Beanbag
A beanbag is a piece of seating furniture , but depending on the version it can also be used as a lounger. It consists of a cover such as leather or fabric and a filling of foam polystyrene beads, foam polystyrene or foam flakes. Thanks to the flexible filling, each beanbag model adapts perfectly to the shape of the body. In the 1960s, the beanbag enjoyed its greatest popularity to date, which lasted into the 1970s. He made a comeback in the 1990s. There are classic models in teardrop shape as well as for animals, large loungers and various themed beanbags.
history
The Sacco beanbag was developed by the three Italian architects Piero Gatti ( 1940-2017 ), Cesare Paolini ( 1937-1983 ) and Franco Teodoro ( 1939-2005 ). They developed the idea of a seat that, like snow, hugs the body comfortably. To find the most suitable filling, the inventors even experimented with lead and water until they finally found the desired properties in styrofoam beads. In the end, it was chance and a picture in an American newspaper that helped the beanbag to break through. This picture of the extravagant piece of furniture convinced the Macy’s department store chain to such an extent that they ordered 10,000 pieces from the inventors. The Sacco, as the model is called to this day, began its worldwide triumph. The Italian company Zanotta Spa in Nova Milanese still makes the beanbag today.
to form
The classic and most widespread shape of the beanbag is the teardrop shape. Based on her, beanbags in various geometric shapes such as spherical beanbags or rectangular floor cushions developed. Another large category are beanbags in the form of classic seating furniture. Based on conventional armchairs and sofas, they offer a preformed backrest and some armrests. There are also special beanbags for animals, which are also known as animal beds. Their shape is usually characterized by raised margins. A rather rare form of beanbag are models whose design is based on certain topics such as food or animals.
Overview of beanbag shapes:
- Teardrop shape
- Spherical shape
- Floor cushions (rectangular, round, triangular)
- Seat cube
- armchair
- sofa
- Lounger
- Animal bed
- Themed bean bags
collection
- Museum of Modern Art , New York
- Israel Museum , Jerusalem
- Uměleckoprůmyslové Muzeum , Prague
- Kunstgewerbemuseum , Berlin
- Victoria and Albert Museum , London
- Art Museum , Düsseldorf
- Museum of Applied Arts , Vienna
- Taideteollisuusmuseo Konstindustrimuseet, Helsinki
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs , Paris
- The Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis
- Museo dell'arredo contemporaneo, Russi (Ra)
- Museum for Arts and Crafts , Hamburg
- Denver Art Museum , Denver
- Dallas Museum of Art , Dallas
- Fondazione Triennale Design Museum, Milan
- Tel Aviv Museum of Art , Tel Aviv
- Vitra Design Museum , Weil am Rhein
- Musée National d'Art Moderne (Center Pompidou), Paris
- Thessaloniki Design Museum , Thessaloniki
- Bridge Museum , Berlin
- Regional Art Contemporain Fund, Dunkerque
- Centro Arte e Design, Calenzano
- Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences , Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
- Museum voor Sierkunst en Vormgeving, Ghent
- Philadelphia Museum of Art , Philadelphia
- Shiodome Italia Creative Center, Tokyo
Bibliography
- Mel Byars, The Design Encyclopedia, New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994
- Emilio Ambasz [a cura di], Italy: The New Domestic Landscape - Achievements and Problems of Italian Design , New York, Museum Of Modern Art, 1972
- Grace Lees-Maffei, Kjetil Fallan [editori], Made in Italy Rethinking a Century of Italian Design , London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
- Bernhard E. Bürdek, Design Storia, Teoria e Pratica del Design del Prodotto , Roma, Gangemi Editore, 2008
- Modern Chairs 1918-1970 , London: Lund Humphries. 1971.
- Victor Papanek, Design for the Real World , New York: 1974
- Modern classics, furniture that makes history , Hamburg, 1982
- Kathryn B. Hiesinger and George H. Marcus III (eds.), Design Since 1945 , Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1983
- Cindi Strauss, Germano Celant, J. Taylor Kubala, Radical - Italian Design 1965-1985 - The Dennis Freedman Collection, Yale University Press , 2020
Web links
- Cesare Paolini [architect], Museum Of Modern Art, New York
- Franco Teodoro, Museum Of Modern Art, New York
- Piero Gatti, Museum Of Modern Art, New York
- Vitra Design Museum
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Center Pompidou, Parigi
- Sacco Chair | Object Lesson
- Italy: The New Domestic Landscape , Museum Of Modern Art, New York