Associate Professor Jonathan Mekinda, “From the Beautiful to the Useful: Defining Design in Mid-Century Milan”
Art History Colloquim
April 11, 2025
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Jonathan Mekinda,: From the Beautiful to the Useful: Defining Design in Mid-Century Milan"
In the two decades following the Second World War, Italian design rose to international prominence as a symbol of the rebirth of Italian culture in the wake of Fascism. In that view, the work of designers such as Marco Zanuso, Gio Ponti, and the Castiglioni brothers after the war embodied the shared triumph of liberal democracy and capitalism while also manifesting a sensitivity to local customs and a lively modernist aesthetic that were seen as distinctively Italian. This presentation will advance an alternative assessment. Focusing on displays at the Triennale di Milano during the middle decades of the twentieth century, it will examine the definition of design articulated by those exhibits, which underpinned the practices that later gained such renown for Italian design. Even as many of the techniques, materials, and audiences available to designers changed significantly after the war, that definition of design remained surprisingly stable in several key aspects. The concepts of beauty and utility in particular exemplify the complex ties between design discourse and practice and expansive visions for social renewal in Italy during a period of profound instability and upheaval.
Jonathan Mekinda is an associate professor in the School of Design at UIC, where he teaches courses on design history and theory. His research and scholarship examine design practices at a range of scales to consider the emergence of the contemporary design professions in two distinct urban locales—Milan and Chicago.
Date posted
Apr 11, 2025
Date updated
Apr 11, 2025