Making art out of plastic
BASF promotes exhibition of industrial designer Luigi Colani
“Colani – Back in Japan” is the title of an exhibition currently being held in Kyoto, Japan. This exhibition, which is sponsored by BASF’s Specialty Polymers & Specialty Foams global business unit, explores the influence of renowned industrial designer Luigi Colani on the evolution of modern product design since the 1950s.
“In sponsoring this exhibition, we want to honor the lifework of Luigi Colani. At a very early point in time, he recognized that plastic is the best material for the serial production of organically and ergonomically designed products,” in the words of Dr. Christian Bonten of BASF’s business management for Terlux® (MABS). Luigi Colani has no doubts whatsoever about the contribution that a raw material supplier like BASF has made to modern product design. “With its plastics, BASF has made a major contribution to implementing design ideas in cost-efficient mass production,” explains Colani.
The exhibition
The Colani exhibition has been at the Kyoto Institute of Technology since June of 2005, which marks the German Year in Japan. The exhibition covers four main topics, namely, Colani’s work in Germany and in Japan, “The Future’s Future”, revealing Colani’s vision of life in the future, and the “Biodesign of Tomorrow”, paying homage to Colani’s biomorphic studies. In the wake of the exhibition’s success in Japan, Colani is now thinking of bringing it to Europe and the United States.
Styrenic plastic specialties for designers
BASF’s Specialty Polymers & Specialty Foams business unit, which handles the global business of specialty plastics under the umbrella of the Styrenic Plastics Operating Division, has been in existence since the beginning of 2005 and it encompasses, among others, all activities relating to the products Luran® S (ASA), Terlux® (MABS) and Terblend® N (ABS/PA). These three materials are highly conducive to combining functionality with extraordinary design. They are found in a wide array of design-oriented products such as packaging for cosmetics, electric toothbrushes, electric shavers and automotive interior parts. These specialty plastics are offered with a color and consulting service for designers. This full-service package earned BASF the Gillette Omnimark Award in 2004.
Luigi Colani’s Biography
Luigi Colani, born in Berlin, Germany in 1928, is among the pioneers of Organic Design. Since the 1950s, this artist has been merging esthetics with ergonomics in creating the articles of daily use that he makes out of plastic. He earned worldwide recognition in the 1960s with his designs for cars, yachts, bathroom fixtures and consumer goods. In the 1980s, Colani also worked in Japan, where he came to influence the design of cameras. Colani borrows a great deal of his design style from nature since he feels that nature has already found an exemplary solution to most design challenges.
Styrene plastic specialties
ASA: acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate copolymer
MABS: methylmethacrylate-acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer
ABS/PA: blend of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and polyamide
The exhibition catalog is available in bookstores throughout Germany.
Colani – Back in Japan. 240 pages, English
ISBN 3-936155-79-8 – price: € 40.00
www.bangertverlag.com
Information on the products mentioned here can be found at www.terlux.de, www.terblend-n.de as well as at www.luran-s.de.
Note for the editorial offices: Press photographs can also be downloaded
from the Internet at www.basf.de/pressefotos under the key word “Kunststoffe”. In the near future, the text and images will also be available at www.basf.de/kunststoffe/presseinformationen.