Describing what Superstudio’s Temporary Museum for New Design has become, in what is now its 5th year, is a bit like tracing the evolution of this sector over the last decade, and along with it society, of which the events staged by Superstudio have always been a mirror. Let’s try to do it with an ABC of creativity.

Describing what Superstudio’s Temporary Museum for New Design has become, in what is now its 5th year, is a bit like tracing the evolution of this sector over the last decade, and along with it society, of which the events staged by Superstudio have always been a mirror. Let’s try to do it with an ABC of creativity.

A for Art, in its contemporary form, an essential component of all the installations and of the route we will follow, which takes us through exhibitions of a museum flavor and through art interactions, with the presence of artists of international standing who have created site-specific avant-garde works that hold a dialogue with the space and with design.

B for Beauty, which underpins all the aesthetic choices made by the Temporary Museum, but is also a cue for the idea of offering a temporary but real and functioning Beauty Salon, in which you can make over your look free of charge with the help of famous hair designers, seated on the armchairs Stefano Giovannoni has designed for Maletti; an initiative carried out in collaboration with L’Oréal.

C for Container, an easy and eclectic element for economic structures, quick to erect and flexible in their use. Three real examples in the courtyard, with the containers of ZAVA, Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska Region and the modular house created by Betina Gomes for Itinerant Structures, plus an exhibition of photographs of examples from various parts of the world in the Basement.

D for Designer, since as always famous architects and designers are present with their proposals at the Temporary Museum, including Michael Young, Xavier Lust, Richard Hutten for Gispen, Marco Piva for Cristalplant, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas and Arik Levy for IMIB.
But the novelty lies in the expansion of the range of merchandise on display and the bringing in of other talents from all over the world, who are also offered the possibility of testing their creations on the market through Superstudio Selection, a collection of products on sale exclusively at the website www.dalani.it.

E for Environmental sustainability, key words of any self-respecting production or self-production. Everyone talks about it and boasts about it. We hope that they have all really treated it as a matter of survival and a value that cannot be renounced.

F for Freedom, by which is meant freedom of design: in aesthetic expressions, in the choice of commodity, in the type of production, in the mode of marketing.
FreedomDesign is the new project at Superstudio 13

G for Global Design. Global in the sense that 30 countries of the globe are present at the Temporary Museum, ranging from Brazil to Japan, as well as at the joint exhibitions of Sweden, Croatia, Poland and Thailand, bringing cultures and visions of design with which we are not yet familiar. Global in the sense too that design affects all of our life today, with no object excluded. It suffices to recall Philip Stark’s toothbrushes, the suitcases of Marcel Wanders and Paola Navone’s paper plates for the French Monoprix supermarkets.

H for HiWhim, the new portal devoted to avant-garde art using the new technologies, which has organized and curated art interactions for the Temporary Museum, with the 4D projection of ProvocationArt’s interactive video Apparati Effimeri, Carlo Bernardini’s installation of fiber-optic lights and Baratta’s effects of light and color at Superstudio 13.

I for Interactivity, a feature of many galleries that amaze us with their surprising installations. From Hyundai, where an immaterial automobile takes shape before visitors’ eyes, to Samsung, whose new smart device lets us experience a reality that can be transformed to suit our desires, to Kaneka, which envelops you in light and shade in a magic tunnel dotted with OLEDs, and to “talking objects,” chairs, clocks and desks that connect directly with the internet, holding a dialogue with the whole planet.

L for Lights. Light serves not only to illuminate, but to astonish, to make us dream, to cradle us, to create atmospheres and… to save energy. It is the victory of the LED over the light bulb, the transformation of the light source into a prominent element of the décor, a musical note capable, by itself, of setting the whole tone. A bit like what actually happens in the Melograno Blu space, where a spectacle of son et lumière and colors introduces the innovations, or in the black-and-white hall of Imples Design, where a pianist performs in the evening under an LED ceiling light of classic design.

M for Materials, and here we are talking about marble, ceramics, stone and contemporary materials like Cristalplant, which are turned, with the intervention of the designer, from components into protagonists of the new “design-to-order.” Innovative custom-made proposals from Tagina and Mosa

N for New. A strongpoint of the Temporary Museum for New Design, which from its very name asks its exhibitors to present only new products and proposals, ones which have not previously appeared at the Fuori Salone in Milan. A mark of care and respect for our visitors, whom we know to be the crème de la crème of the city.

O for Opening at Night, until 11 o’clock, to allow latecomers and Stakhanovites to extend their visits, and to take advantage of the opportunity for a haute-cuisine dinner at Superstudio Più’s Dada Café, prepared by Fabio Baldassarre, Michelin-starred chef of the Unico restaurant.

P for Predictions, which we are hoping will be rosy, and greater than might be expected from the unending international and Italian crisis. We are counting once again on creativity, on talent, on the enthusiasm of the world of design, and on the strength, as yet undented, of Milan’s role as capital of design, thanks to the immense Salone del Mobile and its lively Fuori Salone, a flowering of small and large initiatives, a spontaneous and viral event that has infected the whole city.

Q for Quality, intrinsic and indispensable basis of every choice we make, be it the small-scale proposal of a new designer or the industrialized product of a multinational.

R for Roots, in the sense of heritage, respect, culture, traditions, knowhow, that is to say the solid bases from which every innovation stems. This is the theme given to exhibitors as a guiding thread for their exhibitions and presentations this year.

S for Start-Up, as we leave space even for small and new ventures in design and production to get going. Interesting young designers and interesting recent initiatives can be found in the Discovering area, in the Basement of Superstudio Più, and in FreedomDesign, at Superstudio 13

T for Technology, which goes hand-in-hand with the search for beauty, the power to stir the emotions and new forms for new functions. The new technological devices, whether they are computers, LEDs, cars or household appliances, that are taking over from us in so many areas of our life, have ever more surprising capabilities.

U for Uniqueness, for art-design, designer craftsmanship, limited edition, custom-made are increasingly becoming key words. In this connection pay a visit to the exhibition Arts&Crafts&Design—Time According to Alessandro Mendini, showing works of the great architect that have been handmade by master craftsmen at Italian firms.

V for Video. Addicted as we are to television, YouTube, Skype, video messaging and cellphones with cameras, how could we do without the fascination of videos? In fact they are an integral part of the exhibitions of the Temporary Museum, commencing with the one that on climate change, made for Alcantara by the video artist Jared Mezzocchi, with the support of the World Bank.
In the meantime we refer you to our Superstudio Tweb channel, on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/SuperstudioTweb

Z for Zona Tortona, the main area of the Fuori Salone in Milan, of which Superstudio was the initiator and has been the promoter since 2000. This year the Tortona Design Week is presenting many activities, from the free magazine Tweek to street food made by super chefs in collaboration with the farms of Milan’s green belt, widespread info-points, collaboration with schools aimed at getting children started early on design, thematic tours and still more.

www.tortonadesignweek.it

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Temporary Museum for New Design 2013 (5th year) is an initiative of Superstudio Group, based on a project by Gisella Borioli and with the art direction of Giulio Cappellini. It will consist of three macro-projects, Global Design at Superstudio Più, Via Tortona 27, Discovering in the Basement of the same venue and FreedomDesign at Superstudio 13, Via Forcella 13, with next door to it the exhibition Arts&Crafts&Design—Time According to Alessandro Mendini, which also has an entrance at Via Bugatti 9.

www.superstudiogroup.com