The Legacy of the Memphis Group
The Story of the Most Important 80s Group You’ve Never Heard of.
If it wasn’t for the Memphis Group, the 80s as you recognize it may never have happened.
Every decade has a certain aesthetic that defines that era. For the 1980s, you can probably picture the bright-pop aesthetic right now. All you have to do is check out the picture above.
This is a look back on the Memphis Group and how they defined the look and style of the 80s with their Memphis design.
Who Started the Memphis Group?
The focus of the Memphis Group was all about the “Italian-cool” movement — and Ettore Sottsass started it. Sottsass was always described as a “rebel with a cause” and was born on September 14, 1917.
Though he was born in Austria, Sottsass would grow up in Turin, Italy, and was the son of an architect. This would be an influence on him as far as style and design. Sottsass would end up studying architecture himself and graduated in 1939 from the Politecnico di Torino.
His first involvement with artistic groups was when he became a member of the Movimento Italiano per L’Architettura Razionale or the MIAR. This was a modernist architecture group and he would also work alongside his father.
