Mimmo Cozzolino Collection

Full description

Mimmo Cozzolino was an art director, graphic designer, artist and writer. Objects/materials include: business records, correspondence, printed design collateral, final artwork and graphic layouts, printing proofs, books, publications, magazines. Through a broad collection of business records, correspondence, printed design collateral, final artwork, graphic layouts, printing proofs, books, publications and magazines, the archive provides a fascinating insight into the field of Australian graphic design and the changing nature of the practice. Importantly, the archive also provides comprehensive documentation of the Symbols of Australia research, process and outcome. Mimmo Cozzolino was born in 1949 near Naples, Italy. In 1961 he immigrated to Australia with his family. In 1970 Cozzolino graduated from Prahran Technical College where he studied graphic design. After graduating Cozzolino and Con Aslanis, who he had met at College began collaborating professionally, eventually forming All Australian Graphics (1971–73). After spending 1974 abroad, they returned to Australia and in mid-1975 they re-named the collective All Australian Graffiti, and were joined by Geoff Cook, Izi Marmur, Neil Curtis, Tony Ward and Meg Williams. From 1980–1984 Cozzolino ran a small studio with designer/illustrator David Hughes – Cozzolino Hughes. The studio designed the visual identity for small businesses and also worked with large corporations such as Shell and Tomasetti. After the Cozzolino Hughes partnership ended, Cozzolino freelanced and taught at various design colleges. He then began working with Phil Ellett and in 1985 their collaboration was formalised through the Cozzolino Ellett Design D’Vision Pty Ltd. Cozzolino’s role focussed more on art direction and studio management, whilst Phil Ellett concentrated on graphics and illustration. This partnership led to over 15 years with clients such as Kodak, Australia Post, Tomasetti, Spicers and Telecom. Cozzolino Ellett were one of the 7 designers who were commissioned to create the artwork for the limited-edition Sydney Olympics 2000 poster series. In 1987 Cozzolino was one of the key founders for the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) and in 2016 was inducted into the AGDA Hall of Fame. The Archive comprises 53 Boxes and 26 drawers. The collection is broadly arranged by grouping similar materials and or themes/periods/businesses together. For example records for All Australian Graffitti (AAG) are housed in Boxes 3 to 7, including printing blocks, original art works, scrapbooks, business records, such as correspondence, ledgers and job books, while art works and posters for AAG are housed in drawer 48. The Archive also includes Australian and International work by Cozzolino’s peers, for example in drawer 52 and 54 house prints, posters and original art work by Con Aslanis, Geoff Cook, Neil Curtis, Chris Gross, Chris Payne, Ray Condon, Murray Walker and Peter Viska and International posters collected by Cozzolino in Drawer 61. A inventory list is available.