Enzo Mari - Perché una mostra di Falci? - 1989

Binding with metal pins Italian/English text; very good condition.

The exhibition "Why a Show of Scythes?" (1989), organized by Enzo Mari with Danese Milano, was a radical reflection on the value of objects and human labor. Mari displayed ordinary agricultural scythes, elevating them to design objects for their extraordinary formal and ergonomic perfection. His aim, consistent with his political and design vision, was twofold:

Exaltation of labor: he wanted to celebrate humble tools, the fruit of centuries of intelligent evolution, created to fulfill a primary function while respecting human toil.

Critique of consumerism: he sought to provoke by juxtaposing the eternal, functional beauty of an agricultural tool with the frivolous and ephemeral furniture objects produced by the modern design industry, often designed solely to be sold.

For Mari, an object has value only if it combines aesthetically perfect form with maximum utility, transmitting knowledge.