This week I wanted to concentrate on my visits to Museo del Design 1880-1980, and Bar Luce, which is part of Fondazione Prada. While visiting the Museo del Design, I was instantly drawn to Alessandro Mendini’s Poltroon di Proust. This chair was part of the “Made in Italy” movement after WWII. This time period was a “wide diffusion” of artistic experimentation and youth protest which created a new creative energy in Italian Design. Mendini’s “Proust” chair, became a series of redesigns in which Mendini took inspirations from structures and detail of past designs in furniture and design history. The actual structure of this chair was modeled from a Neo-Baroque style chair, and the exterior upholstery is hand-painted, using similar impasto brush strokes from the Impressionists. Mendini perfectly tied the ideas from specific art time periods to help create the radical design movement of post war in Italy.
A few days later I visited Bar Luce at Fondazione Prada. The exterior buildings of the Fondazione Prada is very minimal, and physically walking to the location feels like you are in the middle of nowhere in Milan, with the surrounding area being less developed and is much less populated. The closest comparison I can think of is the contemporary work of Donald Judd in Marfa Texas. At the Fondazione Prada is a bar and cafe called Bar Luce, which was designed by an American film (Raised in Houston) director Wes Anderson. The moment you walk in the bar, you have left the overwhelming feeling of vast contemporary art to a cafe that is modeled after post World War Two Milan. This was were I noticed the similarities of the design from Mendini’s work from the “Made in Italy Movement” and theme of combining old ideas with current times. Bar Luce has a vaulted ceiling, and the upper section of walls display architectural and decorative motifs from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The interior design and furniture are modeled after classical cafe aesthetic from the 1950s to 1960s. The aesthetic and appearance is pushed in new ways creating this time warp that takes you back five decades. The color of the branding is light diner pink, and there are different hues of olive and army greens and yellows that make the pink branding pop. There is a giant record jukebox, several pinball style games that are still in the same appearance as the rest of bar. There are tables, and you can also walk up to the bar and get a quick coffee or drink standing, but also have the option to sit back and enjoy.
In summary I liked both views of the different interpretations of classical post WWII Milan.