VISUAL LANGUAGE OF POSTMODERNISM IN ETTORE SOTTSASS’S FURNITURE DESIGN

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive art historical analysis of the visual language of Postmodernism in the furniture design of the prominent Italian designer Ettore Sottsass. The relevance of the topic is determined by the need to rethink the legacy of radical twentieth-century design, whose ideas formed the foundation for the modern concept of “emotional design” and strategies for reinterpreting cultural meanings. Central attention is paid to the analysis of the mechanisms of the modernist doctrine of “form follows function”, which dominated industrial design for decades. Using the examples of iconic works by Ettore Sottsass, created primarily within the Memphis Group, it is demonstrated that the author deliberately shifts the emphasis to the emotional and figurative components of the object. The morphology of such masterpieces as the “Carlton” bookcase and the “Beverly” sideboard is analyzed, where the use of an irrational hierarchy of geometric forms, visual instability, and dynamic imbalance serves as a means of intellectual provocation and dialogue with the user. The article reveals the peculiarities of the master’s visual language, which is based on a synthesis of architectural allusions and elements of Pop Art. The role of materials in the formation of postmodern aesthetics is separately studied: the combination of plastic laminate with expressive prints and noble wood species. This approach legitimized eclecticism as a new artistic standard and a means of overcoming the restraint of Modernism. An important aspect of the study is the disclosure of the phenomenon of artistic irony as a tool for humanizing the object environment. It is established that humorous elements and the deliberate use of a bright color palette allow the author to distance himself from the rational dryness of Modernism, returning sensuality and playfulness to the living space. Attention is paid to the evolutionary changes in the work of E. Sottsass. Using the example of the “Liana” library, the transition to the creation of «existential objects» is shown, which structures the space not through ergonomics, but through the creation of a certain atmosphere and myth. The conclusions emphasize that the visual language of Ettore Sottsass has become a fundamental contribution to the development of the postmodern worldview, offering a new model of communication between a person and an object.