TREDICESIMA TRIENNALE DI MILANO

In 1964 the thirteenth Milan Triennial Exhibition took place—at that time the most important international exhibition of contemporary industrial design. The theme was “leisure activities”. Cornelis made a documentary about the event for the national Belgian Dutch-language broadcaster (now VRT). ‘“What games does a child play when it returns from school? What do labourers do after dinner? What kind of things does an office clerk do in the weekend? What do captains of industry do on holiday?” These were the questions the Triennial should have answered according to Cornelis. But it did not, and in Cornelis’ view the event was therefore a complete failure—a statement that is explicitly made in the documentary. The film continues with a critical analysis of the event that could also be applied to similar events. It concludes with a passionate defence of industrial design and its democratizing role.