“We need to leave the Planet in a better shape than we had received it” | Interview with Paola Antonelli

“We need to leave the Planet in a better shape than we had received it” | Interview with Paola Antonelli

Even though her designs are yet to become reality, the Italian architect is more of a visionary than her peers who have buildings standing. As the Senior Curator and Director of Research and Development of MoMa, since the beginning of her career, Paola Antonelli has been diving deep into the questions of society and sociology with such elementary, axiomatical power, that any subject she touches upon sparks heated professional discussions. On the World Industrial Design Day of June 29th, after her master class held at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, we asked Paola about her motivation, responsibility and the different philosophical and cultural aspects of design.

Author: Kitti Kele

This article originally appeared in issue no. 8 of the Hype&Hyper print magazine, in 2023.

What is your personal and professional motivation when focusing on a certain subject such as the relationship between design and violence, destructive design or design activism—just to name a few?

Interesting question. After all, everything is about life, isn’t it? By default, I’m not interested in what kind of objects designers create—I’m more interested in how these objects relate to the world they were designed in. Needless to say, sometimes this relationship can be absurd. Take Tamagochi as an example—I really like the object, yet, is there anything that feels more useless, more ridiculous? However, I love the fact that it started to embody the anxiety people experience and served as a way to insert responsibility into the lives of people from a very young age. The object’s “hunger” made children face the questions of responsibility, of caring for something—and this signals a historical milestone of design. I feel that it all comes down to this: to relations, and not only in terms of the object and humans. All the above-mentioned subjects are a vivid part of the fabric of society, however previously, they weren’t associated with design. The society in which one grows up has a huge impact. I was a good European girl, who grew up in the Italy of the 70s, 80s and 90s, who saw that outside of the warmth of home, everything is about politics. And that hasn’t changed a bit. I’m interested in politics from a holistic point of view, the effects of cohabitation, the way we influence each other in a sociological and geopolitical sense, and the infinite scale of the complications of human interactions—I believe that this is what design is all about.

What are the qualities you are looking for in the artists you search for, follow or showcase? I’m referring to the Campana brothers, Ingo Maurer or the FormaFantasma team.

Mostly curiosity. I realised that the designers I naturally gravitate towards are people who are observant beyond their professions just like the Campana brothers. When I first met them I was fascinated by their level of interest in the informal design they experienced in São Paulo. This is exactly what they liked in Ingo—and this is where my idea of marrying their seemingly very different bodies of work, which in reality, has the same root—came from. Ingo is an undeniable icon who has been one of my personal favourites for a long time. He has always been incredibly curious about people and their surrounding environment, and his curiosity is palpable in the objects he designs as only something that is born out of love for the profession and the world in a wider sense, can be so poetic.

In a philosophical sense, what does responsibility mean to you? How can an object, a building or a design service be responsible?

For me, responsibility is respect. Responsibility is the knowledge that one should only treat the environment, people and animals—everything—with respect. Everything that surrounds us basically puts itself into our hands. That is a kind of trust that is very valuable and cannot be taken for granted. Being responsible and creating responsible things are only possible if we are aware of what’s good or harmful for the environment and the entities living in it, and base our decision on these factors. If I need to summarise responsibility in one sentence, I would say we need to leave the Planet in a better shape than how we had received it.

What is the difference between the teams of MoMa and the Triennale? How is the culture of people who work in American and European museums different?

One of the most noticeable differences is that when it comes to the Triennale, every work process is a lot more casual, and more relaxed even compared to how people usually deal with things in Milan. New York is an entirely different story. Everything is perfect and well-organised. We have our own carpenters and painters, everyone knows their task, and they are super professional and a joy to work with. It’s all like an anthill—everyone is part of a very sensitive system. When we have three weeks to install, everyone knows at every given moment what they have to do. We start and finish at the same time each they—there’s no room for spontaneity or delays. As for Milan, we always ask ourselves: gosh, how are we going to finish all this in five days? But it all works out because everyone works 24/7. It might seem chaotic, but there’s an internal system that holds everything together. Neither of the communities is better or worse. I love and respect them both equally.

Does the fact that you work for two institutions of this magnitude influence the job you can do in either of them?

Fundamentally no, however, the most interesting aspect is—to stop talking about design—when I have to change to work in the R&D department. Generally speaking, each museum has a defined role and responsibility in its scene. They are not just closed white boxes with some artwork on the walls—it is crucial for these institutions to build a relationship with the “outside world”, to be responsive, and to be the ones who start discussions. This is what I’m responsible for, this is what I’m working on.

In 2014, the Guardian wrote about placing video games in museums: “Sorry MoMa, video games are not art.” Do you still get reactions of this sort? What do you think about them?

Criticism leaves no one unaffected, however, I felt particularly bad about this one at the time. I was hurt by the wrong argument presented by the writer, so I had to continuously tell myself that their views are not shared by everyone—it’s the writer who ended up with a bad reputation. Today, I’m not hurt anymore, I can see that this moment sparked an exchange of ideas which was very important. I’m not receiving interesting or intellectual criticism anymore, even though I’m looking forward to them—I’d love to be included in discussions of different viewpoints once again.

Photos: Máté Lakos, MOME

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