andrea branzi + kenya hara curate 'neo preistoria - 100 verbi' for XXI triennale international exhibition, milan

andrea branzi + kenya hara curate ‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’ for XXI triennale international exhibition, milan
image © designboom

on the occasion of the XXI triennale international design exhibition—back after 20 years of inactivity—la triennale di milano presents ‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’ (neo prehistory – 100 verbs): an exhibition that retraces the long journey from the instruments of ancient times to the latest nano-technologies. curated by andrea branzi and kenya hara, the exposition brings forth 100 verbs accompanied by 100 associated instruments which guide visitors through the dark clouds of history, and infinite space—arriving at today’s frontiers of scientific research, striving to prolong human survival by creating spare parts for our bodies.

the exhibition retraces the long journey from the instruments of ancient times to the latest nano-technologies
image © gianluca di ioia / la triennale

‘the as yet relatively unexplored twenty-first century is in a sense a new prehistoric age: a time when the destiny of humanity still had no clear direction, and when objects possessed many meanings— from their practical uses to ritual and magical functions.

artificial thought today marks the beginning of a new anthropology, a new stage in human evolution, in which – as in ancient prehistory – we cannot make out our overall destiny but only our individual leaps in the dark.

this loss of direction is still very much a part of the extreme vitality and creativity of human thought and technology, which is to be found both in instruments of death and in the extension of life towards a future still waiting to be explored.

the exhibition does not therefore intend to investigate the future, but rather to look at the present and at its most ingenious and dangerous aspects.’ – andrea branzi on the theme of ‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’

100 ancient instruments are accompanied by 110 verbs, matching tools to action
image © designboom

‘as human beings, we have developed our skills by means of tools. at the same time, tools have increased our desires, so the history of man’s desires can also be viewed as a history of tools.

a hundred tools and a hundred verbs, ranging from the stone age to the present day, have been chosen for this exhibition. the verbs indicate human activities, which is to say, desires that have become words. and, if we match the tools and verbs, we can create a vision of the history of human desires that is easy to understand. human history bears the signs of a whole series of religious, political, technological and economic changes, but in this exhibition the strands that weave the story of mankind have been completely left out. in other words, the aim is to observe the history of mankind from a single point of view, free from any influence of religion, technology, ideology, race or whatever.

now that we are in the twenty-first century and heading towards an age of artificial intelligence, it is essential to reflect on how humanity is to evolve and what situation it will find itself in.

the ‘neo-prehistory: 100 verbs’ exhibition retraces the history of mankind from a general point of view and, to the extent that it examines the bases we are on, it constitutes a watershed and well expresses the message of  the XXI triennale internation exhibition’s theme ‘design after design’.

I consider it very important that I have been able to put on this exhibition in collaboration with the designer and design theorist andrea branzi. first taking a good look at the objects from the stone age: the first tools that man managed to create still exist in the hands of modern man, and maybe reflect the same intelligence, and the same mistakes. at the same time, they are very beautiful and in this beauty–I believe–we can possibly read the destiny and future of humanity. I do hope they can help you imagine what the future that awaits humanity might be.’ – kenya hara on curating ‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’ with andrea branzi

a prosthetic limb demonstrates the developments in running blade design
image © designboom

100 objects from ancient times to the present day offer an overview of our human and social development
image © gianluca di ioia / la triennale

the show looks at objects possessed many meanings — from their practical uses to ritual and magical functions
image © designboom

the verb ‘perform’ is illustrated by artistic masks
image © designboom

‘improve’ – looking at how artificial modification seems to enhance living organisms
image © designboom

‘surgical instruments’, 1950-1960, galiazzo bruno S.r.l
image © designboom

general exhibition view of ‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’ (neo prehistory – 100 verbs) at la triennale di milano
image © gianluca di ioia / la triennale

image © designboom

the exhibition looks at pre-historic tools (such as sharp stone arrowheads) to technologically advanced objects
image © designboom

‘neo preistoria – 100 verbi’ is an exhibition curated by andrea branzi and kenya hara
image © designboom

—

XXI triennale international exhibition: 21st century. design after design
april 2nd – september 12th, 2016

the XXI triennale di milano international exhibition has a vast program of exhibitions, events, competitions, festivals and meetings throughout the city, in venues ranging from la triennale (palazzo della triennale) to the fabbrica del vapore, pirelli hangarbicocca, the politecnico di milano campuses, the IULM campus, MUDEC, the national museum of science and technology ‘leonardo da vinci’, BASE milano, the palazzo della permanente, the pirelli tower, the ex expo site, the museo diocesano, the pirelli foundation, the university of milan, the accademia di belle arti di brera, the triennale expogate through to the villa reale in monza, the historic site of the first international exhibitions. running under the title ’21st century. design after design’, it touches on key questions, such as the new dramatic art of design, which consists mainly in its ability to deal with those anthropological issues that classical modernity has excluded from its brief, such as death, the sacred, eros, destiny, traditions, and history; the issue of gender in design; the impact of globalization on design; the transformations brought about by the dawn of the twenty-first century and the crisis of 2008; the relationship between city and design; the relationship between design and the accessibility of new information technologies; and the relationship between design and craftsmanship.

Save