Animal House. Quando gli oggetti hanno forme e nomi di animali

Animal House: when Objects Have Animal's Names A design entomologist might classify many Italian design objects in various ways, distinguishing between volatile species (Vespa-wasp scooters, the Airone-heron lamp), aquatic species (the Dolphin armchair, the Medusa-jellyfish lamp) or terrestrial species (the Grillo-cricket telephone, the Topolino-Mickey Mouse automobile), or then again he might map and catalogue the consistent presence of objects which recall playful-fabled animals (the Moby Dick chair, Bruno Munari's Meo Romeo cat). The zoophilous trend in Italian design is not an accidental or occasional element: it is a complex symbolic mechanism which tends to place in domestic interiors objects which are substitutes of that animal world which has been chased from our homes. For example the piggy bank, caterpillar draught excluder, and mass produced products of a more experimental design; with their presence the house comes to life as a virtual zoo.