You may not think you know what Memphis Design is, but the sight of the Carlton bookcase — a large, clunky object with crooked shelves and primary colours — may make a light bulb go off in your head. The Groninger Museum has a large collection from the Memphis design group. We’ll tell you why in this brief introduction as well as the nine things you really need to know about Memphis Design.
WHY THE MEMPHIS GROUP WAS FOUNDED
One evening in the year 1980, Italian designer Ettore Sottsass called together a diverse group of artists and designers. He wanted to establish an international collective of designers, something that was still uncommon. The group would focus on designing furniture pieces and objects for use and wanted to create exciting design with bright colours, asymmetrical shapes and combinations of cheap and expensive materials. And they succeeded: the Memphis Group has become a signature design movement.
WHAT BOB DYLAN HAS TO DO WITH THE NAME
Don't let the name fool you: the Memphis Group was not founded in America. It is a European movement. On that particular night in Milan, Sottsass put on a record that would define the art movement we know as Memphis Design: Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan. Rumour has it that this record kept getting stuck on the song ‘Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again’ and played the lyric ‘Memphis blues again’ over and over as the plans for this movement were being made.
It is sometimes jokingly said that Memphis Design was born out of a wild night between the Bauhaus design movement and the Fisher Price toy brand
MANY OBJECTS ARE REMINISCENT OF GIANT TOYS
It is sometimes jokingly said that Memphis Design was born out of a wild night between the Bauhaus design movement and the Fisher Price toy brand. This is not entirely unjustified: many of the objects are reminiscent of giant toys. The movement made extensive use of large, geometric shapes and primary colours. The pieces are also considered kitschy, but the design group's style was characteristic of the 1980s.
OBJECTS WERE GIVEN NAMES FOR THE FIRST TIME
We have long since grown accustomed to our BILLY bookcases and desk chairs named MARKUS, but in the days of Memphis Design, a name took your piece of furniture to the next level. You were no longer just buying a bookcase: it was a Carlton. It was meant to be a serious design piece that you could also consider artwork.
MADONNA, KARL LAGERFELD AND DAVID BOWIE WERE FANS
The influence of 1980s pop culture is readily apparent in Memphis Design. In addition to using primary colours (as was also common in Pop art, for example), popular themes and even artists were often referenced. Madonna, for example, has her own table in Memphis Design's range.
From the very beginning, the Memphis Design group had famous fans. One of the first was fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. He collected almost every piece that Memphis had released since its inception. Lagerfeld apparently soon became tired of them, because he decided to auction off his collection. This put the movement — one year after its founding — directly into the spotlight. David Bowie also later became a great lover and collector of the pieces. Last year, the Groninger Museum added an acquisition from David Bowie's private collection to its Memphis Design collection.
SOTTSASS' GREAT INSPIRATION WAS INDIA
Sottsass found a great deal of inspiration during his trips to India. This in turn translated into new designs for the Memphis Group. From the 1960s there was already a growing interest in India; its spirituality was a stark contrast to the intrusive and ubiquitous world of advertising. So it’s no surprise that a lamp designed by Sottsass with the title Ashoka made its debut. The lamp, with its wild, protruding elements, almost seems to have multiple arms, as if it were an Indian god.
The cheapest Memphis Design item I could find was an ashtray for 300 euro
MEMPHIS DESIGN OBJECTS ARE STILL BEING MADE
Almost everything made in the 1980s can still be requested today. Admittedly, you need deep pockets to get them: the cheapest item I could find quickly was the API ashtray for 300 euro. It stood out among the many items with price tags of over 4000 euro.
THE GRONINGER MUSEUM IS BUILT IN MEMPHIS STYLE
Although Alessandro Mendini, the chief architect of the Groninger Museum, was not officially affiliated with the Memphis group, he was definitely influenced by it. Several years earlier (in 1976), he and Sottsass founded a graphic design studio called Studio Alchimia. The influence of Sottsass and later the Memphis Group trickled down into the projects Mendini himself took on, including the design of the Groninger Museum.
WHY THE GRONINGER MUSEUM HAS A LARGE COLLECTION OF MEMPHIS DESIGN
The postmodernism room at the Groninger Museum features these two important names: Memphis and Mendini. Mendini, of course, was chief architect of the building, and Memphis was a major influence on its style and a favourite of museum director Frans Haks (director until 1995). This room is also jokingly called ‘the birthplace of the Groninger Museum’.
This article came about in part thanks to Steven Kolsteren's (head of education at the Groninger Museum) lecture during the Groninger Museum lecture series. Sottsass' Carlton bookcase and Peter Shire's Bel Air chair, among others, can be found in the Groninger Museum's postmodernism room.