Munari, Bruno

Bruno Munari, born on October 24, 1907, in Milan – died on September 30, 1998, in Milan, was an Italian artist, designer, and inventor. In 1925, he began collaborating with his uncle, an engineer. In 1927, he began following the Italian Futurist movement, from which he distanced himself after World War II. Besides visual and physical art, Munari also enjoyed literature and poetry. Until 1938, he worked as a graphic designer with Riccardo Castagnedi (Ricas). During a trip to Paris, he met the French poets Louis Aragon and André Breton. Munari designed graphic pieces for magazines, and from 1939 to 1945, he worked as a graphic designer for the publisher Mondadori and as art director of the magazine Tempo. During the same period, he began designing children’s books, initially intended for his son Alberto.

In the latter half of his life, he co-founded the Movimento Arte Concreta (MAC), the Italian concrete art movement, with Gillo Dorfles, Gianni Monnet, and Atanasio Soldati. This movement emphasized abstraction. Between 1940 and 1950, Munari produced numerous objects, including ashtrays, televisions, espresso machines, and toys.

Munari’s greatest contribution is evident in the world of children’s books and toys. Although he had been working on this since the 1930s, he only began adding an extra dimension later. This manifested itself in new tactile experiences through openings, color, movement, and fold-out pages.