- Tomás Maldonado
Tomás Maldonado (
1922 ,Buenos Aires, Argentina ). Argentine painter, designer and thinker, is considered one of the main theorists of the legendary ”Ulm Model”, a design philosophy developed during his tenure (1955-1967) at theUlm School of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung - HfG) in Germany. "Ulm School of Design | HfG Ulm Archive" [http://www.hfg-archiv.ulm.de/english/the_hfg_ulm/] ] Lindinger, H., (1991), "Ulm Design: The Morality of Objects", Cambridge: The MIT Press.]Biography
Born in the Argentine city of Buenos Aires, his artistic formation took place at " [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escuela_Nacional_de_Bellas_Artes_Prilidiano_Pueyrred%C3%B3n Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón] " [ [http://www.iuna.edu.ar/institucional/pueyrredon.htm Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón] ] .
The Early Years
In this early period he was invovled with the Argentine
Avant Garde s, in fact, he was one of the founders of the painters' movement called "Arte Concreto-Invención".The Italian Experience
Between 1964 and 1967, in collaboration with his German colleague Gui Bonsiepe he created a system of codes for the design program of the Italian firm "
Olivetti " and the department store "La Rinascente ". In1967 he established himself inMilan , continuing to teach in the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of theUniversity of Bologna , working almost entirely now in philosophy and criticism influenced bysemiotics . In one of his last essays, "The Heterodox", he claims that the role of theintellectual is to awaken or reveal the collective conscience.The Academic Career
• Tomás Maldonado is professor of
Environmental Design (Progettazione Ambientale) at Politecnico di Milano University.• Between
1955 and1967 he taught at theUlm School of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung: HfG) in Germany. [ [http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi97/pintura-argentina-sigloxx/Maldonadoa.htm Maldonadoa en Espanol] ] . Between1955 and1964 he was a Rector of this institution, and the leading contributor to the ”Ulm Model” which Maldonado oriented towards attaining a balance betweenscience anddesign , and betweentheory and practice, incorporatingplanning methods,perceptual theory andsemiotics , A description of the approach is his essay entitled, "Ulm, Science and Design".• In 1965 he became "Lethaby Lecturer" at
London Royal College of Art s. The following year, he became aPrinceton University 's Council of Humanities Fellow. • Between1967 and1970 he taught "Class of 1913" at Princeton's School of Architecture.• Between
1976 and1984 he worked as full professor ofEnvironmental Design (Progettazione Ambientale) atUniversity of Bologna 's Faculty of Humanities and Philosophy [ [http://www.mediamente.rai.it/HOME/BIBLIOTE/biografi/m/maldonad.htm RAI - Italian Public Television] ] .Works
* Ulm, Science and Design . (1964)
*Industrial Design reconsidered.
* Is Architecture a Text?
* Towards an Ecological Rationalism.
* Technique and Culture, the German debate between Bismarck andWeimar .
* The Heterodoxo (1998).References
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