The Librarian Room

Madrid Design Festival, Espacio Vértice, from 16th to 24th February 2019, Madrid.

“The librarian room” is an exhibition designed by Studio La Cube and Parasite 2.0 for the Madrid Design Festival 2019. The project arises from a reflection and exchange process along with the publisher’s house Corraini Editions. The shared starting point is the reflection about the presumed obsolescence of some objects, apparently caused by the introduction of development-related technological innovations within the human habitat. Whereas Corraini focuses on the publishing world and its spaces, the three curators center on object production. This object production is nevertheless understood not following the sense of the oriented-market consumer goods creation, but rather the fetish of the designers themselves, that is, the processes from the prototypes to the final and “normative” object. These phenomena are usually linked to the lack of funding sources, that have led to a new self-production craftsmanship, whether in the printing –for example with the risograph–, or in the design. Likewise, this movement is represented by these new types of craftwork interested in experimenting with materials, especially those with plastic and moldable features (from clay and raw earth to resin and polyurethane), which nowadays can be found in the work of many figures. While a few years ago it looked like the book and the paper printing world had finished their journey, today we see analogical printing being restored. And we observe a similar phenomenon as for the project maker. Even though the handling ability through unique processes shaped by the body looked destined to disappear due to the 3D printing and CNC “techno-crafts”, currently we can find new experimental practices in where the body returns to thrive as an element capable of making objects. The project is dedicated to books and to the objects that gravitate around them. The librarian room will be composed of ten books chosen by Corraini Editions and by ten objects dedicated to them, commissioned to ten different designers. In the selected collection, the publishing house, whose rich story is connected to some of the object-making masters such as Bruno Munari or Enzo Mari, goes through a series of key texts on design culture. The ten guests will make up the librarian room with their objects.

 

Works by Marta Armengol, Joel Blanco, Koos Breen, Cameranesi Pompili, Diego Faivre, Studio Lacube, Lucas Muñoz con Inés Sistiaga, Futuro Studio, Tellurico.

 

Books by Silvia Annichiaro, Andrea Branzi, Bob Gill, Ugo La Pietra, Giorgio Maffei e Bruno Tonini, Enzo Mari, Alessandro Mendini, Bruno Munari, Harriet Russel y Ettore Sottsass.

 

With the support of Corraini Edizioni
Curated by Parasite 2.0 and Studio La Cube
Graphic design by Futuro Studio
Set design by Parasite 2.0
Ph. Alec Iatan

Lucas Munoz and Inés Sistiaga.
Cameranesi Pompili.
Futuro Studio.
Joel Blanco.
Koos Breen.
Marta Armengol.
Studio Lacube.
Tellurico.