively; the sheaf of can be attributed to Ricas upscale magazine dedicated lines converging on the photo of the spark and Munari. to motoring. 174 . ‘Non si ha noti- 176 . ‘Champion. Per- plug, the text laid out in a strips inserted zie dell’architetto…’ (ca fetta accensione significa 1935), folding card (sketch), economia di benzina’ (1936) closed 9×13.5 cm; open ad in Motor Italia x; 1 (Janu- 34.5×13.5 cm. Signed r+m ary 1936): 1. 43×56.5 cm. on the opening flap. Mon- Signed Ricas+Munari/Stu- guzzi-Boggeri Collection, dio Boggeri. Meride (Switzerland). 177 . ‘Con queste sfere’ 175 . ‘La tensione ner- (1937), brochure sketch, vosa sfibra i vostri musco- in the Boggeri-Monguzzi li…’ and ‘Lo zucchero è il collection, Meride (Swit- distributore di energie…’ zerland). 16×23 cm; pp. 24. (1936), ads respectively in Unique features include the Motor Italia x; 2 (Febru- metallic paper for the cen- ary 1936): 2, and ivi x; 5 tral four-page fold-out and (May 1936): 2. 43×56.5 cm. a circular hole in the second

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The mock-up of a promotional publi- the expressive repertoire used by the two |158| cation for Studio Boggeri called ‘L’uovo di artists in their collaboration with Boggeri, Colombo’ (1935) is more defined in the lay- nor that all the work belongs to the same out of the text and illustrations. Even here modernist trend. Some even deliberately 160 the taste prevails for graphic inventions return to pictorial language, both in the 161 and collage atop designed backgrounds realistic sense and in the more monumen- or printing screens. Square in shape, the |160| tal sense. The sign for the Lecco Quinquen- brochure fits in a black card stock enve- nial (1937), a provincial farming/industrial lope, which bears the studio’s trademark, trade fair, marks a re-entry to the more ob- uncentered. The pamphlet is protected by vious iconographic designs, where the pho- a tracing paper cover, with different drawn tocollage technique is diluted by the return crops of Boggeri’s famous photo of an egg to pictorial illustration, for a result that, all balancing on a mirror (L’uovo di Colombo), told, is rather commonplace (also because visible through a circular hole on the first of the propagandist Fascio symbol).182 The page, surrounded by Studio creations. In |161| window sign for Alpestre Arquebuse liqueur the center of the pamphlet, a photo collage

schematically illustrates the principle of section. The date is based and several ads for Olivetti the photomontage and bears the names of on the cover photograph (1932–33). (cf. similar in Campo grafico 180 . ‘Diamanferro the studio’s main contributors; the follow- ii; 12, December 1934: 274) contro la ruggine’ (1938), ing pages present two-color printing com- and especially on references brochure in the Boggeri- to the transatlantic flight of Monguzzi collection, Meri- positions, ending with a large letter B in the ‘Sorci Verdi’ (Rome–Rio de (Switzerland). 18×22 cm, 178 de Janeiro, August 20–21, pp.16 plus cover, metal bright red, visible in transparency. 1937). The type of content staple bound. Printing: Pizzi Yet another different option is seen in leads one to think of the & Pizio Milan, Rome. ‘The publication of an image most interesting double- |159| the Linoleum brochure (1936) that, besides intended for a wide audi- page is perhaps the last one the rationally structured photographic ence. In the 1930s, the riv [reproduced in Monguzzi Company factory of Villar 1981: 32–3] (...) Five other cover, works on the graphic invention of Perosa, commonly known spreads feature letters of as riv, part of the Fiat reference on the right page, punching out holes in the pages which Group, was one of the ma- and on the left images re- makes it possible to bring together differ- jor global manufacturers of lated to the specific field; for ball bearings and precision example, facing a certifica- ent coating finishes in two backgrounds mechanical components, tion issued by the Ufficio designed in a simple, linear style.179 Pho- with factories in Turin, Materiale of the 27th Ar- France, Germany, Belgium, tillery Regiment there is a tography is the main feature of a brochure Argentina and the ussr tank, next to a letter from (Bassignana 2008). the Navy Department is the for Colorificio Italiano Max Meyer (1938), 178 . ‘L’uovo di Colom- photo of the bow of a ship, characterized by the rhythm of large pho- bo’ (1935) promotional seen from the bottom, and 180 brochure sketch, in the the footer has a graphical tographs, as it is for a folding card for Monguzzi-Boggeri collec- representation of an ocean |162| Olga Asta & C. (1938), whose lace and em- tion, Meride (Switzerland). liner.’ (Bruno Monguzzi, 16×15.5 cm; pp.12. Dust correspondence with au- broidery are effectively evoked by a photo- jacket in tracing paper; cir- thor, 31 January 2011). cular hole on the first page; 181 . ‘Olga Asta & C. gram (enriched with the simple collage of black card stock envelope, Venezia’ (1938–39), fold- a view of Venice), printed in color on the with logo (17×17 cm). The ing card, 19×16 cm, pp.4. 181 collage in the central four- Signed Ricas+Munari/Stu- cover. Not that the photograph exhausts page folder has a painter’s dio Boggeri. Stampa Lucini, palette obtained from the Milan. photo of clouds and the 182 . ‘IV Quinquennale name of Boggeri’s main di Lecco’ (1937), press ad collaborators reproduced or tram poster, 17.5×26.5 on the brush handles, while cm. B/w proof and color- the facing page schematical- printed sample, Monguzzi- ly illustrates the principle of Boggeri coll., Meride (Swit- the photocollage. zerland). Signed Studio 179 . ‘Linoleum’ (1936), Boggeri (Ricas and Munari). brochure, 20×14.2 cm, pp.8. Note how this rough realis- The realism of the illustra- tic illustration style is found tions recalls the style of the in the contemporary cov- stage design for Il Dottor ers for periodicals like La Mattia by Rognoni (1931) Lettura.

Ricas+Munari also returns to the pictorial style typical of signs for Adisole and Neazina, pharma- poster production at the time; however, the ceuticals made by Farmitalia, which can be use of the photographic image and the sub- dated to around 1938;186 and sketches for tle typographic play (the curved title that a folding card and an ad for the launch of enters and exits from the café) give the the Guida Breve d’Italia, edited by Touring 162 composition vibrancy.183 Looking back, it Club Italiano in 1937. Also, noteworthy cli- becomes clear that Ricas and Munari show ents include Lagomarsino, Vedeme, Olivet- greater ease, expressing a style all their own ti, ulma and Tecnica (these last ones with in its slight playful subversion or graphic Carlo Dinelli). invention, in the more flexible and elaborate designs, such as brochures and folding

cards, rather than single printed matter, 183 . ‘L’Alpestre Arque- consulting Anna Boggeri such as posters, playbills or signs, where a buse’ (1936), counter or and Bruno Monguzzi. As a 184 window sign, 35×24.5 cm; note of caution, in at least more conventional style is preferred. silk-screen print. In the two cases it was verified Furthermore, a large batch of print Monguzzi-Boggeri coll., that the signature is false Meride (Switzerland). The (probably added by the col- |163| sketches have been recently discovered, image is not unlike Carbo- lector), despite the fact that ni’s (even if it is closer in its other clues (handwriting most of which bear the Studio Boggeri representation to the cubist or certain aspects in style) stamp and in many cases are signed Mu- styles) for the same product. confirm the work as being The mediator role of Mazza- Munari’s. nari, along with autograph markings for li, editor of L’Ufficio Moder- 186 . Adisole is an tuna the printing, which could not be identi- no and consultant for the liver oil extract (launched company Arquebuse, should by the regime to avoid the fied. The group includes window signs, not be excluded. importation of cod liver oil, 184 . Boggeri only seems blocked by international folding cards, catalogues, ads, often odd to assign certain kinds of sanctions) and Neazina is pieces, single copies, as well as retouched ads to Ricas and Munari, one of the first sulphona- those connected to specific mides marketed in Italy: photographs, photomontages and colored products or a particular both these preparations backgrounds intended for overprinting. client, while for the rest he were manufactured by Far- relies mostly on Schawinsky, mitalia beginning in 1938 Despite the fact that their fragmentary Carboni and Muratore (cf. (Sironi 1992: 125–126). Monguzzi 1981: 13). The creation of the phar- nature prevents a precise classification, as 185 . The large batch of maceuticals branch of a whole, these documents attest to a large sketches (now in the Massi- Montecatini takes place mo & Sonia Cirulli Archive, in 1935, from the joining variety of graphic design projects that Mu- Bologna/New York) comes of the Schiapparelli plants nari would work on, some perhaps on his from the Milanese printing and a branch of acna (an plant Unione Artistica Arti important Italian chemi- own or more often for Boggeri, which leads Grafiche Pietro Vera. Nu- cal company), but only merous examples bear the later does it adopt the new us to believe that their collaboration was Studio Boggeri stamp on the name; given that beginning more intense than was known thus far.185 verso, and in many cases in 1937 Munari works for (but not always) Munari’s himself as an advertising No less importantly, these sketches also signature (in full, but more graphic artist and that his verify a considerable technical ability and often MUN, or a simple clients are different com- short M). Furthermore, his panies that belong to the fine drawing skills otherwise unexpected handwriting can sometimes Montecatini Group (includ- be recognized in the printing acna, Duco, Società based on the magazine covers or later chil- ing notes on the recto or Generale Marmi & Pietre dren’s illustrations. In this regard, the most on sheets of tracing paper d’Italia, Lavorazione Leghe laid overtop. The major- Leggere/Alluminio sa), it interesting creations are some window ity of the work dates back is highly probable that his to the 1930s, but there is a relationship with Farmitalia small group from the 1950s. occurred directly, without It is not always possible to Boggeri’s mediation, within identify the client, as these this broader collaboration. are loose sketches or sim- 187 . Bruno Monguzzi ple colored backgrounds often quotes Boggeri who, intended for overprinting, referring to functional therefore lack any infor- Swiss graphic design, once mation; in other cases, the stated that a spider’s web name of the client is known is useful only when broken but not the type of product. by the fly that is trapped in It was not even possible to it; cited in Nunoo-Quarcoo identify the documents or 1999: 42. find useful information by

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Examples of Modern Typography spiral-bound booklet looks like a sort of What, then, is Ricas and Munari’s position catalogue of printing possibilities, using as after their experience with Boggeri with screens, lines, overprinted blocks, printing respect to the ongoing debate on typogra- on celluloid, and fold-out inserts. Impec- 162 phy? In other words, where does their work cably produced, the variety of effects and 163 fit within the contemporary panorama of materials used garners favorable reac- graphic arts? With respect to graphic art- tions in the Milanese advertising world, so ists of the same generation, such as Carbo- much so as to be reproduced in the Guida ni, Veronesi, Muratore? If, as we have seen, Ricciardi in 1936. Nonetheless, a review the work for Boggeri marks a gradual tran- in Campo grafico does not fail to empha- sition from a Futurist method to a more size how from a graphics standpoint the modern style, that is, updated on the con- results betray the fundamental objective, structive trends and on the integration of that is, to show new modes of expression photography, it is also clear that this move borne out of the collaboration between the does not embrace an extreme functional- printer and the new figure of the graphic ism. There are two main reasons for this: in designer: ‘(…) it became a work of costly part because the two artists do not belong reproduction transforming possibilities to the world of traditional printing (in the into problems.’189 This critique points out sense that they lack the technical training what is lacking not so much at the produc- that could have influenced their develop- tion level (given the collaboration with ex- ment), but perhaps more so because of perienced technical experts), as at the level Boggeri’s artistic direction, aimed at a type of the typographic concept, which was of ‘emotional’ advertising communication overly difficult for the outcome obtained. in which formal precision is not an end In part, this comes from inexperience, but unto itself as much as a means to establish fundamentally it stems from a concept contact with the public.187 In any case, by that is still related to artistry, dependent about 1936, the graphic work created by the on a ‘pictorial’ result rather that derived duo r+m seems to be have taken a clear di- from the technical possibilities inherent in rection, which can be seen in a few signifi- printing—cited are recent printed materials cant designs (both for contemporary ob- created with an entirely different economy servers and from a historical perspective). of means and visual impact, with a clear An early printed piece that seems to reference to the work of Herbert Matter make the point about the level of stylis- for the Swiss national tourism office.190 tic maturity Ricas and Munari reached ‘Reproducing and printing is therefore by the middle of the decade is the well- disproportionate to the effect obtained, |164| known Tavolozza di possibilità tipografiche, making the brochure ineffective from an an illustrative brochure designed and co- advertising point of view, because people produced with the printer Muggiani, for who want to advertise are unlikely to pay promotional distribution.188 The square,

188 . Tavolozza di possi- 189 . ‘Recensioni’ in bilità tipografiche. Subtitle: Campo graficoiv ; 3 (March Esempio di collaborazione tra 1936): n.p. artisti e tipografo. Milan: 190 . ‘We cite, for exam- Officina Grafica Rinal- ple, certain Swiss tourism do Muggiani, December advertising cards where 1935. 19.5×19.5 cm, 12 pp; beautiful effects were ob- card, metal spiral binding, tained solely with two-color various printing processes. prints and others, printed The pamphlet is placed in in two-colors in a single a three-color overprinted printing on regular ma- parcel paper envelope. chines’ (‘Recensioni’ in Campo grafico, cit.).

Ricas+Munari a lot for a job when they can get a job that with Muggiani, marked by an improved produces the same effect at a lower cost.’191 economy of means. It is the promotional This contrast—which is reminiscent of the |165| brochure Nero A.O. 1936 for the company distance that separated the ‘pictorialist’ Concentra/F.lli Hartmann,193 and features photographic vision and the new objectiv- a new printing ink, appropriately renamed 164 ity during those years —reveals a position with a nod to the war going on in Africa, that is undoubtedly receptive to the new as is the photographic idea on the cover; modernist influences that Ricas and Mu- inside, instead, text and images alternate nari tried to assimilate. However, they re- in a clear layout, with large, well-spaced mained on a level of superficial imitation type, printed in color and, on the front, without understanding their structural suggestive black-and-white images (photo- principles which are at their very basis. In montage and typographic compositions) or the end, the ambitious project was partially demonstrative images displaying the prod- successful, despite the indubitable effect it uct’s qualities (print proofs with different provoked in the professional environment, screens). Enclosed in the February issue of and which was echoed one year later in a Campo grafico for the occasion, it is accom- controversial exchange with Alcide Men- panied by a positive review that, in addi- garelli, a traditionalist printer and editor- tion to praising the client for their promo- in-chief of the Roman magazine L’Arte gra- tional choice that differs from the usual art fica, who accused the ‘three jolly guys’ of reproductions, this time it emphasizes the ‘extremely simple craft shop work that does total success of the collaboration between not really represent the possibilities of Ital- artist and printer that results in a ‘clear ian printing (…)’.192 Beyond the contro- work, that is convincing from an advertis- versy between those for and against mod- ing point of view.’ ernism, the fact remains that the Tavolozza The sedimentation of the language of is affected by the desire to prove the artist’s elemental typography in Munari’s work role in graphic arts with an excess of inven- reaches a new stage in 1937, significantly tions which in the end are counterproduc- connected to the Futurist environment. tive; and in any event, from the aesthetic The moderate paroliberismo (words in free- point of view, there is nothing extraordi- dom) reintroduced by Marinetti in the sec- nary even by the standards of the day—in ond half of the decade with his ‘aeropoetry’ terms of comparison one thinks of type readily lent itself to the advertising world, a foundry specimens, paper mill samples, or development directly tied to the autarchic even the Divertissements typographiques climate and the demands for promoting edited by Maximilien Vox for Deberny & national products.194 The first concrete Peignot.

Another advertising project, however, 191 . ‘The envelope (…) debates that filled the Ital- receives a positive reception, this one also required three printings, ian press at the time. the cover (…) five, and so 193 . Nero A.O. 1936 created during the same period together on’ (ibid). [where A.O. stands 192 . ‘All’insegna dei tre for Africa Orientale, or buontemponi Ricas Munari East Africa], brochure, Muggiani’ in L’Arte grafica 12.5×15.5 cm; pp.8, metal vi; 42 (January 1937): 3–4. staple bound. Printing: In a review by Panfilo, the Milan: Officina Grafica magazine had previously Rinaldo Muggiani, 1936. criticized the Tavolozza on Two-color printing. En- the basis of reproductions closed in Campo grafico iv; 2 appeared in Campo gra- (February 1936), the review fico, provoking an ironic is on p.29. response from Ricas and 194 . Aeropoetry, begun Munari, who sent a copy with L’Aeropoema del Golfo to Mengarelli, stirring up della Spezia (Milan: Monda- yet another of those heated dori, 1935) and followed by

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 example of sponsored poetic writing is Il enough given the country’s backward |166|Poema del vestito di latte (1937), for which technological situation. Cellophane was Munari handled the graphic design for the commonly used in food packaging; fur- Snia Viscosa advertising office.195 Mari- thermore, since the 1920s, printing on 164 netti’s poetic inspiration tends to glorify cellophane was one of the processes used 165 new materials manufactured by the chemi- for offset printing of texts and images.198 cal industry, in this case the synthetic It is therefore more plausible that the first fiber, Lanital.196 In addition to typographic to test transparent materials such as cel- skills, Munari’s work seems to capitalize lophane or cellulose acetate were the print- on the best results of his photomontage ers themselves. And in other European experience. The pamphlet’s typographic countries similar experiments in the field style emphasizes Marinetti’s text, that fol- of graphic arts had already been attempted lows its free rhythm with a play of vertical with success—cellophane was used by Lis- alignments, and accentuates some words sitsky at the Pressa Ausstellung of Cologne by varying the typeface. On this structure, (1928), Bayer used it for the cover of the he builds ‘a sophisticated visual counter- catalogue for the Section Allemande at point’197 made of clipped photographs, line Exposition de la Société des Artistes Déco- drawings, duotone prints and overprinted rateurs in Paris (1930), Zwart for the Recla- cellophane sheets that interact with the me brochure (1931). In Italy, aside from the poetic recitation. The result is as far from precedent of the Almanacco dell’Italia veloce the Futurist style as it is from the hesita- (1930), cellophane was used by Modiano tions of the first constructivist attempts, and it shows a personal assimilation of the Il poema africano della Divi- autarchy (1936), the adver- modernist vocabulary tempered by a basic sione «XVIII ottobre» (Mi- tising of Italian materials, poetic attitude which better expresses Mu- lan: Mondadori, 1937), re- already favored by a protec- calls an impressionist type tionist situation, affected nari’s position in the context of the new of narration, that is shown every manufacturing sec- in its declamatory style with tor, especially the chemical Italian typography. The effects used, such a new lexical richness and industry which provides as inserting a cellophane sheet inside the a marked descriptiveness. many new products. In the Aeropoetry gives way to the textile industry, new artifi- pamphlet, do not appear to be the product so-called Poetry of Techni- cial fibers were introduced of a desperate search for the element of calism, a definition follow- on the market, both of ing advertising poetry pro- plant origin (broom, ramie) surprise at all costs, but rather the result of vided by Marinetti with the and synthetic (rayon, cis- later Poema di Torre Viscosa alfa, fleece, cellulose by- intentionally accentuating and tying the (Snia Viscosa, 1938) (Salaris products). Overall, in the two narrative levels, textual and visual. 1985: 214–7). 1930s Italy had attained a 195 . Filippo Tommaso place of respect in the glob- The use of new materials like cello- Marinetti, Il poema del ve- al production of synthetic phane in the graphic arts of the 1930s is stito di latte. Parole in liber- fibers, whose main centers/ tà futuriste. S.l. [Milan]: figures, besides Snia Viscosa, often cited as an example of the Futurist Ufficio Propaganda Snia were the Società anonima Viscosa, 1937. Printing: italiana per le fibre artificia- legacy. Despite Futurists’ claims of priority Officina Grafica Esperia. li/Châtillon (rayon and its (assertions often repeated by critics with- 24.5×34 cm, pp.16; metal by-products); Rhodiatoce/ staple bound. Three-color Montecatini (acetate); and out confirmation), this appears unlikely printing, with a cellophane Bemberg (cotton linters) sheet insert overprinted (Venturelli 1997: 423–4; in black. Text in Luxor Gnoli 2005: 87–8; see also type, the Italian version of Garofoli 1991). Memphis (Stempel, 1929; 197 . Ravaioli 1998: 69. Mergenthaler Linotype, 198 . The text was print- 1935–36). ed on cellophane sheets 196 . Lanital is a syn- which were then covered thetic fiber obtained from using electrolysis with a milk casein, invented by layer of bronze dust, and Antonio Ferretti and manu- mounted on a printing factured by Snia Viscosa, a plate (Johan de Zoete, email major European enterprise exchange, April 2008; cf. in artificial fibers. With Twyman 1998²: 58–9). the proclamation of the

Ricas+Munari in 25 anni Olivetti (1933). The Futurists’ ex- modernization of the Italian graphic arts periments during the 1930s can be traced culture between the two world wars is the back rather to the well-known Mise en page: presence of foreign graphic artists (Swiss, The Theory and Practice of Layout by Alfred in particular) in Milan connected to Stu- Tolmer, the original French graphic arts dio Boggeri, not to mention Paul Renner’s 166 manual, as well as a true printing tour de or Max Bill’s exhibition designs at the force that at the time became a common Triennale. Numerous influences can be reference in advertising.199 Tolmer’s book identified behind Ricas and Munari’s new presented the most up-to-date summary of established code including, to a consider- deco graphic art and, in addition to dealing able extent, that of Xanti Schawinsky, who with the subject of typography, layout, pho- worked in Milan from 1933 to 1936, directly tography and illustration, employed an ex- introducing Bauhaus teachings and the traordinary variety of materials, processes new German advertising graphics. Settling and techniques: typographic printing, silk- in Milan in the fall of ’33, Schawinsky met screening, stencil printing; metallic paper, the rationalist architect Baldessari and the plastic-coated paper, wallpaper; collage, dry Ghiringhelli brothers, owners of the Galle- block.200 ria del Milione, and through these, Boggeri Another case is represented by a pub- who offered him work at his studio, where lication jointly designed by Ricas and he would remain throughout 1934. He Munari in 1937 (that is, after their studio would later open his own studio on corso partnership broke up), who undertake the Venezia. Besides working for Boggeri, in artistic direction of the summer issue of |167|URIC, a technical magazine for the foot- 201 199 . Alfred Tolmer. Mise Futurist creations’ citing as wear industry. What is unique about En Page. The Theory and an example the impressive their work for the cover, the pamphlet’s Practice of Lay-Out. Paris: (36×46 cm) celebratory Tolmer et cie. (French edi- volume Italia Imperiale, pub- layout, several illustrations and a few ad- tion); London: The Studio/ lished in 1937 by La Rivista New York: William Edwin Illustrata del Popolo d’Ita- vertisements, lies in the overall graphic Rudge (English edition, lia which contains all the style. It tends towards the hybrid, reveal- with French text at the end technical processes already of the book). 21.2×26.5 cm, used by the Futurists. These ing contradictions between elements of pp.[117]; with 16 tipped-in innovations spread progres- a Futurist origin and constructive solu- full-page illustrations and sively through Italy, which photomontages utilizing is confirmed by technical tions; while the photomontage on the metallic paper, linoleum, articles published in Campo color-printing, emboss- grafico (cf. ‘Stampa su cel- cover seems consistent with Munari’s work ing and stenciling. Bound lophane’ ivi vi; 1, January in other periodicals, the collage compo- in decorated boards. 1938: 14). During the span ‘This book rather than of a decade, these same pro- sitions combined with drawing that fill Tschichold’s disciplined Die cesses would be reused in several two-page spreads inside, in certain neue Typographie became the the special issues dedicated bible of advertising agen- to Futurist typography by ways, return to the aeropictorial styles that cies in the 1930s’ (John Campo grafico (March–May Lewis, Anatomy of print- 1939, edited by Enrico Bona) seemed obsolete. ing. London: Faber & Faber, and Graphicus (5, 1942 ed- On a different level, one of the fac- 1970: 215; cit in Burke 2006: ited by Alfredo Trimarco). 128–9); this observation is 201 . URIC [Unica Rasse- tors that undoubtedly contributes to the as true for the United King- gna Italiana Calzature], xii; dom as it is for Italy, given 44 (summer 1937). Milan. their marginal position 24.5×33.5 cm. In addition to within the northern Euro- the cover, the two graphic pean modernist paradigm artists’ work appears in (Ann Pilar, email exchange, numerous b/w and two- June 2009; Christopher color plates (all for uric Burke & Paul Shaw, email creations, 18–9, 22–3, 26–7, exchange April 2008; 40–9, 51, 57, 72–5, 82–3), in Wlassikoff 2005: 96–7). the index (13) and the title 200 . Lista (1984: 103) pages (14–15), as well as in and other critics did not three ads for Everest type- fail to point out how ‘the writers (10), Calzaturificio Fascist cultural institutions Di Varese (14) and Inchio- attempted to reclaim these stri Concentra (96).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the next couple of years Schawinsky would Schawinsky would end his period in Italy work for Motta, Illy & Hausbrandt, Cin- and emigrate to the United States.203 His zano, S.Pellegrino, Cosulich and Olivetti stay, however brief, leaves a lasting imprint designing posters, folding cards and cata- on the Milanese environment, and by 1940 166 logues; his work goes beyond two-dimen- the young Max Huber would take his place 167 sional graphics to interior layouts and in- at Studio Boggeri, continuing to nurture a dustrial design. His Italian colleagues were fruitful exchange with Swiss functional ap- not only surprised by the technical ability, proach to graphic design. but especially by the perfect synthesis in If the literary content in the Poema his work of graphic, typographic and pho- del vestito di latte allows Munari to graft tographic elements, which he would also his own poetic inspiration onto an open be able to show to a wider audience with typographic schema, with the excellent his one-man show at the Milione gallery proof of the Movo catalogue also designed (September 1934), in the commemorative in 1937, he perfects that formula by adapt- poster for the 12th year of the Fascist revo- ing it to the functional demands imposed lution (enclosed in La Rivista Illustrata del by the information/content. His graphics Popolo d’Italia, October 1934). Apart from seem to be aimed at a modernist lexicon, considerations on the ideological implica- where photography and illustration serve tions of this last piece, it should be noted to document and explain in an objective that not even Schawinsky was immune way. In fact, this is the role that Modiano from the influences of the Italian context; invites Ricas and Munari to perform for in the two covers he was commissioned |168| the brochure Il linoleum: Sua fabbricazione by La Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia published in 1938 by the Società del Lino- (December 1933) and by Natura (June leum, part of the Pirelli Group.204 The as- 1934), it is clear that his language con- signment is reasonably issued by the com- forms to the prevailing contemporary taste. pany’s advertising service, then driven by This is not the case for the cover created the poet Leonardo Sinisgalli (who towards one year later for a special issue of L’Ufficio the end of that year would become director Moderno dedicated to him, which includes of Olivetti’s advertising office), who also his own text on ‘functional advertising’ probably wrote the text.205 The brochure and a survey of his works from 1926 to 1935 in Germany and Italy. This provided yet another opportunity for Italians to exam- 202 . Other articles writing articles (published would followed in ’35 in Do- in Edilizia Moderna) and ine closely these organically presented ex- mus and Quadrante (Solmi lecturing on modern in- amples of the new modernist aesthetic.202 1975: 110). terior design in northern 203 . Hahn 1986: 20 ff. Italian towns; in 1937, he With the war in Abyssinia, international 204 . Il linoleum. Sua publishes a popular article fabbricazione. Milan: [So- in the magazine Sapere en- sanctions and the subsequent closeness cietà del Linoleum], 1938. titled ‘Come si fabbrica il with Nazi Germany, the situation in the 28×25 cm; metal spiral linoleum’ (How Linoleum is bound; pp. 32 n/n (in- Made) (iii; 60, 1937: 400), country became difficult. In fall of 1936, cluding a fold-out spread). which is the basis for the Printing: Milan: Società brochure designed by Mo- Grafica G. Modiano. From diano. His friendship with the typographic point of Persico is essential to his view, note the use of Bayer intellectual education; it is Type (Berthold, 1931). through him that he works 205 . Lupo 2002: 214–6; with Domus and Casabella. Lupo 1996: 223–4; Sinisgalli The Società del Linoleum, 1955: 22. From 1936 to 1938 then managed by Giuseppe Leonardo Sinisgalli (1908– Eugenio Luraghi (manager 1981) works as a journalist of Pirelli after the war), was at the Advertising Service founded in 1898 by Pirelli of the Società del Linoleum & C. which had taken over with the job of organizing a rubber-manufacturing new product promotion, by plant in Narni, in Umbria.

Ricas+Munari describes the manufacturing process and Pubblicità m the different product types and applica- Munari, along with Ricas, is one of the tions. The designer is Guido Modiano, who major figures at the Mostra insolita di Arte makes use of the ‘figurative’ contribution Grafica e Fotografica (Unusual Exhibition of painters Ricas and Munari, as well as of of Graphic and Photographic Art), which 168 Luigi Veronesi for the cover. For Munari, opened at the Galleria del Milione in Janu- working in collaboration with Modiano, ary of 1937; this would be the gallery’s last the person most theoretically and practi- exhibit of the modern period. On display cally committed to the achievement of the were works by the ‘campisti,’ layouts by new typography in Italy, constitutes an im- Persico for Casabella, photomontages by plicit recognition of the stylistic maturity the bbpr Group (architects Banfi, Belgio- reached, even though the typographer’s joso, Peressutti, Rogers), works by Figini direction keeps Munari’s inspiration, so to and Pollini, Veronesi, Schawinsky and speak, under control, directing it towards naturally, Ricas and Munari (who dis- the simple visualization of complex pro- played the Almanacco antiletterario Bompia- cesses. The narration, in fact, relies pre- ni, among others).208 New developments dominantly on photography and diagrams await Munari in 1937, however, starting (where Ricas and Munari’s presence is with the professional relationship with more easily recognized), while the explana- Ricas, which by now had reached its end, tory text actually plays a subordinate role. for reasons which remain unknown. Not Modiano’s artistic guidance is visible in the even in recent years have the two artists consistency of the grid used for the layout ever mentioned the circumstances of their and in the uniform concept that informs separation, which in any event was any- the publication, appropriately recognized thing but dramatic or sudden. From the lit- as a ‘concrete manifestation of modern tle information available it seems that the typography’ and since celebrated as one of separation must have been occurred gradu- the best examples of Italian graphic design ally, considering that during 1937 Ricas and of the 1930s.206 Munari are still working together on im- |169| An elegant brochure on Lanital printed portant projects, such as the installation at by Modiano in 1937 may have given Muna- the Mostra del tessile, the publications on ri the opportunity to work with the noted Linoleum or for Max Meyer, signed jointly. critic and printer for the first time. If on At least by the end of 1935, the r+m studio the one hand, the booklet’s rigorous typo- had moved to via Sebeto 1 (in the Cadorna graphic style leaves no doubt as to Modia- no’s responsibility, the numerous photo- Strong in an expanding Office’. Cover with pho- montages on the cover and inside seem to market (with demands tomontage printed in two 207 especially coming from the colors on golden metallic- bear Munari’s mark. public sector for hospi- finish paper; contains tals, schools, buildings and overprinted colored cello- transportation), the com- phane sheets (blue/green), pany would continue to be and a series of fabric and the main Italian manufac- yarn samples. Chiabraudo turer until after the war. (2006: 69) suggests that 206 . Cf. C.G., ‘Una Veronesi may have created manifestazione concreta di the photomontages, but I tipografia moderna italiana’ would lean instead towards in Campo grafico vi; 12, (De- Munari, who used this tech- cember 1938): 196–201. nique far more extensively. 207 . Lanital. La nostra Also, Antifascist that he was, lana. [Milan]: Snia Viscosa, it is unlikely that Veronesi 1937. Printing Società Grafi- would have agreed to create ca G. Modiano. 23.5×32 cm, propaganda photomontages 92 pp, spiral bound. The (like the one on the last colophon reads: ‘Edited by page). the Snia Viscosa Advertising 208 . Pontiggia 1988: 49.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 area, not far from Parco Sempione and and Prampolini, presenting a sketch for home of the Triennale), which also marks Monteverdi’s Orfeo (which was to be staged a break in relations between the graphics the following year at La Scala); and again studio’s activity and the Milanese Futurist in ’40, Ricas also has a space of his own at 168 group.209 Nevertheless, by the fall of 1936 the graphic art exhibit set up by Modiano 169 the name that had defined them until then at the VII Triennale. Called up to military makes way for new independent names, service during war, he would wind up in ‘pubblicità m’ and ‘Ricas’. What is signifi- Rome with the General Staff of the armed cant is that this change seems to coincide forces, where he would be in charge of the with a new direction in the studio’s activity, artistic office along with important figures in which Munari specializes in advertising in the Milanese advertising and journalism for large companies connected to tech- fields (Sinisgalli, Bianconi, Flaiano), work- nologically advanced sectors of industry, ing on theater and film production (propa- neglecting the more general commercial ganda films for the Istituto luce) and area and the publishing industry (with the weekly publications for the troops, among exception of periodicals, of course). In the other things. In ’43, a series of chance cir- fall of 1936 the name ‘pubblicità m’ ap- cumstances bring him to Brianza, in Lom- pears in ads published predominantly in bardy, where he would get by designing tex- Domus and Casabella; and from January tiles for a silk mill and, like Munari, during 1937 onwards, except in isolated cases, pro- the most dramatic years of the conflict, he jects by the two graphic artists in L’Ufficio would even manage to exhibit in one-man Moderno or L’Ala d’italia would be done shows. In the tumultuous period following separately.210 the end of the war, he would embark on Having left the studio with Munari, journalism; he was a contributor to Italia Ricas shares a space with Lucio Fontana libera, then editor-in-chief of the daily pa- and Fausto Melotti, continuing to work on per Il Mezzogiorno and finally an editor on illustration and graphics, but also increas- Corriere della Sera. Returning to Editoriale ingly on publishing. By 1934 he had already Domus, in ’45 he would become one of the started a consulting relationship with the founders of the weekly news publication Editoriale Domus founded by Gianni Maz- L’Europeo, along with Mario Pannunzio zocchi (publisher of Domus and Casabella) and Arrigo Benedetti. In the postwar pe- where he is able to establish a relationship riod, after an interval in South America, with both Gio Ponti and Giuseppe Pagano, his professional path would lead decisively as well as with the Milanese rationalists; towards the world of advertising organiza- for example, the layout for Domus’s col- tion connected to the dawn of television lection Quaderni (1945) is his, as are the and to the publishing industry; first with monographs edited by Raffaele Carrieri. At Sipra, the Italian television advertising the 1936 Triennale, he exhibits his work at agency, where he was along from the be- the set design show curated by Bragaglia ginning, inventing the advertising formula

209 . Cf. the colophon 1937–38: Piaggio ad in L’A- in Tavolozza di possibiità ti- la d’italia (October 1937), pografiche (December 1935), illustrations and photo- as well as the ad published montages for L’Ala d’italia in Guida Ricciardi 1936. (February 1937, January and 210 . Several examples June 1938) and Almanacco of ads or graphic projects antiletterario Bompiani 1937 created entirely by Ricas in (1936).

Ricas+Munari for Carosello (1957–1977), then for Rizzoli who always and only signed ‘pubblicità m’— and finally founding his own editorial and which therefore leads to the conclusion advertising company in the 1970s.211 that Munari worked as an independent Munari, instead, seems to be firmly professional with a client group assigned to committed to advertising, especially dur- him by the publishing house (however, this 170 ing the period from ’37 to ’39, also con- hypothesis remains speculative). nected to Editoriale Domus. The type of The first ads chronologically appear company client for which he works—from |170| during the summer of 1936 for acna, and chemistry (Montecatini, Duco, acna) to important chemical company in the dye textiles (Snia Viscosa, Rhodiatoce), from industry,212 and for the Società Genera- advanced metallurgy (Lavorazione Leghe le Marmi e Pietre d’Italia (Italian Marble Leggere/Alluminio sa) to new plastic ma- and Stone Company), active in the mining terials (Montecatini)—guides his choice of sector, both belonging to the Montecatini means towards the two main magazines on Group.213 In general, Munari’s approach architecture and applied arts, Domus and confirms his command of a modern lan- Casabella. Even though the first advertise- guage and in fact shows a remarkable vari- ments by ‘pubblicità m’ appear during ’36, ability in the formal solutions applied from Munari’s advertising work clearly begins in one ad to the next, going beyond the pre- January ’37 and almost exclusively for com- dominance of one common stylistic code. panies which depend on the giant Monte- Intended for an audience connected to ar- catini, a unique coincidence that suggests chitecture, the building industry and inte- some possible scenarios: that Munari got rior design, the ads are published monthly the job of overseeing communications for in Domus and Casabella, often reused in the different companies from a single of- subsequent issues or later on (changing fice or company manager seems rather un- the second color), but without being re- likely; an alternate explanation (which is peated from one megazine to the other. the more plausible theory) would be that the Editoriale Domus did not only manage 211 . Lopez in Bassi 1994: the 1920s, due to its close- 8; Bassi 1994: 16, 85–93; cf. ness with the regime, the the sales of ad spaces in his publications Waibl/Fava 1988: 52; Prada company develops quickly, but that he also offered the client creative 1977. expanding in similar sec- 212 . Created ini- tors, eventually becoming graphic services to make the ads by relying tially as an industry for one of the major Italian manufacturing explosives, industrial groups. The on outside collaborators. This is the kind acna (Azienda Coloran- group’s activities expand of relationship that existed between the ti Nazionali e Affini) was to the sectors of artificial transferred to Italgas in fibers (Rhodiatoce, joint editorial office and Luigi Veronesi or Fran- 1925 who re-launched the venture with the French co Grignani, many of whose ads bear the company for manufactur- Rhône-Poulenc, 1928), dyes ing dyes. Following some (Acna, 1931; Duco-Mon- double signature Domus/Veronesi and Do- financial difficulties, the tecatini), pharmaceuticals company was taken over by (Farmitalia, another joint mus/Grignani. And yet this aspect regard- Montecatini along with the venture with Rhône-Pou- ing the name gives rise to some confusion, German ig Farben (1931). lenc, 1935), petrochemicals The company included (anic, Azienda Nazionale because this never happened with Munari, three plants, in the prov- Idrogenazione Combustibili, ince of Milan (Cesano Ma- established with the Italian derno and Rho) and Cengio government, 1936), mining (headquarters, between (including the Società Ge- Liguria and Piedmont). nerale Marmi e Pietre d’Ita- 213 . Founded in 1888 lia), metallurgy (including and initially devoted to Lavorazione Leghe Leggere/ exploiting Tuscany’s cop- Alluminio sa), as well as a per and pyrite mines, after strong presence in the field wwi, under the direction of of hydroelectric production Guido Donegani, Monte- (http://it.wikipedia.org/ catini enters the chemical wiki/ entries for Acna, Anic, sector where it achieves a Farmitalia, Montecatini, prominent position in the Rhodiatoce, last accessed sector of fertilizers. During January 2011).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 The campaign for acna (created by Munari solutions with more informative ones. This until the end of ’38) uses black-and-white style is also found in the ads for the aero- ads on a half-page vertical format, with nautical sector (published in L’Ala d’italia), a predominant emphasis on the illustra- despite the slightly careless general tone, 170 tion combined with the logo, which moves confirming a precise communications 171 from the precision of the axonometric strategy. A series of ads in the same format drawing to a leaner, two-dimensional rep- for Montecatini plastic materials, appear- resentation, at times with simple additions ing in 1938, clearly use the same formula, of collage or retouched photomontages; based on the juxtaposition between pho- however, from the end of ’37 there is evi- tography and the printing screen.216

dence that both the illustrative and typo- |172| Similar reasoning holds true for the graphic style becomes stiffer. On the other |173| ads created for the Società Anonima La- |174| |171| hand, the advertising for the Società Gene-|175| vorazione Leghe Leggere (Light Alloy rale Marmi e Pietre d’Italia, done until the Manufacturing Co.) (later merging with middle of ’38, uses full-page ads, often with Alluminio sa) and published through the the addition of a second color, focusing de- end of 1939, except for a break during ’37. cisively on the photography, namely on the Generally, Munari uses the two-color two- juxtaposition of images corresponding to page spread (which makes it possible to two product states (its being mined from reuse the ad by changing the second color) the cave and its use in the building indus- in order to maximize the panoramic effect, try). Compared to 1936, January ’37 begins while the square format of Casabella allows to reveal a less dynamic style, as much in him to use a single page. On an aesthetic the photograph choice of public building level, Munari opts for a clearly construc- interiors as in the simplicity of the type.214 tive line, with Futurist-leaning echoes in The advertising for the line of paints the line drawings; predominant here are |176| by Duco-Montecatini215 shows greater photography, the presence of the product’s |177| homogeneousness and continuity, from (anticorodal, an aluminum alloy) logo January ’37 until the end of 1939. The half- and line plays to accentuate the diagonal page black-and-white ads, or more rarely tension, even if, compared to Verone- full-page two-color, exhibit a coherent and si who takes his place for a good portion well-constructed range of solutions over of ’37, the composition of his ads are all time, ensuring a more consistent brand told less dynamic, as well as less abstract. image. Munari favors minimalist compo- Munari focuses on the combination of sitions based on the photographic image photos and pictorial elements, and less on combined with graphic or typographic ele- composition; nonetheless, from the sum- ments (such as, screens, geometric shapes, mer ’38 there are plenty of more balanced linear marks), occasionally a technical examples, with more emphasis on the illustration, without any suggestion of decorativeness, alternating more allusive 214 . Ads for acna ap- taken over by Montecatini pear in Domus from no.103 in 1925, which, in addition (July 1936) to no.132 (De- to explosives, develops, cember 1938); for the Soc. with the authorization of Gen. Marmi e Pietre d’Italia the American chemical in Domus (from no.106, company DuPont, the pro- October 1936) and Casabel- duction of nitrocellulose la (from no.107, November lacquers for iron works and 1936) as well as in the book the building industry. Italiani edited by Ponti and 216 . Ads for Duco are Sinisgalli and published by published in Domus from Domus in 1937. no.109 (January 1937), Ca- 215 . Company originally sabella from no.110 (Janu- created as Dinamitificio ary 1937), and L’Ala d’italia Nobel (Avigliana, 1875) from xvii; 1 (January 1937).

Ricas+Munari suggestiveness of the photographic image reason unsigned, even if they are very likely and a more energetic formula, with photo- by Munari. The full-page compositions are montages, screens, rules (in particular the laid out on the photomontage, with effects ads in Casabella often combined with pho- not unlike certain aeropictorial solutions tos of rationalist structures or interiors). from the early 1930s, and completed with a 172 It is interesting to note the presence of a minimal, elegant typographic presence.220 new logo, beginning in 1939, reasonably When, instead, the product is intended created by Munari, who after a few vari- for a broader public, Munari does not hesi- ations seems finally to be combined with tate to use more obvious language, yet with the type Landi.217 At the same time, Palaz- a slight modern inflection. This is the case zo Montecatini designed by Gio Ponti is |180| for several ads for Rodina, the Italian ver- completed in 1938 in Milan.218 Aluminum, sion of aspirin also manufactured by Mon- marble and glass play a primary role in the tecatini (Farmitalia), dating back to the building’s appearance and throughout 1939 end of 1938.221 This more immediate, so- the building is the recurrent Leitmotif of called popular language becomes prevalent the promotional campaign. Perhaps the in the advertisements created by Munari in marked presence of the architectonic im- the early 1940s, during the period he spent age persuades Munari to form a more well- as magazine editor at Mondadori. Coin- constructed visual discourse where photog- ciding with the beginning of his role as raphy, typography, abstract shapes and the art director for the publishing house, dat- use of color are integrated in coherent and ing back to the beginning of 1939, one can expressive compositions.219 see a progressive decrease in his print ads; A more playful style seems to preside while he is replaced by one young Albe Stei- |178| over the publicity for Rhodiatoce, another ner for the ads for textile products (Rhodia, company in the Montecatini Group oper- Sniafiocco), the new name of Pubblimont ating in the artificial yarn industry, rayon (later Servizio Pubblicità Montecatini) in particular. The full-page, black-and- appears for other companies in the Mon- white ads handled by Munari until early ’39 tecatini Group, indicating the creation show a preference for a poetic atmosphere of a dedicated office within the company created predominantly by the photographic (graphically characterized by a return to a image, at time with illustrations; the reper- monumental style in the manner of Siro- toire of graphic ideas ranges from fashion ni).222 At least for a few brands, until the illustration to back lit photography, from photomontage to drawing, unified however by the constant presence of the original 217 . Commercial name no.109 (January 1937) and of Welt (Ludwig & Meyer, Natura xii; 6 (June 1939). logo. Similar poetic inspiration is found 1931) distributed in Italy by Ad for Sniafiocco in Domus the Nebiolo foundry. from no.109 (January 1937). |179| in some ads created in 1937 for Sniafiocco, 218 . Palazzo Montecati- Uncertain attribution for an artificial fabric manufactured by the ni (1936–38) is recognized a similar ad published in as the first office building the Guida della VI Triennale competitor Snia Viscosa —perhaps for this with a distinctly modern (1936). style in Milan, at both a 221 . Ads for Rodina ap- structural level and at the pear in L’Ala d’Italia xvii; 4 level of technical systems (April 1937) and Almanacco (foundations, insulation Letterario Bompiani 1939. from external vibrations, 222 . There are Rhodia air conditioning and pneu- ads in Domus nos.135, 136 matic dispatch). (March, April 1939) signed 219 . Ads for lll/Allu- by Steiner; and ads for minio sa are published in lll/Alluminio sa in Do- Domus from no.109 (Janu- mus no.147 (March 1940) ary 1937) and Casabella or Duco in L’Ala d’italia from no.110 (January 1937). (May 15, 1940), signed by 220 . Ads for Rhodia Pubblimont. appear in Domus from

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 end of ’39 Munari seems to want to keep A new path the commitments he made, and he contin- During the short span of a decade in which ues his advertising consulting, collaborat- he pursues a very complex, heterogene- ing, however, with illustrators or graphic ous artistic and professional path, within 172 artists (Hrast, Carboni, Dinelli).223 While the utmost stylistic openness, one has the 173 at Mondadori, although handling the ar- impression that Munari slows his pace, tistic direction of the illustrated weekly not simply from the point of view of his publications Grazia and Tempo, Munari work, which as we have seen continues is able to create ads for editorial products to be rather intense, but instead from an |182| from the same publishing company (Enci- aesthetic aspect, from the point of view clopedia dei ragazzi, Grazia, Ecco), without of the creative tension. His absence from however refusing the occasional outside Milan’s first Mostra del cartellone e della commission for the editorial office (rim grafica pubblicitaria (Exhibition of adver- laxative, GiViEmme toothpaste), in which tising posters and graphics) organized by he adapts, in simplified terms, proven solu- the Fascist Interprovincial Union of Fine tions based on illustration or basic forms Arts in Milan in the spring of 1938 is sig- of collage, even if sometimes a few com- nificant.226 At the end of an exceptionally positions display a more lively and original stimulating decade, during which time he inspiration.224 Finally, another publication for the |183| Società del Linoleum deserves mention. 223 . There is, for exam- “pseudo-event” that had no ple, the Acna ad in Domus reason to exist if not for its In this publication, dating to 1938–39 and no.130 (October 1938), capacity to generate publici- printed by Vanzetti and Vanoletti, Munari with illustration by Sveto- ty for its sponsors’— namely, zar Hrast; or another ad GiViEmme and the weekly may have been the illustrator. The illustra- for Albene in Natura xii; 6 Tempo (Gundle 2008: 53; tions are rather unique, featuring a distinct, (June 1939), with illustra- cf. Arvidsson 2003: 23–5). tion by Franco Grignani (or The competition featured descriptive style (reminding Geerd Arntz’s Brunetta?). An ad for Lavo- regularly in Tempo, which razione Leghe Leggere/Allu- published the results on the signs for Isotype), similar to the axono- mino sa which appeared in back cover—in which Muna- metric drawings Munari uses in several Domus (1939, reproduced in ri may have had a role as the Poretti 2004: 460) with the masthead’s art director. ads of this period; furthermore, there are double signature ‘pubblici- 225 . Il linoleum nelle retouched photographic elements which tà m’ and Erberto Carboni costruzioni scolastiche. Mi- (creator of the photomon- lan: Società del Linoleum, recall his photomontages. The print dis- tage) confirms Munari’s s.d. [c.1938/39]. 22x29 studio’s independence from cm, pp.132, spiral bound. plays a layout that is rigorous and essential, Editoriale Domus. 2-color print (3-color for but with no stylistic features to be able to 224 . There are ads for the cover). the Enciclopedia dei ragazzi 226 . Set up in the Pa- establish a link to Munari, apart from the Mondadori in Grazia no.22 lazzo della Permanente illustrations. If these can be attributed to (October 26, 1939) and in Milan, the graphic art no.30 (December 21, 1939); exhibit was combined with him, they would confirm a Munari-ian for rim ivi no.22 (October the 9th Art Exhibition; it 225 26, 1939); for the weekly also displayed advertising vein so far unknown. publication Ecco ivi no.7 work selected by printers (July 13, 1939), for the film or industry clients. Munari Piccolo mondo antico ivi was not the only graphic no.84 (January 2, 1941). artist not present, perhaps Again by Munari, an ad for on account of the confusion the ‘5000 lire per un sor- in the selection criteria by riso’ (5000 lire for a smile) the organizers, connected contest tied to GiViEmme to the regime’s union ap- toothpaste appears in the paratus. However, the par- first issue of Grazia. The ticipants do include Nizzoli, contest, conceived by Vil- Veronesi, Dradi-Rossi, the lani in collaboration with BBPR group and Seneca. Cf. Mondadori periodicals and Giulia Veronesi, ‘La Prima launched a few months Mostra del cartellone e earlier in Grazia, in the della grafica pubblicitaria a postwar period would Milano’ in Campo grafico vi; turn into the ‘Miss Italia’ 3 (March 1938): 85. phenomenon. ‘A classic

Ricas+Munari dedicated himself to exploring nearly all hindsight more significant being close to the means of expression technically avail- the dramatic break of the war. Modiano’s able (illustration, photography, advertise- show, along with another curated by Paga- ment, installations, in the broadest sense), no dedicated to mass production, ‘builds Munari is finally about to embark on the a bridge towards future Italian design sce- 174 publishing industry, no longer in the role narios,’ as confirmed by the presence of of illustrator, nor in an advertising role, names that would become leading figures but rather as the person in charge of the in the Milanese design and graphic arts overall graphic style of magazine publica- phenomenon of the 1950s: Munari, Mura- tions, products of the new mass cultural tore, Veronesi, Carboni, Nizzoli, Sinisgalli, industry. His position within the frame- Pintori.227 Returning to the criteria and work of Italian modernism, which by then objectives already expressed immediately had been partly assimilated into the main- following the 1933 show,228 the approach stream graphic style, seems to stand on a established by Modiano suggests, with a personal synthesis of modernist vocabulary, clear didactic intention, a modern posi- tempered however by a basic poetic or an- tion for the graphic arts, in a broader sense archic attitude that tends to place it more than the traditional concept centered on on the figurative than the functional or the book, which makes use of the collabo- purely typographic side. It is with this nat- ration of different kinds of graphic artists. ural feel that he will approach the layout The exhibition follows a course which em- and artistic direction for periodicals, which braces the entire field of typography from a in a certain sense represents the final stop modern viewpoint. It is divided into seven in a long formative journey, a moment of sections, assigned to separate curators. It summing up the various trends assimilated begins with Veronesi and Munari who deal thus far and confirming an approach that with the subject of the relationships with would remain unchanged in the postwar the other arts: Veronesi presents a pano- period. rama of printing systems and a diachronic An important moment of confirmation panel that follows the evolution of typo- in Munari’s situation is the Mostra dell’ar- graphic styles in relation to the history of te grafica (Graphic Arts exhibition) set up |184| art; in the second section entitled ‘Il gu- within the VII Triennale in 1940. After the sto moderno nella tipografia’ (Modern 1936 edition, marked by the untimely death Taste in Typography), Munari deals with of Persico and the cancellation of the Ital- the subject of the relationship between ian graphic arts show, the exhibit curated the typography and the visual arts. While by Modiano three years later, although a the exhibit design as a whole is entrusted smaller show, in many aspects represents to Sinisgalli and Pintori, Munari and Ve- an important summary and confirma- ronesi personally curate their respective tion of the outcome of the long debate installations. Munari resolves his subject- surrounding Italian modernism—with matter in the way that best suits him, that

227 . Vinti 2005: 50; cf. (Zveteremich, Rossi, Persi- Vinti 2002. co, Boggeri, Da Milano) and 228 . In a letter signed published in Campo grafico by important representa- (‘Tipografia e Triennale tives of the largest sec- 1936’ ivi iii; 6: 126-127). See tor of graphic artists Vinti 2005: 51–2.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 is metaphorically translating it into the which can be seen in the advertisement shape of a tree, physically installed in the production of the last two years. An ex- room (evidently inspired by similar solu- ample of this is the poster for the national tions by Pagano for the Leonardo da Vinci coal campaign, set on a drawing of a sim- 174 Exhibit at the Palazzo dell’Arte the previous ple outline of an open hand, against a blue 175 year). The tree trunk is surrounded by four background, with the collage of a cut-out frames with transparent screens on which enlargement of a piece of coal, with the are mounted modern-style illustrations autarchic slogan overprinted on it in a red and printed matter that express the close rectangle.232 However, in looking through tie to contemporary plastic trends (Futur- several issues dedicated to Italy by foreign ism, Surrealism, Abstractism), architecture, technical magazines, Munari’s name can- photography—in other words, that concept not be found. In Deutscher Drucker (July of ‘graphism’ at the foundation of elemen- 1941) Zveteremich maps out an account tal typography in Italy.229 Modiano sets up of the Italian situation (going back to the the third and fourth sections dedicated, re- graphic exhibition at the previous year’s spectively, to an overview of the best graph- Triennale), pointing out new names on the ic production and to outdoor advertising scene like Steiner and Muratore. An article (posters, signs, press ads, installations). In in Druck und Werbekunst (January 1942) the sixth section, D’Errico presents the sit- mentions Dradi and Carboni,233 and the uation of magazine printing, while the last Swiss monthly magazine Typographische section dedicated to art volumes and limit- Monatsblätter (August–September 1942) ed edition publications is left to Bertieri.230 presents (in addition to one about the The central space in the fifth section young Huber) profiles on Dinelli, Steiner presents a series of monographic display and Ricas.234 It is as if Munari has van- cases that document the contribution of ished from the Milanese scene or, at least, printers and graphic artists, in a climate of he seems to have withdrawn into Monda- reconciliation between the two classicist dori, a convenient refuge on the eve of the and rationalist fronts: Bertieri, Bianchi, impending war. Buffoni, Carboni, Dradi, Rossi, Modiano, Munari, Muratore, Nizzoli, Ricas, as well as a homage to Persico. While the works 229 . This is the defini- paper of Studio Boggeri and |184| chosen by Munari for the second section tion provided by Modiano one of the illustrated plates include a few creations that are more di- in the introductory text published in La Rivista Illu- of the Triennial catalogue: strata del Popolo d’Italia in rectly influenced by expressions of the ‘that aesthetic atmosphere November 1935, and prob- avant-garde,231 the few works exhibited in that living typography ably also a typographic ad shares with the most up- for Grazia. his display case give the impression of a to-date techniques in the 232 . The poster is re- exhibits (displays, shoe win- produced (in color) in less radical direction, with an albeit mini- dows and the like),’ which Grazia no.12 (July 17, 1939) mal figurative recovery. This confirms that expresses the common accompanying the article by recourse to modular sche- Arturo Tofanelli, ‘La pub- tendency towards a certain withdrawal mas that recall the abstrac- blicità è arte?’ (ibid: 12–16). tion implicit in typography The size is not given. (VII Triennale di Milano. 233 . Cit. in Vinti 2005: Guida. [S.l.: s.n.], 1940: 59–61, 63n. 149–56; cf. Modiano, ‘L’arte 234 . Deutscher Drucker grafica alla VII Triennale’ Deutschland–Italien Heft, in L’Industria della stampa, July 1941 (Berlin: Ernst July–August 1940). Boehme); Druck und Wer- 230 . Vinti 2005; bekunst no.1, January 1942 VII Triennale di Milano. Gui- (Leipzig: Karl Garte)—both da. [S.l.: s.n.], 1940: 149– cit. in Vinti 2005: 60–1. Ty- 156. Cf. Pigozzi 1982: 473; pographische Monatsblätter, Pansera 1978: 49–53. x; 8–9 (August–September 231 . Found in the ar- 1942): 202. chival photos are the letter

Ricas+Munari Wartime Art Director Inside the publishing industry

Mondadori and Italy’s publishing industry 177 Grazia (1938–43) 178 176 Tempo (1939–43) 180 An Italian Life of sorts 183 Photography 185 Munari’s contributions 187 Life vs. Tempo dispute 189 Foreign editions 192 Nineteen forty-three 195 Propaganda and consensus 197 The new typography and popular weeklies 202 Domus (1943–44) 203 Inside the cultural industry 206 Munari as author 208

Munari’s transition from advertising graphic design to the world of art direction for publishing took place in a rather particular context within the broader Italian publishing industry. On the one hand, the technological novelty of the illustrated magazine printed by the rotogravure process—which allowed an integrated printing of both texts and photographs, and was both faster and cheaper for large print-runs—had first been tried out in Italy during the early 1930s, under the auspices of Milan’s two main publishers, Angelo Rizzoli and Arnoldo Mondadori, in the women’s magazine and comic magazine sectors in particular.1 On the other hand, the mass distribution of print periodicals also corresponded with ‘the increasingly intimate relationship of convenience between the cultural politics of the regime and the major national publishing conglomerates’.2 With few exceptions, such as Einaudi and Laterza, the principal Italian publishing houses all had a good rapport with the regime, in the form of stable orders, general facilitation and financing—not so much for their ideological adherence to fascism, rather more 3 from a commercial standpoint. 1 . See Murialdi 1986: runs of 14 million copies. 102–4; Ajello 1976: 184–90, From 1940 onward, Monda- in particular 186n; Carpi dori also published Giusep- 2002: 123. pe Bottai’s biweekly Primato 2 . Lascialfari 2002: 440. (Decleva 1993: 244, 246). The Mondadori publishing 3 . Cf. the interview with house benefited by receiv- historian Gian Carlo Fer- ing commissions from the retti in the Rai Educational National Fascist Party and documentary Il Commenda Fascist youth organisations; e l’Incantabiss available at these included production url: www.lastoriasiamonoi. of the weekly Il Balilla and rai.it/puntata.aspx?id=478 the biweeklies Passo Romano (last accessed 30 January and Donna fascista, which 2009). altogether had annual print

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Mondadori and Italy’s publishing industry functioned quite well, especially after their Women’s magazines were a particularly purchase of new machinery for the plants dynamic sector. They started from Milan in Verona, but their cover prices did not and ‘expanded in quantity and type reach- allow for high margins.9 In addition to the 176 ing readers of every status, class and educa- important children’s magazine division— 177 tion level.’4 Starting in the early 1930s this which, from the debut of Topolino (Micky category included, along with magazines Mouse) in 1935, had an exclusive deal with intended for the middle class (such as Li- Disney10—in the latter half of the decade del, La Donna or Sovrana), the new ‘maid’s Mondadori’s strategy in the periodicals magazines written for the servants but read sector focussed on ensuring they had a by the ladies of the house,’5 as Zavattini magazine to counter each and every type of keenly observed—Novella (Rizzoli, 1930), magazine released by its competitor Rizzoli, Rakam (Rusconi, 1930), Lei (Rizzoli, 1933) thereby guaranteeing a solid readership. and Gioia! (Rusconi, 1937), which could With the key collaboration of Cesa- barely be told apart except for the printing re Zavattini—an essential figure in Mon- color.6 As for the content, apart from polit- dadori’s journalistic initiatives, who was ical propaganda, the illustrated magazines brought aboard as publishing director after were based essentially on romantic stories, being fired from Rizzoli—the Anonima Pe- society news, advice (love, family relation- riodici Italiani (a company founded in 1937 ships, cuisine, fashion, household handi- with the aim of merging all of Mondadori’s crafts). Rizzoli held a prominent position periodicals) acquired the biweekly Le Gran- due to a ‘very shrewd editorial strategy that, di firme, which was then transformed into while favoring a common public, aimed at a large-format weekly centred on ‘short product diversification’ and offered, along stories by top authors,’ to counter Rizzo- with women’s magazines and movie maga- li’s homologous Novella. As we have seen, zines, news periodicals like Omnibus and Zavattini was also responsible, alongside Oggi.7 Achille Campanile, for the satirical weekly Mondadori’s commercial strategy tar- Il Settebello, competitor of Rizzoli’s Il Bertol- geted the same demographic of ‘readers do. Finally, in November 1938, as a response who were just beginning to grow accus- to the success of Rizzoli’s Lei, Mondadori tomed to that sort of publication, which launched a new women’s weekly, Grazia, had virtually no established tradition in whose fairly conservative formula (albeit Italy.’8 As compared to Rizzoli, the pub- with a slightly modern approach) paved lishing house’s earnings came primarily the way to its commercial success with a from the literary sector—which was tied to middle-class readership.11 And in the sum- a fairly modest, bookshop-based market— mer of 1939, Angelo Rizzoli and Arnoldo and in part from the scholastic textbook Mondadori reached an accord to help regu- market, determined chiefly by the govern- late their respective periodical regimes.12 ment. Mondadori’s periodicals division 4 . De Berti, Mosconi Secolo Illustrato in brown’ 1998: 145. (1964: 20). 5 . Cesare Zavattini, cit. 7 . De Berti 2000: 7; cf. in Chiavarini in Colombo Lilli 1976: 276–7. 1998: 139. 8 . Lascialfari 2002: 442. 6 . Carlo Manzoni: ‘It is Cf. Decleva 1993: 237–40. the time of the illustrated 9 . Decleva 1993: 200. magazine with the love sto- 10 . Ibid.: 234–8. ries (…) The weeklies can be 11 . Ibid.: 238–9. told apart more by the color 12 . ‘The undersigned of the print than by their companies agree that content. Novella is printed (...), for a period of three in purple ink. Cine Illustrato years, they will not create in blue ink. Lei in sepia. Il uncomfortable situations

Wartime art director Grazia (1938–43) Rizzoli who relaunched Lei/Annabella ac- Compared to the popular illustrated maga- cording to a similar formula.13 zines published by Rizzoli and Rusconi, the The weekly had a complicated begin- new title launched by Mondadori aimed ning, with a journey that is not only inter- to stand apart from the competition by of- esting for understanding the publishing 178 fering something different in the way of dynamic of the period, but also for recon- content. Mondadori had already previously structing how Munari came into contact published magazines intended for a female with Mondadori, ending up, within a few audience, later getting rid of them—for ex- short months, assuming the role of art ample, Novella, a weekly with love stories, director for the api titles.14 By the mid- transferred to Rizzoli in ’27—to devote it- thirties, Valentino Bompiani, in contact self instead to the entertainment market, with Zavattini who at the time worked for for which it launched successful series of Rizzoli, entertained the idea of entering the romantic literature (Romanzi della Palma, periodical magazine sector, without howev- 1932) and crime thrillers (Gialli, 1929) er managing to make the initial projects a distributed periodically at newsstands, as reality. In the summer of ’37, it seemed that well as a foreign stories series (Medusa, Bompiani thought of launching a women’s 1933). When the publishing company de- weekly at the same time that a similar veloped its intention to combat Rizzoli’s project was being prepared at Mondadori. hegemony in the market of illustrated Through Zavattini, the two publishers de- weeklies, Mondadori’s intuition was to cided to merge their initiatives: the detailed invent—or rather, to bring to Italy based proposal (plan, format, frequency, price, on foreign models, like later with Tempo— type of layout, content and columns) was a different type of magazine intended for drawn out by Bompiani, who thought of a the emerging middle class. Grazia not only weekly aimed at Italian women of average broadened its content offering, which en- circumstances, entitled Essere bella. The compassed fashion, beauty, current events, negotiations proceeded, but Mondadori handicrafts, but above all—as suggested by went back to the original idea of adopt- the subtitle ‘Un’amica al vostro fianco’ (A ing the formula of existing periodicals, friend on your side)—it changed the rela- like the French magazines Marie Claire tionship with the public in the sense that, and Votre Beauté; in the end, Bompiani ac- through advice and suggestions, the maga- cepted the compromise and became its zine offered a model woman who was more informed (yet aware of the inferior and for any of their contribu- of Grazia with a female essentially domestic social role assigned tors; furthermore, they will representation countering reach an accord in complete the regime’s accepted view. to them by Fascism). This publication’s good faith regarding all acts (Chiavarini 1998: 139). that serve to discipline the 14 . His name does not quick success confirmed that the formula publications they produce’. appear in the credits of Gra- responded to a real demand in the female Quoted in Albonetti 1991: zia (this use would not be 393, 408n; see also Decleva introduced until after the public—causing an immediate reaction by 1993: 243. war), while he is listed as 13 . Decleva 1993: 239; the director of the artistic Cantani 1983: 104–6. Pub- office in Tempo’s title page. lished from 1933, in ’38 However, in an announce- Lei was officially forced to ment for an advertising change its title to Annabella competition which ap- (to avoid the use of ‘Lei’, peared in the news weekly formal form for ‘you’, also at the end of 1939 (Tempo meaning ‘she’) abolished no.29, December 14, 1939) by the zealous secretary Munari is listed as ‘direc- of the pnf Achille Starace tor of the artistic office in favor of the more mas- of api,’ the company that culine ‘Tu’). On this occa- controlled all the publishing sion, the magazine adopted house’s periodical publica- a formula similar to that tions, including Grazia.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 editorial director. Nonetheless, reorgan- the need to ‘give the reader the impression izing the api structure with the inclusion of getting more for their money’ than by of Alberto Mondadori created increasingly an actual need of expression or function.19 difficult personal relationship, which led Munari’s art direction was rather well-con- 178 to Bompiani’s exclusion shortly after the structed, which can be seen, in addition to 179 launch in November of 1938. Even without the graphic style of the table of contents discussing the merits of either side’s rea- (which went through several versions) and

sons, it is clear that the event would, for a |186| the story titles (often sketched by hand), in long time, mark the relationship between |187| the overall layout of the articles, especially |188| Bompiani and Zavattini, in the meantime the ones—more often than not—which firmly at the helm of api.15 Once he was out were based on the photographic image ac- of the picture, Grazia was initially assigned companied by a short text or anecdotes. to Raul Radice (already at the editorial of- The headings, in the usual informal writ- fice of Il Milione, later for Tempo), later to ing, confirm Munari’s overseeing Grazia’s be run by Mila Contini Caradonna. graphic layout. He worked predominantly From the archive documents and evi- on the two-page spread, following an in- dence, it does not seem that Munari was tuitive layout, without preset typographic involved in this initial stage of the maga- outlines, giving himself a great deal of free- |185| zine launch.16 Nevertheless, from the dom in the combination of backgrounds magazine’s appearance, his presence was and borders (where he alternated pictorial already apparent beginning with the issues marks, screens, texturing, geometric pat- of January 1939, when the editorial office terns), the crop of the photographs, often was reorganized with specialized contribu- going back to plain illustrations, similar tors for the different sections.17 The cover to the style used in several covers of oth- was illustrated with fashion designs, at first er periodical magazines of the day (and in two colors on a light background, like shortly thereafter in his own children’s the masthead, positioned in the upper left books). Taking advantage of the photo- and based, with some liberties taken, on graphic montage of the elements on the the Bayer Type.18 Only after July 1939 did the magazine begin to use color photogra- 15 . Piazzoni 2007: has only been possible to 122–4. examine 1939, 1941 and phy on the cover, with a close-up of a mod- 16 . In particular, I 1943 at Biblioteca Naziona- looked at the archives of le Centrale, Florence, and el. In ’43, this look was modified with the the Fondazione Arnoldo e Fondazione Arnoldo e Al- redesign of the masthead and the use (like Alberto Mondadori, Milan, berto Mondadori, Milan. and the Valentino Bompiani 18 . Bayer Type, designed for Tempo) of a coloured band at the bot- private archives, in Apice by Herbert Bayer and sold tom, with different kinds of information Library, University of Milan. by the Berthold foundry, Munari’s absence would 1933. The lettering of the on it. The inside (initially planned in black indicate that his participa- masthead also used to a tion was decided following certain extent Normande, and white) was brightened with a second the start of the editorial another Berthold product color, at times with four-color inserts, even project. Particularly inter- sold in Italy under the name esting is the analysis, fol- Normandia (1931). Mu- if the choice seemed influenced more by lowing the premier issue of nari’s typographic palette Grazia, written by Bompiani was limited to a handful of in a letter to Mondadori on types, almost all included 11/9/1938, which provides in the well-known Tavolozza useful information on the (1935): Semplicità (sanserif), editorial office and the Landi and Luxor [Memphis] initial project (Biblioteca (Egyptian/slab serif), Veltro Apice, Valentino Bompiani [Welt] (script), Normandia Archives, Personal papers (fat face/neoclassical). of the publishing company/ 19 . Bompiani letter to series: Administrative pa- Mondadori, 11/9/1938 (cit): pers/ ua 14 Contract [Ma- 1–2. From January ’39, writ- ria?] Grazia/ envelope 2). ten on the cover it says, ’80 17 . Due to the difficulty cents. 32 color pages.’ in finding the first years, it

Wartime art director page, Munari demonstrated an unusual was an immediate success with readers not ability and confidence in manipulating the only in Italy, but also (beginning in 1940) rich repertoire of graphic solutions which abroad, with its several foreign editions; at he displayed through a continuous varia- its height, it sold over one million copies a tion of ideas. It is also possible that Munari week, and only closed its doors in Septem- 180 found inspiration for his work in Grazia in ber 1943, upon the German occupation of the pages of Arts et Métiers Graphiques or Northern Italy and the publisher’s exile in die neue linie—which could be the connect- Switzerland. ing link between his adopting a construc- The structuring and direction of this tivist aesthetic and falling back on a for- new weekly lay squarely in the hands of mula that was less structured, more flex- young Alberto Mondadori,22 and it is no ible, mannered, intuitive (in short, more accident that he also happened to be at in keeping with his temperament).20 After the head of a group of young intellectu- the middle of ’39, reports also appeared in als, ‘a generation of thirty-somethings Grazia that were clearly influenced by the who had not yet launched their careers,’23 work in the editorial office of Tempo: these who paid attention to what was going on were limited to photographic sequences in photojournalism on a European level. similar to the journalistic ‘phototext,’ but It would be the political and cultural cli- with lighter subject-matters. This conver- mate of the war that would ultimately at- gence with the news weekly is also appar- tract a broad readership, as the public at ent in the progressive graphic evolution of large was still tied to the conservative and the table of contents that, beginning in ’41, conformist models set by periodicals like adopted a nearly identical typographic style. L’Illustrazione italiana and La Domenica del Corriere.24 Without his father’s substantial financial backing, however, an industrial Tempo (1939–43) project like Tempo would never have been The illustrated weekly founded and directed able to become a reality; for this reason, it |189| by Alberto Mondadori, debuted on Italian seems clear that the new weekly was part of |205| |206| newsstands on 1 June 1939 with a relatively |207| cheap cover price. It was Italy’s first full- colour illustrated magazine: large format, 20 . Retrospectively, 1932 and 1935, he became full-bleed photographic cover, sixty-odd Bayer and Moholy-Nagy part of the debate regard- pages divided into several different col- were the figures who most ing so-called leftist Fascism. greatly affected Munari’s Growing pressure from his umns on politics, news, literature and art. artistic path (in the broad- family led him to leave a In addition to photography, which was an est sense of the term, not position as cinematic di- limited to the field of graph- rector’s assistant in Rome essential part of its editorial formula, one ic arts), as can be clearly (held between 1936 and noted by comparing their 1937) to assume an active innovative aspect of Mondadori’s weekly relative artistic paths. These role in the family publish- was its graphic layout, which was designed show recurring points of ing business. Ultimately, he 21 contact, almost like a par- returned to Milan in 1938 and overseen by Munari. The publication allel evolution (even if at upon being nominated ceo different times) of aesthetic of the Anonima Periodici and social interests; just Italiani. Cf. Ferretti 1996: think of the studies on light xiii–xxix; Decleva 1993: as a means of expression or 240. thoughts on the role of the 23 . Albonetti 1991: designer in society in Mo- 394–5. A year later, faced by holy-Nagy and in Munari. the foreign competition of 21 . See Lascialfari 2002: Signal, ‘The enterprise fell 443–4. back into Arnoldo’s hands, 22 . Arnoldo’s first-born and was strengthened in son already had experi- order to conquer the Euro- ence working at the cultural pean market’ (ibid.: 399). youth-oriented biweekly 24 . Cf. Albonetti 1991: Camminare, where, between 389–90, 395.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the large commercial strategy of the Mon- by conspicuous technological and financial dadori publishing house. resources.30 Indeed, Tempo marked ‘a more Italy’s very first illustrated magazine, visible turning point in the general struc- Omnibus (1937–39) was published by Riz- ture of magazine publishing’31 by distin- 180 zoli, jointly run for the first six months guishing itself equally in both its content 181 by Rizzoli and Mondadori on Mussolini’s and its graphic look, which gave it a decid- wishes. Sixteen large-format pages, it was a edly popular American bent—to such a de- weekly focussed on current political events gree that a very similar editorial approach and literature, directed by Leo Longane- and graphic formula would be adopted si.25 ‘This is the time for news, for images, again in the 1950s in the new Epoca.32 for photographs of movie stars. Our new Despite the graphic design and tech- Plutarch is the Kodak lens (…) People and nologically innovative rotogravure printing, things, outside time and space and the Tempo (like Mondadori’s other periodicals laws of chance, become a vision; this is at the time) was ‘a product of markedly film. People go to the movies: so let’s give artisanal roots, with a minimal editorial them actresses’ legs and lots of images team.’33 The first editor-in-chief was Indro alongside well-written text; this is a new Montanelli, who after a few weeks was suc- kind of newspaper.’26 According to Lam- ceeded by Carlo Bernard; the editors were berti Sorrentino, a pioneer of Italian pho- Ettore Della Giovanna, Alberto Lattuada, tojournalism and special envoy for Tempo, Raul Radice and Federigo Valli; the sole the originality of Longanesi’s formula lay special envoy, and later head of the editori- in his ‘informative and controversial use al office in Rome, was Lamberti Sorrentino; of photography that had hitherto been ne- there were just a few correspondents, and a glected, relegated to a merely illustrative rather limited number of columnists. Later role, with the predictable cliché archive im- on this staff gained reinforcement from ages (…),’ photographs ‘Longanesi cropped various contributors, including poet Sal- to fit his own, highly personal tastes’ and vatore Quasimodo, Raffaele Carrieri and that occupied roughly a third of the en- Arturo Tofanelli.34 tire magazine.27 The magazine reached a sales quota of 70,000 copies weekly, but 25 . From April 1937 up on the subject of war (De until the suppression enact- Berti, Mosconi 1998: 151). was shut down by order of the Minculpop ed in January 1939, 40,000 30 . See also Carpi 2002: 28 copies were sold each week 123. (Ministry of Popular Culture). And both (cf. Murialdi 1986: 181). In 31 . Ajello 1976: 190. its successor Oggi and Mondador’s Tempo June 1939 (a few days earlier 32 . Ajello underlines 29 than Tempo’s launch) Rizzoli this ‘duality between the would follow in its footsteps. Neverthe- replaced Longanesi’s weekly more literary tradition in less, with respect to the élitist tone of the with Oggi, which was direct- journalism —such as Lon- ed by two young editors who ganesi’s—and the more ‘more literary’ journalism found in Omni- had worked with Longanesi, straightforwardly industrial Arrigo Benedetti and Mario lineage, like the one Tempo bus, Mondadori aimed instead to reach a Panunzio. Despite rampant was a part of (…)’ and then mass audience, taking full advantage of its conformism and a ‘fair dose in the post-war period by of imperial incence’, in 1942 Epoca, characterised by an industrial group organisation, empowered Oggi, too, was suppressed ever greater use of photog- (Ajello 1976: 188). raphy and colour, cultural 26 . Leo Longanesi, cit. and life-style articles as well in Mazzuca 1991: 79. as popular science articles, 27 . Sorrentino 1984: 63. and above all the mosaic- 28 . Cf. Cristiani, Ven- like spread of contributions ditti 2010, at http://www. in each issue (Ajello 1976: mediazionionline.it/artico- 190, 203). li/cristiani_venditti.html, 33 . Decleva 1993: 241. last accessed January 2011). 34 . Tempo. Roma: 29 . Oggi (1939–42) Azienda Periodici Italiani, would not fare any better 1939–1943. 26×36 cm, pp. than Omnibus: it was closed between 60 and 80. Print- in 1942 for its non-con- ing: Rotocalco Vitagliano, formist positions, especially Milan. Director: Alberto

Wartime art director Initially, Tempo’s editorial offices oc- was acquired by Mondadori and its offices cupied the first storey of a palazzo in piaz- were moved to Milan), while in Milan za San Babila, and were later moved to a Munari not only continued working with building in corso di Porta Vittoria. Staff ac- Bompiani on the graphic design of the Al- counts describe a rather unusual working manacco, but by 1934 was also one of the 182 environment for late-thirties Italy, clearly anthology’s co-editors. In 1938 Zavattini inspired and modelled upon the American and Alberto Mondadori found themselves papers of the day: there was a large, open heading the api, as editorial director and office all the editors shared, and a couple ceo, respectively: the decision to hire Mu- of side offices for the director and art de- nari as art director at the new weekly must partment.35 It seems the informal climate have happened at some point towards the and friendly rapport between co-workers close of 1938,39 while he was already the were especially unique aspects: ‘people artistic consultant for Grazia—perhaps on always worked together, went to lunch to- the suggestion of Zavattini or Bompiani. gether, went to football matches together By then Munari was also responsible of (…) We weren’t mere employees, rather we the graphic layout of the literary anthol- were real collaborators, in the full sense |190| ogy Il Tesoretto, published from 1939 by To- of the term: from the editor-in-chief to fanelli’s Primi Piani imprint, who was par- the proofreaders, we were all on the same ticipated by Mondadori. When he received level’ (Paolo Lecaldano);36 ‘Everybody was the invitation from Alberto Mondadori to a family, bound by friendship, even with join the weekly’s staff, his commercial as- the bosses (…) [who] often invited five or sociation with Riccardo Ricas had already six of us at a time to spend the week-end come to an end and he was working mainly at their villa in Meina’ (Lamberti Sorren- as an advertising designer. One plausible tino).37 It is hard to tell whether all this can be traced back to a precise decision on Mondadori. Editor-in- correspondents: Stefano Chief: Indro Montanelli Bricarelli, Giuseppe Pa- the part of management, or was simply a (up until no. 4, 22/6/1939), gano, Eugenio Haas, Pat result of Alberto Mondadori’s personality; then Carlo Bernard [Ber- Monterosso, Ilse Steinhoff. nari]. Editors: Ettore Della Photographic services: Is- regardless, a similar atmosphere would pre- Giovanna, Alberto Lattuada, tituto Nazionale luce, Foto vail again a decade or so later at the edito- Raul Radice, Federigo Val- api, Presse Hoffman–Foto, li. Managing editor (from Schoepke, Associated Press, 38 rial office of Epoca. 1940): Arturo Tofanelli. Black Star, International Correspondent: Lamberti News Photo, Keystone Alberto Mondadori and Bruno Munari Sorrentino, who acted as Press, Opera Mundi, Foto likely came into contact for the first time editor-in-chief of the Rome Vedo (Source: Adriano Aprà, bureau. Art Direction: Bru- ed., Luigi Comencini: il cine- through Zavattini, who had been the main no Munari. Between 1939 ma e i film. Venice: Marsilio, editor of Bompiani’s Almanacco Letterario and 1940 Salvatore Qua- 2007; retrieved 19 Febru- simodo, Raffaele Carrieri, ary 2009 at http://www. since 1932. During his stay in Rome, in Fabrizio Clerici, Gino Vi- pesarofilmfest.it/IMG/pdf/ sentini, Domenico Meccoli, Bibliografia_di_Luigi_Co- 1936–37, Mondadori had several more occa- Giuseppe Lanza, and Giaco- mencini_Critico.pdf). sions to frequent Zavattini at the editorial mo Mangeri joined the edi- 35 . Arturo Tofanelli, torial team. From Novem- quoted in Ferretti 1996: xxx. offices of Il Settebello (before the magazine ber 1940, section directors 36 . Quoted in Schwarz are listed: architecture, P.M. 1977. Bardi; art, Raffaele Carrieri; 37 . Sorrentino 1984: 65. cinema, Domenico Mec- 38 . Alberto Caval- coli and Luigi Comencini; lari: ‘Overall, on a human literature, Arturo Tofanel- level, Alberto made Epoca li; politics and naval his- an enchanting world (…)’ tory, Giuseppe C. Speziale; (quoted in Ferretti 1996: politics and military history, cxxxiii–iv). Emilio Canevari; science, 39 . Date surmised from Gaetano Baldacci; sports, Sorrentino’s statements, Vincenzo Baggioli. From wherein he speaks of ‘ex- 1942 onward, the editors citement-filled six months and section directors are no spent preparing the weekly’ longer listed. Photographic (Sorrentino 1984: 65).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 hypothesis is that his family life and home text.’43 Indeed, that close relationship be- situation—married in 1934, by ’39 he and tween writing and photography seems to his wife were planning, if not expecting, a be what distinguished Tempo from Life, in child—as well as the impending conflict which the unsigned articles seemed more 182 also pressed him into taking on the only like sideline editorials.44 183 stable, salaried job of his entire life.40 Regarding this adaptation of the American model within the Italian context, many of the leading journalists of the time An Italian Life of sorts seem to agree, while nevertheless empha- Tempo was Italy’s first weekly set up around sising its different tone in terms of content: the collaborative duo of correspondent according to Lamberti Sorrentino, Alberto and photojournalist. ‘Dear Reader,’ wrote Mondadori ‘wanted to Italianise the model Alberto Mondadori toward the end of established by Life in both formatting and 1942, ‘Tempo was created with an original the distribution of the material covered, look, which has been the secret of its suc- yet also leave room, in the written por- cess and wide distribution throughout Italy tions, for literary and more cultural cur- and Europe (…) our magazine’s report- rents in general; [he did this] by entrusting age is also told through photographs; the columns that elsewhere might have been photographs are no longer strictly illustra- viewed as secondary to major writers, for tive, showing episodes recounted in the instance, having Massimo Bontempelli articles, but rather are a form of reporting answer readers’ letters in his Colloqui colin and of themselves (…).’41 While Alberto umn.’45 Arturo Tofanelli, who was deputy Mondadori’s interest in cinema may also editor at the time, agrees that ‘Tempo’s in- have played a role, the example set by the novation lay in its being an Italian Life of American weekly Life appears to have been sorts, with a greater commitment to con- an even stronger influence; its extraordi- tent. (…) Tempo also was a platform for nary success was based on the use of pho- the political views of major figures, from tography as a principal means of informa-

tive communication, rather than a mere 40 . Bruno Munari, Palinuro, ‘Cose lette: este- accompaniment of the written texts. As quoted in Catalano 1994: rofagia’ in Il Tevere, Rome, 153. 7–8 June 1939). See Decleva shown by the controversy it met with from 41 . Quoted in Lascialfa- 1993: 242. 42 ri 2002: 456. 43 . Bruno Munari, the very start, among other evidence, 42 . In particular, it is interviewed in Schwarz Tempo certainly adopted Life’s formula, al- worth recalling the com- 1977. Large portions of this motion caused (in reality as interview, as well as inter- beit without slavishly copying it. In Muna- near blackmail, and soon views with Arturo Tofanelli ri’s words, the idea behind Tempo’s original quelled) by Il Tevere, the and Paolo Lecaldano, are Fascist daily run by Tele- also included in Del Buono graphic design was the ‘parallel relation- sio Interlandi. The 6 June 1995a. This nod to cinema is 1939 issue featured a front- even more explicit in Alber- ship between “audio” and “video”, that page photograph showing to Lattuada’s definition: ‘It’s is, what is told through the photographs two people, each holding like in the movies, the pho- a magazine—Life and the tos are like the image, the isn’t the same as what is told through the newly created Tempo—to captions are like the nar- suggest that the latter was ration, the articles are like plagiarising the former. In the soundtrack’ (quoted in the following issue, it was Sorrentino 1984: 65). asserted in no uncertain 44 . Up until at least terms that ‘not only does 1939, when—simultaneously it crib the cover, but the with the outbreak of war in plagiarism is, one might say, Europe—not only the graph- total and totalitarian, from ic design was restyled, but the columns’ headlines also the editorial formula to the list of contributors. was modified to include More than just another case signed articles alongside the of “esterophily”, this is a photographic reportages. matter of downright shock- 45 . Sorrentino 1984: 64. ing “esterophagy”’ (Andrea

Wartime art director Bontempelli to [Curzio] Malaparte.’46 a decidedly European air, they also, on the With respect to its American counterpart, other, gave Mondadori another way to pro- Tempo distinguished itself by its elevated mote authors from their own stable, and cultural content—understandably, since it spread word of new inclusions in their was conceived in a country ‘plagued by an own series, such as La Medusa52—much 184 excess of rhetorical classicism, academia as the flap adverts were almost exclusively and literature’47—and dedicated a lot of for the publishing house and its titles. space to short stories, cinema, art, and sci- Other noteworthy columns like Scienza entific breakthroughs. It is no coincidence (Science) and Dialoghi delle cose possi- that many of Tempo’s contributors also ap- bili (Dialogues on Possible Things) were peared in the pages of Mondadori’s Teso- somewhat characteristic of the magazine’s retto and the series Lo specchio,48 as well as commitment to popularising new discov- in Giuseppe Bottai’s review Primato (also eries.53 Massimo Bontempelli’s column published by Mondadori), which accord- Colloqui con i lettori (Dialogue with Read- ing to Alberto Cavallari attracted a good ers) focussed on readers’ letters, suggested portion of ‘the new literature, basically, in

stark opposition to all the old blowhard 46 . Quoted in Ferretti of Il Tesoretto, published at Fascists and academics.’49 1996: xxx. the end of 1939, as well as 47 . Schwarz 1977. in publications under the Significant differences can also be 48 . Before working with Primi Piani imprint (whose found in the major space Tempo granted Mondadori, Arturo Tofanel- editorial staff already in- li had founded and directed cluded Alberto Mondadori). political issues, and especially foreign the Primi Piani publishing Munari signed two unique house, which was special- contributions to the fol- politics, which were conspicuously absent ised in the new literary lowing two editions as well: (until the outbreak of war) in the pages of movement known as Erme- an article titled ‘Tutti felici’ 50 tismo (hermeticism), and (Everyone’s Happy), a short Life. The main columns, like Affari Esteri produced the Il Tesoretto song-like text about Christ- (Foreign Affairs), dealt with political issues literary anthology, ‘A highly mas (whose tone hints at prestigious publication that his interest in children’s and current events, while Tempo perduto sold fairly well. I was also books), and ‘L’amore è un on press with several new lepidottero’ (Love is a Lepi- (Lost Time) focussed on a reading of his- poets, from Quasimodo to dopteran), a story-board of tory for controversial or propagandistic Cardarelli, Ungaretti, Mon- sorts for a short film, quite 51 tale, Saba and the rather similar to the photographic ends. There were also sections dedicated young Sinisgalli, Gatto and sequences he experimented to theatre, cinema and art—Tempo was also De Libero. It was a non- with in L’Ala d’italia and commercial lineup, with Tempo. Italy’s first weekly to include full-colour re- great content.’ In order to 49 . Alberto Cavallari, help bring Tofanelli into quoted in Ferretti 1996: xxx. productions of artworks. The list of writers Tempo’s editorial team, as 50 . Life’s first issue, for and intellectuals who appeared in Tempo’s well as increase the visibility example (published in No- of the new series, Arnoldo vember 1936), ignored main columns between 1939 and 1943 is truly Mondadori took over both events on the international impressive. If, on the one hand, the litera- the publishing house and level: it made no mention the magazine: ‘That’s how of the Depression hamper- ture columns—Narrativa (Short Stories) I joined the editorial staff ing the American economy, at Tempo and, alongside Nazi Germany’s rearma- and Letteratura (Literature)—and book re- Alberto Mondadori, ran ment, the Spanish Civil views—Fronte italiano (Italian Front) and the Specchio collection, in War or Italy’s annexation of which we published both Ethiopia. Carta stampata (Printed Papers)—exhibit new and old works by Ital- 51 . See Lascialfari 2002: ian poets (…)’ (Tofanelli 445. Cf. ibid.: 453: ‘Among 1986: 81–2). See also Ferret- the most common themes ti 1996: xxx–xxxi. Despite was anti-English propa- the absence of a signature ganda, which—with thinly or other printed indications, veiled mocking, critical various clues in graphic tones—glossed over tidbits style, as well as coinciding of the British press.’ dates and places, suggest 52 . See Lascialfari 2002: the graphic design of these 445, 447, 449. Cf. Alberto anthologies was done by Mondadori in Tempo no.55 Munari: if not exactly in (13 June 1940) quoted in the whole layout, his style Carpi 2002: 124. can be seen in the covers as 53 . Lascialfari 2002: early as the second volume 445.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 readings and anecdotal news and played an very start: ‘Because the Italian photography important role in the magazine’s growing market was fairly slim, Alberto Mondadori popularity.54 began with an absolute masterstroke; he snatched Life’s best photographer, John 184 Phillips, and hired him for his weight in 185 Photography gold. The slightly less expensive but equally As Tofanelli later surmised, ‘Reportage in good Federico Patellani—Italy’s sole great both black-and-white as well as colour photographer—was also brought aboard photographs, accompanied by three or four with an exclusive agreement (…)’.60 The highly researched, news-rich, well-docu- photographic editorial staff, led by Patel- mented and well-edited pages of text was lani,61 included first-rate photographers one of Tempo’s key characteristics’.55 For its like Eugenio Haas, Francesco Pasinetti, Al- launch issue, Tempo featured a reportage berto Lattuada, Giuseppe Pagano (as well on the miners of Carbonia (Sardinia), and as rationalist architects Enrico Peressutti its cover depicted a black-and-white pho- and Leonardo Belgioioso).62 Among the tograph of a miner taken at a sharp angle editors’ official objectives was the intent of from below; the accompanying article was creating an Italian photo agency (api Foto), seven pages long, but the text ran to only

two columns; the remaining space was 54 . See Lascialfari 2002: 60 . Sorrentino 1984: 65. filled by the photos.56 As Sorrentino recalls, 451. 61 . Patellani, quoted in 55 . Arturo Tofanelli, Aprà 2007. See also Patel- ‘in the excitement-filled six months spent quoted in Schwarz 1977: 7. lani’s text ‘Il giornalista 56 . Lascialfari 2002: nuova formula’ in Fotogra- preparing the weekly, one of the many 444. fia. Prima rassegna dell’at- new things we came up with was the com- 57 . Sorrentino 1984: tività fotografica in Italia 65–6. Following his debut (Milano: Editoriale Domus, positional approach we termed fototesto article in the first issue, 1943), in which he defined (phototext), a neologism we coined (…) the first reportage to be the new photojournalism in officially termed ‘photo- terms of clarity, comunica- |213| My phototexts were received well from the text’ appeared in no. 8 (20 tion, speed, a good handle July 1939), and was cred- on framing and cropping, very first issue (…) For each photo I wrote ited to Domenico Meccoli. and an avoidance of com- a really long caption, such that the editors Cf. Schwarz 1977. monplace subjects, ‘such 58 . A note by Ezio Maria that the images look alive, could then cut it to fit the layout. And then Gray (publicist and direc- current, throbbing [with I gladly sat down to write the article that tor at Mondadori, as well energy], like stills from a as a prominent figure in the film.’ Federico Patellani 57 tied it all together’. regime) to Alberto Monda- (1911–1977) began his pho- dori is quite symptomatic tography career in 1935, Although it did meet with some initial of the cultural climate and leaving his profession as a criticism,58 the substantial originality of reading habits at that time: lawyer. His work for Tem- Gray complained there was po together with Lamberti Mondadori’s new weekly won it an imme- ‘too little text compared to Sorrentino documents the diate readership, with print runs oscillating the excess of photographic birth of the photojournal- material (…) one can easily ist in Italy. After the war he between 100,000 copies the first week and read Tempo and its 56 pages, contributed to many Italian 59 cover to cover, in a quarter and foreign titles including, 700,000 by the summer of 1943. A keen hour or so. A cover-to-cover Epoca, La Storia Illustrata, awareness of their new photographic for- read of Oggi, at only 32 La Domenica del Corriere. pages, takes at least an hour. During this same period, mula directed editorial decisions from the You need some text, too’ Patellani devoted himself (quoted in Lascialfari 2002: to film production, collabo- 444–5). rating with Mario Soldati 59 . Print-runs calcu- and Alberto Lattuada, and lated from those indicated shooting several television by Arturo Tofanelli (cited documentaries. in Murialdi 1986: 183n) and 62 . Cf. Ennery Tara- Decleva (1993: 258–9)— melli, ‘Federico Patellani’ whose numbers for 1943 in Viaggio nell’Italia del Ne- are rather doubtful, i.e. far orealismo. La fotografia tra too small as compared to letteratura e cinema (Turin: the official overall print- Società editrice internazi- runs—and corrected based onale, 1995), cit. in Musto on research by Pasqualino 2007: 37n. Schifano.

Wartime art director which would enjoy exclusive rights on for- right crop (…) One thing Tempo took from eign sales and distribution of photographic its model across the Atlantic was the custom 63 of acknowledging all its collaborators on the material related to Italy and its empire. In colophon (…) the photographers, the graphic any case, a large part of the photojournal- designers, everybody, just like in cinema.66 ism related to foreign affairs was consist- 186 ently acquired from major agencies, includ- Aside from their editorial innovations, the ing the Istituto luce, Black Star, Keystone phototext was born of Press, and the Associated Press. The editors ‘always held onto the idea of building and the intention to realise film-like productions, to make documentaries with all arranging the pieces, articles, and report- those photographic images. But there were age like film shorts (…) above all when they Lamberti Sorrentino’s photos, and then started compiling descriptions of events there were Federico Patellani’s photos (…) [which] were in a class of their own: because unfolding in the war and on the various he started out as a painter, he really knew fronts, to the point that they virtually filled how to frame things, and what an image is the entire magazine.’64 As Paolo Lecaldano, with respect to its surrounding space. The literary guys did not really understand the one of the first editors, recalled, grammar of images, they shot photos without really considering the frame—to such Alberto was the one who basically forced us a degree that when their images were used, all to take photos. We used the Leica and, on they were adapted, cropped, “framed” by the the way back after we’d done fieldwork, he graphic designers who did the layouts.67 expected us to have three or four rolls of film to develop. Munari always managed to find Photography was such a key element in something of use in all that material. That’s how the first phototexts came about. (…) Tempo’s success that the editorial office Alberto cared a lot about the quality of the even promoted a few initiatives aimed at images, as he did for the texts, and as for sensitising a broader public to the impor- Munari, he never once made a layout without having the photographer on hand’.65 tance of the image and modern advertising: for example, they launched a photographic And it was precisely the photography that |194| contest targeted at ‘all amateur photog- became the common ground, the shared raphers working in documentary photog- terrain uniting an artist like Munari, who raphy. Every submission must include a was open to all types of visual expression, series of at least fifteen photographs illus- to his journalist colleagues in the editorial trating an exceptional event or daily life, department, who had fairly typical back- provided that the images contain a comic, grounds in literature: tragic, or otherwise significant note. Above all, submissions must: be full of curious, I think I gave a useful suggestion to a lot of particular things or events; be captured amateur photographers—I recommended that, after choosing their subject, they take the with a vivid, acute sense of observation; shot from a few steps back, in order to widen be realised with the intent of creating and the visual field, thereby leaving some room sharing a contemporary, timely point of for the person doing the layout to choose the view—a clear, evident, interesting film of

63 . Cf. Alberto Mon- 64 . Lascialfari 2002: dadori’s letter (27/4/1939) 456. addressed to the Istituto dei 65 . Paolo Lecaldano, in- cambi in Rome to guaran- terviewed in Schwarz 1977. tee the necessary supply of 66 . Bruno Munari, in- foreign currency to acquire terviewed in Schwarz 1977. images from foreign photo 67 . Bruno Munari, inte- agencies. Quoted in Lascial- viewed in Schwarz 1977. fari 2002: 443.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 sorts dealing with a fact or event and contemporary yet explanatory title. The concept ceived of with a journalistic, narrative sen- is basically a year in review issue covering 1939, 68 since the idea was to repeat the special edition sibility’. Zavattini’s influence can clearly once every year, every two years, or every four be seen in such initiatives.69 In December years: it could bee the quadriennale (quadren- 186 1939 an advertising competition was even nial) of the Italian spirit—of Italian ingenu- 187 ity. We would invite about sixty or so people, proposed on the best adverts published in telling each one: ‘Here’s a page—do whatever the magazine, which echoed themes of the you want on this page, follow the most ideal controversial debate on modern typogra- sense of liberty wherever your spirit wants to take it. In a certain sense, it means acting phy: not only did the competition aim to as a tuning fork of sorts, taking the pulse of ‘elevate the quality of advertising in Italy’, the Italian intelligentsia. It would suffice to but the jury brought together alongside just choose sixty names with extraordinary rigour and care, ranging from poets to archi- Bruno Munari such prominent figures as tects to draughtsmen and painters—and, look the typographer Guido Modiano, Guido out!—journalists and typographers and print- Mazzali of L’Ufficio Moderno, the painter ers and photographers, and from the fashion world to the sciences. We’re approaching the Carlo Carrà, Alberto Mondadori, Federico eve of e42’s unveiling. This overview would Patellani. have particular value in light of the upcoming e42, an indicative, polemic, international value. The beauty and intelligence expressed by the crème de la crème of humankind will Munari’s contributions be seen in the architectural plans of a house, Despite the tight editorial schedules for the in a typographic letter, in an advertising poster, in a garment: it will give a unity to all Mondadori weeklies, it seems Munari was these separate branches, all the various indi- particularly active in this period, through vidualisms of the Italian creative spirit—eve- various initiatives that in one way or an- rything there is that’s new, and I don’t mean amateurish (…) Uomini nuovi could be an other were all characterised as initial at- extraordinary gift supplement to Tempo (…).71 tempts at updating and reviving, or rather democratising visual culture. One under- Zavattini also emphasised the minimal cost taking that was closely linked to his own this supplement would incur, and in order experience as a graphic designer, as well as to prevent it being bogged down by adverts, his intent to reinvigorate culture in general, he suggested a sponsor might be involved. was an idea he developed together with Ce- A proposal of this sort—in both the ‘choral sare Zavattini—a special publication that 68 . Quoted in Carpi tant graphic designers, and would appear alongside Tempo, which was 2002: 124. also worked as an illustrator, unfortunately never followed through with. 69 . Schwarz provides an painter, and glass artist. He interesting neorealist read began his artistic career in In July of 1939 Zavattini sent the publisher of the Italian photography Milan in the early thirties, a proposal he, Munari and Fulvio Bianconi that appeared in Tempo, in working for various publish- which he detects ‘a way of ing houses, and Garzanti in 70 had put together: looking, with and through particular. In the early fif- the camera, that is quite ties he became a contribu- different from American tor to Epoca; his friendship (…) A file of a hundred-odd pages, some in photojournalism, and with Munari evidently dat- colour, titled Uomini nuovi (New Men)— a rather closer to the cin- ed back to before the war, ematographic neorealism when both worked at Tempo. presaged by Alessandro See Fioravanti, Passarelli, Blasetti’s 1942 film Quat- Sfligiotti 1997: 122. tro passi fra le nuvole (Four 71 . Cesare Zavattini, in Steps in the Clouds) and a letter to Alberto Mon- seen at its peak in Luchino dadori dated 21/07/1939 Visconti’s 1943 film Osses- on api letterhead; quoted sione (Obsession)’ (Schwarz in Carpi 2002: 125–6. e42 1977: 2). Not surprisingly, stood for Esposizione 1942, Zavattini was one of the the international exposi- screenwriters for Blasetti’s tion scheduled to be held film. in 1942 in Rome, for which 70 . Fulvio Bianconi an entirely new city quarter (1915–1996) was one of his was being built (which later generation’s most impor- came to be known as eur).

Wartime art director survey’ approach and the pro-nationalistic own photographs, were later collected in ambitions, not to mention the exceptional- a volume as Fotocronache, which Munari ity of the event—was reminiscent of the Al- published in 1944 with Editoriale Domus. manacco dell’Italia veloce, the failed publish- In fact, the Mondadori weekly gave Mu- ing initiative conceived of by the Futurists nari the possibility to refine his work as an 188 in 1930. With respect to that first attempt, author which began in 1936 in La Lettura, a decade later Munari not only had signifi- and he produced a particularly significant cant (and in many ways avant-garde) pro- number of articles in ’41 and then again in fessional experience under his belt, but the ’43 and ’44 with an average of 7–8 articles very context in which the new project was per year. When Tempo closed because of the being proposed had undergone a notewor- German invasion in northern Italy, Muna- thy evolution: the festivities and exhibition ri resumed publishing in Domus where he marking the tenth anniversary of the Fas- would continue to contribute until the end cist revolution made celebratory compila- of ’44. tions of this sort familiar to a broad pub- Munari must have found a lot inter- lic.72 The exact reasons why Uomini nuovi esting cues and inspiration in the popular never came to be are not known, but the science articles that appeared in Tempo or plans, in any case, display the dynamism elsewhere in the press at that time, and and breadth of Munari’s interests. such sources would end up being useful in During his four years in the editorial his later research on materials and tech-

|196| office of Tempo Munari published no less niques. They also helped him develop his |197| than twenty or so articles, essentially based own clear, level, rational language, which |198| |199| on the image and dedicated in general to would become a key characteristic of his |200| curiosities73 or especially in ’43 during the writing and pedagogical philosophy in gen- |201| most critical stage of the war, to pleasant- eral after the war: ries, always resolving with a humorous quip;74 at times even intentionally on top- 72 . Similar objectives Mun., ‘La giornata del Trio ics of war propaganda, in that case in a can be found in the general Lebùscano’ in Tempo no.112 75 setup of some large-format (17–24 July 1941): 11–2; or paternalistic tone. In any event, besides illustrated publications B.M. ‘Tacere’ ivi no.101, 1–8 a few popular articles on shop window dis- produced by Domus pub- May 1941): 28–31. lishers, from the volume 76 . Mu. [Bruno Muna- plays, printing types or trends in photogra- entitled Arte Romana edited ri], ‘Vendere’ in Tempo phy,76 Munari also had the opportunity to by Edoardo Persico (1935) no.80 (5 December 1940): to Italiani curated by Gio 32–6; Bruno Munari, ‘abc- publish more experimental articles on Tem- Ponti (1937); as well as in defg’ ivi no.83 (26 Decem- L’Italia fascista in cammino ber 1940): 16–20; ‘Fermare po’s pages, including: ‘Letterina di Natale (Rome: Istituto Nazionale l’immagine’ ivi no.206 (6– 1940’,77 ‘Inez, l’isola dei tartufi’ or ‘L’uomo luce, 1932) or Italia Impe- 13 May 1943: 12–3). 78 riale (Milan: Rivista Illu- 77 . Munari, ‘Letterina del mulino’, with a similar layout; and strata del Popolo d’Italia, di Natale 1940’ in Tempo the amusing roundup of modern artistic 1937. no.29 (14 December 1939): 73 . See for example 20. 79 trends in ‘L’arte è una’. Most of these ar- Bruno Munari, ‘Fantasia 78 . Bruno Munari, ‘Inez, materia prima’ in Tempo l’isola dei tartufi’ in Tempo ticles, in many cases accompanied by his no.91 (20–27 February no.88 (30 January–6 Febru- 1941): 11–2; ‘Un leone in ary 1941): 16–7; according salotto’ ivi no.101 (1–8 May to Schwarz, this was ‘an 1941): 17–9; ‘Barba e veloci- incredibly lucid example of tà’ ivi no.183 (26 Novem- photographic de-montage ber–3 December 1942): carried out on a banal Ali- 21–3, respectively. nari postcard’. Idem, 74 . See for example ‘L’uomo del mulino’ ivi Bruno Munari, ‘Per futili no.191 (21 January 1943): motivi’ in Tempo no.180 23. (5–12 November 1942): 79 . Bruno Munari, 32–3; ‘A tu per tu col qui ‘L’arte è una’ in Tempo pro quo’ ivi no.203 (15–22 no.197 (4–11 March 1943): April 1943): 16–7. 34–5. 75 . See for example

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Another person I owe a lot to was an engineer, Our was a rapport (…) of expertise—that is, Rinaldo de Benedetti [a.k.a. Didimo]. He was we trusted one another’s expertise—but with a journalist, and wrote for the Corriere della a few doubts, in the sense that a large part sera. I admired his clarity, his simplicity, and of the literati completely ignored the exist- so I tried to copy the way he wrote, and I often ence of even the slightest possibility of such a 188 went to pay him a visit: [that’s how] I learned thing as visual communication (…) The only 189 to write in a clear way, accessible to all.80 ones you could really talk about visual communication with were the photographers.82

The beginnings of some of his visual exper- Munari went on to extend the discussion imentation and research also surfaced dur- to a more general pedagogical terms: ing his years at Tempo; although many were never realised or never appeared in article (…) You could say that that was when a real visual discourse began to develop, and form, they contain core ideas that Munari even today its still in the process of be- would later explore in the post-war period. coming clearer: [it dealt with] the use of the image as a means for communicat- I remember proposing a series of topics that ing things that, if communicated ver- might still be current. One of them was the bally, would require a certain number of colour of cities, in which you could really words—with no guarantee that the reader, see that Bologna is orange, Venice is white when he begins to imagine whatever it is the text describes, comes up with the thing and grey, Turin is brown, Alberobello is black 83 and white. Another idea was to photograph you ultimately want to communicate. streets [associated by name]—via Roma in Turin, via Torino in Milan, via Milano in Rome—with a whole description of every- Life vs. Tempo dispute thing that happens on these streets, to see how one city treats the other. Or show some In confirmation of the relevance a pub- masterpieces of classical art in colour but in lication of this sort had in Italy, Tempo’s negative, do an article on a factory of geo- launch was met by coverage in several graphic relief maps and world maps, where there are different scales that would allow newspapers, including Il Popolo d’Italia and the photographer to show in a radically the Corriere della Sera. ‘Munari’s graphic 81 new way something that isn’t new at all. design for Tempo was proof that the main objective was to bring a new kind of illus- It was in this same period that his deep trated weekly to Italian readers, inspired by interest in the foundations of visual com- weeklies from abroad, and above all Life’.84 munication—which would later become When interviewed many years later regard- a consistent methodological orientation ing the weekly’s beginnings, Munari de- of his investigations—grew increasingly tailed its inspirations: evident. Speaking of his role as art department director in relation to his journalist As far as Italian publications are concerned, [we looked at] Illustrazione italiana and Leo colleagues, Munari explained: Longanesi’s Omnibus; with regard to foreign ones, [we looked at] France’s Vu, Germany’s Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung and München Illus- trierte, Britain’s Picture Post, and America’s

80 . Bruno Munari, 82 . Ibid. quoted in Catalano 1994. 83 . Ibid. See also Biagi 1998: 156. 84 . Lascialfari 2002: 81 . Bruno Munari, 444. quoted in Schwarz 1977.

Wartime art director Look and Life. (…) Actually, at Mondadori Milan, although possibly inspired by ex- they really wanted Tempo to be a copy of Life. emplary issues of Signal—relied above all At the time, I was working at Alberto’s new weekly, and—naturally—I tried to do some- else on the rational use of colour and il- thing different: but the trend back then was lustration; thanks to the explanatory role it to copy the American model, because Ital- played it soon became one of Tempo’s more 190 ians always have a foreign model for everything they do. The imitation was so close distinctive characteristics, since through- and so evident, in the first few issues, that a out the wartime period the weekly analysed few witty readers commented “Those who the evolution of the conflict on multiple have Tempo don’t wait for Life” [Those who have time don’t wait around for life].85 fronts, often in lengthy, well-investigated articles.90 This is an interesting graphic Indicative as this was of Mondadori’s at- development, which Munari would have a tention to the latest trends of the interna- chance to perfect further in the layout and tional press, it is unlikely that the periodi- in original contributions which appeared cals mentioned by Munari (above all be- in Domus during the time of his collabora- cause of their heterogeneity) actually were tion there (following the closing of Tempo taken as precise models either for Tempo’s and Grazia at the end of ’43), which con- editorial style or typographic layout.86 stituted his main body of work during the Alberto Cavallari, editor of Epoca in the turbulent period of the Salò Republic (Ital- early 1950s, also mentioned the magazine ian Social Republic). Signal as one of their models.87 This was a With regard to content, and especially propagandistic German biweekly distribut- the use of photographic material, Schwarz ed in most European countries, including estimates that it was precisely the attempt Italy. In reality, the reverse is more likely true: Signal was only launched in April of 85 . Bruno Munari, in- are another matter, and 88 terviewed in Schwarz 1977. those relationships lasted 1940, almost a year after Tempo debuted. 86 . On the other hand, throughout the war). Epoca Only later, when Mondadori launched its in the many interviews he was launched in 1950. gave over the years, Muna- 87 . Quoted in Ferretti foreign editions after an agreement was ri’s recollections are often 1996: xxx. somewhat imprecise. For 88 . Aside from Mayer’s made with the Ministry of popular culture, instance, see Catalano 1978 volume, which con- was the German edition of Tempo (…) ‘ex- 1994: 153: ‘[During the war] sists solely of reproductions 89 I was lucky, I was at Monda- from the English editions, changed for the Italian edition of Signal’. dori. That was the only only the most historically up-to- The German publication likely did, how- stable, salaried job I ever date synthesis can be found had; I was what would now in Rutz 2007: regarding ever, act as a model of communicative ef- be called art director for competition with Tempo, see Mondadori’s magazines. At pp.69–72, 84–85. Detailed fectiveness with the special approach taken the time (1938), Mondadori technical and historical toward the information-based graphics— had stipulated an accord information can be found with the English Time Life at scholar and collector e.g. maps, diagrams, plans, tables—that ac- to do a magazine titled Tem- Pasqualino Schifano’s site, companied the text and photo-essays. This po (which I did the layouts http://www.giornalidiguer- for, in addition to Grazia ra.com (last accessed in new graphic aspect—most likely developed and Epoca). Throughout the February 2009). entire war I worked there, 89 . Arturo Tofanelli, independently by the editorial offices in and then I left.’ Aside from quoted in Schwarz 1977: 6. the understandably impre- This was a concession ar- cise date (1938 vs. 1939) ranged by both the Italian and nationality of Time Life, and German ministries it seems Tempo never had whereby Italian copies of Si- any accord with the Ameri- gnal were literally traded for can publishers of Time German copies of Tempo. Life—only in the fifties and 90 . Lascialfari 2002: sixties did Mondadori man- 454. Information graphics age to acquire the rights to were also effectively used produce an Italian edition in the popular scientific of some of Time Life’s series and technical columns (for (the contracts with Ameri- subjects as varied as medi- can and English photo cine, physics, urbanism, agencies to purchase im- economics). ages for the Italian weekly

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 at inventing an updated type of journal- among illustrated periodicals of the day, as ism based upon a new kind of relationship can also be seen for instance from Britain’s between the visual realm and the verbal Picture Post (which debuted in 1938). realm, which clearly distinguished Tempo The magazine’s interior has rather 190 from Life.91 From a graphic standpoint, on more subtle, less evident resemblances, 191 the other hand, it cannot be denied that but many of the typographic details belie the dispute regarding Tempo’s originality Mondadori’s more or less direct imita- had some element of truth to it. Before tion. The table of contents, for example, is all else, its format is striking, as it was similar in both: it takes up a (vertical) half based on the exact same proportions and page, with a small title in grey at the top, |202| was virtually identical.92 The most glaring and reproduces the cover image in a small similarities appear right on the cover: in inset; the few differences found in Tempo both cases the layout had a red rectangle occur in the composition, which is asym- in the upper left corner, atop a full-bleed metrical with respect to the main column, black-and-white photo, with the title ap- uses a more contemporary face like Landi95 pearing in white, sans-serif, full caps: the and sets the colophon opposite the table of letters of Life were generously spaced, in a contents, instead of at the bottom of the boldface version of Alternate Gothic No.393; page. Tempo’s letters were more tightly spaced, The layout of the average photographic and based on the narrower proportions |203| spread also betrays close similarities be- of Alternate Gothic No.1 (with a couple of tween the two magazines: not so much in the letters, p and o, slightly modified). In main compositional frames—which vary any case, whereas the American weekly from three to four columns for both text featured a swath of red along the bottom, and photos—as in the typographic details: listing the date and price (justified on the from the type chose for the main body of right, diagonally opposite the title), Tempo text (be it Scotch Roman for Life or Cen- was more discreet in inserting such de- tury Linotype for Tempo, both looked to the tails, and used a thin black stripe above same neoclassical English models) to the the title block for the date, while the price was listed in red within a white circle at 91 . Schwarz 1977. in its headlines and in its the lower right (again, diagonally opposite 92 . Life measured captions was a narrow bold- 26.5×35.5 cm; Tempo meas- face variant, possibly Bold the title). Finally, in both cases, the cover ured 27×36.5 cm. Condensed Titling (cf. Jas- story’s title appears to the lower left, atop 93 . Designed by Mor- pert, Berry, Johnson 1970: ris Fuller Benton for the 287–91). the photo, in black or reversed out, tightly American Typefounders 95 . Introduced to the spaced, full caps—Alternate Gothic No.1 for Company in 1903 and dis- Italian market by the Fon- tributed by Linotype, this deria Nebiolo, this typeface 94 Life, Monotype Grotesque for Tempo. On typeface consisted of three is the same as Welt, created more or less narrow, bold by Hans Wagner in 1931 and the other hand, imitation—above all in variations, from No.1 to produced by the German cover style, in order to ride the success of No.3. It is, essentially, a foundry Ludwig & Mayer. narrower version of Ben- It is an Egyptian typeface, the American model—was quite common ton’s other typeface designs, characterised by thick, including Franklin Gothic geometric serifs, associ- (atf, 1903–12) and News ated (like many German Gothic (atf, 1908). sans-serif typefaces of the 94 . Based on nine- period) with the rational- teenth-century models ist bent of new continental issued by the English typography. Alessandro foundry Stephenson Blake, Butti, art director of the Monotype Grotesque, created Studio artistico at Fonderia in 1926 under the supervi- Nebiolo in Turin, added two sion of F.H. Pierpont, was ornamental versions, Landi one of the first revivals Linear and Landi Echo. See of a Victorian sans-serif Jaspert, Berry, Johnson typeface. The version that 1970: 132, 239; Rattin, Ricci appeared on Tempo’s cover, 1997: 99.

Wartime art director small sans-serif letters used at the open- Thus, aside from a few minimal differing of each article; from the page numbers, ences, Tempo’s adherence to the American justified with the text at the top of the model seems undeniable. Even when Life page, along the inner margin, to the cap- updated its graphic design in 1939, adopt- tions, with a few words in boldface leading ing a more varied and refined typography, 192 into the main caption text; and finally to Mondadori had evidently decided that Tem- the section heads, all caps and in Futura po should follow the early issues of Life in framed by an outlined box. In general, the every single aspect. margins were slightly broader in Life than in Tempo, while the latter had more effective title layouts, often spanning four col- Foreign editions umns and featuring a broader variety of While Tempo’s foreign editions were an in- typefaces. tegral part of an ambitious marketing strat- On a technical level, however, a clear egy Mondadori adopted to help guarantee difference can be felt in the higher qual- significant participation in the periodical ity and finer finish of the American maga- export market of Axis-occupied coun- zine’s paper, which—combined with its off- tries,96 they were also a direct response to set printing (except the section reserved for the competition introduced by the Ital- the photo-essay, which was printed in roto- ian edition of Signal, which had caused gravure)—understandably made for a phys- a fair amount of apprehension among ically superior product. This was especially Italian publishers upon its debut in April true with regard to the text’s legibility, as |204| of 1940.97 The German publication had Tempo was printed entirely in rotogravure, briefly appeared in an Italian edition titled which meant that the text was composed Segnale, which was replaced after a few is- of dots just like the images. The internal sues by a bilingual edition titled Signal, the distribution of advertising and informa- result of heated negotiations between the tion within each magazine was equally two country’s Ministries of Propaganda. different: in the pages of Life these are There is no evidence to disprove the idea distributed in roughly equal measure be- that Mondadori was already considering tween the three main components of text, an expansion into foreign markets, but the photography, and adverts; in Tempo, on the competition of the German biweekly—the other hand, the space occupied by adverts first instance of a multilingual magazine is still rather modest, and relegated to the distributed in multiple countries—certainly opening and closing pages. Colour was also more present in Life, appearing throughout 96 . See Ferretti 1996: all European languages. Be- both photo-reportage and adverts, whereas xxxiii–iv; Decleva 1993: cause Signal was a foreign 256–9; cf. Albonetti 1991: tool for propaganda pro- Tempo occasionally used it for art reproduc- 393–400. duced by the Wehrmacht’s tions and the duotone covers of the issues 97 . An Italian edition Propaganda Kompanie (and of Signal was available under direct oversight of published between 1940 and 1941. upon its debut in April of Goebbels’ Propagandami- 1940, simultaneous with nisterium), the magazine the French, English, and was never distributed in German editions. Italian Germany (Pasqualino publishers responded im- Schifano, in conversation mediately, and by putting with the author, 25 Febru- pressure on the ministry ary 2009). In 1941 Tempo they managed to block dedicated an entire article distribution of the second to its competitor, signed by issue, while waiting for ad- Alberto Mondadori as war equate protective measures correspondent: ‘Compagnie to be formulated through P.K. La guerra vista dal sol- official venues. Overall, by dato’, in Tempo no.91 (20– 1945 a total of 26 editions 27 February 1941): 21–5. were released, in practically

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 sped up the process. Mondadori’s first expressed, to make the magazine sell like contacts with the Minister of Popular Cul- hotcakes up there. Goebbels never realised ture, Alessandro Pavolini, date back to July that, but he did cancel the print run when of 194098 and led to an initial commercial he found out how unexpectedly high it had 192 agreement in October of that same year, climbed’.102 Over the following months 193 permitting the creation of a German-lan- further agreements were reached with the guage edition of Tempo ‘as a quid-pro-quo Ministry of Popular Culture that allowed response to the bilingual edition of Sig- for a successful launch of other foreign edi- nal.’99 This agreement also provided im- tions targeted for the areas of geopolitical portant economic support, in the form of influence closest to Mussolini’s Italy: 1941 a subsidy for each copy printed, depending brought editions for Spain, Croatia, Greece upon the various editions, with an inverse and Romania; in 1942 came editions for relationship such that as the print run in- Albania, France and Hungary.103 The maga- creased, the subsidy decreased. zine was also distributed for free to Italian The Deutsche Ausgabe (German edi- soldiers in the occupied territories, as well tion) debuted in October 1940. The fact as in Turkey and, through Italian embassies, that it appeared biweekly, rather than in countries throughout South America. In weekly, echoed the model set by Signal, total, by 1943 the various editions of Tempo while both the graphic design and contents officially exceeded one million copies,104 logically followed the Italian edition of and the high demand required that the Tempo. The magazine’s content included a printing facilities be moved from Milan’s selection of the best material published in Vitagliano printing facilities to Monda- the corresponding two issues of the Italian dori’s own plants in Verona, which had a edition as well as new articles and photo- large man continuous-printing rotogravure essays.100 As for the initial print run of press. 50,000 copies, the success of German sales 98 . Lascialfari 2002: by the Ministry of Popular was surprising: in just a few weeks, with 447 quotes as evidence the Culture. the Italian edition still at about 200,000 undated memorial written 103 . The precise launch by Alberto Mondadori and dates of each foreign edition copies each week, the German edition enclosed to his application are as follows: German edi- grew to 100,000 copies.101 As Tofanelli re- to the Psiup (Partito Socia- tion, 3 October 1940; Span- lista Italiano di Unità Pro- ish, 16 January 1941; Croa- calls, ‘We really did not get why there was letaria) between 1944 and tian, 22 May 1941; Greek, ‘46. About Tempo’s foreign 28 August 1941; Romanian, such a boom in Germany (…) And then editions, see ibid.: 447–8. 4 September 1941; Albanian, we came to understand that German read- 99 . Decleva 1993: 258. 15 January 1942; French, 19 The bilateral accord stipu- March 1942; Hungarian, 26 ers detected a certain wave of revolt in the lated ‘lockdown’ conditions March 1942. Cf. Albonetti Colloqui con Bontempelli, and therein for both magazines with 1991: 413n: these data were regard to their frequency, corrected based upon infor- caught a glimpse of the truth. Goebbels’ number of pages, number of mation provided the author colour spreads (as indica- by Pasqualino Schifano (3 lockdown was so fierce that all it took was tive of paper quality) and March 2009). a few modest reservations, the hermetic cover price (Pasqualino 104 . The print run re- Schifano, in conversation corded in issue no.70 of allusions our writer Massimo Bontempelli with the author, 25 Febru- the German edition (1–15 ary 2009). July 1943) is 1,312,120 cop- 100 . See letter Alberto ies (Lascialfari 2002; cf. Mondadori to Alessandro Schwarz 1977) based on Pavolini, undated, quoted in information included in Lascialfari 2002: 448. the colophon of the parallel 101 . Decleva 1993: 259. Italian issue. See also De- 102 . Tofanelli 1986: 15. cleva 1993: 258–9. Detailed What the journalist offers edition print runs for July here is but the official ver- 1943 are as follows: German sion of the story: the print edition, 500,000 copies; runs for Germany (and French, 135,000; Romanian, possibly other foreign edi- 50,000; Spanish, 25,000; tions) were actually used as Greek, 27,000; Hungarian, a cover for secret funding 30,000; Croatian, 40,000;

Wartime art director The competition posed by Signal, as Considering the support received from some scholars have pointed out, ‘was a the Ministry in the form of both declared thorn in Arnoldo’s side throughout that contributions as well as secret funding, the entire period’.105 It was clear that the cover free distribution to Italian soldiers in oc- price would not cover the high costs of cupied countries and the overall success of 194 printing; whereas Signal’s budget gap was the various editions, indeed Tempo ended covered by the German Propagandami- up being ‘a good business deal for Mon- nisterium, entrepreneur Mondadori had dadori in his relationship with the regime, to beg for the support—both direct and which ultimately gave him noteworthy indirect—of the Italian Ministry of Popu- economic advantages and vast marketing lar Culture and, ultimately, the regime’s strategies.’110 The foreign editions were sus- protection. Domestic distribution data106 pended, upon Ministerial decree, after the indicate that in 1942 Signal not only saw 25 July 1943.111 Tempo’s competition, but also raised it; the German magazine not only had strong ad- Albanian, 40,000—for a to- soldiers (Pasqualino Schifa- tal of approx. 850,000 cop- no, in conversation with the vertising, but it also enjoyed the advantage ies. According to the official author, 25 February and 2 data, then, the Italian edi- March 2009). of receiving photo-essays from the Eastern tion must have been around 105 . Cf. Albonetti 1991: front, under the auspices of the Propa- 450,000 copies, which 397–8. The author cites a 107 does not seem to match the letter (dated 26 November ganda Kompanie. Indeed, ‘up until the weekly’s actual distribution 1941) in which Arnoldo spring of 1943 Mondadori never stopped in Italy, and listing a print Mondadori, complaining run even smaller than the about the preference both battling Signal for their market share, and German edition. However, distributors and newsstand the print runs billed by owners granted his Ger- even carried out tight customs checks Vitagliano (now in Fonda- man competitor, refers on all the trucks coming over the Bren- zione Arnoldo e Alberto not only to his own desire 108 Mondadori) indicate that to defend the magazine ner Pass’. The recollections of journalist the German edition was ‘with any and all necessary Gaetano Afeltra—a longtime friend and printed in quantaties that means’ (as Tempo had been were roughly half of the called ‘api’s backbone’), but colleague of Alberto Mondadori—concur: officially declared amount. also to ‘higher authorities’ This would support the who would share his point hypothesis that such in- of view (preserved in Fon- What you have to keep in mind is the fact flated numbers served to dazione Arnoldo e Alberto that all that [Tempo’s propagandistic role] was obtain greater contribu- Mondadori). part of the magazine’s business sphere, and tions from the ministry via 106 . Reports from sise was led and managed by the publishing house secret means—a manoeuvre (Società anonima impor- fully in keeping with the tatori stampa estera, an on behalf of much larger interests. It was an protectionist politics Tempo association of foreign press intermediary for a whole slew of concessions enjoyed at the time. Clearly importers), quoted in Albo- Germany had made, such as the one regard- any knowledge of such ac- netti 1991: 399, 412n. ing foreign editions, which were paid for. All cords would have been kept 107 . Contrary to Tofa- that was part of the illicit activity going on from editorial staff like To- nelli’s account that ‘[Signal] fanelli, who cites the official was not widely distributed at the time, it was a bona fide exchange. It data. Additionally, based on in Italy’ (Tofanelli 1986: 15). was, if you will, a form of protectionism that the print runs of the most 108 . Albonetti 1991: 399. was necessary in order to move forward. And widely distributed illus- Schifano cites a document that was the reason, above all, that Mon- trated magazines in France (preserved in Fondazione dadori was quarantened—because, basically, (Match) and England (Pic- Arnoldo e Alberto Monda- 109 ture Post), charted at ap- dori) with a list of domestic everyone knew about its precedents. proximately one million periodicals featuring adver- copies per week at the time, tisement inserts for Signal and considering the ex- (conversation with the treme ease with which one author, 2 March 2009). can still find copies of Tem- 109 . Statement quoted po on the Italian antiques in Lascialfari 2002: 448. market today (compared to 110 . Ferretti 1996: xxxiv. the rarity of the German 111 . Schifano cites min- edition on the German isterial correspondence market), one could reason- (preserved in Fondazione ably estimate the 1942–43 Arnoldo e Alberto Monda- Italian print runs at ap- dori) regarding the suspen- proximately one million (at sion of support (conver- least no less than 700,000) sation with the author, 2 copies each week, including March 2009). the 30,000 distributed to

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Nineteen forty-three in some cases destroyed, the various offices: The fall of Mussolini, announced on the the director’s office, the magazine divi- radio the evening of 25 July 1943, con- sion’s editorial office and the advertising firmed the arrival of a new situation, and office.115 The sixty airstrikes on Milan be- 194 with it a shift in Tempo’s style, albeit a shift tween 1940 and ’45 caused, in all, approxi- 195 that was anything but radical. Despite the mately 2,000 deaths and the destruction spontaneous demonstrations of the gen- of nearly one third of the city.116 Atop all eral public nationwide, the press was ini- this came the practical difficulty of procur- tially rather cautious, and limited itself to ing paper supplies, not to mention the fact reporting events as they unfolded, without that staff members were continually being any additional commentary; this was in summoned to military service.117 As Muna- part because Pietro Badoglio’s military rule ri recalls, had immediately instituted not only a cur- few, but also a preventive censorship of the At the beginning I wasn’t sent to war; I was dismissed for a thoracic ‘insufficiency’, (…) press, which ‘forbade it from dealing with and finally they summoned me that last the responsibilities of Fascism’.112 This was year to serve at an empty anti-aircraft bat- the line of prudent non-involvement the tery just outside Milan (…) It was a really sad experience, under a mafioso, profiteer- directors of Tempo assumed at such a time ing commander. (…) At the time I was hav- of historic uncertainty.113 In early August, ing stomach problems, and I kept going to in an editorial titled ‘Libertà è responsa- the infirmary, but to no avail, and finally a doctor sent me home by diagnosing me with bilità’ the editors committed to ‘working something I did not have—that, too, was together to document the efforts of the just another part of the surrealism…118 Italian people to achieve justice and liberty’, but the articles and photo-essays inside The first serious British air attacks on dealt with both fronts, as if from some Milan came in October of 1942, and de- neutral observatory room. A week later spite the modest amount of destruction Tempo’s fundamental alignment with the they caused, they nevertheless provoked government and its various entities became a civilian exodus: ‘There was a lot of fear, clear in an editorial in which Indro Mon- and even more fear that the city wasn’t tanelli invited people to remain calm: ‘Yes, we want Fascism to be put on trial, but not 114 112 . Del Buono 1971: xv. 114 . See Tempo issues right now, in arbitrary, empty gestures’. Cf. Decleva 1993: 272–5. no.219, 4–11 August 1943 In addition to the political dimension, 113 . See Lascialfari and no.220, 12–19 August 2002: ‘In the week leading 1943, quoted in Lascialfari the publishing house’s situation was par- up to 25 July 1943, only a 2002: 455. ticularly uncertain because of all the credit few hours apart, two edi- 115 . Cf. Decleva 1993: tions hit the newsstands. 274–5. they owed the state government and for- In the first (…) the articles 116 . See Mauro Co- were the same as always, lombo, ‘I bombardamenti eign distributors—credit that would prove without any real changes. aerei su Milano durante difficult to pay off. Heavy bombardments The second, however, an- la II guerra mondiale’ at nounced the lead-up to http://www.storiadimilano. throughout August heavily damaged, and what would become the it/Repertori, last accessed tragic epilogue, (…) and the January 2011. cover shows an Italian flag 117 . Cf. Decleva 1993: with a declaration in red: 259. “The enemy attacks, on the 118 . Interviewed in Fatherland’s own ground— Branzi 1984: 42. Munari did Rise up, Italians!”.’ Inside, his military service toward an editorial by Alberto the end of ’41 (cf. the letter Mondadori, free of any to Zavattini cited thereinaf- reference to the regime’s ter, which mentions a ‘one typical rhetoric, called upon month leave’ (licenza di un Italians to defend their mese) (in the Cesare Za- country in a staunchly na- vattini Archives, Biblioteca tionalistic tone (ibid.: 467). Panizzi, Reggio Emilia, file m844/4).

Wartime art director mounting any sort of defence (…) People the editorial staff to Arona, but only for began to evacuate. Families were sepa- a short time. If Munari’s family had not rated, those who had work in Milan stayed already fled to the countryside by the end there, and everyone else fled to find ref- of ’42 —first to Badia Polesine, home to uge in the countryside, at the lakes, in Munari’s parents, then to Vaciago and later 196 the foothills and lower mountains, with to Monte Olimpino, a fraction outside relatives, friends, farmers’.119 By the end Como124— it is quite likely they had by Au- of November 1942 Mondadori’s adminis- gust of ’43, although it is not clear whether trative offices were moved to Verona, and Munari was still working with the rest of the business headquarters moved to Arona, the editorial staff at Arona during Badog- on Lake Maggiore; the other Milan offices, lio’s reign, as by 1942 Tempo’s colophon no including the magazine editorial offices, longer listed the names of its contributors remained in up and running.120 During and editors.125 the interval under the brief rule of General Upon hearing the ‘bitter news of ar- Badoglio following Mussolini’s fall, and mistice’,126 Tempo’s editors produced one for obvious reasons of political opportun- last issue dedicated to socialist politician ism, Tempo was directed by Arturo Tofa- |208| Filippo Turati in an eloquent attempt at |209| nelli, ‘Not because I was some conspirator situating the magazine more to the left.127 embedded in the press, but rather because I was the least Fascist of all the profes- 119 . Tofanelli 1986: [Allied] bombardments—af- 102–3. ter the armistice had been sionally qualified journalists in manage- 120 . Decleva 1993: 267. signed, and as Badoglio’s 121 121 . Tofanelli 1986: government was looking for ment’. The Allies’ heavy bombardment 14. Tofanelli confirms that a way out—never really was of Milan, in particular those unleashed be- he was charged with the explained. There was noth- weekly’s directorship by the ing in Milan that would’ve tween the 10 and 15 of August 1943, caused Comitato di Liberazione been worth wasting a single major damages that paralysed a large part Nazionale Alta Italia (cln, bomb: no major troops (…); Upper Italian Committee no major arms or muni- of the city’s print and publishing hous- for National Liberation), tions depots; no spectre of 122 but that group was formed anti-aircraft capabilities es. ‘Arnoldo Mondadori told me the new only after the armistice was (…). Their sole aim was to Tempo offices in Arona were ready. We all announced; therefore, the terrorise (…)’. position could only have 123 . Tofanelli 1986: rushed out of Milan to reach Lake Mag- been conferred by the cln 112–3. giore, where we were going to try and re- after 9 September. This 124 . Alberto Munari, does not exclude that To- correspondence with au- group.The first few Germans showed up on fanelli might have acted as thor, 13 November 2009. managing director as early Cf. Marcello Piccardo, the lake toward 10 September. (…) Tempo’s as August 1943, when the unpublished manuscripts, editorial office on Lake Maggiore worked as editorial offices were moved ‘Monte Olimpino’ and ‘Mi- to Arona, but the editorial lano’ (courtesy Andrea well as it could for a few weeks. We man- line nevertheless remained Piccardo). aged to get a couple of issues to the news- one of non-involvement. 125 . Even today there is A political shift became no stable archive of Tempo, stands, and then we were forced to close evident only in September, perhaps due to the fact that dedicating issue no.224 to it passed through various shop. A lot more Germans had arrived, anti-Fascist activist Filippo ownerships, or due to a de- and they began dealing with other groups, Turati—which was the last liberate destruction of com- 123 one ever to hit newsstands. promising or ‘inconvenient’ not just the Jews’. Munari also followed Tofanelli, like the Monda- documents. The archive of dori family, went to Switzer- Epoca met with a similar land on the 20 September fate, despite the fact that it 1943; upon his return to remained in Mondadori’s Italy in April 1945, Tofanelli stable (Ferretti 1996: xlvii). was nominated editor of 126 . Correspondence L’Avanti!, a publication of Arnoldo Mondadori to avv. the Partito Socialista Italia- Mauri, Arona, 9 September no (Italian Socialist Party), 1943, in Fondazione Ar- which at the time was one noldo e Alberto Mondadori, of the few daily newspapers Api (quoted in Albonetti nationally circulated. 1991: 400). 122 . Cf. Tofanelli 1986: 127 . Issue no.224, 9–16 101: ‘The reasoning be- September 1943. hind the Anglo-American

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 After that, as German troops took control absolutely necessary to praise, if you want- of Northern Italy, magazine printing came ed (…) not only to become a serious pub- to a halt, for obvious political and eco- lisher, but a veritable colossus of Italian nomic reasons.128 Arnoldo Mondadori and publishing.’134 The fact that a lot of non- 196 his sons Alberto and Giorgio fled to Swit- Fascist and Jewish intellectuals continued 197 zerland, while the ‘Verona offices, which to work at Mondadori, as well as the com- were immediately occupied by the Nazis, pany’s refusal to obey the requests of anti- were largely dismantled; the presses were Semitic publications following the racial forcibly shipped to Germany, where they laws of 1938, have often been cited to miti- were used to print propaganda’.129 Ironi- gate any moral judgment of the publishing cally enough, the ‘reborn’ Italian edition of house.135 This rather ambivalent attitude is Signal that appeared in October 1943 would also reflected in the judgements passed on be the only illustrated weekly available in Tempo: there has been a recurrent attempt German-occupied Italy.130 at justifying, or at least minimising, the magazine’s political orientation by citing its noteworthy, yet certainly not prevalent, Propaganda and consensus cultural offerings. Lecaldano observed: Tempo expressed ‘before all else, and despite ‘Naturally, the magazine was accepted by all else, the Mondadori company’s adhe- the regime, it toed the line of the regime, sion to the regime, in view of precise edito- but there’s never been a more anti-Fascist rial and economic interests’.131 During the 128 . Cf. Decleva 1993: he spoke: in order to under- wartime period, the Ministry of Popular 274–5. stand what he was trying to Culture orchestrated privileged relation- 129 . Lopez 1972: 63. Cf. say, you had to be part of also Tofanelli 1986: 15. the tiny circle familiar with ships and mutually beneficial arrange- 130 . At least up until the labyrinthine structures ments between Mondadori and the regime, the launch of Ora in July of of his sarcasm. Policemen 1944. Cf. Rutz 2007: 83–6 easily mistook him for a and although there certainly was no short- and Schifano’s website, fervent ‘new Italian.’ And 132 www.giornalidiguerra.com we also had Ugo Arcuno age of clashes with the censors, Tempo (last accessed 26 February [on the editorial staff], an effectively played a key propagandistic role, 2009). openly communist journal- 131 . Ferretti 1996: xxxiii. ist from Naples, a disciple in particular through its innovative use 132 . See Lascialfari of [Amadeo] Bordiga. No of photography, which ‘could guarantee a 2002: 456–8: ‘In some one could easily explain cases such rebukes and how it was that Ugo Arcano highly effective amplification of propagan- admonitions were made wasn’t in prison. Maybe for 133 with regard to the layout of the opposite reason Quasi- distic messages.’ A lot has been written photographic material (…) modo wasn’t either. Arcuno about the fact that Mondadori’s adhesion in other cases, orders from imperatively boasted about above determined not so his conviction that we’d win, was strictly partial, due solely to company much the specific subjects with the same degree of interests—it was anything but ideologi- that were to be addressed, incisiveness, standing tall, but focussed more on the his eyes flashing the same cal. Guido Lopez, who was a young editor amount of space they were way Mussolini’s did when to be given.’ Ferretti also he preached. His behaviour at the time, commented: ‘Arnoldo never mentions some political was so daring and audacious really got on with the man in power, who— difficulties—investigations that no one even believed into some of the editors and him (…)’ (Tofanelli, quoted over the following fifteen years—it became friction with some of the in Le persone che hanno fatto higher-ups (id. 1996: xxxii). grande Milano 1983: 38). Cf. 133 . Lascialfari 2002: Sorrentino: ‘When Mon- 457. tanelli resigned, the job 134 . Lopez 1972: 61–2. of editor-in-chief went to 135 . As for Tempo’s Carlo Bernari, the “secret editorial staff, ‘(…) the communist” and author of editorial team included a successful novel titled I Salvatore Quasimodo, an tre operai (The Three La- anti-Fascist who was never bourers), which passed the persecuted for the simple censors not because of their reason that, as hermeti- generosity or tollerance, but cist poet and future Nobel rather because they weren’t Prize-winner, he was also very astute’ (Sorrentino quite hermetic in the way 1984: 66).

Wartime art director group than that of Tempo’s staff.’136 And became a particularly relevant phenome- Tofanelli asserted the degree of intellectual non due to ‘the extreme homogeneity of its autonomy enjoyed by the editors: ‘Tempo thematic content and symbolic evocations’ was a new magazine that met with imme- around the topos of war.141 On an icono- diate success. We introduced black-and- graphic level, this translated in countless 198 white and full-colour photography as an covers depicting soldiers, and harking back informational element, and paired it with to visual repertoires like sharp foreshort- texts and columns written by major jour- ening, extreme close-ups, and the photo- nalists and authors—writers who weren’t graphic blur—all of which had already been servile toward the regime.’137 Yet Sorren- put to extensive use by the regime. tino admitted: ‘We discussed the focus of Beyond Mondadori’s adhesion (or that inaugural article for a long time: we mere pragmatical accommodation) to the wanted it to be clear that we were follow- regime, the presence in Tempo’s pages of ing the guidelines of that period, [to] “get notable writers and intellectuals brings up closer to the people.” This focus on “the the thorny issue of consensus versus disa- people”and “common folk” allowed some greement inherent to the supposed Nicod- really refined columns—like Bontempelli’s emism of the illustrated weekly and its col- Colloqui, Augusto Guerriero’s Tempo per- laborators.142 Any such discussion runs the duto (…), poems by Quasimodo, Eugenio risk—to echo Tranfaglia’s accurate sum- Montale and others, and art reviews by mary of the debate143—of getting bogged Raffaele Carrieri—to be passed over, dis- down in a sterile impasse between generic missed as secondary.’138 Regardless of the positions of absolution or condemnation, nuances and implications of each indi- or getting stuck in the moralism that in vidual’s judgments, however, a close read- the postwar years was an effective strategy ing of the magazine’s many issues reveals for exorcising an embarrassing phenom- that despite its innovative look, ‘its cultural enon—in particular for those who were openness and certain viewpoints inspired one way or other implicated in everything by leftist Fascism shouldn’t be overestimat- that took place during the Ventennio.144 To ed.’139 Conflict was already on the horizon avoid this type of conditioning, the vicis- when Tempo was launched, and the subject situdes of Tempo and, specifically, Bruno of war was, naturally, a central theme for Munari’s artistic direction, must necessar- writers and correspondents to focus on, ‘in ily be viewed within their original context. some cases, with accents of emotional in- This requires an understanding based upon volvement that are difficult to reduce to a merely obedient observance of ministerial 136 . Paolo Lecaldano, and military movements, quoted in Schwarz 1977. the ballistic calculation of 140 instructions.’ Although such a tendency 137 . Tofanelli 1986: 55. munitions (…) or the ton- 138 . Sorrentino 1984: nage of the naval force pre- to combine the need to entertain with 66. Sorrentino was the sented as a shared cultural the need to propagandise is not surprising author of the article on the patrimony, just like the miners of Carbonia, that nation’s literature, cinema, to find at a time of war, in Tempo’s case it appeared in the very first music and theatre might issue. have been’ (ibid.). 139 . Ferretti 1996: xxxi. 142 . See Lascialfari Cf. Lascialfari 2002: 451. 2002: 439, 447; see also 140 . Lascialfari 2002: Ferretti 1996: xxxi-ii. 444. 143 . Nicola Tranfaglia 141 . Lascialfari 2002: 1971: viii–ix. Bergahus too is 458–60. ‘Just consider the critical of such ‘manechean’ extensive, in-depth at- classifications, pointing out tention—in a popular il- how in most cases artists’s lustrated weekly aimed for political orientation was mass consumption—paid to rather contradictory (id. issues dealing with ‘military 1996: 258–61). culture (…) like topograph- 144 . As the twenty years ic descriptions of battles of Fascist rule are known.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 an analysis that is as factual as possible (as to exist and vie for official recognition.148 opposed to emotional), allowing for the The apparatus—albeit far less repressive evaluation of its merits and weaknesses on than in Nazi Germany149—was neverthe- both the synchronic level, that is within less capable of controlling the general con- 198 the broader field of Italian design, and the sensus and artists’ adhesion to it through 199 diachronic level, in view of Munari’s over- its manipulation of commissions, exhibi- all career which spanned 70 years. tions, appointments and acquisitions, not Fascist cultural policies in the 1920s to mention the unions regulating all pro- lacked a definite orientation, relying on fessions.150 Although in the 1930s ‘there ‘a combination of revolutionary rhetoric prevailed a conservative trend towards rep- and conservative praxis’ that attracted resentational, pseudo-classical and natu- many intellectuals.145 From the mid- ralist art’,151 the lack of aesthetic definition twenties, in parallel with the suppression allowed the coexistence of opposing ten- of the political rights and freedom of the dencies—such as Futurism and Novecento— press, the regime gradually brought exist- within an ideal aspiration to the Modern ing cultural institutions under state con- that espoused political ideology. In other trol, and created new ones like the Istituto nazionale di cultura fascista (National 145 . Berghaus 1996: couldn’t kill my mother, or Fascist Cultural Institute), the Accademia 226–7. my wife or my childern—I d’Italia (Italian Academy), and the Istituto 146 . Cf. Del Buono signed up. It’s a terrible 1971: xvi. Journalist Filippo thing, because at the time, dell’Enciclopedia italiana (Institute of the Sacchi’s account is use- you’re looking for some ful for understanding the kind of justification (…)’ Italian Encyclopaedia). Within a few years mood of those who, at the (ibid.: 426–7). the Fascist rule was already requiring that time, decided to become 147 . From the title of a party members even if they collection of intellectuals’ public employees of every type and level were not fully aligned with accounts, edited by Ettore take an oath of fidelity to the party—only its principles: ‘Naturally, Albertoni, Ezio Antonini you had to have a pass from and Renato Palmieri (Later- a handful of university professors refused Rome (…) [which] I eas- za, 1962); this expression ily obtained, on the sole denotes those who, born to do so. As for the press, newspapers and condition that neither my between roughly 1910 and magazines publishers had benefited from signature nor my initials 1915, grew up under Fascism appeared in it [the newspa- and were therefore more important technical upgrades, while jour- per] (…) When I went back inclined to accept it as the nalists were offered a professional regis- to work at the Corriere natural order of things. [della Sera] nobody asked 148 . See Berghaus 1996: ter and an enviable national contract. All me any questions, I had no 229, 231–2 ; Fagone 1982: propitiatory visits, no with- 43–52. these measures effectively increased a drawals, no promises (…) I 149 . From September widespread degree of conformity.146 moved on, deluding myself 1933 on, with the creation that I’d found my little cor- of the Reichskulturkammer In order to understand how the ‘gen- ner of reserved, personal under Goebbels’s control, eration of the difficult years’ ended up activity, where nobody it became increasingly dif- would ever stick their nose ficult, if not impossible, for 147 conforming en masse, it must be kept in into my business—in short, German artists to work my safe little nook. It was, without the ratification of mind that, in the artistic realm at least, the of course, an incredibly stu- conformity (Gleichschal- ambivalence of the regime’s cultural pro- pid delusion… So one fine tung) to Nazi ideology is- day, along comes Aldo Bor- sued by the Reichskammer gramme allowed different artistic groups relli, the director; he calls für Bildende Kunste. For me up and tells me that instance, Jan Tschichold Rome has issued a decree would never be admitted to that, from now on, union the Fachgruppe Gebrauchs- membership is subject to graphik (Burke 2007: 144). official party membership. 150 . The Confederazio- Basically, you had to join ne dei Professionisti e degli the party or quit your pro- Artisti (Confederation of fession. It was quite a slap Professionals and Artists) in the face, quite a blow (…) had more than 425,000 I reviewed my home budget members in its ranks. Cf. and came to the conclusion Cannistraro in Braun 1989: that, without my salary, we 147–54. couldn’t keep the books 151 . Berghaus 1996: 231. balanced (…) So, I decided I

Wartime art director words, for these intellectuals and artists or transparent. Signing up for the union the aesthetic dimension had an explicit was necessary, but not so for the National political significance, in that their activity Fascist Party; moreover, the private sector expressed the values of the new national offered a relatively safe harbour from the identity—a Fascist identity.152 However, government’s interference, at least until 200 even if nationalism was a common ele- the mid-thirties.156 This situation perhaps ment to Futurism and Fascism, political explains how Munari managed, at least positions among that generation of avant- until 1939, to avoid officially signing up for garde artists were rather heterogeneous, the National Fascist Party card, despite the ranging from straight consensus to indif- militant bent of the Futurist group in Mi- ference or veiled resistance—open opposi- lan and the numerous commissions they tion was rare—but in the end ‘the majority received for the Triennale and other exhi- of artists were a-Fascist.’153 It seems the bitions. Ultimately, it was his journalistic most common attitude among artists and contract with Mondadori that made mem- intellectuals was that of opportunistic ac- bership inevitable for him. commodation with the fascist institutions, which translated into ‘paying lip-service When I was art director at Tempo Il- lustrato [sic], Alberto Mondadori was to the régime or demonstrating apparent forced to sign me up as a member of the obeisance so that they might gain relative Fascist Party, and they later summoned freedom to produce their work without in- me for military service at an empty anti- aircraft battery just outside Milan.157 terference from the State.’154 It is not surprising then—given Italians’ deep-seated conformist nature, resulting Apart from his wartime art direction at from centuries of history, counterreforma- Mondadori, in the course of the 1930s Mu- tion and foreign dominion—that Italian nari and Ricas hardly ever dealt as graphic culture was overrun by a general ‘trans- designers with autarchic campaigns, or formism’ and that a vast majority of intel- with advertisements for events sponsored lectuals ‘adapted and acquiesced to that by the regime.158 Interestingly, their work climate out of practical necessity or sheer did not appear in the pages of Pubblicità ambition’.155 For commercial artists like d’Italia (the organ of the National Fascist Munari the principal control system was Syndicate of advertising agencies), nor did represented by the Confederazione nazionale dei sindacati fascisti dei professionisti 152 . Branzi 2008: 108, lists of the national Fascist e degli artisti (National Confederation 110–1. unions nor any other such of fascist syndicates of professionals and 153 . Berghaus 1996: 229. documents with Munari’s 154 . Ibid. name. This is the only ex- artists), made up of some twenty trade 155 . Tranfaglia 1971: xii. plicit mention of the issue. For a thought-provoking Nor is it clear whether, in unions. Certainly, in keeping with yet an- reading of Italian history in order to work at Mondado- other typically Italian habit, the rigour of relation to its design culture, ri, Munari signed up as an see Branzi 2008. advertising artist or—as is surveillance was anything but uniform 156 . See Berghaus 1996: more likely—as a journalist. 231–2. Fascist Corporativ- Note Tofanelli’s account in ism was effectively enforced this regard: ‘(…) neither of after 1934; and in 1937 the us had become a member Ministry of popular culture of the party. Piazza never was established. signed up, despite the fact 157 . Munari, quoted that, at a certain point, he in Manera 1986: 153. After was a correspondent for the extensive research carried Popolo d’Italia. As for me, out at the Archivio Centrale later on, I did join’ (Tofa- dello Stato (Central State nelli 1986: 215). Archive) in Rome and at the 158 . For an overview of Archivio di Stato (State Ar- this type of advertising, see chive) in Milan, I was able those reproduced in Guida to find neither membership Ricciardi 1936.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 they ever collaborate with upi (Unione served as a vehicle for conservative val- pubblicità italiana), the agency of choice ues.163 Precisely how modern graphic de- for the collective campaigns for national sign could serve Fascist ideology would be- products.159 These best represented the come a point of contention and misunder- 200 mainstream trend in advertising, in which standing between Munari and Albe Steiner, 201 a realist approach, centered on a straight- despite the two Milanese designers’ long forward presentation of the product or user, friendship.164 On the other hand, Munari often matched with a vigourous appeal to certainly was not alone: several other pio- fascist beliefs, was predominant, while the neers of modern graphic design rather un- modernist idiom developed by the futur- scrupulously collaborated with the Fascist ists and commercial artists working in a regime: Schawinsky, Persico, Nizzoli, Pinto- similar vein was considered inadequate for ri, Depero, to name a few.165 As for Munari, mass communication.160 The only instanc- judging from clues scattered throughout es of advertising work done by Munari in his correspondence and writings from the this nationalistic vein are a poster for upi, 1930s (including his own articles published titled Forze dell’Impero, dated 1936–37 and in Tempo), despite his more mature age, it of which a mockup survives, and the poster does not seem that he was any real excep- for Carboni nazionali, which was shown tion to the exaltation-inclined spirit of at the Mostra grafica at the 1940 Trienna- his generation. Several young intellectuals, le.161 While the first design makes use of architects and artists took awhile to recog- the familiar photomontage technique to nise the error of their former belief in Fas- promote mechanical industries such as Ca- cism, even in the ‘leftist Fascism’ manifest proni, Reggiane, Isotta Fraschini, the latter in the attitudes of Bottai and others, and recurs to the straightforward illustration some of them paid with their own life—like style found in his contemporary magazine cover designs, and portrays an open hand 159 . Published from 162 . Quoted in Schwarz 1937 and directed by Ugo 1977. holding a piece of carbon ore. All told, it Zampieri, an active union 163 . Cf. Eco 1964: 64. does not seem this amounts to a serious leader, Pubblicità d’Italia 164 . Steiner used to was also circulated abroad show around an example political engagement on his part. as part of larger propaganda of what he deemed an aber- À propos of Tempo’s predominant efforts to promote the re- rant use of modern graphic gime on an international language; it was a flier Mu- rhetoric, Munari later noted that ‘many of level. It focused mainly on nari had designed, similar autarchic campaigns, and to the aforementioned Tempo’s photographers had a fairly ironic featured numerous ads by photomontage for ‘Udite! outlook, and as soon as you so much as upi, and as such embodied Udite!’ (conversation with the realist approach fa- Lica and Anna Steiner, 20 even slightly exaggerated it, it fell, or could voured by state functionar- July 2006). easily fall’.162 This is an arguable view, ies. See Arvidsson 2003: 165 . Xanti Schawinsky’s 36–8. 1934 Si poster comes to which Munari has now and again used in 160 . Arvidsson 2003: 38. mind, which was issued as 161 . The original art- an insert in the Rivista Illu- recent years to justify some of his graphic work is now in the Massimo strata del Popolo d’Italia for contributions, in which the use of formal e Sonia Cirulli Archive, New the general elections that York/Bologna; 61×85 cm, year. On the same occasion, innovations from the modernist repertoire photocollage and tempera; Persico and Nizzoli created reproduced in the catalogue a series of Fascist propa- Pellegrini 2009: 189. The ganda posters, mounted second poster appeared in in Milan’s Galleria (that Tempo no.12 (17 July 1939): led Attilio Rossi to dismiss 14, for an article by Arturo himself from the editorial Tofanelli titled ‘La pubblici- staff of Campo grafico in tà è arte?’. It is reproduced disagreement about their in colour (light blue, red, publication). Even Pintori and black); size unknown designed war propaganda (from photographs taken at posters prized at a national the VII Triennale it would contest in 1942–43 (cf. Re- seem to have been rather nato Zveteremich, ‘Rubrica small). della pubblicità’ in Domus no.174, June 1942: iiiff).

Wartime art director Giuseppe Pagano and Ludovico Belgioio- tended toward a democratisation/desa- so.166 It does not seem Munari ever admit- cralisation of art and, on the other hand, ted to or denied having such sympathies; in tended to hint at the idea that designers any case, he always demonstrated a degree be more actively involved in contempo- of reticence when asked to speak of the rary society. As a logical consequence of 202 work he had done under the twenty years his reflection on the social role of design, of Fascist rule—although here one might which he felt deeply about, he undertook a also invoke the attenuating role played by series of didactic design projects focussed his fundamental indifference to politics. on children; and in these projects we are led back to the very root of his ambition From 1939 to September 1943 I worked side- to bring about social reform (or even cre- by-side with Bruno Munari. The rest of us were the sad, fibbing, terrible words—he was ate a utopia, some would say). This was an the drawings, the creativity, the shelter from integral part of modernism in its original the storm. Our editorial team was rather conception, regardless of the successive unique, as it was that of a magazine that went along with the regime during wartime transformations the term took in the sec- (…) Munari waited for us in his somewhat ond half of the twentieth century.168 This secluded art director’s office. He swiftly did involvement, this intellectual lucidity con- the layouts for the texts and photographs we brought him, without ever really getting into stitutes the awakening of Munari’s politi- their content. There was nothing to remind cal awareness. you of the war on his walls, just his things: compositions, abstractions, drawings. One day I walked in and saw his first macchina inutile (useless machine) hanging from the The new typography and popular weeklies ceiling; it was an indescribable gadget with Within the history of Italian publishing revolving colours, but it was no less explicit or major than everything the world outside and graphic design, Tempo was the first il- that magical little room had to offer.167 lustrated weekly to fully include photography as an integral informative element. This reluctance to any public political en- This was, effectively, a modern update in gagement came to characterise his overall response to new needs expressed across career in the post-war period—and clearly the fields of advertising and the graphic marked his distance from the kind of po- arts. Like many other illustrated periodicals litical commitment displayed by fellow produced throughout Europe in the late designers Albe Steiner or Enzo Mari—even 1930s, Tempo was not substantially differ- in the case of projects entailing major so- ent from its American model. Aside from cial implications. Which is not to say that its memorable covers combining full-bleed Munari eschewed any political dimension photographs with the magazine’s title in his work. One could in fact legitimately graphic, the layout of Tempo did not show assert that, from 1945 onward, Munari pro- any signs of influence from the New Typog- ceeded with a series of graphic and object- raphy, which had been the object of much oriented projects that, on the one hand, debate. Despite the unquestionable novelty

166 . See Zangrandi 168 . In this regard see 1962: 210–1. Norman Potter, What is a 167 . Arturo Tofanelli, designer: things, places, mes- quoted in Le persone che sages (Londres: Hyphen hanno fatto grande Milano Press, 2002): 36–45 in 1983: 38. particular.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 of a photographically illustrated magazine, somewhere between the eclectic and the Tempo was, all told, not very innovative popular—ended up becoming a longstand- from a design point of view—if compared ing success in Italian publishing. To such to publications like Casabella and Campo a degree that a similar approach would 202 grafico. It features few formal innovations: return in the immediate post-war years to 203 its use of the typeface Landi is its sole con- help establish Mondadori’s new illustrated cession to rational typography. Indeed, it magazine, Epoca—once again overseen by looks more closely related to the typo- Munari. graphic eclecticism of French publications like Paris-Soir, Vu or Match. In his advertising work Munari had Domus (1943–44) proved to be able to skilfully assimilate new Given the continued good relations be- graphic idioms. If, therefore, Tempo does tween the two artists, it is plausible that not seem a particularly vanguard piece of the dissolution of Munari’s and Ricas’ publishing in its layout, as its association joint studio was brought about by Ricas with Munari might lead one to believe, it being hired to join Editoriale Domus. If might well be attributable to a deliber- this were the case, it may have been Ricas ate choice on the publisher’s part, aiming himself who suggested Munari’s name either for a reassuring repeat of the style to run the campaigns for the companies already seen in Life or to adopt a more con- in the Montecatini group. Whatever the servative guise in order to appeal to the course of events, with the exception of the predominantly conservative taste of the relationships with the various magazines Italian public. If anything, the quality of which (aside from La Lettura published by Munari’s artistic directorship at Tempo is the Corriere della sera) belonged to modest- manifested in the skilful editing of pho- sized publishing companies/that did not tographic material, as well as his intuitive have the same industrial size as Mondadori development of the potential inherent to or Rizzoli, by the end of the decade, Munari graphic tools such as diagrams, charts and had two main clients; on the one hand, he explanatory drawings to visualise infor- was connected to Bompiani (as an editorial mation. Munari must also be recognised contributor) and on the other hand to Edi- for maintaining the magazine’s graphic toriale Domus (as an advertising graphic coherence, despite the difficult condi- artist). His entry into the editorial world tions in which the production team often of Mondadori was probably helped along worked,169 and nevertheless doing so with- by Bompiani or Zavattini, both, as we have out emerging as a noted personality—that seen, involved in the launch of Grazia, who is, without leaving a visible, personal im- may have suggested him as art director for print in its layout.170 In any case, when put the new weekly. When, in September ’43, to the test, the magazine’s photographic formula and its graphic design —which lay 169 . Alberto Mondado- the paper and ink supplies ri, in a note written to the might improve; indeed, we public toward the end of cannot rule out the pos- 1942, admits the difficulty, sibility they might in fact in wartime, of maintain- worsen’ (Tempo no.187, 24 ing impeccable production December 1942: 25; quoted standards: ‘(…) to obtain in Lascialfari 2002: 456). [high-quality photographic 170 . As happened, albeit prints] one needs good in a rather different context, paper and good inks—two during that same period things that, at the moment, under the artistic director- are quite lacking. (…) Un- ships of Alexander Liber- fortunately, we cannot yet mann, Alexey Brodovitch say with any precision when and Mehmet Agha.

Wartime art director the Tempo venture came to an abrupt end, direction was the single-subject specializa- Munari re-established relations with the tion of Casabella, especially after ’32 under editorial office of Domus (following the the direction of Pagano who would make break in advertising work in ’39 after being it the mouthpiece of Italian rationalism. hired by Mondadori). The editorial staff— Thus, Domus took the subtitle ‘L’Arte nella 204 Ponti had not been at the helm of the casa’ (Art in the Home), while Casabel- magazine for a few years—included a team la was called the ‘Rivista di architettura comprised of Melchiorre Bega along with e di tecnica’ (Review of Architecture and Lina Bo and Carlo Pagani, and without his Technique).172 In November 1940 Ponti former partner Ricas. In his new relation- left Mazzocchi to go to work on the new ship with the editorial office, Munari as- magazine Stile, published by his competitor sumed the role of the magazine’s graphic Garzanti.173 Thus, beginning the following art director and also wrote provocative ob- January, the direction of Domus was taken servations on design/aesthetic issues. The over by a trio comprised of writer Massi- importance of this new relationship was mo Bontempelli and architects Melchiorre confirmed in 1944 with the publication of Bega and Giuseppe Pagano, who steered his collection Fotocronache for Editoriale the magazine more decisively towards ar- Domus. chitectural subjects.174 In addition, in 1940 Domus was an integral part of that fer- Mazzocchi also enlisted Pagano to run the vent intellectual period open to modernity bimonthly Panorama (at first run by the which, in the 1930s, was centered in Milan. same editor), in which Munari published More eclectic and general than its coun- one of his typical photomontage exercises terpart Casabella, the magazine founded in a propaganda article in which he quips by Gio Ponti in 1928 represented a meet- ironically about the United States.175 ing point for applied arts, architecture and graphic arts. The two magazines—since 171 . In ’29 Gianni Maz- came to a mutual under- zocchi and Gio Ponti went standing in ’47, when the 1932 both titles belonged to the same pub- into partnership and took founder took back control lishing company—were initially focused on over the magazine, with of his magazine. In 1938 Ponti as president and Aldo Garzanti acquired the modernity in the sense of new culture for editor-in-chief and Maz- Treves publishing house and the home, that is where decorative arts and zocchi as managing direc- with it two magazines, Ar- tor. Cf. Gianni Mazzocchi chitettura by Marcello Pia- architecture converge. More than pursu- editore 1994; Fossati 1972: centini and the historic Illu- 31; Spinelli 2006 (1): 8–11; strazione italiana (De Giorgi ing an organic discourse, Ponti offered a ibid (2): 6–9; Irace 2006 2006 (2): 10–3; Martignoni varied range of items corresponding to his (1): 15–7). 2002: 12–4). 172 . Baglione 2008: 174 . Baglione 2008: personal eclecticism which allowed him to 99–100, 105–6. 105–6; Martignoni 2002: address a cross-section of the middle-class, 173 . The disagree- 12–4. The editorial of- ment between Mazzocchi fice was constantly being not an exclusively technical audience, and and Ponti originated from reshuffled: in ’42 Pagano a re-organization of the (who directed Casabella at with a strong female impact, fostered by publishing company which the same time) was called columns on interior design, gardening and took place in February of up and then replaced by 171 that year. This left Ponti in Giancarlo Palanti; Bon- cuisine. In comparison with this general charge of Domus decreas- tempelli left in January ’43. ing his administrative role. Guglielmo Ulrich joined the There was also an irrecon- two editors, Bontempelli cilable difference in opinion and Bega, from October ’42 between Mazzocchi who to October ’43, leaving his was interested in opening place to Lina Bo with Carlo up the magazine to a wider Pagani (De Giorgi 2006 audience, embracing a di- (2): 10–3). dactic attitude, while Ponti 175 . Munari, ‘L’in- maintained an essentially credibile Delano’ (The elitist attitude. After the Incredible Delano) in Pa- long association, the split norama no.1 (April 1939): even involved legal conse- 39. 14.5×22 cm, pp.160. quences. However, Mazzoc- The article, with 8 b/w chi and Ponti once again photographs annotated by

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 In ‘44 Domus magazine, to which Mu- that was in line with the rational aesthetic nari contributed constantly, had become of Casabella coinciding, as chance would predominantly about architecture. After have it, with Guglielmo Ulrich’s arrival on the allied bombings of Milan in the sum- the editorial scene. During the war, the 204 mer of ’43, the editorial team set up a tem- scarcity of materials forced simpler and 205 porary office in Bergamo. After a series of more economical solutions, such as the ups and downs, in January ’44 Bega was on one-color cover repeated identically in ’43, his own and joined by Lina Bo and Carlo with the only changes being a different Pagani. Compared to the rather strict and background color and moving the graphic rationalist direction during the period un- pendulum (cf. no.187). Starting from issue der Bega, Bontempelli and Pagano, during |215| no.191 (November 1943) the cover returned the subsequent period the magazine en- to a rational graphic setup, reflected in the joyed a more open, easy respite, and Muna- table of contents and the magazine layout ri’s presence in the editorial office was not in general which bears Munari’s unmistak- unrelated to this. Growing economic dif- able mark. Without, however, abandoning ficulties connected to locating paper and to the vertical format, the cover designed by distribution in the context of the German Munari took a few cues from Casabella, at occupation of northern Italy halted publi- the same time highlighting his particular cations for the entire year of 1945. way of playing, as if disobeying the strict- ness of the new constructive typography: a It was 1944, a difficult and gloomy year. But rectangular black-and-white photograph Munari’s spirit was always calm, indomi- table, optimistic. He contributed to Domus aligned to the right was placed on a white which I directed as part of a threesome (…) background, under the masthead logo; the There were only a few of us left and Bruno lower portion bore the magazine number- stayed with us. (…) In early ‘44, Bruno offered me an analysis of the succession of ing and a black line which cut slantwise styles over time. The graphic that appeared across the page separating the footer and in Domus in February of that year indicated the box containing information on the is- a fluctuation in the line of art between rigorously controlled forms—Reason—and sue and the publisher. The masthead was highly intricate ones—Imagination. In an in a second color, and for subsequent is- increasingly rapid succession one won- sues, the cover was printed in three colors. dered, ‘What will the new style be like?’176 The table of contents also displayed a new vivacity which stemmed in particular from Compared with the format and the re- a clever use of color. strained typographic appearance (neo- Similarly, the inside of the magazine classical overall, though somewhat open |216| was laid out on a precise modular grid |217| to modern taste) Ponti used beginning |218| with flexible positioning of the text, photo- in ’32, the magazine cover during the war graphs and graphic elements. This reflected years reflected the editorial changes, as the experience he acquired with Tempo. The exemplified in issue no.176 (August 1942) pages seamlessly alternated structures of

Munari, followed an ar- l’autarchia’ ibid: 36–8), and ticle in which the author attacked Roosevelt and vari- declared that the United ous myths in the American States was examining a democratic system. corporative system similar 176 . Carlo Pagani, in to the Fascist one (Odon Finessi 2005: 172–3. Por, ‘Gli Stati Uniti verso

Wartime art director 2, 3, 4 or 5 columns which allowed for a and to the group of contributors who greater variety of rhythms without losing worked in the art department under his sight of an effective division of the content direction (these included Fulvio Bianconi, and the basic coherence between sections. Carlo Dradi and Gelindo Furlan). With remarkable skill and control Muna- In addition to his input in the maga- 206 ri seemed to adopt the best graphic solu- zine’s graphic appearance, in ’44 Munari tions previously tested in Tempo to visually |219| often contributed with articles that dealt, translate complex information, which from his artistic point of view, with sub- can be likened in many aspects to what is jects tied to issues of reconstruction (a today called information design. Simple trend shared by Ponti’s Stile during those two-color designs or overprinting on pho- dramatic events) or more general aes- tographs and line drawings or architectural thetic questions, already projected beyond sketches made it possible to liven up the the end of the war. In these articles, writ- pages. Furthermore, the second color was ten in a tone that shifted between didac- used to serve as a visual accent, giving the tic intention and ironic provocation, the page depth, and to divide the information visual support was essential; the text, in effectively, with the white of the paper fact, often functioned as a simple ‘lead’ to coming into play with the rhythmic struc- the photomontages, sequences of unusual ture of the pages. One could say that the photographs or effective graphic diagrams. materials at Domus were more suited to This then was the general impression taken this kind of work and stimulated Munari from his presence behind the page, where, towards this research on the visual com- beyond the precision of the typographic munication of complex information. On choices, the use of images taken from old the other hand, the gradual movement prints or manual interventions tempered from collage and photomontage to inde- the seriousness (in certain cases, the dra- pendent photographic narration, seen in matic nature) of the subjects at hand. the brief period of the 1930s, was clearly demonstrated in the editorial work for Tempo where the phototext institutional- Inside the cultural industry ized, so to speak, this documentary-related In fully considering Ricas’ and Munari’s tendency.177 In addition, numerous articles professional paths following their separa- created for the Mondadori weekly during tion, they shared a common trait, beyond |210| |211| the four-year span showed this new inter- their common experience in the Futur- |212| est in an informative graphic approach; the ist movement and advertising graphic articles in question were on architecture,178 arts from the early 1930s onward: dur- and later war reports,179 or columns on the ing the brief decade, in fact, both left economy.180 Herein the analytical/informational factor was predominant, and its 177 . Schnapp reported 179 . For example, ‘Eco- similar observations in ref- nomia di guerra’ in Tempo merit must justly be attributed to Munari erence to several of the ar- no.25, 16 November 1939; ticles cited (which, among ‘Il bloccante bloccato’ ivi other things, confirms our no.64, 15 August 1940: interpretation) (Schnapp 25–7; ‘Risorse economi- 2008: 149–50, 154–6). che dell’America latina’ 178 . See for example ivi no.71, 3 October 1940: ‘Il dramma della città’ in 25–9; ‘Un bilancio ammoni- Tempo no.26, 23 Novem- tore’ ivi no.141, 12 February ber 1939: 9–15; ‘La città in 1942: 3–9. cura’ and ‘La città nuova’ ivi 180 . For example, Gae- no.27, 30 November 1939: tano Ciocca, ‘Discorsi sulle 13–20, as well as the cover cose reali’ in Tempo no.204, 4th—articles created work- 22–29 April 1943: 18–9. ing side-by-side with bbpr architects.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 the avant-garde field to join the cultural for the Almanacco Letterario which con- industry, the Milanese publishing sec- tinued uninterrupted until 1938, and the tor in particular. This early entry into the graphic work on the covers of published industry—Editoriale Domus and Monda- volumes, which occurred on a less regular 206 dori, respectively—placed the two artists basis. Beginning in 1932, that is, starting 207 in an uncommon position for the time, in from the novels by Körmendi, it seems Mu- certain respects anticipating later consoli- nari worked on the graphic look of novels dations which did not occur in the Italian |222| for Letteraria, the publishing house’s main graphic arts world until the ‘50s. While at series devoted to Italian and foreign con- the time Olivetti (with Pintori and Nizzoli) temporary fiction, for which Munari de- was practically the only instance, during signed a fair number of book jackets—and the postwar period there were various ex- it is possible that he had a role in some amples of synergies between intellectuals other series (such as La Zattera, launched and a cartel of large, most advanced indus- in ’42).183 It is no surprise that Bompiani, tries (Olivetti, Pirelli, Italsider, Rinascente, being a publisher particularly aware of all Rai).181 the modern types of advertising promotion, In the early 1940s, therefore, Munari sought out Munari’s talent for those pub- had the opportunity to forge a permanent lishing products intended for a more gen- relationship with the publisher Monda- eral audience, which therefore demanded dori which was not, however, limited to covers with great visual appeal. Compared directing the art department for the peri- to the graphics for the ‘Hungarian’ nov- odicals branch. In fact, by 1940 his name els featuring the nearly exclusive presence |220| was already associated with I Libri per of informal handwriting, which was also Tutti—an inexpensive series with texts on reused in several advertisements,184 in political, scientific and literary history—for the middle of the decade and especially in which he designed the graphic format for the early ‘40s, a different kind of graphic the cover. The layout Munari created had research prevailed, wavering between a rather austere style, featuring a simple two somewhat anti-figurative styles: one background in color (solid or shaded) and that focused on exploring the values of a black square bearing the title and name material textures created by drawing or of the author (in a neoclassical typeface), 182 181 . For an examina- historical catalogue in the placed high on the bookplate. tion of the peculiar season Fondazione Arnoldo e Al- Munari’s relationship with the Bom- of Milanese graphic arts berto Mondadori, Milan. connected to businesses like 183 . The reconstruction piani publishing company was the long- Olivetti, Pirelli, and Italsid- of Munari’s graphic arts est and most well-defined and it would er following wwii until the production for the Bompia- sixties, see Vinti 2007. ni publishing house in the extend to after the war, but as it happens, 182 . The series I Libri thirties is based (often to a per Tutti was launched by decisive extent) on analysis it had already gotten a solid start in the Mondadori in 1940 and of the covers, crosschecking ‘30s. In fact, it is important to distinguish included a handful of titles: this with the information in Antonio Beltramelli, L’uomo the Catalogo generale Bom- between his editorial consulting, such as nuovo (Benito Mussolini) piani 1929–2009 (Milan: (1940); Mario Appelius, Bompiani, 2009) and in Asia tragica ed immensa Piazzoni 2007. (1940); Silvio Crespi, Alla 184 . See the covers for difesa d’Italia in guerra e Ferenc Körmendi, Un’av- a Versailles (1940); René ventura a Budapest (1932) Fülöp-Miller, Rasputin e and Via Bodenbach (1933); l’ultimo zar (1940); Guido the later La generazione Milanesi, Racconti di tutti i felice (1934) is an excep- mari (1941–1944). Munari’s tion, featuring a decisively role in creating the covers is constructivist style. Cf. also expressly indicated on the Guido Piovene, Lettere di promotional flyer for the una novizia (1941), where series (coll. Giorgio Maffei, handwriting and script type Turin). Cf. Mondadori’s are combined.

Wartime art director photography;185 the other that tended rath- for Munari and was an early indication er towards dividing the cover space in order of what his predominant interest in the to create a central area that would then be graphic arts field would be in the 1950s and filled with typography.186 These graphic de- ‘60s. In that which we could call his matu- vices almost seemed to undo the realistic rity, whether it be for stage-of-life reasons 208 depiction, even to ‘pierce’ the two-dimen- (Munari was approaching forty years of sionality of the paper. This was achieved age) or for his extensive professional ex- both through the layering of shapes which perience (also in journalism, as we have accentuate the illusion of depth (somehow seen), during the war Munari came to con- reminiscent of aeropainting) and through tend with the conception of books also as a marked stylization of shapes to the point an author. In the span of three years, from of turning them into abstract patterns. As 1942 to 1944, the Milanese designer pub- for the typographic choices, the titles un- lished no less than five books for different mistakably show a retrieval of neoclassical publishing houses. The volumes were all letterforms, that were revised by Munari by rather heterogeneous in nature as well as adapting (by hand) alphabets taken from in the degree of involvement in the content typographical specimens. It is also impor- production, and they revealed his personal tant to recall Munari’s contribution to the areas of interest: humor, photography highly successful Enciclopedia pratica, one and, a significantly new focus, the world of of the first large works put out by Bompia- children. ni. Conceived and compiled by Bompiani Once again it was his friend Zavatti- and Cosimo Cherubini, the encyclopedia ni who introduced Munari to Einaudi, a drew on the contribution of many intel- small but firmly established publishing lectuals, professionals and political fig- house founded in Turin in 1933 by a group ures to write the subject entries, including of young intellectuals centered around Munari. And considering the project’s Giulio Einaudi.188 Einaudi began as a pub- complexity, as well as a few stylistic indi- lishing house fundamentally dedicated to cations in the cover illustrations and the essays, yet in late ’41 it put out a series of illustrations on the box that held the two wide-ranging editorial publications with volumes, it is not unlikely that Munari also the purpose of expanding on the national played a role, though not exclusively, in the market. Responding to this ambition to layout of the volumes and in creating the position itself in new market sectors, such illustrations.187 as contemporary fiction and inexpensive books, Einaudi’s new collections demonstrated an openness to a wider, less edu- Munari as author cated and more diverse audience. Relying This kind of work on the exterior graphics of book products for large publishing 185 . See the covers for Bompiani, 1938. 2 vol. (see M.K. Rawlings, Il cucciolo Piazzoni 2007: 120–1; and houses represented a new area of endeavor (ca.1942) and Donald J.Hall, Catalogo generale Bompiani Spinosa ospitalità (1944) 1929–2009). and, in the La Zattera series, 188 . With Giulio Ei- Indro Montanelli, Gente naudi, son of economist qualunque (1942). and journalist Luigi Einaudi 186 . See Archibald (and future president of the J Cronin, Caleidoscopio Italian Republic) were Leo- (1940), Mario Sobrero, Di ne Ginzburg, Massimo Mila, padre in figlio(1942), Er- Norberto Bobbio and Ce- skine Caldwell, Il piccolo sare Pavese, later joined by campo (1940), John Stein- Natalia Ginzburg and Giai- beck, La battaglia (1940). me Pintor. Cf. http://www. 187 . Enciclopedia pratica einaudi.it, last accessed 3 Bompiani. La cultura, la vita February 2011. civile, la famiglia. Milan:

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 on the Roman editorial office, assigned to contribution to defining the Turin publish- Mario Alicata and Carlo Muscetta, it un- ing house’s distinct image. dertook ambitious projects (such as the Published in the fall of ’42, the Mac- new collection, Biblioteca Universale and chine book displayed a cover in red with a 208 the Enciclopedia Einaudi which, in addition collage of found letters which formed the 209 to an economic commitment, demanded title, and an image made up of clippings of a significantly wider circle of authors and illustrations, old prints and photographs contributors. Alicata was in charge of sev- forming a kind of puzzle which hinted eral projects including the series Libri per at the book’s content.192 The inside pre- l’infanzia e la gioventù created according sented some fifteen ‘humorous machines’ to an innovative vision of children’s liter- redrawn in color, accompanied by the ature—‘the education of children granted original text which describes each device among adults on an equal footing’, this presented on the facing page, in a tone was the series’ pronounced intent—with an that lies somewhere between nonsense and editorial plan that included authors such scientific language. Munari’s original de- as Morante, Brancati, Alvaro, Vittorini and sign was for a long, narrow format, and a Longanesi.189 As for Munari, it was Zavat- cover with only the typographic collage on tini who, in a letter written at the end of a black background;193 logically, therefore, ’41, told him about his proposal to create the actual format must have been imposed a book out of his humorous illustrations by the publisher. During the print prepa- which had already appeared in Settebello.190 ration, then, Munari and Einaudi corre- Munari responded to this by offering, in sponded closely to discuss many details return, to redo the drawings and person- garding the layout: from the type to use for ally see to the book’s layout. Negotiations the text to the appearance of the title page, with Einaudi proceeded quickly and even to choices concerning the binding.194 The planned for a second volume for the same

series, almost surely suggested by Muna- 189 . To enjoy the good three-color printing inside. ri; Alicata, in requesting that the contract graces of Giuseppe Bottai, 193 . See original mock- then Minister of National up, 12×35 cm; now in the be sent to Munari for the Abecedario (abc Education (Mangoni 1999: Giancarlo Baccoli coll., Riva |223| Book) and Le Macchine di Munari (Mu- 116n). However, only 4 titles del Garda. |224| appeared in the series: Le 194 . Einaudi insisted on nari’s Machines) expressed his pleasure bellissime avventure di Ca- using Landi roman instead terì dalla trecciolina by Elsa of Bodoni black condensed at having ‘snatched’ him away from Mon- Morante, Caccia grossa fra recommended by Muna- dadori.191 In much the same way as with le erbe by Mario Sturani, as ri, but he accepted doing well as two titles by Muna- the title, text and notes in Bompiani and Mondadori, this marked ri—all published in 1942 (cf. the same typeface. Einau- the beginning of a long and profitable Cinquant’anni di un editore di, about the introduction: 1983: 567). ‘I am thinking of absorb- relationship with Einaudi during which 190 . See Munari’s let- ing into one page the title ter to Zavattini, s.d. [end of page—which in of itself is time, in the years following the war, the 1941 or January ’42], in the not necessary, since we are Milanese designer would make a definite Cesare Zavattini Archives, dealing with a sort of album, Biblioteca Panizzi, Reggio but would nonetheless be Emilia, file m844/4. Cf. also missed—and the introduc- a later letter from Munari tion, decorating it with the to Zavattini, s.d. [1942], ivi wonderful drawings stolen file m844/1. here and there from your 191 . Correspondence tables (…)’. Munari, for his from Alicata to Einau- part, recommended cutting di, March 10, 1942; cit. in the hard paper cover on a Mangoni 1999: 121. edge with the pages, and the 192 . Le macchine di black cloth spine (Einaudi Munari (Munari’s Ma- Archives at the Archivio chines). Turin: Einaudi, di Stato, Turin: Italian col- 1942. 21.5×28.5 cm, pp.32 laborators/Bruno Munari n.n.; hard paperback bind- fonds: file 140 (pages 7, 9, ing, black cloth spine. 12, 20, 21, 23, 30, 34). Cover illustrated in color,

Wartime art director layout used color for the illustrations and by images of objects with corresponding the cover only, leaving the other (few) pag- initials.200 Created in collaboration with es in black: the author’s photographic self- an illustrator,201 the book had an unu- portrait on the inside flap; the preface (the sual square format, suggested, it seems, by famous nonsense ‘Attenzione attenzione’) Munari.202 Both the front and the back 210 which was the first clear example of those of the cover displayed nine colored circles ‘semantic disturbances’ which best express containing letters and objects; inside, the the typical Munariesque humor; and final- left pages displayed the upper-case ver- ly a black square with a false errata corrige sion and their respective italic versions on at the end of the book.195 a colored background, while the pages on Einaudi and Munari did not meet in the right had the lower-case version with person until after the war, but Munari the illustrations overprinted in black. Even was not short on suggestions for the book though the book’s contents did not stray launch. He proposed setting up the win- substantially from the usual style of this dow displays with objects taken from his kind of tool, Munari’s Abecedario was dis- ‘machines’ or with an upside-down um- tinct in the lightness and simplicity of the brella filled with books (he even offered layout, livened up by the expressive use of to take care of this personally for the Mi- color, and in its emphasis on the alphabeti- lan area…), or a blurb on the book which cal shapes chosen, which make (as was would read ‘A book for children from 8 to the artist’s intention) the book especially 80’—ideas that, albeit somewhat costly ac- accessible and stimulating for preschool cording to the publisher, would in part be children.203 carried out.196

From another point of view, the cover 195 . The semantic dis- 200 . Abecedario (abc of Macchine demonstrated those alpha- turbances (or as defined by Book). Turin: Einaudi, 1942. Gillo Dorfles, lexical leaps) 23.5×23.5 cm, pp.40 n.n. bet shapes that captured Munari’s inter- ‘are based on a slight shift Hardbound cover, printed in meaning, for example in four colors, with cloth est during that period, attested to by other between the definitions of spine; illustrations in two attempts by the artist, though in single, two synonymous terms, and colors. especially on their light- 201 . Cf. letter Munari Dadaist examples: the collage series en- ning-fast conciseness’ (Um- to Einaudi, 20 July 1942 (Ei- |225| titled ABC Dadà (1944),197 the ABC book berto Eco, in Finessi 2005: naudi Archives, cit). The de- 197). Example: ‘É vietato signer’s name is not known, given by his son Alberto to Anna, Anto- l’ingresso ai non addetti al but it was probably Gelindo lavoro/È vietato l lavoro ai Furlan, which whom Mu- |226| 198 nio Boggeri’s daughter (1944), or the non addetti all’ingresso/È nari also created two paper |227| personal notebook containing clippings ingrassato l’addetto ai non game boxes in the early for- vietati al lavoro/È lavato ties, Il teatro dei bambini and and drawings of letters and alphabets il gessetto ai non addetti Via Mercanti. (c.1940).199 As for the editorial produc- all’ingrosso (…)’. [Play on 202 . Cf. letter Munari words in Italian] to Einaudi, 16 June 1942 |231| tion, in 1942 Munari published the Abece- 196 . See letter Munari (Einaudi Archives, cit), in to Einaudi, 21 October 1941 which Munari explains: ‘the dario for Einaudi, another book belonging (Einaudi Archives, cit). abc book was designed in a to the same children’s series. It presented 197 . ABC Dadà, 1944. square format, and all the Mixed techniques and col- shapes on the pages are in the letters of the alphabet accompanied lage on cardboard, 22 plates harmonic proportion with 21.5×31.5 cm. Now in the the square; even the cover Hajek-Zucconi coll., Novara. made up of nine disks is in 198 . Abecedario, 1944, harmony if it stays closed collage on cardboard. in square of the page (…)’ 9.2×32.5 cm (closed), and suggests trimming 7 cm 36.6×32.5 cm (open). Now off the format of the series in the Boggeri-Monguzzi (21×28) so at to create a coll., Meride (Switzerland). 21×21 square. Einaudi gladly 199 . ‘Appunti grafici accepts. solo visivi (non da legge- 203 . The type is a bold re)’, notebook with collage condensed version of and pencil drawings, 1940. Clarendon and may have 12×35 cm. Now in the Gian- been designed ad hoc, as carlo Baccoli coll., Cavalese. Munari seems to suggest:

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 A few days after the war ended, Muna- pictures in this book. Look at them and be ri quickly wrote Einaudi to propose a new transported on a wonderful journey.’209 book to go with the Abecedario, similar in Also in the early 1940s, in collaboration format and style, dealing with numbers: with Gelindo Furlan—a childhood friend, 210 the Numerario, completed the previous as well as a Futurist painter from the Mil- 211 year—perhaps inspired by a similar book anese group and a contributor with the published by Veronesi in 1944—and left in Mondadori art department)—who created a drawer awaiting a return to normalcy.204 the illustrations, Munari designed two toy On the occasion, in thinking of the next |229| boxes published by Editore Gentile: Teatro reprinting, perhaps together with the third dei bambini (Children’s Theater) and Via book,205 Munari attached a new drawing Mercanti (Merchants Street).210 Overall, to replace an embarrassing illustration for these were inexpensive publishing prod- the letter h (Hitlerian Youth) which could ucts (cut-out toys were common at the no longer be used; but the Abecedario was time), based predominantly on illustra- never reprinted, and the new volume on tion, even if both the album format and numbers remained unpublished.206 In- the typographic cover of the books as well stead, the idea resurfaced at the beginning as the square format of the box for the two of the 1960s with another innovative book toys were graphically interesting. As for the for children on the alphabet, the Alfabetiere, and an original North American edition ‘For the colored back- Alfabetiere. Turin: Einaudi, 207 entitled Munari’s ABC. grounds (…) and for the let- 1960; Munari’s ABC. Cleve- ters of the alphabet (…) you land/New York: The World Munari’s interest in the world of chil- could have wooden blocks Publishing Company, 1960. dren was certainly a reflection of his own made, this would save you By a strange coincidence, considerably’ (letter to Ei- the second volume in Eng- experience with fatherhood (his son Alber- naudi, June 16, 1942, cit). lish which would have been to was born in 1940) and it took on grow- 204 . The Second World called Munari’s Numerary War ended in Italy on 25 was also never published; ing importance in his professional work. April 1945; the letter (hand- in any case, its complete delivered) to Einaudi was mock-up does exist, now in Even before the books for Einaudi, in 1940 dated 8 May (Einaudi Ar- csac, Parma (reproduced in he published a box set of four small books chives, cit). Luigi Veronesi Bianchino 2008: 118–22). had published two similarly 208 . Bruno Munari, |228| called Mondo Aria Acqua Terra (World Air styled children’s books, I Mondo Aria Acqua Terra. Water Land), which, for all intents and numeri and I colori (Milan: Immagini geografiche per ra- M.A. Denti, 1944). gazzi. Milan: Italgeo [1940]. purposes, was the first publication in his 205 . The first edition’s 14.5×19.5 cm; pp.26 n.n.; 208 print runs are not known, 4 staplebound volumes; name. This was a popular scientific text but it is unlikely that they cardboard case. Cover and for children in which Munari once again exceeded 1,000 copies; in illustrations in color. A new any case, the text of the edition was republished by emphasized images, created in the custom- letter seems to indicate that Orlando Cibelli Editore of ary ‘unadorned’ style seen on the covers of the two previous volumes Milan in 1952. had sold out. 209 . From the text, cit. periodicals during this same period (see La 206 . ‘I am also sending in Maffei 2002: 50 (our you a drawing for a hangar italics). Lettura), intended to capture the imagina- to put on the h page in the 210 . Il Teatro de bambini tion of young readers: ‘Arranged like many abc book, in place of the and Via Mercanti. Milan: other drawing with has Editore Gentile, s.d. [1940– movie frames that come one after another fallen out of favor’ (Munari 42c]. Printing: Ricordi & in regular succession, you will find unusual to Einaudi, 8 May 1945, cit). C., Milan. Toy-books with Thanks to Giorgio Maffei cut-out figures. 22×23 cm for pointing it out. These for both. Covers and panels ‘tributes’ to the regime were in color. The first contains somehow necessary in or- a card with four flaps to be der to get permission from mounted in the shape of a the Minculpop, if even an theater, with 5 panels for anti-Fascist publisher like the backdrops; the second Einaudi could endorse these consists of seven punched kinds of illustrations. Curi- out cards to be mounted (in ously, today the book can- the shape of a shop win- not be located in any Italian dow), which can hold the public library. cut-out images of different 207 . Bruno Munari, products.

Wartime art director illustrations, they seemed to take on that Stemming from his experience on set and basic, simplified style that Munari would written during the evacuation after ar- later adopt in the books published for mistice (8 September 1943), Buzzi’s book Mondadori in 1945 immediately following showed quite a bit of affinity with Munari’s the war, those Albi Munari (Munari Pic- style of writing and irony, so that consider- 212 ture Books) that introduced an innovative ing the presence of his work (a photomon- vision in the children’s publishing world of tage, a schematic storyboard), one may the day, distinguishing him as an original suspect his role as co-author in preparing author. the materials. Despite the smaller format, Before the war was over, in ’44, Mu- the book’s layout seems simple yet varied, nari planned and edited the publication of while adhering to the typology of techni- several other books related to his main in- cal manuals put out by the publisher; even terests, not always relevant from a graphic the cover—like the one for Domus edited by arts point of view, but worthwhile exam- Munari during those same months—was ining nonetheless. If Le Macchine took his laid out on a subtle, deliberate, graphic humorous inventions and adapted them imbalance. The central alignment of the in a children’s tone—opening him up to a titles which are put in boxes on a red back- new field of study that would take on ma- ground, is in fact contradicted by a small jor importance in the postwar period—his square photograph (depicting a theater passion for humor offered him the op- curtain) placed on the outer edge. Muna- portunity to edit a collection of cartoons, ri’s participation in the project attests to |230| the Catalogo illustrato dell’umorismo (The his continued interest in cinema, a natural Illustrated Catalogue of Humour), a com- extension of his research on photographic pilation of examples taken from different sequences, indicated in some way by the kinds of publications, rearranged according • successful volume Fotocronache (Photo re- to subject and presented in alphabetical or- ports) published by Editoriale Domus in der.211 In addition to the choice of subjects, 1944.213 This was a compendium of arti- Munari was probably responsible for the cles that had previously appeared in Tempo, short humorous texts that introduce each re-offered here—even if the magazine was chapter. The layout, on the other hand, never mentioned, perhaps to avoid prob- seems rather anonymous; the cover is a lit- lems with censorship—in a new layout that, tle more interesting, with its arrangement although freer in its arrangement as com- of titles and especially the insertion of the pared with the weekly’s dense graphics, es- table of contents, but essentially, it has the sentially respect the original cropping and overall look of a cheap travel book. His work on the layout of Taccuino 211 . Bruno Munari (ed- 63–64). Aldo Buzzi (1910– |232| dell’aiuto regista (The Assistant Direc- ited by), Catalogo illustrato 2009) was a scriptwriter tor’s Notebook) by Aldo Buzzi, edited by dell’umorismo. Milan: Ultra, and author. 212 1944. 18.5×24.5 cm, pp.128; 213 . [Bruno] Munari, Hoepli in 1944, seems more demanding. paperback binding. Print- Fotocronache. Dall’isola dei ing: Stabilimento Grafico tartufi al qui pro quo. Milan: R. Scotti, Milan. Cover in Editoriale Domus, 1944. three colors, illustrations 16.5×24 cm, pp.96, paper- in b/w. back bound. A passage from 212 . Aldo Buzzi, Taccu- the correspondence with ino dell’aiuto regista. Mi- Einaudi implies how proud lan: Hoepli Editore, 1944. Munari was of the articles 12×18 cm, pp.80; paper- published in Tempo: ‘(…) back binding. Inside there and my articles in Tempo, is a small photomontage have you seen them?’ (let- (p.31) and ‘Piccolo film a ter from Munari to Einaudi, colori’ (Small color film), a Einaudi Archives, cit, page schematic example of an 34). illustrated storyboard (pp.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 sequence. The visual index of the photo Rossi, to name but a few of his contempo- credits is interesting, as is the inclusion of raries). Significantly, his name does not a photo report on the river sweeps which appear among the regular contributors to originally appeared not in Mondadori’s Campo grafico,216 nor did he ever publish 212 magazine but in Stile, the magazine under in Il Risorgimento grafico or Graphicus. And 213 Ponti’s direction in the ‘40s.214 The impor- after the war, although his career was pre- tance of Munari’s book for the publishing dominantly focused on editorial graphics, house was underscored by a review and by working for important publishers such as various ads which appeared in Domus in Einaudi, Bompiani, Mondadori and Riz- the fall of ’44.215 zoli on the graphic line of book covers and The events of the war would inevitably series, he would rarely attempt the purely mark an important break in Munari’s ar- typographic work on the page layout, es- |234| tistic path. The last books published, Foto- pecially in text-filled books. Even his own cronache and Taccuino in particular, tend to books—from those published by Schei- confirm the new course, characterised by willer to the later volumes for Laterza and a re-definition of the constructive graph- Zanichelli—confirm in their inside design ics that we have seen Munari develop (not the covers) that his strength did not since the ’30s in an industrial publishing lie in typography, where his solutions look context. This can be resumed as a formula slipshod in the details, clinging to com- that is modern, but not strictly functional, monplace models, hence removed from the intuitive, artisanal and in certain respects preoccupations of functional typography a little negligent in the typographic dimen- that was by then the predominant refer- sion. In order to weigh his achievements, ence worldwide. while in the context of mainstream periodicals Munari seemed to proceed with a modern graphic style all his own—corresponding to his falling back on more mannered and intuitive formulas—it should also be pointed out how his layout work for Domus was absolutely some of most mature typographic examples (which should also include the postwar covers for Grazia) wherein he truly demonstrated an uncommon skill and verve. And yet, as much as this may seem contradictory, strictly speaking, Munari never was a true typographer, at least not in the sense of a designer whose background or specialization is in printing (like Bertieri, Modiano or Attilio 214 . In the column ‘Cu- Domus, perhaps bringing riosità’ in Stile no.30, June Munari there in the role of 1943: 55. Munari’s relation- art director. ship with Ponti was also 215 . R.G., ‘Munari con attested to (in this issue) la macchina fotografica’ in by the review of the Abec- Domus no.201, September edario and by the report 1944: 335. For the ads, see ‘Una piccola casa a Fiumetto’ nos.202 and 203 (October (A Small House in Fiumetto, and November 1944). pp.18–9) regarding a house 216 . Over the publica- design by Munari. At the tion’s six-year lifespan, Mu- time Carlo Pagani and Lina nari designed not one cover, Bo worked in the editorial and his name appears on office, and towards the end only one of its articles. of the year they moved to

Wartime art director Conclusion A quiet revolution

All my work has followed two main paths: one experimental, the other 214 pedagogical (…) Because of this work I’ve always been considered someone who plays (given that superficial types think experimentation is useless) rather than someone who makes art (for pedagogy).1

For Munari, the role of editorial art director for Mondadori and Domus in the 1940s was an important professional caesura, which temporally coincided with wwii. As such, it signalled the beginning of a new season, which in many respects distanced itself from the work he had done over the previous decade. In fact, Munari ‘reemerged’ after 1945, inventing a new career for himself—not only as an artist and graphic designer, but also as industrial designer and pedagogue devoted to democratizing culture. Indeed, among the avant-garde Futurist works and the Italian graphic design of the immediate postwar period there is a clear continuity—not so much on a formal level, but rather in their fundamental approach.2 Compared to European models, Italian modernity had its own unique characteristics that stemmed from the country’s cultural and structural backwardness, and on the lack of a comprehensive theory in particular. Besides the radicalism of their constructivist aesthetics, the inroads made by the new European advertising designers had also depended on their ability to turn those ideas into operational principles against which their own

1 . Bruno Munari in ‘The phenomenon of fifties Didattica 2. Perché e come Italian design (…) has more (1977), reprinted in Bruno roots in late Futurism than Munari 1979: 50. in the modern movement’ 2 . Branzi 2008: 94, (ibid.: 43). 98–100; cf. Branzi 1984:

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 work was to be measured. Instead—as the the arrival of any Constructivist theory, situation of Munari and others who had the Futurists’ post-Cubist tradition re- had a brush with Futurism shows—in mained predominant. The Swiss influence, lieu of unifying points of reference, Ital- which acted as a direct intermediary with 214 ian graphic design was born of artists who the legacy of the Bauhaus, was therefore 215 were largely self-taught—artists who, in a grafted onto that particular heritage, which certain sense, ‘lived off reflected light.’ Of had slowly concentrated into the Milanese course, this tendency to imitate should not avant-garde that counted Munari amongst be seen in the reductive sense of slavish its leading exponents. copying, but rather as evidence of a formal line of visual research that moved forward As far as graphic design is concerned, Ital- intuitively, by trial and error, sometimes ian Modernism developed in two distinct pulling together discordant idioms. Such phases. In the first, which occurred in the ‘bricolage’ allowed for a different develop- 1930s, the Modernist paradigm assumed ment of the basic set of ideas and values peculiar features contingent on the politi- underlying modernism: compared to the cal situation under the Fascist rule, and rationalist definition of modernity, which was limited to the assimilation of values can ultimately be traced back to the En- on a strictly formal level. This left all so- lightenment, the Italian approach seems cial, utopian components out of the pic- instead to have responded more to a ‘per- ture, although they were essential to the sonal calling to follow a process of media- discourse of the ‘new advertising designers’ tion’ between extremes such as Futurism in Europe.4 In addition, this formalistic and the retreat into tradition.3 reception of New Typography principles Exposure to Swiss graphic culture was was totally oblivious of its fundamental another key factor that led to the birth of functional aspects, from which all other the ‘Milanese style’ of the 1950s. But the compositional principles ensued as a cor- intimate connection with the fine-arts mi- ollary.5 While the social dimension was lieu, which in the 1920s and 1930s made 3 . Branzi 2008: 14–6, modernism, does not ques- up for the lack of adequate training in the 18–9. The central axiom of tion the fact that the realm graphic arts, persisted for a long time, and Branzi’s analysis is the fun- of artistic intervention damental Italian inclina- coincides with the commer- to a large extent determined the specific- tion towards discontinuity, cial realm of advertising— ity of Italian graphic design. Rather than which supposedly reflects that is, he does not sense its long history: ‘Italy is any ideological paradox springing from an established tradition or a country that has never between the two aspira- had a revolution.’ The lack tions: industry is accepted a new, shared vision, this can be described of radical turning points as necessary fact, but the as the spontaneous achievement of a gen- would explain the constant work of the designer, de- opposition between moder- spite its commercial ends, eration of self-taught artists whose com- nity and tradition through- can and must be conceived mon background was in the pioneering out the twentieth century as having informative ends (ibid: 15). (analogous to the assertions field of applied arts. Their formative years 4 . Regarding the overlap of Swiss graphic designers between the modern move- in the 50s). Cf. Kinross: fell between wwi and wwii when, prior to ment’s claims to an artistic ‘the familiar paradox in the nature and social nature, modern movement: a sys- see Paul Schuitema’s recol- tem of beliefs that often lections: ‘His [the artist’s] encompassed revolutionary designs must make true socialism and (capitalist) statements and clearly con- theories of business effi- vey to the public the prop- ciency’ (Kinross in Tschi- erties of particular products chold 1995 [1928]: xxvii). (…) Our activities in the 5 . In Tschichold’s words: workshops and factories ‘In my graphic design, I at- were intended to provide tempt to achieve maximum people with things which purposefulness [Zweckmä- are better designed’ (Schui- ßigkeit] and to unite the tema 1961: 16). Schuitema, individual component parts like the other proponents of harmonically: to design [zu

6 . Conclusion absent from the debate pitting traditional- based on mass consumption that was to ists against advocates of the modern, the rapidly transform Italy.7 Even if in seeming stylistic elements based on the combina- contradiction with his previous consensus tion of typography and photography were to the Fascist climate, a progressive social widely exploited—alongside a monumen- utopia sustained Munari’s artistic experi- 216 tal version of the Futurist vocabulary—for ence throughout the postwar period. First their modern connotations, not only in with the Movimento Arte Concreta (mac, the field of advertising, but also in the re- Concrete Art Movement), later through his gime’s propaganda. Hence, the new visual writings and his commitment to teaching, language appeared in Italy with an ideo- Munari turned himself into the spokesman logical polarity that was the exact opposite of the designer’s social role as the modern of its original context. The contradiction artist in the service of society. In so doing between aesthetic form and transmitted he revitalized the debate, effectively affiliat- values was somewhat resolved through an ing himself with the ideological premises ‘artificial’ view of Fascism, corresponding set forth by the Modernist culture of the to the ‘revolutionary’ ideology of Giuseppe interwar period, which in Italy at the time Bottai’s so-called Fascist Left, with which was an absolute novelty.8 Even in such a many of the Milanese and Lombard avant- difficult context, with Futurism considered garde exponents identified.6 Furthermore, unacceptable and the political Left having the political accommodations of the Ital- refused abstractionism, Munari’s position, ian intellectual class during the twenty- which remained staunchly on the side of year Fascist rule was also favoured by rela- abstraction, nevertheless reclaimed the tively tollerant cultural policies, assuring social dimension of art through design, its acquienscence, if not active support. which directly became a part of the every- Although Munari, all told, appeared to be a day.9 So, despite the fact that he was not fairly apolitical man, he nevertheless took involved in politics, he publicly proclaimed part in the predominantly nationalistic cli- the moral need for artists to renew their mate, or at least did not steer clear of the sense of social engagement, and thereby inevitable homages to power. became a de facto progressive. The second phase coincided with the country’s material and moral reconstruc- gestalten]’ (from Gefesselter general in Europe (…) They Blick, 1930, quoted in Kin- were the background for vi- tion after 1945, which translated into a ross 1995: 70). sions of the reconstruction rediscovery of the social and progressive 6 . Although the archi- of a social order that had so tects’ and abstractionists’ far resisted modernization. aspects of art production in relation to in- rationalism was synony- Design was recognized as dustry. After the regime’s value system had mous with modernity, it having an important role in was nevertheless used presenting this vision (…)’ failed, the artist’s role was called into ques- explicitly in the service of (ibid: 139). the Fascist state: ‘Politi- 8 . For Munari, the ‘po- tion with an increasing sense of urgency, as cally, however, Antifascism litical plan’ to democratize was the integration of the creative realm wasn’t the motor behind art meant not so much the this reversal with respect to economic aspects, but rath- with that of the neocapitalist economy the muscular exhibitions of er the conceptual tools and “twentieth-century” figura- conditions that allow one to tion (…) [That] construc- access art (Alberto Munari tive, ordered ideal (…) can in conversation with the au- be viewed as an offer to thor, 10 February 2008). collaborate with the regime’ 9 . Culture’s hostility (Calvesi 2000: 27). (expressed as Antifascism) 7 . Cf. Kinross 2004: towards Futurism was par- ‘The conditions of scarcity alleled by a revolt against and disarray in the after- abstractionism, which was math of 1945 did provide a accused of shirking social proper context for a typog- commitment: at the height raphy that was guided by of the Cold War the pci considerations of need and (Italian Communist Party)— use. Such conditions were that attracted most of the

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Today, the artist must step off his pedestal worth of his artistic practice.12 As we have and deign to design [even] the butcher-shop seen, modern Italian graphic design has sign (if he knows how). (…) the artist [must] become an active person amongst others, its roots in the crossbreeding of two dis- aware of current techniques, materials, and tinct traditions of the Modern—Futurism 216 working methods, and—without abandon- and Constructivism: so it is not surprising 217 ing his innate aesthetic sense—humbly and competently answer the questions one might that both strains are present in Munari’s pose. The designer is now the point of contact work as it unfolded in the latter half of the (…) between art and the public (…) It’s no twentieth century. On the one hand, the longer the painting for one’s living room, but rather the kitchen applicance. Art mustn’t be unconditioned experimental openness to separated from life: [with] beautiful things techniques, materials, and processes which 10 to be looked at and ugly things to be used. is at the core of his creative practice goes back to his futurist legacy; on the other It has been argued that Munari is the only hand, the social role of the designer which designer of his generation that did not suc- he championed after 1945 witnesses a mod- ceed in successfully earning a living from ernist legacy, rooted in the theories articu- his work. This is possibly due to his intui- lated in Europe during the 1920s. In other tive experimental attitude and the range words, while the Futurist aesthetic guided of his intellectual interests, that in the his formal research, the modernist attitude eyes of art critics looked like triviality. Not- brought a progressive dimension to it. withstanding the number of highly origi- Those ideals of social order, coupled nal visual researches, establishing his own to this double legacy, enlivened his artis- identity in the graphic design scene—which tic initiatives throughout the 1950s and he partly found in publishing—was increas- 1960s, and eventually culminated in the ingly problematical to Munari. By the late creative workshops for children, a far- 1950s he appeared to be tied up to an out- reaching educational project that occupied dated modernist formula which was more almost exclusively the last part of his life. pictorial in character than typographi- As the economic and political crisis of the cally structured. However, if this approach early 1970s forced him to reposition him- somewhat hampered his professional suc- self, instead of assuming a public critical cess as a graphic designer, it did neverthe- stance, Munari directed his attention to less allow him a widespread popular recog- the world of infancy. In his allegedly most nition that few of the Milanese designers important project, he devoted his efforts to have attained.11 Munari’s œuvre carries a twofold cultural avant-garde—took a never really marketed his legacy: on the one hand, in his relation- conservative stance that led work. He was always a dis- to a sterile debate between interested experimenter ship to technology the artist and his work realists and abstractionists, (…) This doesn’t mean that culminating in Togliatti’s every invention is a work of remained closely tied to the principles of condemnation of abstrac- art, but it does attest to an Futurism; on the other, he looked to pre- tionism in ’52 (Ginsborg invariably creative method- 2000: 54). ology and approach to life’ war modernism for a sense of the social 10 . Bruno Munari, Arte (Dorfles in Fiz 2000: 23–4). come mestiere (Bari/Rome: 12 . According to Branzi, Laterza, 1966): 19. the main characteristic of 11 . In Gillo Dorfles’ Italian design lies ‘in the use opinion: ‘Others, in his of technique for its aes- shoes, would have made thetic possibilities, and of the most of their artistic aesthetics for their techini- work on the market (…) cal possibilities,’ and is per- but Munari, after the rela- fectly suited to describe the tively brief period in which essence of Munari’s method he worked with the mac (Branzi 2008: 14). On the (…) primarily devoted his other hand, the attention to efforts to design and to technological aspects falls educating children. (…) fully within the prerequi- Unlike other artists, Munari sites of modernism.

6 . Conclusion the development of methods and tools to stimulate the creativity of new generations, bringing his entire array of experiences to fruition. In a sense, these final attempts at contributing to an egalitarian society 218 brought his work full circle. Hence, Muna- ri’s implication with and for children as- sumes an explicit ideological connotation, that makes him one of the most ‘radical’ Italian designers of the 20th century.

Childrens’ workshops are the logical consequece of all my work up to now (…) I think that (…) [they help] develop, in the best way possible, the personality of the various individuals in the younger and youngest generations.13

[These workshops for children are] very important because of their formative value for collective cultural growth, without which our revolutions would leave the world as they found it.14

13 . Bruno Munari quot- Didattica 2. Perché e come ed in A. Munari 1986: 74. (1977), reprinted in Bruno 14 . Bruno Munari in Munari 1979: 51.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Bibliography

(1980). Anni creativi al “Milione” 1932–39. Milano: Abruzzese, Alberto, Fausto Colombo (ed.) (1994). 387 Silvana Editoriale. Dizionario della pubblicità. Bologna: Zanichelli. (1982). Annitrenta. Milano: Mazzotta. Accame, Vincenzo (ed.) (1989). Valentino Bompiani. (1996). La Biennale di Venezia. Le esposizioni Idee per la cultura. Milano: Electa Editrice. internazionali d’Arte 1895–1995. Artisti, mostre, Ades, Dawn, Tim Benton, David Elliott, Iain Boyd partecipazioni nazionali, premi. Venezia: Biennale di Whyte (eds) (1995). Art and power. Europe under Venezia/Milano: Electa, 1996. the dictators 1930–45. London: Thames & Hudson (1979). Bruno Munari. Milano: Feltrinelli/Parma: Ades, Dawn (1986). Photomontage. London: Università di Parma, Centro Studi Archivio della Thames & Hudson. Comunicazione. Ajello, Nello (1976). ‘Il settimanale di attualità’ (1995). Catalogo Bolaffi del Manifesto Italiano. in Nicola Tranfaglia, ed., La stampa italiana del Torino: Giulio Bolaffi Editore. neocapitalismo. Bari: Laterza (173–249). (2009). Catalogo generale Bompiani 1929–2009. Alberti, Alessia (2007). ‘Le origini della moderna Milano: Bompiani. comunicazione commerciale in Italia attraverso (1983). Cinquant’anni di un editore. Le edizioni le riviste specializzate negli anni venti’ in Salsi Einaudi negli anni 1933–1983. Torino: Einaudi. (2007): 94–107. (1978). Continuità dell’avanguardia in Italia. Enrico Alberti, Walter (1957). Il cinema di animazione 1832– Prampolini (1894–1956). Modena: Galleria Civica/ 1956. Torino: Edizioni Radio Italiana. Comune di Modena, Dipartimento istruzione, Albertoni, Ettore, Ezio Antonini, Renato Palmieri cultura, sport e tempo libero. (1962). La generazione degli anni difficili. Bari: (1983). Editoria e cultura a Milano tra le due guerre Laterza. (1920–1940). Atti del convegno, Milano 19–21 Albonetti, Pietro (1991). ‘usa vs Longanesi. Episodi febbraio 1981. Milano: Fondazione Arnoldo e di fotogiornalismo italiano: 1937–1950’ in Pier Alberto Mondadori. Paolo D’Attorre, ed., Nemici per la pelle. Sogno (1994). Gianni Mazzocchi editore. Rozzano: americano e mito sovietico nell’Italia contemporanea. Editoriale Domus. Milano: Franco Angeli (387–415). (1995). László Moholy-Nagy. Compositions Alinovi, Francesca (1982). ‘La fotografia in Italia lumineuses 1922–1943. Paris: Centre Georges negli anni trenta’ in Annitrenta (1982): 409–434. Pompidou. Aloi, Dino, Paolo Moretti (2006). Storia d’Italia nel (1983). Le persone che hanno fatto grande Milano: pennino della satira. Torino: Il Pennino. Bruno Munari. Milano: s/n. [Comune di Milano]. Anceschi, Giovanni (1981b). ‘Il campo della (1973). Mieczysław Berman. Cinquant’anni di grafica italiana: storia e problemi’ in Rassegna iii; 6 storia nei fotomontaggi di Berman. Milano: Galleria (aprile): 5–19. Schwarz. ——(1981c). ‘Archetipi della seduzione grafica’ in (1992). Prampolini dal futurismo all’informale. Monguzzi (1981): 5–11. Roma: Edizioni Carte Segrete. Anzani, Giovanni (1995). ‘Futurismo e astrattismo’ (1996). Ricostruzione teorica di un artista. Bruno in Mostra di Bruno Munari. Artista, designer, Munari nelle collezioni Vodoz-Danese. Parigi/ architetto, grafico, scrittore, inventore gioca con i Milano: Association Jaqueline Vodoz et Bruno bambini. Mantova: Corraini/Cantù: Associazione Danese. Amici dei Musei Cantù (21–29). (1981). ‘Una B rossa fra due punti. Colloquio con Aprà, Adriano (ed.) (2007). ‘Bibliografia’ in Luigi Antonio Boggeri’ in Rassegna iii; 6 (aprile): 20–21. Comencini: il cinema e i film. Venezia: Marsilio.

Bibliography Aquarone, Alberto (1988). L’Italia giolittiana. Belli, Carlo (1980). ‘Racconto degli anni difficili’ Bologna: Il Mulino. in Anni creativi al “Milione” 1932–39 (1980): 11–22. Archivio Cesare Andreoni (ed.) (1992). Cesare Belloli, Carlo (1959). ‘Pioniere der Grafik in Andreoni e il futurismo a Milano tra le due guerre. Italien/Italian Pioneers of Graphic Design/ Bergamo: Edizioni Bolis. Pionniers du graphisme en Italie’ in Neue Grafik/ 388 Arvidsson, Adam (2001). ‘Between Fascism and New graphic design/Graphisme actuel no.3 (Oktober the American Dream. Advertising in Interwar Italy’ 1959): 2–26. Olten: Walter-Verlag. in Social Science History 25; 2 (Summer): 151–186. Bendazzi, Giannalberto (1988). Cartoons. Il cinema Arvidsson, Adam (2003). Marketing modernity. d’animazione. Venezia: Marsilio Editori. Italian advertising from fascism to postmodernity. Benevolo, Leonardo (1971). History of modern London: Routledge. architecture.Cambridge, ma: The mit Press [vol.2]. Benton, Tim (1995). ‘Speaking without adjectives. Baglione, Claudia (2008). Casabella 1928–2008. Architecture in the service of totalitarianism’ in Milano: Mondadori Electa. Ades et al (1995): 36–42. Baldacci, Paolo (2006). Vinicio Paladini (1902– Berghaus, Günther (1996). Futurism and Politics. 1971). Milano: Porro & C. Art Consulting. Between anarchist rebellion and fascist reaction, 1909–1944. Providence, ri/Oxford: Berghahn Ballo, Aldo (1964). La linea dell’Arte Italiana. Dal Books. simbolismo alle opere moltiplicate. Roma: Edizioni Mediterranee. Berlanda, Orietta, Claudio Cerritelli (2003). Bruno Munari, Luigi Veronesi. Tra fantasia e metodo. Barberis, Alfredo (1978). ‘Bruno Munari’ in Le voci Milano: Edizioni Gabriele Mazzotta. che contano. Milano: Il formichiere. Biagi, Dario (1998). ‘Così parlò Munari’ in Sette Barillari, D. (2001). ‘Gelindo Furlan’ in Godoli no.41 (October): 150–156. Milano: rcs Quotidiani. (2001): 491. Bianchino, Gloria (2008). Bruno Munari: il Barison, Mara, Francesco Occhi (2004). Antiche disegno, il design.Mantova: Edizioni Corraini. memorie. Il Teatro Sociale e i Palazzi di Badia Polesine. Banca di Credito Cooperativo del Basso Veronese. Biffi Gentili, Enzo (2005) ‘Ceramiche’ in Finessi (2005): 54. Baroni, Daniele, Maurizio Vitta (2003). Storia del design grafico. Milano: Longanesi & C. Bigatti, Giorgio (1997). ‘La formazione di una regione industriale. Lombardia 1880–1940’ in Bassi, Alberto (2005). ‘Munari tra le due guerre’ in Cimorelli, Ginex (1997): 12–32. Finessi (2005): 58–59. Birolli, Viviana (ed.) (2008). Manifesti del ——(2001). ‘«Cip!... Cip!...»’ in Godoli (2001): futurismo. Milano: Abscondita. 277–278. Birolli, Zeno (ed.) (1971). Umberto Boccioni, Gli ——(2001d). ‘Pino Masnata’ in Godoli (2001): scritti editi e inediti. Milano: Feltrinelli, 1971. 712–713. Boggeri, Antonio (1981). ‘Una B rossa fra due punti’ ——(1994). Riccardo Ricas. Opere dal 1929 al 1994. in Rassegna iii; 6 (aprile): 21. Milano: Editoriale Domus. ——(1947). ’Advertising art in post-war Italy/ ——(1992). ‘Le mostre futuriste a Milano: 1919– Die Werbegraphik im nachkriegs-Italien/L’art 1941’ in Archivio Cesare Andreoni (1992): 55–66. publicitaire dans l’Italie d’après guerre’ in Graphis Bassignana, Pier Luigi (2008). ‘riv-skf Storia’ s.l.: 3; 18: 148–153. s.n. — www.storiaindustria.it. Bompiani, Valentino (1976). ‘Giochi nel cortile’ in Bauer, Elena (1998a). ‘La pubblicità sul Corriere Almanacco degli Almanacchi. Almanacco Bompiani della sera’ in Colombo et al (1998): 160–161. 1977. Milano: Bompiani (6–9). ——(1998b). ‘L’Ufficio Moderno’ in Colombo et al Bona, Luigi F. (1998). ‘Appunti sulle origini (1998): 162–164. e sulla storia del fumetto italiano’ in Luigi F. Bona, Sergio Giuffrida, ed., Il fumetto italiano. 90 anni

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 di avventure disegnate. Storia, autori e personaggi. ——(2001). ‘Oscar Fusetti’ in Godoli (2001): Milano: Superart. 491–492. Sauro Borelli (1993). ‘«Quando Valentino Cannistraro, Philip V. (1975). La fabbrica del Bompiani mi rovinava i bozzetti»’in Millelibri vii; consenso: fascismo e mass media. Bari: Laterza. 388 389 66: 108–110. Milano: Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori. Cantani, Enrica (1983). ‘La stampa femminile tra Bossaglia, Rossana, Susanna Zatti (ed.) (1983). le due guerre’ in Editoria e cultura a Milano tra le Futurismo pavese. Pavia: Ticinum Edizioni. due guerre (1920–1940)(1983): 102–106. Braida, Lodovica (2003). ‘L’autore, l’editore e Cappa, Felice, Piero Gelli (ed.) (1998). Dizionario il lettore nelle memorie di Valentino Bompiani’ dello spettacolo del ’900. Milano: Baldini e Castoldi. in Lodovica Braida, ed., Valentino Bompiani. Il Carnévalé–Mauzan, Mirande (2001). Achille percorso di un editore ‘artigiano’. Atti della giornata Mauzan 1883-1952. L’œuvre complet. Gières: di studi organizzata dal Dipartimento di Scienze Mirande Carnévalé-Mauzan. della Storia e della Documentazione storica dell’Università degli Studi di Milano, 5 marzo 2002. Carocci, Giampiero (1961). Giolitti e l’età Milano: Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard (41–71). giolittiana. Torino: Giulio Einaudi editore. Branzi, Andrea (2008). Introduzione al design Carotti, Carlo (2001). ‘«L’Ufficio Moderno» di italiano. Una modernità incompleta. Milano: Baldini Guido Mazzali e il gar. Una presenza culturale Castoldi Dalai democratico-socialista nella Milano degli anni Trenta’ in Storia in Lombardia no.2: 67–91. Milano: Branzi, Andrea (1984). ‘Il gioco del fare. Intervista Franco Angeli. con Bruno Munari’ in Modo 8: 71–72 (agosto– settembre): 40–43. Carpi, Michela (2002). Cesare Zavattini direttore editoriale. Reggio Emilia: Aliberti Editore/Biblioteca Bucalossi, Pietro (1966). ‘Il cinema a Milano’ in Panizzi, Archivio Cesare Zavattini. Città di Milano lxxxiii; 3 (marzo): 34–41. Castronovo, Valerio (1995). Storia economica Burke, Christopher (2007). Active literarure. Jan d’Italia. Dall’Ottocento ai giorni nostri. Torino: Tschichold and New Typography. London: Hyphen Giulio Einaudi editore. Press. ——(1975). ‘La storia economica’ in Ruggiero Bury, Stephen (ed) (2007). Breaking the rules: the Romano, Corrado Vivanti, ed., Storia d’Italia. printed face of the European avant garde 1900–1937. Vol 4*: Dall’Unità a oggi. Torino: Giulio Einaudi London: British Library. editore (182–187). Catalano, Patrizia (1994). ‘Divanetti per zanzare. Caccia, Patrizia (2007). ‘Formidabile quel Incontro con Bruno Munari’ in GapCasa n.106 gruppo. «Campo grafico» e i campisti’ in Storia in (aprile): 148–155. Lombardia n.3: 47–53. Milano: Franco Angeli. Ceriani, Donatella (1998). ‘La pubblicità moderna Calvesi, Maurizio (2000). ‘L’arte italiana nel e futurista: stampa, radio e manifesto’ in Colombo ventesimo secolo’ in L’arte italiana nel ventesimo et al (1998): 155–159. secolo. Milano: Skira. Ceserani, Gian Paolo (1997a). ‘Il secolo finisce, Cambria, Rita (1994). ‘I giornali milanesi e la Lombardia cresce’ in Cimorelli, Ginex (1997): l’organizzazione del consenso’ in Rumi, Vercelloni, 104–138. Cova (1994): 125–147. ——(1988). Storia della pubblicità in Italia. Roma/ Camerlo, Elisabetta (1992). «La Lettura», 1901– Bari: Laterza. 1945. Storia e indici. Bologna: Cooperativa Libraria Chiabraudo, Mauro (2006). ‘L’architetto della Universitaria Editrice Bologna (clueb). pagina. Guido Modiano e la «nuova tipografia» in Cammarota, Domenico (2006). Futurismo. Italia’ in Charta no.84 (settembre): 64–69. Bibliografia di 500 scrittori italiani. Trento e Chiavarini, Francesco (1998). ‘Angelo Rizzoli e Rovereto: Mart/Milano: Skira. i periodici popolari’ in Colombo et al (1998): 139–140.

Bibliography Ciampi, A. (2001). ‘Carlo Belli’ in Godoli (2001): ——, Franco Sborgi (ed.) (1997). Futurismo. I grandi 128–130. temi 1909–1944. Milano: Gabriele Mazzotta editore. Ciceri, Grazia (1997). ‘La Galleria Lino Pesaro Cristiani, Andrea, Daniela Venditti (2010). ‘Aspetti (1904–1938): storia e documenti.’ Unpublished della cultura e della società inglese e americana master’s thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, nello specchio deformato di una rivista tra le due 390 Facoltà di Lettere e filosofia, aa 1996–97. guerre: «Omnibus» (1937–1939)’ in MediAzioni. Cimorelli, Dario, Giovanna Ginex (ed.) (1997). Bologna: Gedit Edizioni. Storia della comunicazione dell’industria lombarda Croce, Benedetto (1963). A history of Italy 1871-1915. 1881–1945. Milano: Mediocredito lombardo/ New York: Russell & Russell [orig. Storia d’Italia dal Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale. 1871 al 1915. Bari: Editori Laterza, 1928]. Coen, Ester (1995). ‘Against dreary conformism’ in Croce, Guia (ed.) (2008). Tutto il meglio di Ades et al (1995): 178–180. Carosello 1957–1977. Torino: Giulio Einaudi editore. Cohen, Arthur Allen (1984). Herbert Bayer. The complete work. Cambridge, Mass/London: The mit de Angelis, Alberto (1938). Scenografi italiani di Press. ieri e di oggi. Dizionario degli architetti teatrali, Collarile, Lucia (1992). Fedele Azari: vita simultanea scenografi, scenotecnici, figurinisti, registi, … Con 76 futurista. Trento: Museo Aeronautico Giovanni ritratti e 104 tavole fuori testo. Roma: Cremonese Caproni. libraio editore. Colombo, Fausto, Piermarco Aroldi, Raffaele De Berti, Raffaele (2000). Dallo schermo alla carta. De Berti, Anna Lisa Carlotti (ed.) (1998). Libri Romanzi, fotoromanzi, rotocalchi cinematografici: il giornali e riviste a Milano. Storia delle innovazioni film e i suoi paratesti. Milano: Vita e Pensiero. nell’editoria milanese dall’Ottocento a oggi. Milano: ——, Elena Mosconi (1998). ‘Nuove forme Abitare Segesta Cataloghi. editoriali per nuovi stili di vita’ in Colombo et al Colonnetti, Aldo, ed. (2001). Grafica e design a (1998): 144–151. Milano 1933–2000. Milano: Abitare Segesta. Decleva, Enrico (1994). ‘La cultura sotto tutela’ in Contorbia, Franco (ed.) (2007). Giornalismo Rumi, Vercelloni, Cova (1994): 11–44. italiano. Vol.2: 1901–1939. Milano: Arnoldo ——(1993). Arnoldo Mondadori. Torino: utet Mondadori. (Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese). Cremaschi, Inìsero (1967). ‘Per una grafica italiana. De Giorgi, Manolo (2006). ‘Vicissitudes of the Intervista con Antonio Boggeri’ in Sipradue no.2 1940s/Vicissitudini negli anni Quaranta’ in Fiell, (febbraio): 14–18. Fiell (2006): vol.2: 10–13. Crispolti, Enrico (1995). Pannaggi e l’arte meccanica De Grassi, Marino (1986). ‘La latta futurista. Milano: Mazzotta. dell’avanguardia. Il «libro meccanico»’ in Sgubbi ——(1992a). ‘L’arte meccanica’ in Prampolini dal Forcessini De Grassi (1986): 83–88. futurismo all’informale. Roma: Edizioni Carte De Iulio, Simona, Carlo Vinti (2009). ‘La publicité Segrete (193–195). italienne et le modèle américain’ in Vingtième ——(1992c). ‘Cesare Andreoni e il futurismo Siècle. Revue d’histoire n.101 (janvier/mars): 61–80. milanese’ in Archivio Cesare Andreoni (1992): ——(2007). ‘The americanization of Italian 71–92. advertising during the 1950s and the 1960s: ——(1986). Storia e critica del Futurismo. Bari: mediations, conflicts and appropriations’ in Editori Laterza. CHARM Proceedings vol.13: 78–87. ——(ed.) (1982). La ceramica futurista da Balla e Del Buono, Oreste (1995). ‘Alberto Mondadori Tullio D’Albisola. Firenze: Centro Di. insegna: chi ha Tempo non aspetti Life’ in ——(ed.) (1980). Ricostruzione futurista Tuttolibri (26 August): 6. dell’universo. Torino: Museo Civico. ——(1971). Eia Eia Eia, Alalà! La stampa italiana sotto il fascismo 1919/1943. Milano: Feltrinelli.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Dematteis, Liliana (2003). ‘Veronesi, Ferretti, Giancarlo (1996). ‘Alla sinistra del padre’ comunicazione grafica e visiva’ in Berlanda, in Id. Alberto Mondadori. Lettere di una vita 1922- Cerritelli (2003): 29–31. 1975. Milano: Mondadori (xi–cliii). De Seta, Cesare (1983). La cultura architettonica in Ferrigni, Mario (ed.) (1937). La pubblicità di una 390 Italia tra le due guerre. Roma/Bari: Editori Laterza. grande casa. Milano: Bertieri. 391 Di Corato, Luigi (2008). ‘Bruno Munari Finessi, Beppe (ed.) (2005). Su Munari. 104 illustratore e grafico futurista: 1927–1933’ in testimonianze, 152 inediti di Bruno Munari. Milano: Cecilia De Carli, Francesco Tedeschi, ed., Il presente Abitare Segesta. si fa storia. Scritti in onore di Luciano Caramel. Fioravanti, Giorgio, Leonardo Passarelli, Silvia Milano: Vita & Pensiero (209–226). Sfligiotti (1997). La grafica in Italia. Milano: Di Martino, Enzo (1995). La Biennale di Venezia Leonardo Arte. 1895-1995. Cento anni di arte e cultura. Milano: Fleischmann, Gerd (ed) (1984). bauhaus: Giorgio Mondadori & Associati Editori. drucksachen typographie reklame. Düsseldorf: Dradi, Carlo (1973). ‘Millenovecentotrentatre: Edition Marzona. nasce a Milano la grafica moderna’ in Città di Fochessati, Matteo, Pietro Millefiore (1997). ‘La Milano xc; 9 (settembre): 17–37. città nuova’ in Crispolti, Sborgi (1997): 43–51. Droste, Magdalena (1982). Herbert Bayer. Das Fontana, Vincenzo (1999). Profilo di architettura künstlerische Werk 1918–1938. Berlin: G. Mann/ italiana del Novecento. Venezia: Marsilio. Bauhaus Archiv. Forgacs, David, Stephen Gundle (eds) (2007). Dufour, Hélène (1994). ‘Arts et Métiers Mass Culture and Italian Society from Fascism to Graphiques 1927–1939’ in Arts & Métiers du Livre the Cold war. Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana no.188 (novembre/décembre): 3–31. University Press. Fossati, Paolo (1972). Il design in Italia 1945–1972. Eco, Umberto (2005). ‘Milimicron in millisecondi’ Torino: Einaudi. in Finessi (2005): 197. ——, Roberto Sambonet (ed.) (1974). Lo Studio ——(1964). Apocalittici e integrati. Milano: Boggeri 1933–1973. Comunicazione visuale e grafica Bompiani. applicata. Milano: Editore Pizzi. Fraquelli, Simonetta (1995). ‘All roads lead to Fagone, Vittorio (1982). ‘Arte, politica e Rome’ in Ades et al (1995): 130–136. propaganda negli anni trenta’ in Annitrenta (1982): 43–52. Garofoli, Maura (ed.) (1991). Le fibre intelligenti. Falabrino, Gian Luigi (2001). Effimera & bella. Un secolo di storia e conquant’anni di moda. Milano: Storia della pubblicità italiana. Venezia 1469–Roma Electa 2001. Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale. Geerts, Filip (2007). ‘Bar Craja, Milan (1930)’ in Falasca-Zamponi, Simonetta (1997). Fascist Christoph Grafe, Franziska Bollerey, eds., Cafés and spectacle. The aesthetics of power in Mussolini’s bars. The architecture of public display. London/New Italy. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of York: Routledge (155–158). California Press. Gianeri, Enrico (Gec) (1967). Storia della caricatura Fanelli, Giovanni, Ezio Godoli (1988). Il futurismo europea. Firenze: Vallecchi. e la grafica. Milano: Edizioni di Comunità. ——(1960). Storia del cartone animato. Milano: Fava, Eliseo (1988). ‘Bruno Munari’ e ‘Riccardo Omnia. Ricas’ (profili biografici), in Heinz Waibl (1988). ——, Andrea Rauch (ed.) (1976). Cento anni Alle radici della comunicazione visiva italiana. Como: di satira politica in Italia (1876–1976). Firenze: Centro Studi Grafici. Guaraldi editore.

Bibliography Ginsborg, Paul (2000). ‘Storia e arte nell’Italia del Irace, Fulvio (2006). ‘Domus, a home for Italians/ ventesimo secolo’ in L’arte italiana nel ventesimo Domus, una casa per gli italiani’ in Fiell, Fiell secolo. Milano: Skira. (2006): vol.1: 12–17. Gnoli, Sofia (2005). Un secolo di moda italiana 392 1900–2000. Roma: Meltemi. Kinross, Robin (2004). Modern Typography. An Godoli, Ezio, ed. (2001). Il Dizionario del Futurismo. essay in critical history. London: Hyphen Press. Firenze: Vallecchi/Trento: Mart, Museo di Arte ——(1995). ‘Introduction’ in Jan Tschichold, The Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto. new typography: a handbook for modern designers Gregotti, Vittorio (1968). New directions in Italian [orig. title die neue typographie (1928), transl. by architecture. New York: George Braziller. Ruari McLean]. Berkeley: University of California Guerri, Giordano Bruno (1982). ‘«Venti anni Press. di fascismo non sono passati invano nella vita Kirk, Terry (2005). The Architecture of Modern italiana ed è umanamente impossibile cancellarli» Italy. 2. Visions of Utopia 1900-present. New York: (Mussolini, 24.6.1943)’ in Annitrenta (1982: 19–42. Princeton Architectural Press. Girolami, Patrizia (1993). ‘Il teatro fra le due Klos, Sheila (1990). ‘Bruno Munari’ in Colin guerre’ in Armando Balduino, Giorgio Luti, ed., Naylor (ed), Contemporary designers. Chicago/ Storia letteraria d’Italia – Il Novecento. Padova: London: St. James Press (415–416). Piccin Nuova Libraria (1113–1144). Kostelanetz, Richard (1970). Moholy-Nagy. New Gundle, Stephen (2008). ‘Un Martini per il Duce: York: Praeger. l’immaginario del consumismo nell’Italia degli anni Venti e Trenta’ in Anna Villari, ed., L’arte della pubblicità. Il manifesto itaiano e le avanguardie 1920– Lascialfari, Riccardo (2002). ‘«Tempo» il 40. Milano: Silvana Editoriale (38–61). settimanale illustrato di Alberto Mondadori 1939– 1943’ in Italia contemporanea, no.228 (September): 439–468. Hahn, Peter (1986). Xanti Schawinsky Lattarulo, Leonardo (ed.) (1995). Edizioni elettriche. Malerei Bühne Grafikdesign Fotografie. Berlin: La rivoluzione editoriale e tipografica del futurismo. Bauhaus-Archiv. Roma: Edizioni De Luca. Henrion, FHK, Alan Parkin (1967). Design Lavin, Maud (1992). ‘Photomontage, Mass coordination and corporate image. London: Studio Culture, and Modernity’ in Matthew Teitelbaum, Vista/New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation. ed., Montage and Modern Life 1919-1942. Cambridge, Heyne, Renate (2009). ‘Light displays: Relations ma/London: mit Press; Boston: Istitute of so far unknown’ in Idem, Floris M. Neusüss, eds. Contemporary Art (36-59) (2009). Moholy-Nagy. The photograms. Catalogue Lebeer, Irmeline (1974). ‘Qu’est-ce qu’un raisonné. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz (27–33). fricomacr?’ in Art vivant n.53 (novembre): 4–8, Hollis, Richard (2006). Swiss graphic design: the now in Bruno Munari (1979): 46–50. origins and growth of an international style 1920– Lichtenstein, Claude, Alfredo Häberli (1995). Far 1965. London: Laurence King. vedere l’aria – Air made visible. Zürich: Museum für Hugill-Fontanel, Amelia. ‘Arts et Métiers Gestaltung Zürich/Lars Müller Publishers. Graphiques’ at http://ellie.rit.edu:1213/ref.htm. Lilli, Laura (1976). ‘La stampa femminile’ in Hultén, Pontus (ed.) (1986). Futurism & Futurisms. Tranfaglia (1976): 251–310. New York Abbeville Press. Lista, Giovanni (2009a). ‘Il libro di latta e la poesia’ in Resine: quaderni liguri di cultura nos.119– Iannaccone, Giuseppe (2004). ‘La mitica Litolatta 121 (gennaio-settembre): 7–10. e il fantomatico cofanetto’ in Wuz La rivista del ——(2001a). Futurism. Paris: Éditions Pierre Terrail. collezionista di libri no. 6 (novembre/dicembre): ——(2001b). Cinema e fotografia futurista. Milano: 3–7. Skira.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 ——(2001c). Futurism and photography. London: Mangini, Cinzia, Paola Pallottino (1994). Bertoldo Merrell Publishers Ltd. e i suoi illustratori. Nuoro: Ilisso Edizioni. ——(1990). Lo spettacolo futurista. Firenze: Cantini. Mangoni, Luisa (1999). Pensare i libri. La casa editrice Einaudi dagli anni Trenta agli anni Sessanta. 392 ——(1989). La scène futuriste. Paris: Éditions du 393 CNRS. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri. ——(1985). I futuristi e la fotografia. Creazione Manzoni, Carlo (1964). Gli anni verdi del Bertoldo. fotografica e immagine quotidiana. Modena: Edizioni Milano: Rizzoli. Panini. Marasco, Antonio (1943). ‘Galleria. Bruno Munari’ ——(1984). Le livre futuriste. De la liberation du mot in Origini vii; 7–8 (maggio–giugno): 6–7. Roma: au poème tactile. Modena: Edizioni Panini. Tipografia de Il lavoro fascista. ——, Ada Masoero (2009). ‘Le ragioni della mostra’ Margozzi, Mariastella, Piera Rum (2007). Mario in Giovanni Lista, Ada Masoero, eds., Futurismo Sironi. L’Italia illustrata.Milano: Skira. 1909-2009. Velocità+Arte+Azione. Ginevra/Milano: Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso, Jeffrey T. Schnapp Skira (17–20) (ed.) (2004). Teatro. Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori Lombardo, Mario, Fabrizio Pignatel (1985). La Editore. stampa periodica in Italia: mezzo secolo di riviste Martignoni, Massimo (2002). Gli anni di Stile illustrate. Roma : Editori riuniti. 1941–1947. Milano: Editrice Abitare Segesta. Longoni, Anna (2003). ‘«Come i gatti sui tetti». Masoero, Ada (2009a). ‘Gli anni venti: l’arte Un percorso attraverso il catalogo Bompiani (1929- meccanica’ in Lista, Masoero (2009): 193–235. 1972)’ in Braida (2003): 72–85. Mayer, Sidney Louis (ed.) (1978). Signal: Years Lopez, Guido (1994). ‘Non solo pittore. Anzi’ in of triumph 1940-42. Engelwood Cliffs, nj: Bassi (1994): 7–11. Prentice-Hall. ——(1972). I verdi, i viola e gli arancioni. Milano: Mazzuca, Alberto (1991). La erre verde. Ascesa e Mondadori. declino dell’impero Rizzoli. Milano: Longanesi & C. Luciani, Roberta (1995). ‘Regesto biobibliografico’ Meneguzzo, Marco (1993). Bruno Munari. Roma/ in Enrico Crispolti, ed., Pannaggi e l’arte meccanica Bari: Editori Laterza. futurista (443–466). ——(ed.) (1986). Bruno Munari. Opere 1930–1986. Lupo, Giuseppe (2002). ‘Sinisgalli e le industrie Milano: Electa. milanesi (1934–1973)’ in Giuseppe Lupo, ed., Menna, Filiberto (1966). ‘Munari, o la coincidenza Sinisgalli a Milano. Poesia, pittura, architettura degli opposti’ in La botte e il violino n.3, Roma: mim, e industria dagli anni trenta agli anni sessanta. now in Bruno Munari (1979): 70–75. Novara: Interlinea Edizioni (213–242). Migliore, Tiziana (2009). ‘Macchina di visione. ——(1996). Sinisgalli e la cultura utopica degli anni Futuristi in Biennale’ in Tiziana Migliore, Beatrice trenta. Milano: Vita e Pensiero. Buscaroli, ed., Macchina di visione. Futuristi in Biennale. Venezia: Marsilio Editori (25–115). Maffei, Giorgio (2002). Munari. I libri. Milano: Molderings, Herbert (2009). ‘Light years of life: Sylvestre Bonnard. The photogram in the aesthetic of László Moholy- Mainieri, Olga (2009). ‘Le latte dell’avanguardia’ Nagy’ in Heyne, Neusüss (2009): 15–25. in Cantieri no. 2: 2–3. Macerata: Edizioni Monguzzi, Bruno (ed.) (1981). Lo Studio Boggeri. Biblohaus. Milano: Electa Editrice. Malvano, Laura (1988). Fascismo e politica Montecchi, Giorgio (ed.) (2001). La città dell’immagine. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri. dell’editoria. Dal libro tipografico all’opera digitale Manera, Livia (1986). ‘Sperimento, ergo sum’ (1880–2020). Milano: Skira. in Panorama (23 November): 152–155. Milano: Mori, Giovanna (2007). ‘Esempi di grafica Mondadori. pubblicitaria dagli anni venti ai primi anni trenta alla Raccolta Bertarelli’ in Claudio Salsi, ed.,

Bibliography Pubblicità & Arte. Grafica internazionale dall’affiche Pansera, Anty (2001a). ‘Le premesse. Milano, o del alla Pop Art. Ginevra/Milano: Skira (59–93). disegno industriale italiano’ in Colonnetti (2001): Mughini, Giampiero, Maurizio Scudiero (1997). 113–18. Il manifesto pubblicitario italiano da Dudovich a ——(2001b). ‘1933-1945. Gli esordi di un sistema’ Depero 1890–1940. Milano : Nuove arti grafiche Colonnetti (2001): 19–50. 394 Ricordi. ——(1992a). ‘Artisti, artigiani, protodesigner: le Munari, Alberto (1986). ‘Munari interroga Munari case d’arte a Milano’ in Archivio Cesare Andreoni in occasione della mostra milanese a Palazzo (1992): 145–152. Reale’ in Domus n. 677 (novembre): 73-79. Milano: ——(1984). ‘La storia di un percorso’ in Giancarlo Editoriale Domus. Iliprandi, Alberto Marangoni, Franco Origoni, Munari, Bruno (1990). ‘Un gattino vero Anty Pansera, ed., Visual design. 50 anni di miagolante’ (orig. in catalogue Giochi e grafica. produzione in Italia. Milano: Idealibri (15–24). Cremona: Comune di Soncino/Amm.ne Prov.le ——(1978). Storia e cronaca della Triennale. Milano: Cremona/Ass.ne Culturale Soncino), now in C’era Longanesi. due volte iv; 8 (settembre 1997): 38 segg. Orvieto: Centro Studi Rodari. Paoli, Silvia (1999). ‘L’Annuario di Domus del 1943’ in Tiziana Serena, ed., Per Paolo Costantini. ——(1983). ‘Grafica editoriale fra le due guerre’ in Fotografie e raccolte fotografiche. Pisa: Scuola Editoria e cultura a Milano tra le due guerre (1920– normale superiore (99–130). 1940): 163–165. Pedullà, Gianfranco (1997). ‘Gli anni del fascismo: ——(1976). ‘Mussolini nel buco’ in Almanacco degli imprenditoria privata e intervento statale’ in Almanacchi. Almanacco Bompiani 1977. Milano: Gabriele Turi, ed., Storia dell’editoria nell’Italia Bompiani (10–11). contemporanea. Firenze: Giunti (341–382). ——(1968). Design e comunicazione visiva. Roma/ Pelizzari, Maria Antonella (2010). Photography and Bari: Editori Laterza. Italy. London: Reaktion Books. ——(1966). Arte come mestiere. Bari/Roma: Editori Pellegrini, Sonia (ed.) (2009). L’officina del volo. Laterza. Futurismo, publicità e design 1908–1938. Milano: Musto, Gabriella (2007). ‘Un architetto dietro Silvana Editoriale. l’obiettivo. L’archivio fotografico di Giuseppe Pesavento, Gino, Antonio Palieri (1953). Chi è in Pagano’. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Università pubblicità. Milano: Editrice L’Ufficio Moderno. degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (www.fedoa.unina. it/1655, retrieved 19 February 2009). Piazzoni, Irene (2007). Valentino Bompiani. Un editore italiano tra fascismo e dopoguerra. Milano: Murialdi, Paolo (2000²). Storia del giornalismo LED Edizioni Universitarie di Lettere Economia e italiano. Bologna: Società editrice Il Mulino. Diritto. ——(1986). La stampa del regime fascista. Bari/ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry, A.F. Johnson Roma: Laterza. (1970). The encyclopaedia of type faces. New York: Barnes & Noble. Olivieri, Adriano (2008). ‘Nicolaj Diulgheroff Pigozzi, Marinella (1982). ‘La grafica industriale architetto e designer’ in Pagina, 20 July (www. nel sistema della comunicazione’ in Annitrenta pagina.to.it, last accessed 30 October 2010). (1982): 467–489. Origoni, Franco (1981) ‘Sinossi culturale’ in Pirani, Federica (1999). ‘«I futuristi hanno salvato Monguzzi (1981): 2. l’Italia a Parigi». La contrastata presenza futurista all’Exposition des arts décoratifs del 1925’ in Ricerche di storia dell’arte no.67: 39–50. Roma: Pagani, Carlo (2005). ‘Una presenza sicura’ in Carocci. Finessi (2005): 172–173. Pirani, Federica (1992). ‘Prampolini e gli Pallottino, Paola (1988). Storia dell’illustrazione allestimenti’ in Prampolini dal futurismo italiana. Bologna: Zanichelli. all’informale (1992): 272–277.

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Pischedda, Bruno (2001). ‘Editoria a Milano: Ricas, Riccardo (2005). ‘Via Carlo Ravizza 14’ in 1920–1945. Dalla crisi postbellica alla “bonifica Finessi (2005): 62–63. culturale”’ in Montecchi (2001). Riolfo Marengo, Silvio (1987). ‘Bruno Munari e Pitteri, Daniele (2002). La pubblicità in Italia. Dal i libri di latta’ in Resine: quaderni liguri di cultura 394 dopoguerra a oggi. Roma/Bari: Laterza. n.s. no.31 (gennaio/marzo): 51–2. Savona: Marco 395 Poggi, Christine (2009). Inventing Futurism. Sabatelli editore. Princeton nj: Princeton University Press. Rossi, Attilio (1983). ‘Prefazione’ in Campo Grafico Politi, Giancarlo (1991). ‘Bruno Munari. Le regole 1933–1939. Milano: Electa (7–13). del gioco’ in Flash Art no.163 (estate): 105–108. ——(1973). ‘Il dissenso di ieri, la ragione Ponente, Nello (1980). ‘Nascita di una poetica’ in d’oggi: Campo Grafico’ in Città di Milano XC; 9 Anni creativi al “Milione” 1932–39 (1980): 9–10. (settembre): 11–15. Milano: Comune di Milano. Pontiggia, Elena (ed.) (1988). Il Milione e Rossi, Leo (1962). ‘Bruno Munari o dell’utilità l’Astrattismo 1932-1938. La galleria, Licini, i suoi dell’inutile’ in Panorama Pozzi 7; n.36 (agosto/ amici. Milano: Electa. settembre): 7–9. Milano: Editrice Panorama Pozzi. Poretti, Sergio (2004). ‘Modernismi e autarchia’ Rössler, Patrick (2009). das bauhaus am kiosk/the in Giorgio Ciucci, Giorgio Muratore, ed., Storia bauhaus at the newsstand. die neue linie 1929–1943. dell’architettura italiana. Il primo Novecento. Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag Milano: Mondadori Electa (442–475). Rumi, Giorgio, Virgilio Vercelloni, Alberto Cova Prada, Paolo (1977). ‘Carosello: parla il papà’ in (ed.) (1994). Milano durante il fascismo 1922–1945. Pubblicità Domani ii; 2 (21 gennaio): 14–15. Milano: Milano: Cariplo. Nuove Iniziative Editoriali. Rutz, Rainer (2007). Signal. Eine deutsche Pralavorio, Luigi (1934). ‘Delle macchine inutili e Auslandsillustrierte als Propagandainstrument im di altro’ in Cronaca Prealpina (28 maggio), Varese, Zweiten Weltkrieg. Essen: Klartext Verlag. now in Bruno Munari (1979): 57–58. Presotto, Danilo (1981). Quaderni di Tullio Salaris, Claudia (2004), La Quadriennale. Storia D’Albisola n.2. Lettere di Edoardo Alfieri, Lino della rassegna d’arte italiana dagli anni Trenta a oggi. Berzoini, Nicolaj Diulgheroff, Escodamè, Italo Lorio, Venezia: Marsilio Editori. Tina Mennyey, Bruno Munari, Pippo Oriani, Ugo ——(1995). ‘La rivoluzione in biblioteca’ in Pozzo, Mino Rosso, Paolo Alcide Saladin, Nino Lattarulo (1995): 14–35. Strada, Felice Vellan e G. Giambattistelli (1928–1939). Savona: Editrice Liguria. ——(1994). Futurismo. Milano: Editrice Bibliografica. Priarone, Giuseppe (1989). Grafica pubblicitaria in Italia negli anni Trenta. Firenze: Cantini Editore. ——(1992b). ‘L’editoria futurista a Milano tra le due guerre’ in Archivio Cesare Andreoni (1992): Procacci, Giuliano (1975). Storia degli Italiani. 35–44. Roma/Bari: Editori Laterza. ——(1986). Il futurismo e la pubblicità. Dalla pubblicità dell’arte all’arte della pubblicità. Milano: Quintavalle, Carlo Arturo (1979). ‘Intervista a Lupetti & Co. Munari’ in Bruno Munari (1979): 15–22. ——(1985). Storia del Futurismo. Libri, giornali, manifesti. Roma: Editori Riuniti. Rattin, Manuela, Matteo Ricci (1997). Questioni Salsi, Claudio, ed. (2007). Pubblicità & Arte. di carattere. La tipografia in Italia dal 1861 al 1970. Grafica internazionale dall’affiche alla Pop Art. Viterbo: Nuovi Equilibri. Ginevra/Milano: Skira. Ravaioli, Roberto (1998). ‘Le dimensioni del libro: Salto, Giuseppe (1996). ‘Ci siamo molto divertiti, il contributo di Bruno Munari.’ Unpublished comunque’ in Luciano Berni Canani, Giorgio di master’s thesis, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Genova, eds., M.A.C. Movimento Arte Concreta Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, aa 1997/98.

Bibliography 1948–1958. Roma: Associazione per la storia del 1942. Washington dc: Smithsonian Institution, m.a.c. National Air & Space Museum. Santoro, Maria Grazia (1998a). ‘Luigi Albertini e Sinisgalli, Leonardo (1955). ‘Le mie stagioni l’industria del Corriere della sera’ in Colombo et al milanesi’ in Civiltà delle macchine iii; 5: 22–24. (1998): 76–78. Milano: Finmeccanica. 396 ——(1998b). ‘Il Corriere dei Piccoli’ in Colombo et Sironi, Vittorio Alessandro (1992). Le officine della al (1998): 82–83. salute. Storia del farmaco e della sua industria in Scalise, Adriana (2009) ‘Dalla cronofotografia al Italia dall’Unità al Mercato Unico Europeo (1861– fotodinamismo. L’immagine in… movimento’ in 1992). Roma/Bari: Editori Laterza. Migliore, Buscaroli (2009): 117–124. Socrate, Francesca (1995). ‘Borghesie e stili di Schnapp, Jeffrey T. (2008). ‘Las bombas de Bruno vita’ in Giovanni Sabatucci, Vittorio Vidotto, eds., Munari’ in Jordana Mendelson, ed., Revistas, Storia d’Italia. Vol. 3: Liberalismo e democrazia 1887– Modernidad y Guerra. Madrid: Textos, Museo 1914. Roma/Bari: Editori Laterza (363–442). Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (143–163). Solia, Enrico (1969). ‘Il disegno grafico attraverso ——(2003). Anno X. La Mostra della Rivoluzione le copertine di Graphicus’ in Graphicus 50; Fascista del 1932. Pisa: Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici 7/8 (luglio/agosto): 39–45. Torino: Associazione Internazionali. Culturale Progresso Grafico. ——(1996). 18BL: Mussolini e l’opera d’arte di massa. Solmi, Franco (ed.) (1975). Xanti Schawinsky. Milan: Garzanti. Bologna: Comune di Bologna/Galleria d’arte moderna. Schwarz, Angelo (1977). ‘«Tempo» un settimanale italiano’ in Federico Patellani. Documenti e notizie Sorrentino, Lamberti (1984). ‘La passione del raccolti in trent’anni di viaggio nel sud, suppl. to mestiere’ in Tempo Illustrato ii; 7 (July): 63–67. Diaframma – Fotografia Italiana no.224 (marzo). Milano: Tempo Illustrato. Milano: Editphoto. Spies, Werner (1991). Max Ernst. Collages. The Scudiero, Maurizio (2009a). ‘Alcune invention of the surrealist universe. New York: Harry considerazioni su futurismo e scienza, futurismo N. Abrahams. e politica’ in Maurizio Scudiero, Anna Maria Ruta, Steiner, Anna (2007). ‘«Moins on montre, plus on ed., Continuità del futurismo. Roma: Associazione dit». Dall’idea un linguaggio, dagli anni trenta al Culturale Micro (5–17). 1968’ in Salsi (2007): 108–157. ——(2009b). ‘Futurismo. Progresso. Volo’ in Pellegrini (2009). Tanchis, Aldo (1987). Bruno Munari. From futurism ——(1997). ‘Dalla Belle Époque alla Balilla. Il to post-industrial design. London: Lund Humphries manifesto italiano fra le due guerre’ in Mughini, [orig. Milano: Idea Books, 1986]. Scudiero (1997): xv-xxiv. ——(1982) ‘Le interviste di ad: Bruno Munari’ in Sgubbi, Gianfranco, Laura Forcessini, Marino De Architectural Digest 11 (April): 50–54. Milano. Grassi, ed. (1986). L’arte di latta. Arte e industria Telloli, Paolo (2000). ‘Carlo Cossio’ in Ink vii; 14 contro l’effimero. Monfalcone: Edizioni della (febbraio): n.n. Monza: Menhir Edizioni. Laguna Tisdall, Caroline (1970). ‘Statements by Munari. Silk, Gerald (1996). ‘Fascist Modernism and the Introductory notes by Caroline Tisdall’ in Studio photocollages of Bruno Munari’ in Sally Metzler, International 180; 926 (October): 135–139. London: Elizabeth Lovett Colledge, eds., Cultural and W & J Mackay & Co. artistic upheavals in modern Europe 1848 to 1945. Jacksonville, fl: The Cummer Museum of Art and Tofanelli, Arturo (1986). Memorie imperfette. Con Gardens (41–76). i grandi del secolo terribile. Milano: gei (Grandi Edizioni Italiane). ——(1989). ‘Flight Futurism Aeropittura’ in Gerald Silk, Paolo Colombo (eds), Aeropittura Futurista: images of flight in Italian art from 1913 to

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945 Tranfaglia, Nicola, Albertina Vittoria (2000). ——(2006). ‘Le esperienze progettuali di Edoardo Storia degli editori italiani. Dall’Unità alla fine degli Persico: dalla nuova tipografia all’impaginazione anni Sessanta. Bari: Laterza. dello spazio’ in Documenti no.2 (maggio), www. ——(ed.) (1976). La stampa italiana del documenti.ve.it. 396 neocapitalismo. Bari: Laterza. ——(2005). ‘Modiano e la “Mostra grafica” alla 397 ——(1971). ‘Intellettuali e fascismo: appunti per VII Triennale’ in Progetto grafico 3; 4–5 (febbraio): una storia da scrivere’ in Del Buono (1971): vii-xiv. 50–63. Milano: Aiap. Twyman, Michael (1998²). Printing 1770–1970. ——(2002). ‘L’estetica grafica della nuova London: The British Library/Reading: Reading tipografia in Italia’ in DIID Disegno Industriale University Press. Industrial Design no.2: 6–30 [Dossier]. Roma: Gangemi Editore. von Moos, Stanislaus, Mara Campana, Giampiero Valeri, Antonio (1986). Pubblicità italiana. Milano: Bosoni (2006). Max Huber. London: Phaidon Press. Edizioni del Sole 24 Ore. Valli, Lucia (1990). La fiera della letteratura. L’«Almanacco letterario» (1925–1942). Lecce: Weill, Alain (ed) (1983). Achille Mauzan. Paris: Capone Editore. Éditions Henry Veyrier. Venè, Gian Franco (1988). Mille lire al mese. Vita Wlassikoff, Michel (2005). Histoire du graphisme quotidiana della famiglia nell’Italia fascista. Milano: en France. Paris: Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Venturelli, Paola (1997). ‘«Di necessità virtù». La Zane, Marcello (1998). La scatola a sorpresa. La guerra nella moda: da Rosa Genoni al lanital e Gamma Film di Roberto Gavioli e la comunicazione dintorni’ in Che c’è di nuovo? Niente: la guerra. audiovisiva in Italia da Carosello ad oggi. Milano: Milano: Mazzotta (419–426). Jaca Books. Vercelloni, Virgilio (1994). ‘Storia della città e Zannier, Italo (1988). L’occhio della fotografia. dell’idea di città’ in Rumi, Vercelloni, Cova (1994): Roma: Carocci editore. (181–215). ——(1978). 70 anni di fotografia in Italia. Modena: Verdone, Mario (2005). Drammaturgia e arte totale. Edizioni Punto e Virgola. Soveria Mannelli (Catanzaro): Rubbettino Editore. Zanotto, Piero, Fiorello Zangrando (1973). L’Italia ——(1995). ‘Pannaggi a Oslo’ in Crispolti (1995): di cartone. Padova: Liviana editrice. 37–56. Zatti, Susanna (2001). ‘Angelo Rognoni’ in Godoli ——(1988²). Teatro del tempo futurista. Roma: (2001): 979–980. Bulzoni Editore. Bruno Zevi (1961). Storia dell’architettura moderna Vergani, Guido (2009). Dizionario della moda. dalle origini al 1950. Torino: Einaudi. Milano: Baldini e Castoldi. ——(2005). ‘Nella nebbia di Milano’ in Finessi (2005): 158–161. ——(1990). Trent’anni e un secolo di Casa Campari. Vol. III L’arte, la comunicazione, la pubblicità. Milano: Campari. ——(1989). ‘Una civile curiosità’ in Accame 1989: 13–23. Villani, Dino (1964). Storia del manifesto pubblicitario. Milano: Omnia editrice. Vinti, Carlo (2007). Gli anni dello stile industriale 1948–1965. Venezia: Marsilio/Università IUAV.

Bibliography Alessandro Colizzi was born in Rome in 1966. This book was designed and typeset by the author He is professor at the École de design of the with the collaboration of Charlérik Lemieux, Université du Québec à Montréal (uqam), where Montréal, in Adobe InDesign. The typeface is he teaches typography and graphic design history itc Mendoza Roman, designed by José Mendoza. at undergraduate level since 2005. His education is The copies were digitally printed by Mardigrafe, 398 grounded in the humanities and languages, prior Montréal. All photographs are by the author. to a shift towards visual culture. He holds an ma in Type & Media from The Hague’s Royal Academy of Art (kabk, 2004), a postgraduate diploma from Copyright for the text © Alessandro Colizzi, 2011. the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique (anrt, 2001), and an mlitt in English Literature from the University of Rome La Sapienza (2000). He has a solid work experience as graphic designer in Italy, New York, France, and the Netherlands. His research interests are focused on typographic history, type design and lettering, and information design. He is board member of the Italian design magazine Progetto Grafico, has published regularly on various magazines and academic journals since 2002; and is also active as translator of typographic works. In 2006 he started a PhD trajectory on Bruno Munari at Leiden University, under the guidance of prof.dr.h.c. Gerard Unger and prof.dr. Titus Eliëns (to be completed in 2011).

Bruno Munari and the invention of modern graphic design in Italy, 1928–1945