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The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968 GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968 Organizedby Germano Celant Preface by Umberto Eco Designedby Massimo Vignelli 760pages j/5full-colorreproductions, 161duotones, and316black-and-white illustrations This book, published on the occasion ofa major exhibition mounted by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, celebrates the flowering ofItalian creativity in the twenty-five year period that began with the fall of the Fascist regime. After the devastation wrought by World War II, Italy underwent a massive reconstruction, touching offpublic debates that examined every sphere, from the formation ofthe new government, to the architectural style for rebuilding destroyed cities, to the choice between abstract and figurative art to best depict Italy's changing realities. By 1968 It—aly had earned international success in many areas most notably — fashion, industrial design, and cinema which contributed to seemingly miraculous economic growth. But many young Italians had begun to question the extravagant consumption and concomitant waste that were the by-products ofeconomic expansion. Social upheaval, in the form ofprotests and strikes, brought this remarkable period to a close. The Italian Metamorphosis, 1945-1968 is the first book to bring together all aspects ofItalian visual culture from this fascinating period. Through seventeen scholarly essays and hundreds oflavish full-color and duotone reproductions, this volume captures the era's greatest achievements in the fields ofpainting, sculpture, artists' crafts, literature, photography, cinema, fashion, architecture, and design. Also included are translations ofmajor manifestos written by artists and critics, as well as an extensive chronology encompassing the cultural and political history ofthe period. Printed in Italy \m m pi Ml ' W I 1 *1,">•, < Buffi V UK n 'h .fr'iH''<J''X QhL'«rHlllAJtUlMlllMIIUi(IU1 - MM HP11•-*» . 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I;!l i'l ' fr'J iSiifl MM i II'I i' '.'/''I'''; ' • i''i BHilUSi The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968 Organizedby Germano Celant ?l GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM PROCETT1 ^tore The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968 Honorary Patrons of the Exhibition Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum His Excellency OscarLuigi Scalfaro, October7, 1994—January 22, 1995 President ofthe Republic ofItaly Triennale di Milano His Excellency Silvio Berlusconi, February—May 1995 President of the Council ofMinisters ofthe Republic ofItaly Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg His Excellency Antonio Martino, May—September 1995 MinisterofForeign Affairs ofthe Republic ofItaly His Excellency Domenico Fisichella, ©1994 Progetti Museali Editore, Rome MinisterofCultural Affairs ofthe Republic ofItaly ©1994 ENEL, Rome ©1994The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York His Excellency Giorgio Bernini, All rights reserved MinisterofForeign Trade ofthe Republic ofItaly His Excellency Boris Biancheri, ISBN 0-8109-6871-1 (hardcover) The Ambassador ofthe Republic ofItaly to the United States ISBN 0-89207-116-8 (softcover) Printed in Italy by Arnaldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. The Honorable Reginald Bartholomew, The Ambassador ofthe United States to the Republic ofItaly Guggenheim Museum Publications 1071 Fifth Avenue His Excellency Francesco Paolo Fulci, New York, N.Y 10128 Representative ofthe Republic ofItaly to the United Nations Hardcoveredition distributed by The Honorable Franco Mistretta, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Consul General ofthe Republic ofItaly 100 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10011 The Honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayorofthe City ofNew York Dr. Ugo Calzoni, Chairman and C.E.O. ofthe Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (Italian Trade Commission) Dr. FrancoViezzoli, Chairman ofENEL Ing. Vittorio Rimbotti, Chairman ofthe Centrodi Firenze per laModa Italiana Dr. Umberto Silvestri, Chairman ofTELECOM ITALIA 2 Contents via 438 Acknowledgments Cinema, the Leading Art Thomas Krens Gian Piero Brinutla Xll 450 You Must Remember This Visconti's Senso: Cinema and Opera . Umberto Eco Teresa de Laureth xvi 458 Reasons for a Metamorphosis Cinema, catalogue numbers 472-501 Germano Celant 482 From Haute Couture to Pret-a-porter In Total Freedom: Luigi Settembrim Italian Art, 1943—1968 Germano Celant 496 Italian Fashion and America 20 ValerieSteele Painting and Beyond: Recovery and Regeneration, 1943-195 507 Mania E. Vetrocq Fashion, catalogue numbers 502—602 3^ 556 Before the End oftheJourney: Reconstructing a History Testimony across the Atlantic Vittorio Gregotti Anna Costantini 567 41 Architecture, catalogue numbers 603-723 Art, catalogue numbers 1—230 586 220 Rebuilding the House of Man The Revival ofGlass and Ceramics Dennis Doordan Micaela Martegani Laini 596 230 Italian Design and the Complexity of Modernity Art inJewels Andrea Branzi Pandora Tabatabai Asbaghi 608 237 Italian Industial Aesthetics and the Artists' Crafts, catalogue numbers, 231—329 Influence ofAmerican Industrial Design Penny Sparke 288 The Literature ofArt 616 Maurizio Fagiolo dell'Arco Design, catalogue numbers 724-78 3H 648 Reality and Italian Photography The Political History of Italy from the halo Zannier Fall ofFascism to the Student Revolts Giorgio Gall/ 3M "Paparazzi on the Prowl" 656 Jennifer Blessing Chronology Lisa Panzera 335 Photography, catalogue numbers 366-471 708 Manifestos 726 Lenders to ihe Exhibition This exhibition is sponsored by Moda Made in Italy, a program ofthe Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (Italian Trade Commission), under the auspices ofthe Italian Ministry for Foreign Trade, and by the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana. Significant support has been provided by TELECOM ITALIA, with additional assistance from the Murray and Isabella Rayburn Foundation, Inc. and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency. The museum thanks the Italian Ministry ofForeign Affairs for its cooperation and support. — The exhibition catalogue in—a traditional printed version as well as in a CD-ROM format has been published by ENEL and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Sponsor Statement With The Italian Metamorphosis, 194} 1968, the Guggenheim Museum has undertaken an ambitious project: to represent through a wide mam range <>t artistic expressions the transformations that took place in Italy in tins period. The challenge was a tempting on< . an opportunity not to be missed: to p—resent on the same stage the various l.nets that helpdefine Italy today its imageasa nation ol art whose present isdeeply rooted in its past. Among the various se<tions in< luded in Tht Italian Metamorphos, fashion provides a vivid demonstration ol just how much Italy lias changed. The exhibition recounts the birth of contemporary Italian fashion, first through the vision oi .1 Florentine, and later through the achievements of the top COUture houses, which were- inspired bj the- artistic patrimony of Italy to make an important fashion statement. This great periodof production andcommunication gave- rise to the- phenomenon"Made in Italy," in which fashion and design have b< the standard bearers. We deeply share the Guggenheim's enthusiasm in illustrating this evolution and the underlying technical know-how that has helped to shape it through the past and present. The spirit explored bj Italian Metamorphosii is similar to that pursued by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade and the Italian federations offashion producers, through the special "Moda Made in Italy" project, which falls under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Tr.ule. lor this reason. Moda Made in Italy, which seeks to promote Italian fashion, has become the principal sponsorofTin Italian Metamorpho—i Since the period cov—ered by this exhibition, fashie>n the very embodiment e)fchange has become an even more- important se< tor in Italy, both as an expression ofits culture and as a crucial component of its economy. This has resulted from a uniquely Italian approach, in which sensitivity, craft, taste, and tradition art (used with modern manufacturing technolt>gies te> reflect a wider, cultural metamorphosis. Its success is agreat testimony to the intuitions e>t those who, in the early 1950s, believed in Italian fashion and its preeminent role as a cultural and artistic statement. The extraordinary cooperation the Guggenheim has offered us is dtie, in part, to the important contribution of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Itahana, which served as the bridge between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the protect "Moda Made in Italy Toview the transformations that Italy has undergone, how its forms ofartistic expression have changed, and how these changes relate to the wider changes seen throughout our country's histor\. is an important exercise in reflection for tis and roranyone wishing to understand Italy. It helps us to look pe>sitively at today's challenges while remembering the road traveled, and forces us to revive the deep and ancient bases ofourstatements te> the world, many ol which are still very current, and to recognize them as a rich source of new ideas Dr. UgoCalzoni ChairmanandC.E.O. /ML lt<<l'<<>> liiititutt for Tonign TraJt IItalian TraJi. ( nmtuiMmni) Sponsor Statement From its inception, The Italian Metamorphosis, 194-1-1968has been supported and promoted with enthusiasm by the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana. Significant forus, apart from the intrinsic valueofthe event itself, is the unprecedented inclusion of fashion in an exhibition mounted by the Guggenheim Museum, and its presentation alongside other artistic forms to document the Italian contribution to contemporary aesthetics and acrucial moment in the history of Italian society. Our own work has been moving in this direction for some time. The Centro has become one ofthe most important laboratories in Italy for the creation ofstrategies, projects, and cultural and communication events concerning fashion from Italy and abroad—. The commitment—ofthe Centroand its operative companies Pitti Immagine and EMI to contemporary fashion and its relationship to culture springs from the knowledge that it represents a new frontier for those creating, producing, and thinking about this area today. In recent years, this commitment has resulted in important exhibitions, theatrical events, fashion shows, congresses, research papers, publications, and training programs. These have allowed us to form valuable working relationships with cultural institutions of international importance, such as the Louvre, the Galleriadel Costume, Florence (which we thank for its constant help and support), the Victoriaand Albert Museum, the Royal College of Art, the Munchner Stadtmuseum, and now the Guggenheim Museum. This commitment will take us into the future with new and important projects in the conviction that fashion is one of the great industries ofcontemporary culture. Vittorio Rimbotti Chairman oftheCentrodiFirenzeperla Moda Italiana