The Book Unfolded Robin Mitchell Cranfield

This is the second half of the story of designer Bruno Munari's work in publishing for designers, artists, and children. Show notes, image gallery, and a transcript are available at robinmitchellcranfield.com⁠. 

This episode looks at Munari’s work between 1962 and 1972, looking at his contributions to the “gentle revolution” in Italian education and his legacy as an industrial designer, and design educator.

Gianni Rodari, Roberto Rossellini, and William Morris feature in this story. Munari's Falklands lamp for Danese and his Abitacolo are highlighted. Books by Munari referenced are Design as Art, Good Design, Xeriographia, La Notte Buia, and Little Yellow Riding Hood. Publishers referenced are Einaudi, Corraini, and Emme Edizioni

In Bruno Munari's world, a book can be a sculpture, a toy, and an object. More, he thought that a magnolia could be an address, and children's room an art gallery. Yet, a lamp ought not to be disguised as a bunch of grapes. Find out what shaped the beautiful mind of this celebrated Italian designer and artist in part 1 of this audio essay. Show notes, transcript, and image gallery are at robinmitchellcranfield.com⁠. 

This essay is adapted from public talk for Italian Design Weeks at Emily Carr University, addressing Munari's Unreadable Books, his Useless Machines, his children's books, and his public art workshops. A video essay about this, "Little Green Riding Hood", is available on YouTube.⁠

In this interview, Pietro Corraini explains the connection between books and space, why Corraini Edizioni treats books as total objects, and what the connection is between Bruno Munari and the 'gentle revolution' in Italian education of the 1960s and 70s.

Corraini recently opened the Spazio Munari in Milan, a gallery and bookstore dedicated to Bruno Munari. Find out more at corraini.com and listen to their fantastic podcast, “Play to Learn.”

Special thanks to Benedetta Lelli from the press office of Corraini, who joined us! See images for this episode here. A transcript of this episode is available here.

An annotated reading of Bruno Munari's essay "Children's Books" from his book Design as Art (Penguin) originally published as Arte come mestiere (Laterza) in 1966. The essay starts at 2:16.

Show notes + image gallery available at robinmitchellcranfield.com

This is the first of a short series on Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari.

I speak with Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa), the inaugural ⁠Te Awhi-Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador⁠, from Aotearoa New Zealand about emerging and traditional literacies, libraries, and how books and storytelling connect us with one another. We also talk about the role of writing in youth justice, and how bookmaking helps young people to understand and express their own stories.

An updated edition of Ben’s memoir, ⁠A Fish in the Swim of the World⁠, was published by Penguin in 2022 and he’s also written many books for children, including the acclaimed A Booming in the Night and ⁠he's also served as the editor for an anthology of Young People's poetry from a workshop he ran at an Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Residence⁠, which we talk about later in our conversation. 

Radio New Zealand has two recorded talks delivered by Ben: the ⁠Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture⁠, where he addressed the power of imagination and its deep roots in te ao Māori, and a ⁠Pānui on youth justice and the power of words⁠. This⁠ diagram shows what Ben is describing when he talks about the harakeke plant.

The web page for this episode has more information and images

⁠A transcript of this episode is available⁠



I would love to hear from you! Find me at my web site robinmitchellcranfield.com

Visiting poet Lisa Robertson's archive revealed to me what historian Arlette Farge called "The Allure of the Archives." I encountered something nostalgic, Farge found something beautiful. We both encountered surprises. This episode also looks at literary critic Terry Castle's addiction to home décor magazines, like Nest magazine, and her mixed feelings about their allure. More at robinmitchellcranfield.com