ETTORE SOTTSASS . Milano 1992

Ettore lost in through in the attic store room of his studio in the Brera district, with his beloved "Valentine," portable typewriter designed for Olivetti in 1969. His work that followed was defined by his collaborations with younger designers, and such groups as Superstudio, culminating in the founding of Memphis Movement at the turn of the decade, born after a night of listening to Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again."

Ettore Sottsass passed away on the last day of the year in 2007. He left behind a vast body of work; furniture, jewelry, ceramics, glass, silver work, lighting, office machine design and buildings which inspired generations of architects and designers. In 2006 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art held the first major museum survey exhibition of his work in the United States. A retrospective exhibition, Ettore Sottsass: Work in Progress, was held at the Design Museum in London in 2007 and 2009.

I was fortunate to spend time with Ettore on several occasions during my time in Milano in the 1990's. He was always gracious, old school, refined, and even a bit shy. One rainy afternoon he led me up flights of drafty stairs to the mansard store room six floors above his ground floor studio. From behind boxes and papers he pulled out a like-new Valentine, an early, all upper case version. I caught him in this photo, in the dim and dust-filled attic light, looking at his creation with such an attitude of love and reminiscence.

Life is often filled with serendipitous turns, for many years later, in 2010, I had the chance joy of meeting his collaborator, Peter Shire in Los Angeles. We became immediate friends over slices of pecorino Fiore Sardo, thick cut seven grain bread, Lebanese figs, and olive oil pressed from Marc "Marco" Chiat's olive grove on the hills above his Genovese farmhouse. That evening I made Peter a copy of this photograph, the only one I ever took of Ettore, and still one of my favorites.


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