One of the last surviving members of the Futurist generation, Bruno Munari (1907–98) was the enfant terrible of Italian art and design for most of the 20th century. In addition to his work as an artist and designer, Munari was a prolific bookmaker and authored some 40-odd books in his lifetime, ranging from Futurist manifestoes to design manuals to children’s books. Although these books have been widely read and translated into many languages, his incredible achievements in other mediums have yet to be gathered into a single collection. This volume, originally published in 1987 and designed by Munari himself, was the first comprehensive account of his remarkable and vast oeuvre. Now available as a facsimile of the original edition—save for the updated cover—the book explores Munari’s relationship to the artistic trends of his times, his attention to the world of children and didactics, and the many other peculiarities that made Bruno Munari such an original figure. The hundreds of illustrations recreate Munari’s relentless inventiveness, his love of irony, chance and humor, his intensely experimental orientation and constantly fresh approach to new technologies and materials.
