A leader in the art world spoke with gusto about the importance of finding inspiration in everyday objects in the final lecture in the Year of Humanities series Monday.

One of the world’s most prominent design experts, Senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art Paola Antonelli gave a lecture to a crowd of about 100 people at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

While some students, like University of Wisconsin graduate student Matt Manske, attended the lecture to hear about Antonelli’s perspective on the future of design, other students, like UW freshman Ashley Lusietto, were there with hopes of becoming inspired by Antonelli’s words.

Antonelli began her lecture by taking the audience of students, professors and other members of the Madison community on a journey through her serendipitous life.

Born in Sardinia, Italy, Antonelli spoke about studying architecture in Milan, becoming an architecture journalist and, her most recent endeavor that began in 1994, being hired as a senior curator at MoMA.

“I was creating a communication platform, which really had to do with my passion, which is thinking of design as a theoretical and critical approach to life,” Antonelli said.

Antonelli said she hoped the societal image of a designer would change so his or her role in the world would be viewed with greater importance.

Holding nothing back, Antonelli told the audience her belief that design is the highest expression of human creativity, and she remarked on its battle to become a higher priority in the lives of Americans who often hold traditional art forms, such as painting and sculpture, at a higher level.

Antonelli said having and sharing opinions is something she feels is important, especially in the world of art and design.

“We always tell one particular history of architecture and design and of art. There can be many others. Ours is not the only one, but being opinionated and arrogant sometimes is what enables us to advance a little bit our history every day,” Antonelli said. “Design is a field where you need to be opinionated, because it is so confusing sometimes.”

Ending the lecture by sharing her hopes for the future, Antonelli received a warm ovation from the audience.

Sophomore Maria Ambriz said she was pleasantly surprised by Antonelli’s lecture.

“I had never heard a lecture on design in the way that [Antonelli] talked about it. I was surprised by the way she talked about design and how it can be so many things that I hadn’t thought about before,” Ambriz said.

Mark Nelson, associate professor in the UW Department of Design Studies, said in an interview with The Badger Herald he hoped Antonelli’s efforts would help change the average person’s perception of design and designers.

“Some have criticized the atmosphere of questioning and debate that [Antonelli] strives in,” Nelson said. “I really find her provocations refreshing and constructive, and (I) hope that we can get more debate going.”