Animali in Viaggio

Pia Valentinis

After missing it when it first opened last March at Zoo in Bologna, 

this Saturday I was finally able to see the Animali in Viaggio exhibition 

when it arrived for a short stay at the Babele bookstore in Firenze. 

Antonio Marinoni

I was interested in this show for a good number of reasons: it's inspired by Franco Matticchio's latest book

 Libretto Postale, it's organized by two ladies I really like, the illustrator and blogger Anna Castagnoli

 and Stefania Camilli, publisher of Vànvere Edizioni, it's an innovative idea and it features

 lots of lovely animal pictures by many of my favorite Italian illustrators. 

Last but not least, I love mail art...

Daniela Tieni

Francesco Chiacchio

Anna and Stefania came up with the idea of a mail art game while discussing the aptness

of detaching the postcards included in Franco's beautiful book (Anna gave a very good account

 of the creative process behind the project on her blog Le figure dei libri). The final concept involved

 sending one of seven postcards from the book (dog, elephant, cat, penguins, chick, squirrel, crocodile)

to seven different illustrators, who would create a postcard continuing their animal's story

 and then send it to another illustrator, who would in turn do the same, 

resulting in a series of 62 postcards by Italian and Japanese artists.

Claudia Palmarucci

Mauro Evangelista

Beppe Giacobbe

Marina Marcolin

Simone Rea

Maurizio Quarello

Alessandra Vitelli

Sergio Ruzzier

Tiziana Romanin

Satoko Watanabe

Nanoa Katayama

Maya Miyama

I really enjoyed the show and am glad I finally caught up with it, if you want to see it too

its next stops will be in Udine, Tokyo and Barcelona...

Animal Acrobatics

Alice Potter, Harry on Ball

Dorothy Lathrop, The Fairy Circus, 1931

Alice and Martin Provensen, The Golden Circus, 1950

Jerzy Flisak, movie poster, 1965

Carlos Marchiori, Sally Go Round the Sun, 1969, 

via my vintage book collection (in blog form)

Bill Charmatz, The Cat's Whiskers, 1969

William Pène du Bois, Bear Circus, 1971

Bill Peet

The 1975 Childcraft Anual, thanks to Flamenconut

Nicole Claveloux, Animaux étranges, 1993

Ian Falconer, Olivia saves the Circus

Ofra Amit

Kevin Sloan

Julian de Narvaez

Gonçalo Viana

Spider

Yusuke Yonezu

Jennifer Davis

Chamo

Séverin Millet

Lust for Life

Illustration, 1930

Giò Ponti was one of the most productive and eclectically creative Italian designers of the 20th century. 
He was born in Milan in 1891, and after serving as a captain in WWI, graduated in architecture in 1921. 
His long career never slowed down until his death in 1979, and his love of design found expression
 in many different arenas, from large-scale architectural projects, including Milan's first skyscraper,
 to the creation of decorative objects, fabric and furniture, to the founding and editing of the innovative
 and still influential Domus magazine. The range of his activities also included industrial design,
 painting, interior decoration, poetry, teaching and lecturing. 

Richard Ginori, 1920s

Ponti designed a vast array of objects in collaboration with some of the best craftsmen of his time,

and animal subjects were explored in different periods, utilizing various media and styles. 

From 1923 to 1930 he was the artistic director of the porcelain manufacturer Richard Ginori,

 and revolutionized the company's output with new product lines featuring simple ceramic forms

 decorated with elegant neo-classical motifs. Under his direction the company won the Grand Prix

 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925.  

Richard Ginori, 1920s

Richard Ginori, ca. 1925

Richard Ginori, 1930

Richard Ginori, 1930s 

Fornasetti chair prototype 

In 1940 Ponti met another eclectic and productive Italian designer, Pietro Fornasetti, 
and they began a long period of collaboration.

Fornasetti table, 1950

Fornasetti desk, 1950s

Giò Ponti and Paolo De Poli 

During the 1940s Ponti also worked with Paolo De Poli, master copper enamelist, on furniture and decorative panels, 

and in the 1950s the two produced a series of objects and animal sculptures together. 

Ponti was a prolific draughtsman, and the animal figures first took shape as quick sketches. 
De Poli took these flat forms and turned them into freestanding objects by cutting 
and folding them as if they were made out of paper. 

Giò Ponti and Paolo De Poli, 1950s

Fine much more about Ponti and his work at the official website and archives.