enzo mari
portrait © designboom

'designing is an instinct inherent in man,' says enzo mari, 'as the survival instinct, hunger, sex.'
mari's book alternates between considerations and reflections on the design practice - which the author is an acknowledged master in - and
includes autobiographical notes. enzo mari speaks about himself, the period of his childhood and early youth, from the thirties and forties,
the art education at academy of brera in milan and the following phase of his intense artistic activity.
since the early years of his professional activity -- this endless experimenting with materials and solutions that contribute to
improving the every day life -- he has spent his energy in search of a theory that would unify humanistic ideas about the
relationship between aesthetics and function.

'I am often asked -- what is the ideal object that I would have wanted to create -- I always answer: the ball!
you start to use it at age of one and you play with it up to ninety, over time the ball allows you to follow different rules. it's never conditioning'.
enzo mari



enzo mari and vittorio gregotti
image © designboom


the new book has been introduced by italian master architect vittorio gregotti and the italian writer tiziano scarpa.

images from the book presentation
images © designboom

'THE form has to be eternal, far from of fashion trends and conventions (like many things made ​​by artisans of the past, which are rich
in natural elegance)'. but THE form, of course, can not and must not prevail function, regardless of which function(s), otherwise it is
ornament, and enzo mari does not cease to remind us how - even in the architecture - he loves (more than anything else) the essentiality.


book cover (front&back)

60 years of ideas and projects for defending a dream.
it's a combative and fiercely polemical book  -- against the design practice of today, a field that seems to have become the 'industry contractor',
and which has ceased to relate to 'a proactive project' but has devoted itself exclusively to the production of goods.

starting from scratch -- partiamo da zero (chapter 1)
drawing by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari

maybe early childhood -- forse la prima infanzia (chapter 2)
drawing by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari

design production and self-oriented-projects -- imprese di design e autoprogettazione (chapter 9)
drawing by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari



work is central -- il lavoro al centro (14), design work -- il lavoro di design (6), systematic search -- la ricerca sistematica (5),
I don't speak just about me -- non parliamo solo di me (18)
drawings by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari


the crisis is unstoppable -- la crisi è inarrestabile (chapter 15)
drawing by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari


the world saved by children -- il mondo salvato dai bambini (last chapter  - 16)
drawing by enzo mari, courtesy enzo mari

editor: enzo mari
publisher: mondadori / strade blu
year: 2011
size: 171 pages, 210 × 150 mm
ISBN 978-88-04-60691-8
(italian language only)

http://www.mondadori.it
available also as ebook
see more publications of enzo mari (italian language only)

the book presentation has taken place on monday, may 23rd, 2011 at feltrinelli bookstore in milan, italy.