This text by Swiss architect Max Bill was published on the occasion of his individual show (which he did not attend) at the MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) in 1951. Simultaneously the MASP opened the IAC (Instituto de Arte Contemporânea), its pioneering initiative in the systematization of education in industrial design in Brazil. The document is of interest because it reveals Max Bill’s aesthetic concepts in relation to the production of industrial objects at a time when constructivist art was beginning to develop in the country. In 1951, Bill participated in the 1st International Biennial of São Paulo, where he received the Grand Prize for Sculpture. His work Dreiteilige Einheit [Tripartite Unit, 1948–51] references his concept of Die gute form [Good Form], which is based on the three elements analyzed in this document: Schönheit, Form und Funktion [Beauty, Form and Function]. At the start of the decade, his work was a key inspiration for the concrete artists of São Paulo.
[For complementary reading, see the following texts in the ICAA digital archive: by Flávio de Aquino “Max Bill critica a nossa moderna arquitetura” (doc. no. 1091637); by Max Bill “O arquiteto, a arquitetura, a sociedade” (doc. no. 1110329); by Eduardo Corona “O testamento tripartido de Max Bill” (doc. no. 1110330); and by Lúcio Costa “Max Bill e a arquitetura brasileira vistos por Lúcio Costa: oportunidade perdida” (doc. no. 1110331)].