MELC Magazine

MELC

A

MANIFESTO

from noise to sound

'L'INFINITO'

EDITO

SONIA PEDRAZZINI

MENÙ

© 2020 MELC. All Rights Reserved.

1

L’Infinito

melc Romanian noun

/melk/

1. Gastropod mollusk with a portable home; 2. Very slow

3. Cavity of the inner ear sensible to sound;

4. Spiral; 5. Walnut dessert

DEX

IN

I

III

Recanati

Melc

Dove c'è Barilla c'è casa

Deeply Narrative Authenticity

Interview with Giancarlo Piretti

24

32

34

36

38

Arabeschi di latte

Brancusi

An eulogy

Eleventy SS20

Interview with Térence Coton

The spiral of silence

90

92

96

98

100

116

II

IV

Saisir l'invisible

52

Interview with Roddy Clarke

120

Interview with Sonia Pedrazzini

56

FOOD

122

Slow Travel

68

Lei è il mio Infinito

128

CANGIARI

74

Interview with Yujia Hu

130

View from my window

78

Blouse Roumaine

134

V

VII

Interview with James Shaw

140

Interview with Jochen Holz

194

Infinito Design

148

EōN

202

Terzo Paradiso

154

Mauro Colagreco

204

ESEMPLARE

160

'Sky Blue', 1940

208

VI

VIII

Interview with Laura Rossi

166

Fellini, Flaiano, and the sea

212

A recollection of inexperiences

170

Pane e Panelle

216

'The Godfather'

172

'Rooms by the sea'

224

Interview with Carmelo Nicotra

176

Interview with Lorenzo Bruni

226

Regenesi

190

Blue Beauty

236

FUTURE

Photo by Valeriia Miller

ESSENTIALS

Innov-ability

STUMM433

HARTH

Komo Monaco

Social Responsibility

Unwasteful Nomophobia

Horror Pleni.

240

242

244

246

248

252

256

IN

DEX

FOUNDER AND CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

Oana Alondra Mocanu

FOUNDER AND CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

Francesca Scarfone

MANIFESTO

CONTRIBUTORS

Beatriz Barros

Michela Bordina

Laksmi Deneefe Suardana

Emma Flodin Lahsini

Dilva Gava

Oana Gradinaru

Giacomo Ioannisci

Cinzia Iovane

Luca Muratori

Giorgia Nicolosi

Rui Oliveira

Geta Pislaru

PRINTING

Printed in Italy by

TIPOGRAFIA NEGRI Srl

Via S. Donato, 178/2

40127, Bologna, Italy

www.tipografianegri.it

MELC

melcmagazine@gmail.com

www.melc.com

@melcmagazine

MELC is the first sonic magazine in Italy.

An integrated experience made of two distinct, yet interdependent

entities: a volume and a vinyl record.

You can touch it, read it and hear it. In one word: you can feel it.

We encourage you to slow down and focus with our holistic ritual.

There's only one rule: lento.

Envisioning a world with less noise and more sound, we gave birth to

a collectable editorial product, composed of articles, interviews

and 'future essentials' on the ever evolving landscape of arts and culture.

Poetry is our creative driver. Each volume begins and ends with

one single composition that evokes and embodies the spirit of the time.

A bookish structure will guide your eyes and senses, leaving you time

to take a breather, and reflect.

At MELC, slow equals ethical. Aside from printing on FSC® paper,

we support NGOs with pro bono advertising, and we plant trees with

Forest.

Believing that good products need time to be prepared, savored,

and finally digested, MELC will be released annually - but don't worry,

we promise you'll be hearing from us during the year.

All images published in MELC are the property of the respective artists and no assumption of ownership

is made by this publication. The contents may not be reproduced in whole or part without prior permission

from MELC and the respective contributors. © 2020 MELC All rights reserved.

'L'INFINITO'

Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle,

E questa siepe, che da tanta parte

Dell'ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude.

Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati

Spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani

Silenzi, e profondissima quiete

Io nel pensier mi fingo; ove per poco

Il cor non si spaura. E come il vento

Odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello

Infinito silenzio a questa voce

Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l'eterno,

E le morte stagioni, e la presente

E viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa

Immensità s'annega il pensier mio:

E il naufragar m'è dolce in questo mare.

EDITO

The theme of MELC Volume 1 is ‘L’Infinito’, by Giacomo Leopardi.

Composed in 1819 and regarded as a universal exemplum of escapism

and human limits, this poem will accompany us across the following

pages and beyond.

The magazine is fully coated in blue, carrier of peaceful sensations,

recurrently evoked by ‘L’Infinito’. Such depth gently leads your gaze to

the snail - literally, ‘melc’ -, the structural element illustrating

the complementarity between the volume and the vinyl record.

Leafing through the pages, a 'disc' icon matches the contents featured

in the record - the edito is one of these.

Being MELC a cultural publication, our journey has been inevitably

marked by the global pandemic. As society was reshaped and conviviality

revisited, we adjusted our content and tone of voice accordingly, with

the hope that, sooner or later, we'll read through and look back at these

days as the umpteenth challenge, that we faced and survived, together.

When physically unable to see, mankind is drawn to make use of its inner

eye, the mind - 'Io nel pensier mi fingo'.

Retracing the poet's steps, we distanced ourselves from our beliefs,

enlarging our perspective and broadening our horizon.

The volume’s eclectic content is a curated and considered collection

of months of remarkable discoveries. Within this frame, our varied

identities and backgrounds enriched the editorial product with

authenticity.

'L'Infinito' and his multifaceted author had a major impact on this

year-long journey. As muses, they guided our thoughts, and aided

our choices.

'What does infinity mean to you?'. Eventually, the miscellaneous

answers we received turned MELC into a collective print of the human

perception(s) on this issue’s ubiquitous theme.

MELC Volume 1 presents and supports the work of Cesvi, an NGO from

Bergamo delivering Italian solidarity worldwide to defend the wellbeing

of Earth and its citizens.

Circularity, Sensitivity, Longevity: these, and more, are tokens of Infinity.

Welcome to MELC.

OANA ALONDRA MOCANU

Founder and Co-Editor in Chief

FRANCESCA SCARFONE

Founder and Co-Editor in Chief

CESVI

VISION

Cesvi believes that the recognition of human rights contributes to the

wellbeing of everyone on the planet, a shared home to be safeguarded.

MISSION

Cesvi operates worldwide to support the most vulnerable populations

in promoting human rights and achieving their ambitions, for sustainable

development.

Cesvi, an independent Italian humanitarian organization, was born

on January 18th 1985, to raise money for a Nicaraguan hospital.

Only two years later, they run their first project on agricultural

development in Uruguay, and, since then, they kept on setting important

milestones, helping people in the Balkans, Zimbabwe, Romania, Brazil,

Peru, India and many other countries in need, through various projects,

campaigns and initiatives. They have been the first western NGO to

operate in North Korea, in 1994, and the first to enter Libya, in 2010,

in both occasions providing food supplies to children and people

exhausted by famine.

Over time, Cesvi has won several awards, and, since 2002, it is part

of Alliance2015, a network of eight European non-governmental

organizations that share the vision of a world free from poverty, hunger,

injustice, and inequality.

This NGO focuses on the fight against hunger in the world, child

protection, maternal and child health, and, last but not least, environment

and sustainable development - all humanitarian causes MELC deeply

cares about.

Cesvi has been present in all the great emergencies worldwide:

earthquake in Haiti, Emilia, and Nepal, floods in Pakistan, and war in the

Balkans and Libya. In the same way, they are now committed to helping

raise money for the hospital of Bergamo, the Italian city that was most

affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Transparency toward individual and public donors is in Cesvi’s DNA.

They have been the first non-profit association to win the Balance Sheet

Oscar from the Italian Public Relations Federation for transparency,

in 2000, and won it twice again since then. Every year, they publish

the certified Mission and Financial Balance Sheet, that is available for

whoever is interested to see how, where, and with what results the funds

have been invested.

19

POETRY

universe

everlasting

emotions

MATH

8

eterno

stelle

NON FINITO

lemniscate

SEA

HORIZON

CIRCLE

I

'Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle'

RECANATI

'Natio borgo selvaggio'

Francesca Scarfone

Giacomo Leopardi was born in 1798 from the Count Monaldo Leopardi and the Marquise Adelaide

Antici. The ‘Palazzo’, where he grew up together with his beloved brother and sister, is located

at the far end of today’s ‘centro storico’. The house’s windows became the observation point

of choice for Leopardi’s inert and external contemplation of the local dynamics. The future poet

would linger on kids enjoying their time chasing one another - ‘i fanciulli che giocano su la piazzola

in frotta’ -, next to artisans and farmers getting home after a day of hard work - ‘La donzelletta vien

dalla campagna’ -, and get curious at chickens and birds, endlessly filling the air with enchanting

melodies. The poet noticed that those low-born individuals were connected by an unmindful search

for happiness, and, acknowledging that the latter can reside in simplicity, he experienced a profound

conflict with his noble extraction, feasible cause of grief.

Yet again I indulge over the red bricks and the quiet dwellings that encompass the narrow streets and

squares of this millennial city. Shortly after waving at the Adriatic Sea and Mount Conero from afar,

Recanati - the emblematic ‘città balcone’ - discloses a new, exceptionally diffuse view, outlining hills

and vineyards, up to the Sibillini Mountains, that Leopardi revokes and cites as ‘monti azzurri’ in

‘Le Ricordanze’.

These humble and naive characters were all protagonists of the daily folkloristic play taking place

in what today we call ‘Piazzola del Sabato del Villaggio’. Crossing this particular square, we find

ourselves in front of Palazzo Leopardi, Santa Maria di Montemorello Church, other Leopardi

properties - such as the ancient stables now hosting Casa Leopardi’s bookshop and ticket office

-, and the houses of native families, including Teresa Fattorini’s. Teresa was the subject of the poet’s

masterpiece ‘A Silvia’, where we picture her ‘lieta e pensosa’, weaving and singing until an unfortunate

early death.

24 25

Giacomo, together with Carlo and Paolina, his siblings and confidants, received an impeccable

education, and this was largely due to the father’s monumental library, that counted over 20.000

volumes - or, as he used to call them, ‘sudate carte’. Indeed, at a time when Recanati was only

a suburban city of the Papal State, ‘lo studio matto e disperatissimo’, despite causing him many

illnesses, was the most effective antidote to boredom. Within such seclusion, that same hunger

for knowledge and his regular interactions with city intellectuals will escalate Leopardi’s desire

to leave Recanati towards Italy’s cultural capitals… If, on the one hand, this desire will drive to his

escape attempt, on the other, the complex relationship with Recanati will be the pre-condition

for composing 'L'Infinito' - both events occurring in 1819.

Not far from the family building, a route leads us to Leopardi’s place par excellence, which truly

embodies the poet’s space-time horizon: Monte Tabor, also named ‘Colle dell’Infinito’. As the moniker

suggests, this location overlooking Monti Sibillini inspired and witnessed the genesis of this issue’s

thematic composition, often referred to as the finest poem of all ages: 'L'Infinito'.

In the adjacent Orto delle Monache, previously Convento di Santo Stefano, was built the Centro

Mondiale della Poesia e della Cultura, the greatest initiative carried out during the poet’s bicentenary,

aimed at providing the youth and scholars from all over the world with hospitality. The Center,

completely non-profit, homages Giacomo Leopardi through an active promotion of poetry

and culture regardless barriers of any kind. Working for universal freedom of expression, it condemns

any prosecution enacted against texts and ideas, and organizes workshops, conferences and different

activities to spread the message and reach its objective. Within this hub, we also have the Biblioteca

della Poesia, where any culture can join study and research meetings, designed to contain mankind’s

poetry and make it entirely available.

26 27

28 29

Few steps, and we reach Palazzo Antici, residency

of Leopardi’s mother, followed by the Sant’Agostino

Church, where we can admire the infamous ‘torre’

that ‘Il Passero Solitario’ evokes. In the poem,

Giacomo empathizes with a bird that flies joyful,

but lonely; an aura of amusement populates

the surroundings, but he’s pervaded with the

bitterness left by his faultily relished youth.

Another eventful place located at the heart

of the city is Piazza Leopardi, whose Torre del

Borgo with its bell ringing is recalled in ‘Le

Ricordanze’, lyrical outcome of a brief sad stay in

Recanati.

The square - previously called Piazza Grande

- was renamed after the poet in 1898, on the

occasion of his 100th anniversary. It was only

one of the numerous events and initiatives carried

out by the ‘natio borgo selvaggio’ - Leopardi’s

definition of Recanati - to homage its former

illustrious citizen.

All these locations are part of the ‘Grand Tour

leopardiano’, one of Marche Region’s Cultural

Itineraries, that departs from the native borgo, and

retraces the poet’s historical and literary life. To

dive into the culture of Giacomo’s hometown, you

can opt for the Recanati Pass, devised

by the comune of Recanati in partnership with

Casa Leopardi and Amat, that grants entrance

to the city museums. The initiative was set up by

Infinito Recanati with the objective of promoting

the Recanati’s integral heritage - it saw the

rise of more icons, namely Lorenzo Lotto and

Beniamino Gigli -, rather than separate museums

or collections, giving the feeling of one ubiquitous

museum to be found and experienced.

2019 has been a festive year for Recanati,

which celebrated the bicentenary of our beloved

idyll, ‘L’Infinito’. To pay homage to the ‘giovane

favoloso’ and his ‘poesia perfetta’, the city staged

experiential thematic tours - ‘Giacomo Leopardi

e il favoloso ‘800 a Recanati’, ’Dall’Infinito

all’Infinito’ and ‘Infinito Experience’ - and

exhibitions, all held at Villa Colloredo Mels.

After Mario Giacomelli’s photographic exposition

and the unique display of the poem’s manuscript,

the exhibitions ‘La fuggevole bellezza.

Da Giuseppe De Nittis a Pellizza da Volpedo’ and

‘Interminati spazi e sovrumani silenzi. Giovanni

Anselmo e Michelangelo Pistoletto*’ moved the

focus on art’s interpretation of infinity,

from Romanticism until today.

The last recently concluded event has been

‘Paesaggio Italiano – L’Infinito tra Incanto e

Sfregio’, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi.

The Enchantment, the Disfigurement, the Human

Landscape, the Utopia, the Inner Landscape and

the City: these are the six sections forming the

exhibition, which opens with a magical portrait of

Monte Tabor and the Colle dell’Infinito

by Gianfranco Lelj, actors’ portraitist and set

photographer for Federico Fellini and Zeffirelli.

On ‘L’Infinito’’s celebratory year, contemporary

photography describes the relationship between

mankind and nature; anecdotes and deeds that

have shaped Italy in its contradictions, routines,

phenomena and die hard customs and traditions.

As I retrace the poet’s steps, slowly examining the miscellaneous layers of his existence

like threads to be untangled, I find myself in touch with his contradictory humanity,

and I come to the conclusion that, perhaps, such fruitful complexity doesn’t need

to be spelled out, nor resolved.

*Read about Michelangelo Pistoletto on page 154

30 31

Melc

Oana Alondra Mocanu

DOUGH

Start by mixing warm milk with the yeast and a

teaspoon of sugar. Smooth it out with a whisk and

slowly add 5 spoons of flour. Mix again until the

flour is incorporated, then cover the bowl with a

beeswax wrap or a silicone lid and leave the yeast

for about a half-hour. In another bowl, mix salt,

eggs, vanilla sugar, the remaining sugar and butter.

Amalgamate the two mixtures. Puree well and gently

incorporate the flour. Knead the composition until

the dough is smooth, soft, homogenous and nonsticky,

then give it a round shape and cover it until

it becomes leavened. After 50 minutes, knead the

dough a little more (2-3 minutes), cover it and

leave it for other 50 minutes.

FILLING

When the 50 minutes are almost passed, start

preparing the filling. Take the curd and press it with

a fork, add the vanilla sugar and the regular one,

then the whole egg and egg white, and mix very

well. The filling is now ready.

Milk, sugar and yeast

All mixed smoothly,

Flour is incorporated

But it needs time to rest.

Eggs, vanilla, butter,

All waiting,

Pureed smoothly, softly, homogeneously

Vinyl shaped and covered.

Lento, the dough is growing

While the curd is pressed, mixed and sweetened

Equally divided, the raisins

Start rolling

ROLLING

Put all the dough on a floury table and spread it

by hand into a rectangular shape, with a thickness

of approximately 3-4 mm. On top, equalize the

cheese filling and add the raisins, making sure not

to cover the borders - leave around 2 cm. This will

allow you to better roll the dessert. Roll up tightly

and then cut 12 equal portions. Take the end of

each roll and ‘hide’ it underneath, pressing it with

the palm of your hands to make it look nicer.

BAKE & SERVE

Once ready, place the rolls in a batch, preferably

on a silicone mat (reusable, nonstick and super easy

to clean). Cover the baking pan and let the ‘melc’

pieces rise for 20 more minutes. After this time,

brush the rolls with the water and yolk mix, and let

it sit for another 10 minutes in the open air. Insert

the batch in the 180 °C preheated oven and let it

cook for approximately 25 minutes, until the rolls

are beautifully brown. Finally, melc is ready to be

served and tasted.

Cut and covered

The watered brush paints it

Sitting in the open air

Until the heat darkens it

And your smell is mesmerized.

FILLING

DOUGH

EGG WASH

600 g curd

200 ml warm milk

1 egg yolk

75 g sugar

7 g active dry yeast

1 spoon water

Photo by of Geta Pislaru

8 g vanilla sugar

1 egg + 1 egg white

100 g raisin

75 g sugar

500 g flour

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

8 g vanilla sugar

75 g room-temperature unsalted butter

32

Dove c'è Barilla c'è casa

Rui Oliveira

Translation by Francesca Scarfone

Nowadays we check Google several times a day to answer questions like:

What is empathy?

‘Showing the capacity to comprehend and share another man’s feelings’.

What is architecture?

‘The complex or carefully planned structure of something’.

Photo courtesy of Rui Oliveira

Good, but for me it extends far beyond. I do not believe that, today or in the future, Google or any kind

of technology will provide us with an intact answer or reveal the exact moment in which a house becomes

a ‘home’.

The architect is a sort of actor who plays different ‘roles’ during his life, but, as an actor without a script,

he has to improvise. Yes, improvise, because a ‘role’ doesn’t repeat itself twice and there is no way

to memorize the preceding one. This process, often exhausting, is only possible with a high dose

of focus, and, paradoxically, even if aimed at others’ socialization, it brings us to isolation.

This impromptu performance is constructed on continuous observation and immersion into others’

circumstances. The initial phase of the process is fundamental, since it will decretate any project’s

success.

The family that is going to inhabit the space has to be the focal point and source of all projectual

decisions, and it’s precisely at this stage that our capability to see and feel the environment through

others’ eyes comes into play; the ability to perceive and share the possible sensations to be encountered

and felt within a given location.

This skill of adopting almost another personality, in the attempt to foresee what other people will undergo

once living in that project, is as important as keeping architectural environment and nature in harmony.

These two crucial behaviors eventually merge into an emphatic architecture, characterized by balance

and accord between human being, artificial building and nature; we should remember that we are invaders

and in nature there’s no room for the unnecessary, but everything tends instead to a perfect equilibrium.

Once the aforementioned is guaranteed, we’ll be in a position to name the living space ‘home’.

I don’t imply that we, as architects, are the main actors in this transformation, but we do carry a small

share of responsibility, and it’s quite a sensitive matter. The idea that I, or any other colleague, will bear

a part of the responsibility in this change process, moves me deeply. However, luckily, no matter how many

observations you make, as empathic as the architectural project is, the shift to ‘home’ will occur gradually

and with the participation of its residents. And this because a home far exceeds the perfect balance

of the tuneful crossing of walls, ceilings and windows, or the respect we might have for nature.

Home is life, is humanity, made of smiles, cries of joy and gratitude, and even though the architect is

a fine observer, he’ll never be able to design one… Simply because ‘home’ is family.

34 35

Deeply

Narrative

Authenticity

‘But let us not forget that human love and compassion are

equally deeply rooted in our primate heritage, and in this sphere

too our sensibilities are of a higher order of magnitude than

those of chimpanzees.’, said Jane Goodall, primatologist and

anthropologist, named UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

It is in this aura of insecurity that brand legacy

flourishes, that dimension of brand identity which is

based on its longevity and on a narrative that has

at its core the history of the company.

It is precisely the company’s history that provides

a connection between past and present with a

sense of continuity.

Heritage refers to DNA, which is representative of

who we are today and our values.

It is the profound intimacy of a person, considered

as immutable.

We can state that a brand’s DNA and activities

are measured with five attributes: history, longevity,

founding values, symbolism and experience;

through them, it is possible to evaluate the brand’s

performance and recognition.

Brand heritage represents a valuable

communication asset for companies, a cultural

treasure for countries and an emotional journey

for consumers, because stories told by brands

eventually are also our stories.

Consequently, storytelling, whether it is on social

networks, in stores or museums, retracing the path

and experiences that made the company and its

products unique, becomes a successful technique

to increase brand engagement and customer

interaction. In this sense, the so-called ‘heritage

collections’ celebrate the past and reinterpret it

for today’s audience by the use of a contemporary

language.

Heritage is greatly relevant in the luxury sector,

where brand history is a means of reinterpreting

tradition, bringing together past and present,

therefore influencing people at an emotional level.

One of the most emblematic examples of heritage

and its management is undoubtedly ‘Made in

Italy’, an association of words that evokes history,

quality and tradition, anywhere in the world.

An unmistakable brand that, quite relying on

the ‘nostalgia’ factor, conveys authenticity and

evokes a specific lifestyle. ‘The essence of Made

in Italy comes from the union between creativity,

people, passion, culture, and discreet elegance’,

says Angelo Manaresi, Scientific Director of the

Global MBA in Design, Fashion and Luxury Goods

at Bologna Business School, where year on year

students come from all over the world to live an

excellent educational experience in direct contact

with the Italian know-how.

As far back as anyone can remember, people told

each other stories to share their experiences

and feelings, hoping to leave a mark and be

remembered.

Today, in a world ruled by appearance and

inconsistency, maybe we should ask ourselves:

‘how can we remodel a behavior-focused culture

into one where the emotional implications - that

cause the behaviors - are the main subjects of

discussion?

Cinzia Iovane

*Read more about heritage on page 166*

36 37

GIANCARLO PIRETTI

On 'Plia' and novel design

Interview by Francesca Scarfone

Photos courtesy of Piretti Design

Born in Bologna in 1940, Giancarlo Piretti

has been producing inventive designs for fifty

years and, since the beginning, successfully

challenged marketing dogmas in favor of

creative freedom.

He taught Interior Design at Istituto d'Arte

and, at the same time, worked twelve years

as a furniture designer at Anonima Castelli,

where he conceived pieces granted of

numerous design patents and countless prizes.

In 1969, 'Plia', the first transparent plastic

chair, is born - seven millions units have been

produced -, awarding the Ljubljana Biennial's

Bio 5 Distinction and a Gute Form mention

from Germany's Chamber of Commerce.

During his career, he won two Compasso

d'Oro: in 1981 with the Vertebra seating

system and ten years later with the Piretti

Collection.

The Piretti Collection, composed of more than

fifty office and community seats, is based on

a trademarked mechanism that adjusts the

backrest angle according to one's weight;

so far, it sold over two million units worldwide.

Giancarlo's masterpieces like 'Plia', 'Plona' and

'Vertebra' can be found within the permanent

collection of MoMA, the true temple of

modern art.

38 39

FRANCESCA - Thanks to your timeless creations you’ve been

defined 'the Thonet of the 20th century’. How do you relate to the

design history and its masters?

GIANCARLO - I was working for a company and I struggled a lot

explaining them how they should’ve made certain objects; they were

producing antique-like furniture, while I was into Danish design...

They didn’t understand me.

I've sold millions of pieces, three or four are still produced by the

million in the United States, while here they’re not even considered.

I hate trends - even here in Bologna someone invented one, Bolidismo

-, because whenever a designer creates or gets attached to one,

he’s finished, because design knows no trend.

Every designer dreams about creating timeless objects that will

last forever, and indeed on the market we find marvelous pieces

from 1850. The Thonet chair is still one of the most beautiful

existing models, there’s nothing more remarkable. Made from wood,

lightweight, it’s still an incredible invention. When I was young, I visited

the factory and I’ve been invited to the Thonet family home.

Think: the greatest woodworker of all times.

Even Thonet was lucky, though: at the beginning, he was just an

artisan who noticed how taking beech-wood - the most performing

one -, boiling it, pulling it out, molding it, and letting it dry, enabled

the material to stay like that forever.

One day, the Prince of Metternich passed by, asked him how he did

it and allowed him to build his factory that, in a few years, counted

12.000 employees; from there, he became the great cabinetmaker.

When they tell me 'Plia' is comparable to a Thonet model, I realize 7-8

million copies of my piece have been produced in 50 years, while 50

million Thonet chairs have been handmade in only 20 years...

F. - In 1967, you design the iconic 'Plia', a

transparent folding chair created for Castelli;

how was this creation born and how did it

influence your career?

G. - Coming from the art school - I’ve

never studied design, since there was no

course yet -, I had to learn as self-taught,

and I understood that I had to design

highly technical pieces to protect myself

from the fast copies of the time; there’s a

big investment behind, one that many small

producers can’t afford.

'Plia' isn’t among my luckiest designs, there’ve

been more successful projects in terms of

sales. Castelli didn’t even want to produce it

because it seemed too light, plus I wanted it

to be transparent - not to make it fashionable,

but to easily combine it with any interiors.

Transparent plastic didn’t exist yet, and I

was lucky because Bayer liked my prototype

- they were working on a similar material

for sunglasses - and decided to study the

material, a solid type of Cellidor, for the model.

'Plia' has been a fortunate object because,

when first exhibited, no one noticed it was

interesting apart from the fashion people.

I didn’t influence fashion, it was rather fashion

that, much more ahead than design, helped me

realize mine was an advanced piece.

Pierre Cardin and Mila Schön came to me,

listened to my explanation of the chair,

and decided to buy thousands of it for their

showrooms.

Moreover, when companies started to receive

the 'Plia', all fashion magazines featured it, and

that was a huge free promotion for Castelli.

It didn’t win a Compasso d’Oro - some

sad, uneven design did. I was marching to

a different drummer, outside the Milanese

group. The lack of awards was not a bad

thing at the end, since it confirmed how

innovative my design was, which is the greatest

accomplishment for a designer. Today, I can’t

find out who invents one piece or another,

because everything is flat, and it's marketing’s

fault.

Foreseeing is way more fascinating than

following. Who needs to follow trends?

It means you’ve been surpassed.

F. - Being good design able to make us live

better, which role does a designer have in

today’s society?

G. - The same role a good painter has.

In 1968, I wanted to create inexpensive plastic

objects, considering a coat hanger or an

umbrella stand contained as much plastic as a

toilet lid, but whenever plastic was used for a

design piece, its cost tripled.

So, I said that, to me, it wasn’t fair to raise

costs; at first, Castelli followed me, but a year

later the price already tripled and aligned with

other pieces on the market.

The truth is that is not possible to change

society being a designer, you need other

and stronger things.

Plia chair for Anonima Castelli, 1967, chrome-plated steel, cast aluminum, ABS plastic

40 41

F. - Your ‘ergonomic seats’ - not only 'Plia', but also

'Vertebra' and 'Dorsal' - put versatility at the center;

how did you bring this search for functional design forward?

G. - I and an American designer had the same idea and we

developed two projects, insisting to convince the company

to go ahead with production. 'Vertebra' was a real success

in the work environment, but it didn't last as my other first

creations, because soon everyone started to design office

chairs.

The good ergonomic seat for me is like a glove: you wear

it without having to think about it, the hand moves and the

glove follows it as one, unlike many office chairs that are a

prison for the body.

Now this reasoning sounds simple, but in the past only a few

shared this vision.

Plana folding table for Anonima Castelli, 1970s, ABS plastic and cast aluminium

42 43

F. - 'Plia' inspired and influenced fashion,

photography, interior, and industrial design,

eliminating boundaries between different

matters. Are you also passionated or find

inspiration outside your field?

G. - I stay updated attending materials’ trade

fairs, looking at new options excites me.

It’s the same for a fashion designer, new fabrics

bring you closer to new possibilities. I also visit

several art exhibitions...

Years ago, I was asked: 'If you had a son who

wanted to be a designer, what would you tell

him to do?’, and I answered that, first, I'd push

him to attend the Academy of Fine Arts,

and not because that’s what I did, but because

that’s how you understand the beautiful and

the ugly; afterward, to acquire technical

knowledge, I’d make him get a second degree

in engineering’. Once you combine these

disciplines, you have the tools to do anything,

especially to be a designer. I only completed

the first part, but I made do by going to the

foundry and visiting technical expositions.

And I guess that drove me to work on my own,

far from any marketing strategy, providing

producers with finished pieces.

Back to art, time is a gentleman, and

Michelangelo’s masterpieces will always be

beautiful; also Mr. Caravaggio conceived

splendid works, and Mr. Picasso was incredibly

skilled. If one ever tells me ‘I don’t like Picasso’,

clearly he doesn't understand anything,

especially art history, because Picasso was

really the one who unveiled new routes and

concepts. Also Andy Warhol was a genius -

not as big as Picasso of course -, but in order

to comprehend this you need to position him

right and look into what he did and why. Yes,

he was crazy, but between madness and genius

there’s little way.

Plia 50 th anniversary edition for Codiceicona, 2017

A. - How did you manage to create, 50 years from its debut, a new version of your foldable chair, and which

changes did you make?

G. - A friend of mine works in the art direction department at Woolrich and since, during Salone, the brand

presents a designer, he asked me if I wanted to exhibit at the Milan flagship store. I agreed, and, being 'Plia'’s

50 th anniversary, I modified the chair with a variation of small circles, symbolizing the confetti we celebrated

the birthday with. The event had a huge success and got an extensive press coverage.

Anyhow, the model presented at Woolrich was not the new 'Plia', but the original concealed with a small

cosmetic intervention - the circles.

The real new version is launching now, and, coincidentally, in Japan. It’s not transparent anymore (I leave that

to Kartell), the mechanism reminds of the original, but everything else is different.

While the first 'Plia' was designed toying with the aesthetic impact - quite uncomfortable, not intended

for work or daily use -, this time I’ve paid more attention to the chair’s performance.

Exhibition view, Woolrich: Giancarlo Piretti's Plia Folding Chair, 2019, Woolrich, Milan

44 45

F. - What value does ‘Made in Italy’ have within today’s ‘connected’ world compared to when you started,

and how can we transfer it to new generations?

G. - For design, just like fashion, the hub is Milan, where meetings take place and designers live.

I’m not against this, it’s the same in New York for art, then it moves to Los Angeles, Chicago...

And yet, think that the Design Museum has just been created inside Milan’s Triennale; if we were smart,

we would’ve done it 30 years ago.

New generations should attend many exhibitions worldwide, analyze the design environment and visit factories

to see how production flows.

It’s also useful to learn how to judge a piece: if it’s too complex, something is wrong, but if it’s simple then

it will be pure and touching; it’s difficult, but anyone can learn with practice. When people say Italian design

is strong, it actually is mostly in Milanese marketers’ minds, but once you analyze American and Japanese

colleagues, you’ll notice they’re masters too, and perhaps they’ll win.

F. - How are sound and silence relevant in your work?

G. - I simply can’t work without music, I’m passionate about opera and symphonies. When I do some deep

thinking, then I turn music off because I need silence.

When I was working for Castelli I’ve had some issues with doormen because I wanted to be at the office early

in the morning - 4:30 a.m. - to work efficiently, and luckily after some time they stopped bothering me. To

me, silence is fundamental, just as music. And even here I realize we all have different perceptions:

my son works with loud jazz music, while I couldn’t bear it because jazz maddens me and makes me move fast.

A Beethoven symphony, instead, makes me feel at peace - silence even more - and it’s wonderful.

Alky armchair for Anonima Castelli, 1970, aluminum alloy and wool

F. - ‘Never worked upon commission... It’s my

dreams becoming objects’.

You often emphasize how fundamental freedom is,

and was it this freedom that allowed you to create

such revolutionary pieces?

G. - I create whatever I desire. I wake up, think

about 4-5 objects, and start to work.

This is how I have fun.

Why does a designer receive inputs, but a painter

or a sculptor doesn’t? A gallerist wouldn't dare to

ask a painter: ‘Do some sunsets, because they sell

well’, but that’s what happens in interior design:

a trend defines a piece and I’ll never agree to that;

of course, this is my approach, and it doesn’t have

to be shared by everyone.

I don’t work for marketing because it has always

represented an obstacle to my ideas.

When I went to the United States they asked me:

‘Why making a transparent chair? If there’s none on

the market, who needs one?’. For other creations,

such as the '106' - still produced after 60 years

-, it was even harder and I spent years pushing

for production.

For a designer, marrying a company’s production

system is a limit, but he could decide to work

alone. Understanding what could actually be

produced or not would already be enough to bring

ideas to producers. That’s how it works in fashion,

too: if a fabric doesn’t exist, an imaginative

designer can develop a new one. Fashion is not

my area of expertise, but I look carefully at what

happens around me… I’ve seen Japanese designers

developing some amazing pleated fabrics, and,

to me, it was an incredible invention.

Unfortunately, marketing is against newness: in big

companies, designers get briefed on which pieces

to realize, removing any chance of innovation;

unwilling to risk, they keep offering products

already desired by customers, instead of shaping

desires themselves. Marketing doesn’t reinvent,

it's all on the verge of pre-existing concepts.

46 47

F. - What about your plans for the future?

G. - It’s complicated, each designer wants to create a piece using either existing or new

manufacturing capacities and materials. I’m currently developing, together with technicians,

an elastic type of plastic with memory, since polypropylene is elastic, but it easily loses its original

shape.

Then, it cannot be ruled out that someday I won't write a book to clarify that marketing is ruining

everything. Isn't it funny to see how, year on year, someone receives the ‘Designer of the Year’

award? To me it doesn't make sense, because then a genius like Charles Eames should’ve received it

for his whole career. Today, when I go to Salone, everything looks similar... Kartell makes transparent

items only and it bores me to death; ten years ago I visited their store and, speaking about the

transparent chair, she told me: 'we’ve been the first ones doing that’, so I replied: ‘Miss, you’re

too young, just take a look at design history’ - of course I didn’t mention my name - ‘and you’ll

discover someone designed one before’.

F. - What does infinity mean to you? Could

you draw it?

G. - 'Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle'...

I’m not that profound, but we spoke about

silence, and, to me, there’s not much difference

between the latter and infinity. Sky, space...

I’m not a poet, what a pity. When that young

boy wrote 'L'Infinito', it moved people to tears.

If art, fashion, and design don’t shake and

vibrate souls, it means they’re not serving their

purpose. 'Plia' taught me that when I believe

in an idea I have to create the prototype,

because the sketch wouldn’t move as the

three-dimensional version, and if a mechanism

is involved, I have to make it as well to make

sure it transfers the intended feeling.

Making 'Plia'’s components non-transparent

made me lose that sense of continuity and near

perfection of those mechanism-generated

rings; thus, I had the idea of making it

transparent, but how could I believe in my idea

when there was no such material?

Maybe a touch of infinity was there...

But I definitely can’t draw it.

A Fontana painting, with its cuts, thrills me,

but infinity is too distant. Maybe I’d just trace

a line going from here to there, transshipping

left to right on a notebook page, or a line that

begins outside the paper, passes through it,

and finally transships it again.

Plona folding armchair for Anonima Castelli, 1970, aluminum alloy and leather

48 49

II

'E questa siepe, che da tanta parte

Dell'ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude'

Exhibition view, Alberto Giacometti - Peter Lindbergh. Saisir l’invisible, 2019, Giacometti Institute, Paris

Saisir l'invisible

Luca Muratori

Throughout the 20th century, countless artists commissioned photographers to shoot their

work in a way that would represent and honour their artistic genius. Renowned examples are

the photographs taken by Edward Steichen of Rodin’s 'Balzac' and Brancusi’s pictures of his

own studio, a glorification of the photographic medium as a constituent element of his work.

Giacometti did not depart from this rule and his sculptures were often immortalized, notably

by Man Ray, the photographer par excellence of the Dada group, in prints that reveal the true

essence of his art.

The 2019 exhibition ‘Alberto Giacometti - Peter Lindbergh. Saisir l’invisible’, that took place

at the Giacometti Foundation in Paris, is the result of the encounter between the artist’s work

and the lens of Peter Lindbergh, the recently passed away pioneer of a new realism in fashion

photography. Looking at their respective work enables us to perceive a shared conception of art

itself, as a means to capture life and give shape to the immaterial. As he wrote numerous times,

Giacometti conceived his creative process as a tool to ‘copy in order to see better’, laying bare

the soul of men and object alike, distancing himself from the complexity of the world during the

first half of the twentieth century. Lindbergh, in his own way, forbade himself from a mere physical

representation of reality and aspired to catch a glimpse of the intimate identity of his models.

His work truly exposed the personality of his subjects and their profound fragility.

View of Alberto Giacometti's reconstructed studio, Giacometti Institute, Paris

52 53

Artists have always had the primary mission of opening a gap between

contemplated and contemplator, aiming to instil in the mind and the

heart of the latter the deep meaning behind the form. As an access door

to penetrate as deep as intimacy, the eye plays a fundamental role in

both artists' oeuvres. In Lindbergh's pictures the gaze is always the focal

point of the representation, conveying the model’s inner self through

the lens. Often, the eye was the foundation upon which the artwork was

built on; as Giacometti said: ‘I have the impression that if I succeeded

in copying a little bit an eye, I would have the entire head’. Confronting

the painting, the viewer’s attention is pushed by a ‘centripetal force’, as

described by Jean-Paul Sartre in ‘Les peintures de Giacometti’, to the

centre of the figure, always at eye level. Protagonist of Magritte's ‘False

Mirror’, the eye, which ‘sees as it is itself seen’, as described by Man Ray,

was a subject that fascinated surrealist artists for its threshold position

between inner and outer world.

Recollecting the evolution of this topic in the history of art, it was

during the Renaissance that a re-conquest of the human image, as

highly evocative and expressive, took place. In 15th century paintings,

we come across the ‘Sprecher’ – a term coined by the American art

historian Wylie Sypher –: a figure, sometimes side-positioned, that

sought the gaze of the viewer in order to involve him, to make him

participate in the painting and to stimulate a reaction linked to devotion

or morals. One of the most memorable examples of this character is

found in the prime version of the 'Virgin of the Rocks', where the angel

looks at the spectator while pointing at the infant John the Baptist. It's

important to notice how Leonardo's eyes serve an unusual purpose for

the time, conveying, more than religious certainty, a pagan ambiguity.

Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci, 1483–1486, oil on panel, 199 × 122 cm, Louvre, Paris

54 55

Exhibition view, Alberto Giacometti - Peter Lindbergh. Saisir l’invisible, 2019, Giacometti Institute, Paris

How do non-visual arts convey a

gaze?

In poetry, it lies within words and

punctuation.

As Giacometti, overwhelmed by the

multitude of forms, tried to understand

and make sense of the surrounding

by reporting it in his sculptures,

Leopardi wanted to look beyond the

fence to comprehend what lies behind

the world’s finite nature. Reasonably,

both processes required multiple

attempts: on the one hand, Giacometti

continuously reshaped his figures

according to his sight; on the other,

Leopardi overcame Nature’s hindering

finitude – ‘Il guardo esclude’ – by

moving his attention to the inner world

– ‘Ma […] io nel pensier mi fingo’ –,

eventually reaching the ‘eterno’.

SONIA PEDRAZZINI

Art's tridimensional citations

Interview by Oana Alondra Mocanu

Photos courtesy of Sonia Pedrazzini

Ph. K. Di Leva

An eclectic and versatile designer, Sonia

Pedrazzini grew up in Capri island; long-time

influenced by the Mediterranean forms and

colors, she graduated in product design at

ISIA in Rome.

She realizes industrial products, products for

cosmetics and fine fragrance (FiFi Award) and

at the same time, she develops experimental

and research-based works, trespassing from

serial production to limited edition.

She explores possibilities within fine

craftsmanship and self-handling, she’s

designed jewelry and created 'Le Morandine',

a collection of objects inspired by Giorgio

Morandi’s still life, giving birth, in 2009, to

the eponymous brand. The design activity

is accompanied by the academic teachings

(among these: IED Milano, IULM Milano, ISIA

Faenza and Politecnico di Milano).

Between 2001 and 2010, she conceived

and directed, with Marco Senaldi, the

first magazine on packaging culture,

named 'Impackt - Contenitori e

Contenuti' (Edizioni Dativo).

Her design approach is philosophical and

poetic. She finds inspiration in contemporary

folklore, art and nature; her works, narrative

and conceptual, are characterized by strong

chromatic value and formal elegance and have

been featured in many exhibitions in Italy and

abroad. Since 2016, she collaborates with

Venini to find precious glass gems.

56 57

ALONDRA - Designer, journalist, coordinator

and teacher... You’re involved in many projects,

how do you manage to balance everything?

A. - ‘La Mano di Dora’, an ephemeral object

dedicated to Dora Maar; could you tell us

about it?

SONIA - I wouldn't be able to do that many

things at the same time. These roles regarded

different moments of my life: I’ve been editorial

director of Impackt magazine from 2000 to

2009, it was a complex and intense job, that

didn’t leave much space to other projects -

especially being a mother of two kids -, thus I

almost abandoned product design during those

years. Impackt has primarily been an editorial

project that I took on not as a journalist,

but rather as a designer. It started from the

need to build something with an emphasis

on content more than form. Teaching is also

something I’ve done and I do from time to time.

A. - Many years ago you created ‘Le

Morandine’ and ‘Testa Metafisica’, both

inspired by Giorgio Morandi. How did your

passion for the artist and his poetic start?

S. - I’ve always been an art enthusiast and

I believe art, in all its forms, always had a

pivotal role in pushing thoughts to the

surface, starting a discussion and inspiring.

Particularly, this passion for Morandi peaked

after researching his work and poetic, back

in 1999, when I was commissioned to design

some decorative table candles. I’ve visited the

Morandi Museum in Bologna, his studio, his

house… I’ve read the exhibition catalogues and

observed his way of working. Thinking about

the objects that lie every day on our tables

and looking at Morandi’s still-life paintings

brought me a real intuition. The project didn’t

go through and went back in the drawer until

2009, when I finally decided to bring it to

the public on my own under the name of ‘Le

Morandine’, composed by a candles collection

and ceramic vases recalling Morandi’s still life.

Le Morandine, 2013-18, hand-painted ceramic, Ph. G. Russo

Le Mano di Dora, ceramic, Ph. S. Ferri

S. - As for ‘Le Morandine’, this sculpture is

a tridimensional citation of a work of art. A

gallery in Arles invited me to take part in an

exhibition dedicated to the artist: Dora Maar,

an elegant surrealist photographer, poetess

and painter, cultured and emancipated, who

also happened to be Picasso’s muse and

lover. Among her artworks, I was moved by an

infamous picture from the 30s’, where the

hand of a mannequin is portrayed inside a shell,

like a hermit crab, in between sky and sand,

immersed in a strange light. To me, the image

was so strong that it roused a claustrophobic

sensation, as if I was standing in between

nature and artifice, despite the light slash

visible in the sky. A feeling of life and death, of

distant and ephemeral beauty. Tradition wants

designers to produce useful and functional

items, while I also enjoy designing ephemeral

objects lacking functional value, but with a

speculative one. With ‘La Mano di Dora’, apart

from homaging the artist, I wanted to realize

a sort of 'sculpture-fetish', reminder of the

much-needed unity between mankind and

nature. Indulging on this photograph, I couldn’t

help reflecting on environmental themes, such

as waste dropped on beaches, coasts getting

dirty after a storm… How many times do we

find pieces of objects curbed between nets

and branches? The trash we throw into the sea

comes back to us in a weathered form. These

fragments of things, to me, are consumerism

leftovers joined by natural waste; it's tragic,

but it’s also a trace of our history and we can

try converting it into beauty.

58 59

A. - Through Impackt, a magazine on the packaging

world, you and your collaborators offered visibility

to a sector that silently influences our life and

consumption choices; do you think this industry can

help consumers making sustainable purchases?

S. - The packaging industry, as you say, influences

our life and consumption choices and therefore yes,

I think it can certainly help consumers making more

sustainable purchases. Some companies already do

that well. Sustainability, more than a necessity, has

become an opportunity for enterprises, and often

being sustainable has been a trump card.

Packaging is necessary for improving our life

condition and wellbeing, just notice the food or

medical sectors, and even hygiene or cosmetics.

Especially in this time of emergency, good

packaging is vital. Conscious about packaging

inevitability, the whole supply chain should use every

attention and criterion in each phase of production,

from design to disposal/recycling, in order to

drastically diminish the environmental impact and

implement those concepts of circular economy we’ve

all been hearing about.

Communication, then, is paramount: we need to give

consumers clear and honest information, so that

they can choose to support the most sustainable

companies.

Impackt, whose subtitle was ‘containers and content’,

has been a pioneering magazine, considering

that in 2002, when the philosopher and critic

Marco Senaldi and me had the idea of discussing

packaging in a transversal and interdisciplinary way,

the topic was still very technical and for experts

only. Through the years, thanks to Stefano Lavorini

and Luciana Guidotti of Edizioni Dativo, our biannual

became a reference not only for insiders, but also

for designers, artists, art and marketing directors,

communication experts, managers, students and

scholars. I can proudly confirm that Impackt has been

one of the tools that better introduced packaging

and its relationship with the consumption society to

the general public.

A. - But, above all, too many times we see

unnecessarily packaged products. According to your

experience and knowledge, how can we solve this

issue?

S. - With teaching, with culture, with a discussion

between parts, but also with good planning and

common sense. Simply put, with a greater awareness

by companies, consumers, and lawmakers. It’s a

complex issue that can’t be solved with a single

action, but with many strategic choices.

A. - We live a time marked by distance, but can

this be softened by creativity, that allows us to

travel with our mind even when our body and its

surroundings stay locked?

S. - Creativity, together with fantasy, has always

been a resource that enabled men to travel with

their minds and eliminated all distances. We see how

even now, with this pandemic, everyone is seeking

and finding creative resources. Then, social media,

for better or worse, amplified this possibility by

spreading messages, suggestions, experiences

and experiments, stimulating everyone to ‘invent’

something to survive lockdown and these quarantine

days.

Testa vase, hand-painted ceramic, Ph. S. Ferri

60 61

‘IL CUORE STESSO DELLE COSE

A. - With ‘Portamemoria’, you emphasized the importance of

‘words as a creative stimulus to design’; today, when words

disappear after 24 hours or get lost within the uncountable

data, do you think they have lost their value?

S. - The words that have lost their value are the screamed

ones, the ones repeated in automatic, without any critical

thought or prior reflection. Today everyone talks too much,

everyone feels the need to share an opinion even when not

consulted and I’m bothered by this background noise. The

words that didn’t lose value, instead, are the well written,

thought-out and measured ones. Words are fundamental and

luckily still move us, but they need to be treated carefully,

to be chosen, to be gifted. Speaking about ‘Portamemoria’,

it was all about words put in the peculiar form of poetry.

The project consisted in a wastebasket - realized on

the occasion of the ‘Parole da toccare’ exhibition - with

a hidden compartment where to put objects you’re not

convinced to throw away, a sort of limbo for those thoughts

you want to give another chance to. This wastebasket

represented Antonio Curcetti’s poem ‘Poesia plurale’.

ANDATE AL MACELLO, COLMO;

LÀ DOVE CARTACCE STRIZZATE A MORTE

CON LA SCRITTA TI AMO

- SOLA RICCHEZZA TRA LE MANI -,

SONO L'ULTIMA TUA VOCE

SILENZIOSA NEL CESTINO.’

A. CURCETTI, 'POESIA PLURALE'

Photo by Sergio Ferri

62 63

A. - In your career, you used almost every

sense: touch in ‘Le Morandine’, sight in your

jewelry, smell in ‘Olfattori’ and taste in the

recipes you created. Do you ever think of

creating something that involves the hearing?

S. - Sure, I’ve thought about it and I already

have some ideas in the drawer that sooner or

later I’ll bring out… Because, apart from art, I

also love music and I can’t live without it, plus

I have a sharp hearing; unfortunately I’m not a

musician and I don’t play any instrument, but to

me sounds, just like objects, define good and

bad in life. And they’re therapeutic. So yes, I’ll

design something with sound.

A. - What’s the last thing you ate?

S. - Today at lunch I had some delicious whole

wheat orecchiette with broccoli and anchovies,

made by my seventeen-year-old daughter.

64 65

A. - What does infinity mean to you and how would you represent it with an

artwork?

S. - Good question. Infinity is not an easy concept… Even cosmos, which is

commonly defined as infinite, to me looks as if it should have an end… I can’t

imagine it as infinite. Rationally, the closest thing to infinity is the set of

natural numbers; the irrational infinity, instead, is something lying inside us,

that we can look for and sometimes experience through art, meditation, music,

or looking at nature. Perhaps, infinity is that internal depth only felt in special

circumstances, thus the work that can represent it is the one that pushes some

buttons and digs into our inner infinity. But it’s not continually identical and,

like infinity, it vanishes as soon as we try to secure it.

A. - Could you draw it?

S. - Drawing infinity would mean restricting, delimiting and putting an end to

it. I couldn’t draw infinity with a pencil and visualize it.

Maybe melodies, smells or touch, more than sight, are amplifiers for infinity.

66 67

Le Morandine, Ph. K. Di Leva

Slow Travel

Photo by Luca Muratori

Pollution is presenting itself more and

more, in parallel with the clear signals our

planet is giving us and that we cannot

ignore anymore. There are numerous

precautions we can adopt in order to

reduce pollution, even in our moments of

relax: for example, why not switching to

sustainable travels?

The means of transportation mainly

responsible for air pollution is undoubtedly

the car: 72% of gas emissions, according

to data gathered by the European

Environment Agency, are accountable to

road transport.

According to the Department of Business,

Energy & Industrial Strategy, if we

consider instead the most polluting

vehicle, it is certainly the plane, which

produces around 115 g of CO2 per

passenger each kilometer - the number

grows up to 250 g if we consider other

greenhouse gases risen due to high

altitude emission. Planes are followed by

cars, with 171 g of CO2 per kilometer, city

buses, with 104 g per passenger, regional

and interregional trains (41 g), Flixbus (27

g) and lastly high-speed and international

trains, with only 6 g of CO2 emission per

passenger.

Reasonably, then, the best choice is to

travel by train, a transportation that

allows us to discover breathtaking

landscapes, but let’s not forget that there

are also many routes we can enjoy by foot,

connecting with nature, exercising and

rediscovering the pleasure of walking, as

well as experiencing an alternative holiday.

Text by Giorgia Nicolosi

Translation by Oana Alondra Mocanu

68

69

Some of the most suggestive routes are offered by luxury companies such as

Golden Eagle Luxury Trains or Rovos Rail, which propose various travels in

different continents.

Rovos offers African itineraries to explore the central-southern part of the

continent: from South Africa to Tanzania, from Angola to Namibia, these

trains will drive you to the heart of the savanna, crossing the continent of

the Indian Ocean until the Atlantic Ocean, or reaching the infamous Victoria

Falls.

The most spectacular journey takes you from Cape Town, on the South

African coast, to Dar es Salaam, one of the most important centers of

Tanzania overlooking the Indian Ocean, crossing Botswana, Zimbabwe and

Zambia, all in 15 days. In addition to the luxurious rail cars, this trip stops

in well-known cities, such as Matjiesfontein - known for the Kimberley

Diamond - and Pretoria, allows you to access various Game Reserve to

observe animals and nature proper of the savanna and experience wonderful

waterfalls.

Golden Eagle features a wider selection of routes, many of which develop

across Russia and East Europe, going from Moscow to the Balkans, but

offering other paths to discover Central Europe as well - passing through

cities like Wien, Innsbruck, Zurich, Como, Milan, and Verona.

You can also live a memorable event by joining the Arctic Explorer Quest for

the Northern Lights or explore the area surrounding the Caspian Sea with

the so-called Caspian Odyssey.

Out of Europe, they offer trips in China, Tibet and India, touching

milestones as Beijing, Xining, Lhasa, Mumbai, Delhi.

Get on the Trans-Siberian Express for 22 intense

days of discovering the winter wonders of Siberia.

Passing Vladivostok, Ulaan Baatar and the Baikal Lake,

this steam locomotive explores Russia’s history and

landscape made of architecture and unspoiled nature.

The second itinerary we bring your attention to

retraces the ancient Silk Road in 21 days, leaving

from Beijing and arriving to Moscow. During the trip,

there’s enough time to admire the Great Wall and the

terracotta army, go on a camel excursion in the Gobi

desert and walk the streets of Samarkand, an ancient

commercial city.

Photo by Mickey O'neil

Photo by Violette Filippini

Last but not least, this third adventure explores India

for 15 days, west to east, from the Arabian Sea to the

Bay of Bengal. Mumbai, Delhi, the Taj Mahal, but also

a journey in the Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal

regions, immersed in exotic scents, sounds and shades.

Photo by Michael Beener

Photo by Jan Gemerle

70 71

If you prefer to walk and stay in close contact with

nature, Italy is a country that offers numerous hiking

trails, once old trade routes or pilgrimage paths.

The Sentiero Azzurro, in Liguria, crosses the Cinque

Terre, from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore for a

total of 12 km; the Sentiero Dei Limoni, in Campania,

runs for 10 km immersed in gardens and lemon trees

and offers an unbeatable view of the Amalfi Coast.

In case you're looking for longer itineraries, the Via

di Francesco and the Cammino di San Benedetto -

respectively 200 and 300 km - are two renown

pilgrimage routes that cover Tuscany, Lazio and

Umbria.

In Europe, we have to mention the Via Francigena,

which, with its 1700 km, connects Canterbury to

Rome, traveling France, Switzerland, and most of the

Italian peninsula, and the Camino de Santiago, iconic

pilgrimage route of over 800 km divided in various

trails starting from France, Spain or Portugal, with

final destination Santiago de Compostela.

Less known, instead, is surely the St. Olav Way, a

650 km long pilgrimage fully immersed in Norwegian

nature.

Going further from Europe, many are the natural paths

that can lead us to discover new wonders, such as the

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu or the Ladakh path, at the

foot of the Himalayas, between wildness and Buddhist

temples.

All you have to do now is choosing a destination for

your next slow travel.

Photo by Les Routes Sans Fin

Photo by Benjamin Jopen

72 73

CANGIARI

Consciously weaving for a freer future

Francesca Scarfone

Our inner human character finds safety and comfort in historical traditions and precepts; knowing

that some acts and events repeat themselves in centuries let us imagine that we’re possibly able

to contribute to our reality, leaving a positive trace. Looking at this subject from a more concrete

perspective, Italy is the true land of heritage and immortal rituals: every Italian, from Veneto to

Calabria, Val d’Aosta to Sicily, treasures his grandma’s secret recipes and transfers his family’s

principles to sons and nephews. Especially at our uncertain and fearful time, holding on to tangible

and intangible bits of our roots can persuade a serene frame of mind.

On top of that, sustainability and eco-friendly technologies, today, don’t only make a solid base for

long term brand presence and growth in the complex fashion system, but are also pivotal elements to

provide a good quality of life for future generations.

All these long-standing values and beliefs gave birth to CANGIARI.

Taking the name of Calabria’s dialectal form for ‘to change’,

CANGIARI, developing collections from organic materials

and colorings only, is the first eco-ethical brand in the

Italian high fashion market. The brand’s primary mission

is to preserve the ancient and prestigious hand-weaving

tradition from sinking into oblivion and to demonstrate

how new plots of redemption can take shape from social

enterprises.

This 360° responsible Made in Italy project was founded by

the social cooperatives of GOEL, a ‘redemption community’

helping the weaker members of the southern Italian region

and operating to free the territory from ‘Ndrangheta and

deviant freemasonry. Its objective - Calabria’s recovery and

improvement - is evaluated through different criteria, such

as freedom from oppressive powers and patronage, social

and economical equity, meritocracy, solidarity, non-violence,

environmental safeguard, freedom of market and freedom

of competition. The group is not trying to ‘vincere’ (win),

but rather ‘con-vincere’ (convince), addressing consent as

a real and durable means of progress and also implying the

idea of ‘vincere-con’ (win with), because «all ethical paths

directed to change have to be a common victory, allowing

to win together and producing the least possible number of

defeated» (GOEL Manifesto).

FW18 Collection, CANGIARI

74 75

In Calabria, hand weaving dates back to Magna Graecia;

decades ago, many families owned a handloom and crafted

most of their fabrics. One day, some young women decided

to learn from the few old ‘majistre’ (handloom teachers) still

living in the territory. A complex and sophisticated art: up

to 1,800 warp yarns must pass in the ‘healds' in a precise

mathematical order to produce a design. Grown up in other

times, often the majistre couldn’t learn to read and write,

and they devised some mnemonic tricks to ease their work:

mother gooses and chants became safe houses for the

difficult mathematical programming – one for each texture

within their ‘archives'. These nursery rhymes remained secret

for centuries, handed down from mother to daughter, who

guarded them jealously. Later, being the daughters not

interested anymore (think of the 3-6 hours needed to

have one linear meter of fabric), they opened those 'magic

boxes' and revealed the chants to CANGIARI’s women,

thus preserving a great legacy of Hellenistic and Byzantine

textiles. These women have also restored and rebuilt antique

wooden handlooms, replicating the local design; once they

started weaving, they became themselves the new majistre.

The fine craftsmanship of the fabrics created with the

ancient Calabrian handloom thanks to the techniques

passed on by the old majistre, the circularity expressed

through the final garments - all made with organic fibers

and dyeing - and the cooperative production chain are

enough to commend this brand and who works hard to keep

it alive.

Eventually, with its fruitful focus on the big picture and the

promotion of an ‘effective ethics’, based on solving problems

without causing new ones, CANGIARI laid the foundation

stone for the unification of environmental and social care.

76 77

View From My Window

Creating MELC vol. 1 has been anything but easy. Many challenging moments

have arisen, and, sometimes, we put creativity on lockdown too.

At one point, though, we realized this could've been our chance to connect

with 'L'Infinito'. We managed to breathe into this overwhelming moment and

take time to slow down, to let everything sink in without rush, to experience,

and to cautiously reflect on the new empty pages, possibilities, and paths

that lie ahead of us. Whilst we were confronted with all these evaluations,

we became more aware that what gives us strength often lies in the things

closest to us: in our homes and loved ones, and in grounding things like

routines, memories, and sunshine.

'View From My Window' is the one and only editorial of this volume. In

the following pages, a handful of windows, clouds and skies compose an

unfiltered portraits' collection of 2020's most valuable currency: home and

its immediate surroundings.

Despite our omni-present virtual overview of the world, as we were sitting

on the sofa looking outside the same window, we envisioned a bridge linking

ours and the poet's condition, and we committed ourselves to grasping his

feeling.

Whenever we feel comfortable, safe, or we're forced to stop, we become

more prone to exercising our deep thinking. Many refer to the secluded

nature of Recanati as the stressor that drove Leopardi to compose some

of his timeless masterpieces. In this frame, 'L'Infinito' becomes a universal

guide on transcending tangible barriers.

During the past weeks, we've learnt to detect the change of season through

the evolving language and sounds of nature... Waking up to a winter storm

one day, and to a fairy-tale birdsong the other. As we heard a distant laugh

or a bark from a street nearby, we stretched our imagination to visualize

the scene. We couldn't help but speculate that, if Leopardi went beyond the

fence with his internal eye - 'Io nel pensier mi fingo' -, then these circadian

moments might have been our brief encounters with the infinity.

78 79

80 81

82 83

84 85

86

III

'Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati



Io nel pensier mi fingo'

ARABESCHI DI LATTE

Crossing conviviality’s boundaries

Oana Alondra Mocanu

Using simple processes and exploring the food world from a new perspective, the studio is presenting

remedies to contemporary problems: they tried to shape a new ritual around the simple act of drinking water,

designing a water bar or suggesting the use of ‘matki’ - clay pots used in India to drink into -, which are

cost-effective and easily available, therefore avoiding the consumption of plastic bottles. Arabeschi di Latte

questions the relationship between time and food, copy and original, and the use of ingredients as mythical

and medical antidotes.

Conviviality: the quality of being friendly and making people

feel happy and welcome.

Since forever, in different ages and cultures, the act of

eating has been a meeting place: need and pleasure, the

five senses, discipline, and affection, as well as a connection

among friends and strangers.

Food is not only about the ingredients, the cooking method,

or the presentation of the plate, is about the people we eat

it with, a response to the human need of sociality.

The fascination for this social aspect is what pushed and

inspired Francesca Sarti, a then architecture student

working on her thesis on food kiosks and their importance

in the daily life of a city, to found Arabeschi di Latte in

2001.

In this collective of designers, food, art, design, and

architecture are intersecting as geometrical, animal, and

floral shapes in an arabesque.

They are creating edible occasions to make statements on

our primordial and instinctive feelings, making people reflect

and interact with each other.

It comes with no surprise that the origins of this studio

is in Italy, a country where culinary art is at the top, and

eradicated in the tradition, where the 6 o’clock Aperitivo or

the Sunday lunch is a storytelling medium, a prerogative to

meet your friends and family.

The multidisciplinary attitude of Arabeschi di Latte should

also not surprise us: Francesca, the founder, grew up

studying architecture and history of fashion while working

in an art gallery in Florence, the city where great wine,

food, art, fashion, and craftsmanship are perfectly united,

creating a center of conviviality.

Ten years after the establishment of the studio, she

moved to London with her team, to explore and confront

herself with a different public, and promote this Italian and

Mediterranean sociability.

Arabeschi di Latte does not have a format, it is using food

as a communication and relation tool, but the approach

changes every time, and each project - be it a pop-up cafe,

a workshop, or an interactive installation - is tailor-made.

This path has been appreciated for the past 19 years: they

worked for fashion houses such as Burberry, Marni and Bally,

retail brands as Selfridges, design companies, food brands,

museums, educational institutions, and record labels.

The leitmotif of their projects is interaction: they

want people to get their hands dirty, to reflect on the

relationship between the raw ingredients and the food, on

the properties of a material and its possible dual value.

They are actively working to prolong the life cycle of

ingredients and processes, studying and researching

people, food, and the past to create something new, going

beyond the surface to find beauty. For example, Pica, an

eating disorder that involves eating items that are not

typically thought of as food, led to a research on clay, and

the use of it across the globe as an ingredient to fight

hunger in the poorest countries.

Egg Tower ensemble from Ceasarstone's A Material Menu, 2016, Ph. T. Mannion

‘I consider food as a tool to read spaces, to activate them’, says Francesca Sarti…

And we cannot wait to see what she will read next.

*Read more about food symbology on page 172*

90 91

BRANCUSI

Fly by the spirit forever

Oana Gradinaru


Born on February 19th, 1876 in Hobița, Romania, Brancusi is representative of a region where tradition

is synonymous with sacrality.

Oltenia is cohabited by individuals with profound Christian morals, who live by well-defined religious

habits and traditions. Proud, courageous, and sociable, the population is in love with the environment

and does not hesitate to share and show it to external curious passengers.

The regional pride lies within the decoration of the houses in Gorj and in the monumental gates at the

courtyards’ entrance, signs of the continuation of traditional wood sculpture carried out with a variety

of carvings and never-ending chiseling. The interiors, alike, were embellished with ceramics from

Horezu, and with carpets or traditional costumes of the region that mirrored nature in all its beauty.

It almost looks as there is a permanent and continuous competition between men’s craft and women’s

mastery.

This is where our Master was born.

Table of silence, Constantin Brancusi, 1937, limestone, Târgu Jiu, Romania

As a poet said: ‘Eu cred că veşnicia s-a născut la sat.’

(‘I believe that eternity was born in the countryside.’).

Constantin Brancusi was the 6th child of the family. He

studied in his native village and became an apprentice in

Craiova, where he demonstrated his handiwork by building

a violin with materials found in a shop. Later, he enrolled at

the ‘Școala de Arte și Meserii’ (1894-1898) thanks to a

scholarship.

To proceed with his studies, he moved to Bucharest, where

he graduated from the 'Școala de bellearte' in 1902; since

his first year there, he realized award-winning projects:

‘Bustul lui Vitellius’, ‘Cap al lui Laocoon’ and ‘Studiu’. For

two years, from 1900 to 1902, he worked with Dimitrie

Gerota on ‘Ecorșeu’, a study on the representation of the

human body that was awarded with a bronze medal and

implemented in medical schools across Romania due to its

wealth of details. Marcel Duchamp even displayed a picture

of the ‘Ecorșeu’ at his 1933 exhibition held at the Gallery

Brummer in New York City.

After the creation of the bust of General Carol Davila, his

first monumental commission, in 1903, after reaching Hobița

and saying goodbye to his mother, he decided to move to

Paris - a city that he reached on foot due to the lack of

money.

Two years later, he got admitted to the prestigious École

Nationale Supérieure des-Beaux-Arts, that he left overage

in 1906 to start working in the atelier of Antonin Mercié.

Brancusi refused to work as a trainee in Auguste Rodin’s

atelier because, as he used to say, ‘Rien ne pousse à l’ombre

des grands arbres’ (‘Nothing grows in the shadows of big

trees’).

Interiors of Atelier Brancusi, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris, France

92 93

His art commenced with a classic representation of the

human body, later followed by research on new molding

solutions. After 1905, as his vision became clearer and

stronger, those anthropomorphic portrayals started to turn

into the sculptures that will foreshadow the artist and make

him universally known.

Among his most famous artworks there is ‘Sărutul’ (‘The

Kiss’), built on a theme that the sculptor will resume under

several shapes, climaxing with 'Poarta Sărutului' (‘The Gate

of the kiss’), which is part of the Sculptural Ensemble at

Târgu Jiu. This ensemble is also composed by ‘Coloana fără

sfârșit’ and ‘Masa tăcerii’, respectively ‘Endless Column’ and

‘Table of silence’.

Brancusi freed sculpture from the mechanic imitation of

nature and denied the figurative reproduction of reality in

favor of depicting the vital essence of shapes and figures,

creating a unity between sensible and spiritual. In his opus,

he mirrored the thought of Romanian peasants on the world.

The humble background allowed him to found his poetic on

traditions, myths, and magical functions proper of Romanian

folk art, unveiling to the western world a sacred dimension

of reality.

The Kiss, Constantin Brancusi, 1907-08, plaster cast version, 27.9 × 26 × 21.6 cm

A pivotal figure in modern art, Brancusi is one of the

greatest sculptors of the twentieth century. His work has

profoundly influenced the modern notions of shape in

sculpture, painting, and design. His pieces stand out for

their elegant proportions and sensitive use of materials,

which unifies the simplicity of Romanian folk art with

the refinement of the Parisian vanguard. This made the

Romanian sculptor a seminal contributor to the renewal of

language and plastic vision within contemporary sculpture.

Wholly devoted to the spiritual nature and respecting the

tradition, in 1957 Constantin Brancusi confessed his sins,

and on March 16th, 1957 he passed away and was buried

in Paris’ Montparnasse Cemetery. The eternal artist was

elected posthumous member of the Romanian Academy.

Endless Column, Constantin Brancusi, 1937, cast iron, h 30 m, Târgu Jiu, Romania

94 95

An eulogy

or a study on the possibilities of the multiverse

Beatriz Barros

There is a freedom that comes with believing that we only exist here and now. A sort of relief from a

possible responsibility that we are not ready to face should we have more than one present.

There is something holy about science. Maybe not in the fact that it gives you proof of how our

brains work, or how we emit light just by being. Maybe it lies somewhere hidden in all of us, a desire

to know that a thought is more than just a thought. To think that if I exist here, I exist twice, I exist

infinite times.

There is something devotional about new discoveries. The unorthodox impermanence of science keeps

us on the edge of our own outlines. If today I am because I know it, tomorrow I will be because I exist

in your memory. Yesterday I was because I existed in your dreams the night before.

Photo by Joanjo Pavon

I was terrified of existing just once. In simpler times, the

universe had the privilege or the burden of being just one.

A solitary mess of space dust and whatnot. Parallel realities

were nothing more than a lullaby for the guilty and the

lonely, who built a home on the hope that even if there was

no better tomorrow, there could still be a better elsewhere.

A foreign concept to house the idea that a different you

lived to the fullest possibility of what you somehow failed to

achieve here and now.

Scientists have been studying the universe for a longer

time than I can count on my fingers. They say that there are

multiple universes out there - a multiverse, infinite places

where you exist at the same time.

If I could put together in a sign of prayer all the hands I

have in all of my existences in the multiverse, the religion

I preached to myself would be the fastest growing in the

galaxy. Universes that hold prayers that were not yet

invented. Cathedrals that mourn those who have not yet

died, because they haven't even come to life.

I remember asking for time to be gentle to me. Suddenly the

language I knew wasn’t enough to explain why I would need

more than just one eternity. I asked the day if I could borrow

its last light before it turned into night. It was not enough.

Only maybe it was, just not here where we are strangers to

ourselves.Somewhere far, we are at once past present and

future.

I dream of silhouettes that dance around to songs we

cannot hear. They dance creating a language that is passed

on from generation to generation, as something sacred to

be held onto in times of despair.

In this dimension, I'm just crumbling particles that insist

on rebuilding themselves. In the next one, I'm a spot on

which you rest your head. If I spoke the language that the

silhouettes in my dream dance to, I could explain how it feels

to not be able to call your name without breaking every

time a tiny bit more - but just enough to still hold myself

together. To hold myself witness to what some might call a

living, to what others might call a disaster. To what you just

wouldn't call anything at all.

I pray for scientists to whisper prayers that connect us to

different hereafters that could have been but never were.

Or maybe somewhere they still are. Perhaps in one parallel

universe, I'm the future and you don't know how to whisper

my name.

There is some resilience in trusting that my actions resonate

far away from where I can see you. Today I wonder if we are

flying somewhere across Siberia, maybe at the same time

you are closer to forgetting all that seems so little to you.

What made scientists prove that more than one universe

exists is the fact that the Big Bang was not a one-timeonly

event. How many times has something so beautiful

happened to you that you had to grasp it so tightly with all

your senses, because the idea of losing it and not having

it again was devastating? Breathe with ease now, knowing

that Big Bangs continue to happen. What created the

borderlines that separate us continues to happen nonstop.

It was not that special, after all.

Imagine, however, the probability of all the tiniest particles

aligning again the same way they did millions of years ago,

of each and every person that came before you making the

exact same decision not once, but twice, but infinite times.

All over again, the wonder of discovering new lands, the

beauty of waking up for the first time to how explosive red

the sunrise can be. Countless whispers being mumbled with

the exact same words, with the exact same feeling.

In theory, there is a sector of space that is identical to

the one we live in. However, it is estimated that the closest

identical copy is 10ˆ10ˆ28 meters away. An ocean that was

built here to the sound of angry waves was built twice.

I used the flames of the forest fire that burnt my insides to

light the shrines you built in all of my existences.

There is a scientist that says if you can imagine something,

it's because somewhere somehow it exists. It constitutes the

basis of all possible universes. A river that flows backwards,

a desert of lush green leaves. A bird that sings but no

one hears, the sun that sets and instead of the night, it

brings the bright day to watch over you. A map drawn of all

borders and no land in sight.

We were a possible universe. There, 10^10^28 meters away,

we still are. Here, 6 feet under, we rest in cold peace.

96 97

Eleventy SS20

The closing verse from the original manuscript

of Giacomo Leopardi’s 'L'Infinito' become the

pay off of Eleventy’s SS20 campaign.

Founded in 2007 by Marco Baldassari, men’s

creative director, and Paolo Zuntini, women’s

creative director, Eleventy promotes the

concept of a responsible new-luxury.

Through the years, the company has

strategically invested in an outsourced

production system, with the aim of protecting

and adding value to the local manufacturing

excellence, building a network of 94 selected

micro-enterprises, from Puglia to Veneto

regions, according to specialization and craft.

‘Così tra questa immensità s’annega il pensier

mio: e il naufragar m’è dolce in questo

mare’, accompanies the black and white shot

portraying a boat that sails off into the sunset

in the Ligurian Sea.

Campaign by Natalino Russo

Text by Francesca Scarfone

This particular verse was chosen because

of the great modernity behind its message,

which encourages a detachment from the daily

materiality in favor of a deeper connection

with one’s inner reality.

The campaign stimulates a reflection on the

value of long and thought-out times. ‘Within

the rush demanded by our sector, today is

truly important to bring back those intimate

moments of abandonment to the imagination,

in order to make room for creativity and

believe in a better future’, explains Marco

Baldassari.

98 99

TÉRENCE COTON

The progressive journey of design


Photos courtesy of Térence Coton

After a degree in Architecture in The

Netherlands and various studio experiences

in France, Térence moves to Milan where he

obtains a Master in Product Design from

Istituto Marangoni. His versatility quickly

earns him the spotlight, first for a luxury

modular washbasin, named SOPRA TUTTO,

designed in 2015 for Flaminia.

In 2016, Térence founds Térence Coton

Design, his eponymous studio based in Milan

and London where he creates his designs,

deeply influenced by Dutch rationality

from his university years in Eindhoven, the

French elegance he grew up with and the

Italian craftsmanship he absorbed in Milan.

Meanwhile, he starts to collaborate with

Hands on Design, a platform that connects

international designers and master craftsmen.

He wins one of the most prestigious awards,

the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018, for

the TULIP vase presented at Salone del Mobile

in Milan.

Today, his creations include home objects such

as furniture, lighting, tableware, as well as

works on the conception of interior designs

for various brands, which he infuses with a

rational and geometric thinking: his designs

are inspired by his international life, ground

of a wide understanding of cultural habits

which he uses to create playful and surprising

aesthetics.

100 101

FRANCESCA - When did your story with

design start?

TÉRENCE - When I was a kid, I remember

how at school I always looked by the window

and wondered about people’s stories, asking

myself why were they there at that precise

time and what were they going to do. I was

naturally interested in understanding the world,

and spent hours contemplating, absorbing the

reality around me. I was a happy kid.

It took me some time to ‘wake up’ from that

state, but after starting piano at 7 I got

interested in all other subjects at school. I

worked very hard to learn all that I had missed.

I did well in middle school, where I took music

classes and could spend 3 afternoons at the

conservatory every week. In high school I

chose the scientific option, I loved physics.

Later, I entered Architecture at the School

of Architecture in Lille. I think what made my

studies so special is that for project classes I

always chose teachers that were considered

the toughest and who were feared by most

because of their very challenging methods

– really they were the only ones who had

their ‘vision’ and an ethic that they fought for

every day as professionals. They were the only

ones really caring about project subjects and

what students would learn from them. Most

importantly, they lead me to imagine poetic

experiences of space, and learn how to build

and communicate a clear vision that I could

control until the extent that I decided. They

inspired me a lot and from there was born a

deep respect for this profession.

Later, I went to Eindhoven through the

Erasmus program. The campus had flags

displayed along the road and each of them

said ‘where innovation starts’. The quality of

the project class – with a professor that was

also teaching at Delft (Prof. Sang Lee) –,

the workshop of few hundred square meters

and the experience in general made me realize

that my only option, if I wanted to continue

to grow, was to stay. I managed to remain and

enroll as a regular student. I graduated two

years after, met an Italian girl during my third

year and married her two years later in Italy.

Afterwards, I worked as an architect in Lille,

Vannes and Paris. Designing supermarkets,

banks or doing competitions could have been

more exciting, but I never really managed

to find a place that satisfied my passion.

Using creative thinking to create meaningful

design did not happen in these places and it

tormented me. I then followed my wife Sara

to Italy to work in the same company as hers

near Verona, and this is when I reached rock

bottom. We lived in a small village with only

one road, a bar and a church and I remember

there was no road name in our apartment’s

street. I struggled to connect with anybody.

It was only after 8 months in this hell that I

realized that I could’ve learnt design, and that

this would have been an opportunity for me

to gain more freedom and creative control,

like I always wanted. Architecture was out of

question, since there were about three times

more architects in Italy than in France and at

the time my Italian was quite poor. I enrolled

for the Master of Design at the Istituto

Marangoni. It was a year-long course and it

provided me direct contact with industries as

advertised. This is how I won a competition

and right at the end of the year started to

work for Versace Home. I developed furniture,

lighting, tableware, as well as few interior

design concepts. I learned a lot from meeting

with artisans, preparing photoshoots and

creating concepts quickly. I had the chance to

'Design is a passion and I strongly believe

that it helps us connect with one another

through its experiential and surprising

nature.'

meet and exchange few words with Donatella

Versace, whom I appeared with during an

interview/photoshoot for The New York Times;

it was an intense experience. Then, I also

participated to my first Salone del Mobile

and I experienced the full cycle of creating a

new collection, from concept to completion,

multiple times. Suddenly, after the fair and

upon a disagreement on how to continue our

collaboration, I decided that it was time for

me to launch my own studio. I reflected a lot

on my vision and what I could create to best

represent it with the money I had. I designed

a reversible vase in borosilicate glass, and

called it TULIP for its striking resemblance

with the flower. I had it produced by an artisan

based in the north of Milan, in Brianza; after

few prototypes and shape adjustments, it was

ready. Luckily, even though I was too late to

find a space to exhibit my collection at the

Salone del Mobile 2018, I sat for a short

meeting with Giulio Cappellini, who generously

invited me to present at his Superloft at

SuperStudio. It was only a few days before

Salone that I received the news that TULIP

had won a Red Dot Award, one of the most

recognized design prizes, often awarded to

industrial design brands such as Apple and

Samsung.

102 103

F. - Since you design for people, you

must be a good observer, as creations like

‘Aperovolante’ and ‘Sera’ suggest. Does society

ever surprise you?

T. - ‘Aperovolante’ is designed to physically

and aesthetically complete the ‘picture’ when

having aperitivo at home. This fascinating

tradition that comes from the north of Italy

consists in going out with friends and enjoying

a cocktail while having a buffet. If you add the

sun and the water from Navigli canals, you’ll

have one of the best experiences Milan can

offer. I was inspired by the Martini glass to

create a small table that may be used at home

to bring the spirit of aperitivo anywhere you

live.

‘Sera’ is a modular candle holder inspired by

Ancient Roman torches that were attached to

walls. The candle goes in a plate that can be

removed from its ceramic base so that it can

be transported and left later in another base.

I used to ‘contemplate’ a lot, but by now I know

that it has always been more a second nature

than an activity. We all have the feeling that we

are only spectators of all that happens in front

of us. If sometimes I feel like that, it is also true

that designing is an ‘acting’ role that prevents

me from truly disconnecting from that same

reality.

All the insights that I have gained from

observing things while growing up, from

the world, society, people’s behaviors, and

my direct life experience of it all, seem to

have anesthetized my ability to be properly

surprised or shocked. However, while I realize

how what I just said may sound grim to some,

it also seems to me that ultimately this has

provided me peace of mind and confidence. It

has guided me to develop an appetite for the

‘new’, much needed for my design vision and

which ironically I believe has something to do

with surprising the user.

Hence, it remains of the utmost importance

for me to see beyond, to distinguish both the

usual and the unusual in every situation and

in particular moments such as the one we are

currently living with COVID-19. Somehow, any

moment may have a quality that deserves to be

observed and for that reason it requires some

attention to catch that opportunity. It is not

important for me to sacrifice my ability to get

surprised if I can offer it and get to observe

it in others. Design is a passion and I strongly

believe that it helps us to connect with one

another through its experiential and surprising

nature.

Aperovolante side table, 2018, steel

F. - At Rossana Orlandi’s 2019 RO Plastic

Competition you displayed a product that

fuses circularity and modularity. Could you tell

us more about ‘Bottle 2.0’?

T. - Bottle 2.0 is an idea that PET plastic

bottles, which are used to create 70 percent

of drinks’ packaging in the world, may be

re-processed and re-used many times and in

various ways thanks to the use of 3D printed

technology. On another part, it considers an

alternative to how commercial furniture bought

by students that live in an apartment for a

short amount of time often gets trashed at the

end of their stay and do not get re-used or

recycled.

The project uses an FDM (fused deposition

modelling) 3D printer in combination with

filaments made from recycled/chipped PET

bottles. The 3D printed ‘bottle 2.0’ is a

modular hexagonal building block that can

be assembled with others in various ways to

compose all sort of furniture. Each module

can be connected in two different directions:

vertically, by screwing the bottle neck to the

bottom of another module, and horizontally, by

sliding another module into one of its sides.

Hypothetically, communities may only need few

3D printers to organize the collecting and

processing of their used PET bottles before

being able to start printing their own modules.

From that point, they can assemble their

modules however they see fit according to

their needs. May it be for a school, students

or homeless persons who may need a floor

mattress to stay away from a cold ground,

modules can be used in a pretty versatile way

for whoever feels creative. When the furniture

is not needed anymore, got dirty or broken, it

is possible to disassemble and reassemble the

modules into different designs or recycle them

again into new 3D printing filaments, which

then can be used to create new modules all

over again.

Bottle 2.0, 2019, used PET packaging and recycled PET 3D printing thread, 83x83x260 mm

104 105

F. - With the ‘Throne’ series, presented during

Fuori Salone 2019, you encouraged slow living

and self care. What pushed you to design it?

T. - As a designer I spend a lot of time at

home designing and, however, I realized no

existing chair provided me with the flexibility

that I needed: a place where to comfortably

work, think, and even eat. The ‘Throne’ series

developed with Cridea Italia encapsulates

these ideas and more, since they are designed

for indoors and outdoors. Their shapes and

foamy material are optimized for comfort, while

the soft finish in polyurethane coating is easy

to maintain; it resists fire, water, scratch and

UV and can even be re-applied when damaged.

While comfort was a priority, I designed the

two seats to be sculptural and to look like

artistic pieces when not in use.

The ideas of slow-living and self-care were

never really words that put me in movement to

start designing the series, but it just occurred

to me how these are personal core values that

found their way into the design.

With Throne n°1 The Omnipotent, I wanted to

design a chair that makes life easier, with large

armrests for a computer, a plate, a plant, a

book or anything needed. It also has a footrest

that may be used as a small pouf or coffee

table, depending on the situation; and when

space is needed, the piece can be inserted

back into the seat to become a buffet.

Throne n°2 The Enlightened is a giant pouf

or meditation seat of 1.2 meters by 1.2 meters.

The diamond sides add a bit of pressure under

the legs when extended, which helps to relax.

As a small island, it may be used to focus, or

instead you could invite others to seat and

share a good time.

The two pieces bring a sort of exclusive

experience at home, offering the possibility to

embrace our needs and to do more with less.

One may suddenly switch from an extreme

working lifestyle to something more relaxing.

The flexibility of use, proper and consistent

part of the DNA of all my designs, is something

that I did not expect to be so much on point

now that we are all experiencing quarantine –

I would absolutely love to have one at home

now.

The Omnipotent, integrated small table, pouf or foot rest, 2017, polyurethane and eco-rubber

F. - Why did you choose to encapsulate

meditation and relax in such a hard-looking

product and how did the audience react to it?

T. - I decided to contrast the experience of

these designs between what is visually perceived

and physically felt: I created sculptural thrones

for the artistic gesture, but also because these

are places from which one may feel power,

something that at its base is essential and raw.

Power to do anything (Throne n°1) and power to

relax in any way (Throne n°2). If a seat is used

all day long, why not as well make it a power

seat? After using an object for some time we

feel ‘connected’ to it, it becomes something

close to an extended part of ourselves and it

defines who we are. Some may have experienced

this when losing their phone and feeling

something similar to loosing a limb, or more

commonly when feeling sad while throwing away

an old t-shirt we’ve become attached to. The

idea that we connect with our objects through

living and creating experiences is very present

in all my designs, and while these may seem very

simple at first, I always ensure that there are

many ways to approach and connect with them.

When designing the Thrones, I designed a

rigid and visually impressive language for a

strong first contact. I felt the dissociation

of the visual and the sensitive experience as

an opportunity to create a unique surprise: a

moment of extreme comfort contrasting with the

expectation brought by its contradictory visual

experience, a sort of reconciliation between the

strong visual language and its smooth physical

experience.

During the presentation at Salone, I observed

how each person was convinced about the

rigidity of Throne n°1, and once they sat in it,

they had a brilliant reaction to its comfort and

material. I saw people using the Throne in every

way it was designed for. They kept their cocktail

glasses on the large armrests, used the footrest

for their feet, as a coffee table or as a pouf

when being with friends, and some even closed

it as a buffet, which immediately got covered

with wine glasses and jackets - the coating kept

it in perfect conditions. These thrones are not

only safe places, they are forts and positions

that empower an individual. They have a lot of

character, and I imagine each owner may have

trouble sharing theirs. Once you own one, it

becomes your favorite place.

106 107

F. - You collaborate with Hands on Design,

what do you do to preserve the beauty of

craftsmanship?

T. - Hands on Design collaborates with

artisans from Japan and Italy. They promote

the excellency of these two countries’

craftsmanship combined with collaborations

with designers. It is always a treat to go to

their shop in Via Gioacchino Rossini 3 in Milan.

I had the chance to realize two objects with

them: 360°, a wine decanter in glass made by

Erre Soffieria, and Fungo, a wood centerpiece

manufactured by Lorenzo Franceschinis. The

piece has an oval shape thanks to Lorenzo’s

extensive knowledge about wood; he started

to make it with a circular shape using a lathe

and, by using a wood that only dries in one

direction, he managed to shape it while

controlling the drying process. I think this

demonstrates how much value an artisan brings

to the design process.

Thanks to this experience I’ve always looked

at craftsmanship as an opportunity to create

objects out of the ordinary. As opposed to

cold industrial designs, each object created by

an artisan’s hands gain imperfections or small

different details… A sort of human vibration

which I find of the utmost value.

When I visit artisans in their workshops and

discuss with them, I do my best to present

a design that echoes to their skills, even if

sometimes the design pushes their limits and

becomes a real challenge. It forces both of

us to be creative and to look for a solution

from a different angle, it is very exciting. We

often find ourselves at the edge of poetry

and innovation. Meeting an artisan is a very

efficient way to learn about a material and can

also turn into a great human experience. It is

important to understand the hands and the

mind that will realize the object. We build trust

and develop a good relationship. When there

is place for improvements, the design evolves,

gets polished, gains simplicity, and with chance

this lowers the production cost.

When the objects are finally displayed and

sold to the public, they arrive in people’s

home. They are shared on social media and

sometimes featured in magazines. Through all

the communication that comes after so much

attention every step along the way, I believe

that we preserve the beauty of craftsmanship

and its value.

108 109

Fungo centerpiece for Hands on Design, 2017, wood laquered with metal oxides, w 31, d 25.5, h 17.5 cm, Ph. F. Ferrari

360° decanter for Hands on Design, 2017, borosilicate glass, Ø 24 h 26, Ph. F. Ferrari

F. - Most of your designs are made in Italy, does this add value to your creations?

T. - ‘Design’ comes from the Italian ‘disegno’, a term that means ‘drawing’. After the Second World

War, small family companies that had been bombed managed to re-invent themselves within the

new design industry. It attracted young talents, architects who became designers, visited these

places with their drawings and models in hand and collaborated with the companies to create their

designs. They started what is today known as Italian Design, while they themselves became known

as the Italian Masters of Design. Every piece they designed contributed to create this story and

made Italy the number one place in the world where design happened - and still happens.

I have lived in Paris, London and Milan, but only there I have found this passion to be so embraced

by the city and its inhabitants. It seems as if everybody appreciated design and was keen to

discover more of it. This concentration of design activity beats from the heart of the city until far

outside of it, in the Brianza area where most production companies are located. The Salone del

Mobile, that usually happens every year, is the city’s celebration of design. It is the best moment

of the year to discover a design or to be a designer, to meet new companies and colleagues, to

present products, make new friends and attend design events. Design is everywhere: it can be

found in a courtyard, on a balcony, in a bar or restaurant, at the library and even in the subway,

and this is also true outside the Salone – the fair only amplifies this condition.

Also, I would like to add that movies have been using Italian masterpieces a lot. For instance, Arco,

the lamp designed by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962, is visible in so many different

movies. I believe this adds a lot to the glamour of Italian Design and makes it so clearly highly

desirable.

However, the definition of design has changed a lot since the Italian masters. Everybody has

added or removed something from it, making their own recipe. Nowadays, design is everything and

everywhere. Every important city has its own design week and it has become challenging to follow

every talk and event, which feels both wonderful and confusing, and I imagine how difficult it may

be for anybody outside of the design world to understand what is happening.

I believe Made in Italy will still serve as a guide and remain strong for some time in front of the

mountain of available choices as it still means and echoes to most as ‘quality’.

Nevertheless, new challenges will make this more difficult in the future, as I see profound changes

occurring deep within the Italian Design landscape. Perhaps because of the constant use of social

media, the avidity of historic brands has pushed some of the most important ones to join larger

mediocre markets and embrace at the same time a different paradigm. A new definition of design

that slowly, but surely, will contaminate and absorb the one that Italians have always curated with a

lot of attention since its birth – the tasteful and desirable history of Italian Design.

110 111

F. - Works like 'Tulip' and 'Fungo' are both functional and

elegant, innovative and aesthetically pleasing. How does

nature influence your design process?

T. - Nature is an important source of inspiration in my

designs, it has a place in every design that I create. Maybe

it is because, since I was a kid, I have always loved to

contemplate it. This connection makes me feel whole, safe

and human. To implement it in my designs takes a lot of time,

but it has become essential to me to express this primal

fascination and make it available to others. Sometimes, within

a design, it will appear quiet and smooth, as it does in Tulip

and Fungo, but it could also be loud, sharp and massive as in

the Thrones series.

I believe that the experience of an object can play an

important role in how much we enjoy our life at certain

moments. Whether we are in a good or a dark place, an

object has a power to bring us to a different place because

of how it has been designed with a ‘vision’. I see this vision

as a complete universe, the way in which a designer sees

the world, and the object is simply a keyhole from which one

can observe it. Ultimately, we do not really create and own

any object; it is the experience of it and the one that we

gain from it that really matters. The hints of a story about a

fascinating nature are embedded in my designs, as you have

observed, solidified in it, they are the Carbon Atoms that

hold each of my designs together and give them coherence.

Tulip vase, 2018, borosilicate glass

112 113

F. - What does infinity mean to you and how

would you portray it with a design?

T. - When thinking about infinity, one feeling

comes to my mind. A sense of layering of what

happens between what is defined by quantum

mechanics and what belongs to the general

theory of relativity. This great variation in

dimension between what is ruled by gravity,

such as orbiting planets, galaxies and the

expanding dynamics of our universe, and what

belongs to the realm of molecules and atoms

– particles and their electromagnetic and

nuclear forces –, somehow intertwined, still

escapes our understanding. Physicists have

struggled in front of the greatest conundrum

for more than a century, unable to marry the

two physical theories or to find a new one.

At this moment, I would like to compare our

progress on that question to the expansion

of the universe: I imagine it isotropic, as we

may be looking for answers in all directions,

in a vast perceived emptiness. As we look for

answers, we progressively create connections

and build an understanding, and we continue

to do so until we get all the connections

right and a satisfying story. The ‘white page’

syndrome potentially experienced by anyone

who may need to start to put on paper

something creative, is a feeling that I hardly

really ever had. I daily embrace the vastness of

an incertitude and jump into it with passion.

I think it may be at this very moment, when

starting a new project and when there are only

questions, that I reach or at least get closer

to an understanding of infinity, and there is

no place where my mind better be. At that

moment, nothing is yet decided, all is fluid and

in the dark – everything being both possible

and impossible –, a Schrödinger’s design that

may or may not exist until one starts observing

and questioning it. Driven by an instinct, on a

path that leads to become more analytical and

structured, strong connections and patterns

emerge little by little as I map that universe,

using attraction points and ideas – the stars,

planets and black holes, reference points of

our minds.

The end of infinity may be as simple as a

blank page of paper: designed to trigger

us into defining and limit what we want to

achieve, communicate, elaborate, teach,

build or protect, in order to reach something

‘finite’. However, leaving the page or a design

unfinished - a bit like Donatello did when

inventing his ‘non finito’ technique - can also

illustrate infinity.

I think that, in order to properly express what

I have been saying with a design, I would

create an object difficult to identify, one made

from recognizable triggers, shapes that we

may acknowledge, but not once assembled,

creating a picture that our mind won’t manage

to recognize, ‘something’ that leaves the user

completely lost in front of it and offers him few

seconds of wonder, or infinity.

F. - Could you please draw it?

T. - I'd represent infinity in two different ways.

1/ ‘In-Finite 01’ is a drawing of a design piece

that brings a feeling of wonder or endlessness.

2/ ‘In-Finite 02’ is a drawing that describes

the feeling of infinity felt when starting a

design, as well as during its evolution. The

vortex is made ‘blindly’, while from the later

discovery of its shape, intersections and

connections, a sense is given with detailing.

The drawing is left unfinished as the feeling

of infinity happens at the birth of an idea, and

not at its resolution.

'In-Finite 01' 'In-Finite 02'

114 115

The Spiral of Silence

Giorgia Nicolosi


Over the years, several pieces of research have been conducted to illustrate the actual extent of

the spiral of silence and the strength of fear of social isolation. Core to these researches have been

political arguments like the ‘Snowden-NSA’ case, but also particularly pressing ones like abortion,

environmental protection, biotechnology and women’s rights.

It is not possible to reduce all to one’s simple perception of a strong majority and a weak minority.

The factors that play into inducing the heart to speak and express an opinion are many.

Among those, the first factor is the opportunity to express ourselves in person or using any kind of

offline communication. Talking face to face is often perceived as more difficult as it implies gesturing,

posture, and tone of voice, all elements of nonverbal communication that add considerable depth of

meaning. Sharing opinions online has the undeniable advantage of canceling all those hints brought by

nonverbal communication, besides it is easier to find supporters and isolation and fear are not felt as

frightful as in a real context.

We could also comment on the anonymity the online world offers, enabling individuals to express

themselves painlessly thanks to the neglect of identity.

Secondly, we tend to give opinions when we feel the topic or know it well and, if moral matters

are involved, more people will likely be touched and interested. So, on the one hand, the more the

arguments captivate us, the more we are willing to state our thought; on the other, commenting on

something not known can be complicated, therefore we would rather align to the majority vision.

Ours is a ‘show-off’ society, where appearing, not being, is what counts, and this eventually impacts

our freedom of expression. We might live in a virtual reality, where human contact gets more and more

transient and isolation and loneliness grow stronger. It might be that nobody likes to reveal his weak

spot and that the models we fleetingly glance at every day can’t help emphasizing how human beings

are social butterflies, how beautiful it is to be surrounded by people and how compelling our opinions

become if supported by many.

Thus, to satisfy the need for acceptance and socialization, we tend to seek refuge in compliance

and silence, starting an information and opinions selection process that strengthens the expressive

force of all those concepts perceived as valid and sustained on the one hand, and invalidates what is

conceived by the weak and unpopular on the other.

A third factor is the reference group, meaning people you discuss most frequently with. Usually, within

this group lies cohesive thinking and support mechanisms. At the same time, if the reference group

coincides with partner, family, friends or colleagues, expressing our own opinion might feel more

difficult than dealing with a physically and emotionally distant interlocutor, since our fear of social

isolation becomes much more real.

There are no fixed answers to the spiral’s operating principles, but what is certain is that it

mostly attacks the right ideas. Remember Galileo Galilei, a fervent supporter of heliocentrism and

Copernicanism? Already in the 17th century a strong power like the clerical one made use of the

privilege of the strong majority to assert its take, but let’s stop here. How many times does is it

happen nowadays that, as we are drowning in news, a minority opinion silently falls into oblivion?

In 2020, plurality should count in all sectors. Minorities must not be weak anymore, but fierce and

determined instead. This is how today’s society will become a ‘do’ society; not a ‘be’, neither a ‘show’

one.

This is the ‘spiral of silence’, theorized by the German sociologist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974.

The concept is strictly related to how mass media allows the free flow of information: deciding what

to bring to people’s attention and what not, newspapers, tv and radio have a great censorship power,

that inevitably sentences certain subjects to the spiral of silence. This same process occurs each day,

even within tighter interpersonal relations, as between partners, relatives and friends.

116 117

IV

'Ove per poco

Il cor non si spaura'

RODDY CLARKE

A conversation on rentable design

FRANCESCA - You wrote many pieces on

rentable design and art, what do you think is

the main advantage of this model?

RODDY - Renting furniture, accessories and

art is a great way of contributing towards a

circular economy. There are many advantages

however, the primary reason I find compelling is

for its use within temporary spaces. If you are

going to be residing in a location for only 2-3

months, or holding an event for 3-4 weeks,

rather than investing in cheaper furniture

which may be disposed of after its use, you

can enjoy the benefit of design-led pieces at

an affordable rate. Alongside this, renting can

bring a renewed creativity into the home. If you

like changing your interior regularly, renting

allows you to do this but without the economic

and environmental impact of buying new items

each time.

F. - We often hear that objects become

extensions of the owner, so do you believe

we can fully shift from possessing to

experiencing?

R. - I definitely think a proportion of our lives

will become more experiential. The rental model

is now widely used across many industries.

However, when it comes to furniture or art, I

think we like to create collections which can

maybe be handed down through generations.

I do think items possess stories, I remember

witnessing my father restore items hundreds of

years old and thinking ‘I wonder what stories

they could tell!' Renting allows us to maybe

share these treasures in a new way, adding

to the narrative and connecting with others

through the process.

F. - One could say that a house decorated

with rented pieces isn’t unique anymore, but

perhaps the ‘unique’ factor lies in the pieces’

endless history. Do you agree?

R. - I agree, the unique narrative of each

piece brings a charm never experienced before.

It’s almost like traveling to a new location

and experiencing for the first time something

that locals have been enjoying for years. This

eclectic combination of style and history,

within a transient setting, can often provide

surprising results.

F. - If you could choose to rent a piece, what

would it be and why?

R. - If I was to rent one item I think it would

have to be Antony Gormley’s ‘Iron Man’. I grew

up with it in my home city and it became a

personally iconic sculpture, introducing me to

the creative world and encouraging me to look

at the deeper meaning of topics. It is currently

in storage as it was removed to make way for

a tram line unfortunately, so perhaps it could

be rented out! Even though logistically I am not

sure how I would house it, just to spend the

weekend studying it in detail again would be

wonderful!

*Read more about the topic on page 244*


Photo by Julian Victoria

F. - Is this approach related to mindfulness

only or could there be another reason?

R. - Your home does play a huge part in your

personal mental wellbeing. The enjoyment of

discovering new designs can help to bring a

personal touch into the space, filling it with

stories you can relate to. It’s important to feel

that connection within the home as that’s what

will ground you in ensuring it becomes your

safe and secure haven.

120 121

F or

Our

Own

D elight

Francesca Scarfone

Within this frame of mind, it comes with no

surprise that Giacomo Leopardi has found the

time to put his conception of food into words

and give precise indications on his taste.

Food: a universal word approached according to three main declinations: primary need, pleasure, and

obsession. It follows us during each and every day of our lives, yet we do forget to savor it, or worse,

we give it for granted.

How nice would it be to turn back time to those bright days when our sole concern was whether we

should first pour milk or cornflakes into the cup, which pizza to order on a Saturday night, or if that

burning smell arriving from the kitchen was seriously the toast we couldn’t wait to taste with our

grandma’s homemade jam on top.

It’s quite a coincidence that, since quarantine sadly commenced, we happened to rediscover the

value of food, oftentimes regarded as the only companion able to comfort our melancholia and keep

conviviality alive. Suddenly, we were children again: each contradictory emotion began to have its own

corresponding - satisfying - food, and nothing could distract us from trying at least one new dish

per day. This behavior reveals a frame of our unconscious mind and coincides with the awaking of our

innate hedonistic tendencies, that, influenced by nowadays’ constant aura of fear and uncertainty,

have managed to reach the surface.

Despite this timely theoretical reasoning, eventually, we must admit it: we’ll never stop loving food.

Food doesn’t only satiate our hunger; it has the power of influencing our mood and choices, just like

a person. Think about it: when we interact with food, most of the time all five senses get triggered,

originating a sensational multilayered experience.

Kept at the Vittorio Emanuele III National

Library is a 19 x 6 cm original autograph list,

filled by the poet around 1836 to inform his

personal ‘monsù’ (‘professional chef’, from

the French ‘monsieur’) Pasquale Ignarra on

his preferred foods-dishes. Scrolling through

the 49 ‘Desiderata’, we see that Leopardi’s

attempt to adhere to his diet - required by his

fragile health conditions - was almost nullified

by an extreme gluttony, being ‘fried’ one of

the most recurring words. It’s fascinating how

some of these dishes, such as ‘tortellini’, fried

courgette flowers and ‘frappe’, are still iconic

Italian dishes, while others, like ‘cibreo’ (Tuscan

appetizer made with chicken giblets) and fried

‘chifel’ (crescent-shaped, little biscuits from

Trieste), despite their millennial history, lost

some of their popularity.

We’d love to illustrate all 49 recipes, but, for

now, we’ll just let you have a bite to whet your

appetite.

122 123

1. Tortellini di magro.

32. Paste sfogliate.

20. Fiori di zucca fritti.

47. Zucche o insalate ec. con ripieno di carne.

124 125

At the same time, where is love, there’s also hate: ‘A morte la

minestra’ was composed by an 11-year old Giacomo Leopardi,

moved by an urgent need to spell out his disgust for soup. ‘Cibo

negletto, e vile, degno d’umil villano’: these are the harsh words

that the poet selects to describe this healthy light dish, probably a

family meals’ habitué.

‘Che dirò delle triglie e delle alici?

Qual puoi bramar felicità più vera

che far d'ostriche scempio infra gli amici?’

As we’ve said in the beginning, food can translate in obsession;

Leopardi’s one was ice cream - who could blame him?

He discovered it in Naples, and since then, despite doctors’

prohibitions, he inaugurated a daily habit of devouring more

servings of ‘sorbetti’ and ‘spumoni’, topped with the sweetest

syrups. He was a regular at ‘Caffè Angioli’, located in via

Toledo, where one day he met Antonio Ranieri, future friend and

biographer. As Léon Treich reports in his ‘Almanach des Lettres’-

also confirmed by Ranieri -, the poet would order three large ice

creams at a time, and then ask the waiter to pile them up to form

a ‘mountain of delight’. The pleasure that Leopardi drew from this

degustation was so sublime to homage the Neapolitan ice cream

maker Vito Pinto in a verse from ‘I nuovi credenti’, that reads:

‘quella grand’arte onde barone è Vito’.

We share the poet’s belief that a good meal leads to the

enhancement of both physical and mental wellness. In particular,

for a man who hardly got the chance to experience joy, food

represented the long-awaited redemption from the denied

‘dolcezze del destin mortal’.

G. Leopardi, 'I nuovi credenti', 1835

126 127

Lei è il mio infinito

Emma Flodin Lahsini

This home has always been dear to me.

These rolling Tuscan hills, these cobblestone streets paved with history.

How many beating hearts have felt them below their feet?

The hidden paths in the city always let me discover a quaint piazza

or a secluded trattoria.

Ghiberti’s bronze doors reflect the sunlight midday at the Duomo, and the

glass of red wine at the nearest table in the piazza draws me and teases me

with its fragrant aroma straight from the rolling fields of Chianti.

This sunset sky is a portrait that bleeds into a hundred vibrant shades of

magenta and orange, as the Arno reflects the kaleidoscope of colors in its

waters and is not shy to show off while it gives un bacio to its onlookers.

As the daylight fades and day becomes night, the ever present soundtrack

of chattering voices is present and the magic of the night continues until

the sun rises yet again, and the night becomes day once more.

There is a brief stillness just before dawn, when the church bells can be heard

in the distance and I am reminded, once again, that this city is infinite, her

beauty is unrivaled, her magic never dies. She holds you in her arms and lets

you believe in the beauty of life and discover love.

This city that is always so alive, is silent now.

This silence reminds me of the dead seasons. But just like the dead seasons,

the ice will melt and turn into the flowering beauty of spring…

This too shall pass. This place cannot be forgotten, no matter how far you

travel in this world.

There is no comparison, she is eternal.

Lei è il mio infinito.

Photo by Matteo Vistocco

128 129

YUJIA HU

The Onigiri Art

ALONDRA - Your first creation was a shark,

why did you choose this specific subject?

YUJIA - I created the shark 3/4 years before

starting what I’m doing!

The first @theonigiriart piece was the face of

the famous DJ Steve Aoki.

A. - After that, you started re-creating movie

stars, artists and artworks. Could you tell us

how your work evolved in time and why?

Y. - Everything I realize is related to my

passions, from basketball players to rappers

and art. With time and practice I refined my

technique and precision, managing to realize

things I never thought possible before.

A. - Which is the creation you have been most

satisfied with and why?

Y. - My absolute favorite piece is ‘The

Scream’. After four hours of work, I was

amazed of what I created and every time I look

at it I feel a profound sense of satisfaction.

The Scream, December 2017

A. - The profile picture of @theonigiriart is a

work of yours titled ‘Space and Time’, what do

these two entities mean to you?

Y. - For this work I got inspired by Dali’s

creations, which transcend space and time.

Space and time are subjective things, that we

perceive in different ways throughout various

periods of our life.


Photos courtesy of Yujia Hu

A. - At 8 years old you moved to Milan from

China, how much did this event influence your

art?

Y. - I don’t know how my life would have been

if I wouldn’t have moved to Italy, but, for sure, I

know how my life is now. I am a mix of cultures

and ways of thinking and I feel rich, culturally

speaking. I owe patience to my Chinese

origins, but I also acquired Italian versatility.

Space and Time, February 2020

130 131

A. - In a previous interview you stated: ‘I will

start moving to different countries because

in Italy there is not much response. All the

people who come to eat the sushi sneakers

are foreigners’. Now, you create your famous

‘Shoeshi’ at Nami in Milan. What happened?

Did the Italian market change?

Y. - I have always said that I would have

moved around the world as much as possible,

to bring my art to many people in person. The

collaboration with Nami was born because I felt

the need to establish a direct connection with

my Instagram audience. Milan, my city, is giving

me a lot of satisfaction; it's evolving, becoming

increasingly international, and it seems to be

the perfect starting point for any activity.

A. - Do you ever wish to go back to China?

Y. - I went back to China one year and a half

ago - after 10 years abroad - for 40 days;

I faced a fully changed reality, as if I traveled

to the future. What worries me about China

is that everything moves very rapidly and it

doesn't give people enough time to enjoy

something, because, immediately, something

new is coming.

A. - What inspires you when you choose a

work of art to recreate?

Y. - Usually, I create my works based on

things I like. Before putting myself at work, I

mentally develop the piece phase by phase,

and then, once I start, I don’t stop until it's

finished.

A. - Which was the most difficult work you

created and why?

Y. - Every work is difficult, the only thing

I can say is that some bore me more than

others. For example, the ‘Fendi monogram’

nigiri was quite boring to realize because

highly repetitive, but the final result gave me

a lot of satisfaction.

A. - What is infinity for you? How would you

represent it with a nigiri?

Y. - There is nothing more infinite than

imagination, and at the moment I don’t think I

would be able to represent it!

F I S H, February 2019

F

132 133

BLOUSE ROUMAINE

Symbol, narrative and history

Oana Alondra Mocanu

This traditional blouse bears the name ‘Ie’ or ‘Ia’ from the Latin ‘tunicae lineae’, which means ‘thin tunic’ and has a millennial

history.

It's being said that it has been worn for the first time in the Late Neolithic age, by the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, one of

the most ancient civilizations in Europe, which extended to the territory of today’s Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The garment appeared first in the XIV century ‘Chronicon Pictum’, a medieval illustrated chronicle from the Kingdom of

Hungary, and on the archetype of all victory columns: Trajan’s column.

Painting, taking pictures, and simplifying.

This is exactly what Henri Matisse did in 1940,

for around six months, before reaching the

final result that is today ‘La Blouse Roumaine’,

the 92 x 73 cm oil-on-canvas held at the

Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.

The French artist started a series of canvases

inspired by this traditional blouse, after his

dear friend Theodor Pallady, a Romanian

painter probably met around 1882 in Gustave

Moreau’s studio, gifted some to him.

Matisse was astonished by the colors and

shapes of the beautiful handmade embroideries

and decided to reproduce them in several

paintings dating from 1936 to 1940.

Among them, the most famous ones are ‘La

Blouse Roumaine’ and ‘The Dream’, which

he documented through many photographs,

displayed together with the final result in 1945,

in Paris’ Galerie Maeght.

Considering that this shirt is not only a simple

piece of clothing but a real symbol of the

Romanian culture, it comes with no surprise

that Matisse, along with others, has given it a

leading role in his art.

La Blouse Roumaine, Henri Matisse, 1940, oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm,

Georges Pompidou Center, Paris, France

Ia had a protective function. Since pre-Christian times. embroidered symbols were carriers of a magic or beneficial

significance. One of them was the cross, which did not bear the same religious meaning of today, but embodied a stylized

sun, which was usually placed in the center of the garment. Another very common symbol was the spiral, that, representing

eternity and time passing, was a universal sign of life and its continuity. This symbol represented also fecundity, energy, and

the duality of life: masculinity and femininity, light, and darkness…Ia was traditionally made in flex, hemp or wool, and, later

on, in twined cotton and embroidered on the sleeves, shoulders, and chest.

Over time, this blouse became increasingly widespread and started being worn in everyday life, outside the official

ceremonies’ context, yet without losing its preciousness.

134 135

A very important element in Ia is color, not

only used after decorative purposes but also

to express the marital status of the women

wearing it. Indeed, young and unmarried

women wore blouses with golden or orange

embroideries, recently married ones wore red,

women with kids shifted to blue, deepening

its hue or becoming black for widows and old

women.

Today, the blouse does not have the same

function it had in the past; new combinations

of colors and symbols have been implemented:

black is mixed with gold, red, purple, green

and blue, and the most recurring symbols

are animals, geometrical figures, flowers,

and cosmic elements. Still very popular and

loved across the whole country, this garment

became almost a way to identify the region

of provenance, since each land developed its

technique and each blouse tells a different

story.

This piece, with its richness in symbolism and

history, did not only inspire painters, but

also fashion designers: the first has been

Yves Saint Laurent, who dedicated the 1981

Autumn/Winter couture collection to ‘La

Blouse Roumaine’. After him, many followed, but

unfortunately, not all of them quoted Romania

as the country of origin - on the contrary,

some even denied it.

This is why, in 2013, Andreea Tănăsescu

founded La Blouse Roumaine shop, an online

platform that gives the chance to local artisans

to get known within the dynamic fashion world,

while keeping alive the Romanian ancestral

crafting legacy through innovation and

technology.

‘Handmade clothing created by authentic

craftsmen, using their own original inherited

design pattern and craft technique, deserves

a fair price and the right place in the fashion

system’. This synthesizes the vision of the

founder, who believes in the importance of

educating the consumer on symbols and origin

behind designs of any cultural pattern.

Blouse Roumaine shop militates with the

principles of slow living movement and wants

to set a milestone for the new generation of

designers and craftsmen to reconsider the

fashion system and a new way of millennial

living based on non-consumeristic values.

The website proposes a selection of new and

vintage pieces, manufactured with eco-friendly

materials, that respect the three pillars of

sustainability: economic viability, environmental

protection, and social equity.

The name of the brand is a tribute to

Henri Matisse, who had a pivotal role in

the intersection of the traditional Ia with

modernity, and who believed that the creative

process is more valuable than the final result.

Just like the painter used photography to

demonstrate the complex process behind the

canvas, Blouse Roumaine shop utilizes the

power of the online community to showcase

the thousand-year-old craftsmanship

eradicated in Romania and its Ia: the symbol,

narrative, and history of the country.

136 137

V

'E come il vento



Vo comparando'

JAMES SHAW

Man vs Material

James Shaw is a designer and a maker

exploring the material landscape in a handson

way. He is a graduate of the Royal College

of Art's Design Products programme and now

runs a studio in London working on projects

that interrogate the material, systemic

and formal approaches to the creation

of objects.

His investigations have attempted to challenge

the notion of waste, reassess the materials

we currently use and even create entirely new

materials.

James has exhibited internationally, including

at The Design Museum, The V&A, Boijmans

van Beuningen Museum and MoMA.

Past awards include being nominated for

the Design Museum's Designs of the Year

Award and winning the Arc Chair Design

Award.

His work is in the permanent collections

of MoMA, The Montreal Museum of Art

and the Vitra Design Museum, among others.


Photos courtesy of James Shaw

140 141

ALONDRA - Could you tell us a bit about

yourself?

JAMES - I am a designer/artist/person,

mostly based in London, who explores objects;

interested in the things we make and surround

ourselves with, I like to explore this passion

through actually trying things out

and squiggling things together myself.

My main goal is to promote change towards

more socially and environmentally positive ways

of building and inhabiting the world around us.

A. - You define yourself ‘an explorer of the

material landscape’, when did this love and

curiosity for materials start?

J. - Like many people, it is probably something

I have always done... I have always been

interested in ‘stuff’ and exploring what

the stuff is, whether that be through cooking,

DIY, making mud pies in the garden

or whatever. But, for me, there is an important

tacit understanding that comes from actually

touching and ‘knowing’ the material and the

world around us.

In my early twenties, I briefly worked as a

builder and I remember there was this important

bit for me where we were ripping walls out and

putting new walls in, and so, for the first time,

I saw and felt what walls were made from. It

sounds silly, but, in a way, I had not really given

walls much thought before; I would just see one

and think ‘wall’, but experiencing what a wall

was made from, actually made me see them in a

different way, which was profound considering

that, as most people, I am surrounded by walls

most of the time. I guess this idea of actually

trying to understand the world in this handson

and tacit way is what drives me.

Photo by T. Atkinson

A. - Which is the material you work better

with? Why?

J. - I work with many different materials, I

guess I am always motivated to try something

new and then keep repeating until I feel I’ve

got something right. I draw a lot of parallels

between cooking and making and I think I

behave the same way there. In cooking, there

may be a recipe, a technique or an ingredient I

am interested to try out, and often I would end

up making it and, if not satisfied with the first

attempt, making it again the next day, and then

carrying on doing that until I feel it’s right.

This ends up being a bit testing for the people

who are around me, who have to eat steamed

gram flour cake or vegan miso carbonara for a

week, but again I suppose it is about searching

for that understanding of the material and

trying to figure out the principles behind what

is happening.

A. - Today, waste is a hot topic, but you

started considering it already in 2013 with

the ‘Well Proven Chair’, presented at The V&A.

How did this consciousness grow in you?

J. - I grew up in the countryside, where we

cultivated a lot of our own food; my parents

were of a hippyish mindset, conscious of

climate change and human impact on the world

from very early on. So, the idea that we had

to deal with waste and related issues was

always there for me, but also in gardening and

growing things there are a lot of opportunities

to use waste and you get a lot more conscious

of how waste coming from one thing can

become nutrient for another one.

142 143

A. - Could you tell us how the idea of the

‘Plastic Baroque Cutlery’ was conceived?

J. - I find cutlery really interesting as an object

because it is something we have such an

intimate connection with on a daily basis, but

do not spend much time looking at.

Cutlery is something people often keep for

their whole life and maybe pass on to another

generation or two afterwards. There are not

many items which we use three or more times

a day, subject to hot, cold, acid, alkali, liquid,

etc.... that can still be used for a hundred years

or more. In addition to that, my studio is based

in an area of London where there used to be a

lot of bone handled cutlery manufacturers; at

the peak of the production there were literally

train loads of animal horn and bone arriving

to London to supply the trade. Bone and horn

exhibit a ‘plastic’ type behavior for their ability

to be formed and moulded and can be seen as

one of the earliest forms of plastic; indeed, it

was in trying to find new materials to replace

these, that the first plastics were created.

So, for me there is an interesting circularity

in referencing objects that appeared at the

beginning of the plastics age where we are

now.

A. - Why do you define these pieces

‘baroque’?

J. - I have been producing pieces with this

idea of the ‘plastic baroque’ for about seven

years now, it is the way I came to understand

the output of the plastic extruding ‘guns’ that

I made. For me, there are various layers of

connection with the Baroque movement, the

simplest being a formal similarity in terms of

a dynamic, expressive and fluid form that the

plastic pieces tend to contain.

But, deeper than that, it's about the idea that

the Baroque movement was about celebrating

the fecundity, sensuality and beauty of the

physical world around us, rather than denying

it. And I feel that part of our negative

relationship with plastic is about denying

its genuine physical character; we give it no

preciousness and we consider it something to

be used and tossed away. I just wanted to give

some of the baroque power to plastic.

Old Man of the Sea (And The Land), 2019, Masters of Disguide, SEEDS, London

A. - In the ‘Old Man of the Sea (And The Land)’ mask presented at Seeds'

'Masters of Disguise' exhibition during LDF 2019, you experimented with a

new plant-based material. Could you describe it?

J. - This project is an attempt to create a castable bio-based material.

Processes around casting were fundamental in the creation of the modern

spectrum of materials and I think they are still very important as we try

to find the next generation of materials now. Being plant-based means

that the material will be intrinsically carbon-absorbing and renewable. It is

certainly still developmental right now, but I have high hopes for being able

to work a lot with it in the future.

Plastic Baroque Cutlery, 2019, 304 Stainless steel flatware with hand extruded HDPE handles, Ph. P. Plews

144 145

A. - What is infinity to you, and which is the

material that would better represent it?

J. - Hmm… Well, infinity is a big word, maybe

a little out of our reach right now. I think if

we could start by making things that don’t

actively kill ourselves and everything around

us, that would already be a good start.

In a way, I don’t know if we should even

aspire to the idea of infinity, everything has

a beginning and an end and it is kind of nice

that way, that is what makes things special.

146 147

Plastic Baroque Floor Lamp, 2019, hand extruded HDPE and light fittings, Ph. P. Plews

Infinito Design

Francesca Scarfone

‘Our history has made us what we are. A history made of tradition, skill, innovation, and Made in Italy.

A history that transforms, evolves, and brings our table collections to life.’

These are the words that Laura Carboni, founder and CEO of Infinito Design, uses to introduce her

top-quality company, specialized in devising innovative and exclusive plate collections for professionals

from the Ho.Re.Ca. (Hotels, Restaurants, Catering) sector and all those who want to enhance their

gastronomic proposals through design and attention to detail.

148 149

With a name that gives a nod to this

issue’s thematic poem, Infinito Design’s

affinity with Giacomo Leopardi is not only

geographical — all products are designed

and made by Ciesse at its historical premises

in Castelvecchio di Monte Porzio, in the

Marche region —, but it is particularly

connected to the brand’s constant

investigation on the unexplored, which

results in creations that blend harmoniously

with endless environments and spaces.

It is also important to underline how such

an evocative name serves the purpose of

introducing the brand’s vision of design as a

means that, thanks to innovation, transforms

daily tools into art pieces, radically changing

the dining experience.

Inspired by her love for food and design,

Laura managed to turn her adventure into an

example of Italian excellence, where tradition

and future possibilities become coexisting

pillars. This double soul gets clearer as we

take a look at the materials that compose

Infinito Design’s collections.

On the one hand, Krion K-Life Solid Surface

is a revolutionary, totally recyclable and

reusable material made of two-thirds rock

mineral and a low percentage of highresistance

resins; on the other, the brand

reworks solid wood into warm and authentic

creations, proposing at the same time a

different, more traditional approach to

sustainability.

150 151

An Infinito Design collection that embodies this issue's

theme to its fullest is ‘Loona’ —the pronunciation,

‘luna’, is the Italian translation for ‘moon’. Designed by

Cristina Zanni with maximum attention to details, the

Loona Collection is composed of six-round plates, one

for each lunar phase, all-white as the moon.

Loona was generated with the idea that good food can

be enhanced by plates that transmit emotions, and the

circle was the best geometrical shape to do that.

When picking a shape to represent 'L'Infinito', that

would again be the circle, that, in its closure, opens

a universe of possibilities. As Bruno Munari wrote in

‘Design as Art’, ‘the circle is related to the divine.

The circle has always represented and still represents

eternity, with no beginning and no end.’.

As eternal as the circle, the moon provokes questions

and feelings, but gives no answers; her quiet candor

reflects our regrets and hopes. Despite the impassivity,

her beauty is such that no one looks at or addresses

her with disdain. Even Leopardi, in his composition ‘Alla

Luna’, standing before the moon, full of angst and in

tears, cannot but name her ‘graziosa’ (‘graceful’) and

‘diletta’ (‘dear’).

152 153

TERZO PARADISO

Infinity 2.0

Francesca Scarfone

It is 1991 when Michelangelo Pistoletto, finding himself in Biella for the opening of one of his

exhibitions, notices a white building - the former wool mill Lanificio Trombetta -, and decides to buy

it, turning a Utopia into a place: the Association for a Pistoletto Foundation.

Only three years later, he publishes ‘Project Art’, a Manifesto reciting that ‘the time has come for

artists to take on the responsibility of establishing ties among all human activities’. The project, whose

motto is ‘eliminate distances while preserving differences’, initiated after the artist’s reasoning on

twentieth century’s exponential acceleration of scientific and technological progress, which drove to

imagination and inventiveness on the one hand, and social and existential degradation on the other.

In 1998, the Association becomes a Foundation. Named ‘Cittadellarte’ after the words ‘cittadella’

- safeguarded and protected - and ‘città’ - open and in a complex global interrelation -, the

Foundation will serve as Project Art’s concrete expression. Promoted as a ‘factory of culture as social

fabric’, Cittadellarte is the operating base of several independent activities. Among them, we find

Let Eat Bi: ‘a project of activation of the productive and gregarious potential consisting in an ethical

economy of the earth’, which encourages a shared, conscious usage and organization of the Biellese

territory’s resources and activities, beginning from the three core areas of ‘Farming’, ‘Conviviality’

and ‘Culture’. Another initiative founded on the Foundation’s experience and educational programs is

Accademia UNIDEE, that, since 2015, offers three-year courses built on the extensive theme of the

relationship between art and social transformation, spanning from visual art and design, to law and

economics.

Cittadellarte is also a school-laboratory dedicated to the study, experimentation and development of

practices turning the symbol of the Third Paradise into a reality, implementing it in every social sector

and organization type, both at individual and institutional level. Now, you might wonder: what do you

mean by ‘Third Paradise’? This myth instigates the creation of a trinamic balance between opposites.

‘Trinamics is the science of relations and balances. But above all, it is the principle of creation.’

(M. Pistoletto).

Michelangelo Pistoletto and The Apple Made Whole Again, Baths of Caracalla (vaults), Ph. P. Di Pietro

Building on the mathematical infinity sign, Pistoletto

devises its two halves as first and second paradise,

referring respectively to the age of total union

between man and nature, followed by the ‘artificial’

paradise developed by human intelligence. In this

imaginary, the Third Paradise consists in the active

fusion of the two worlds: a third phase of humanity,

characterized by a balanced integration of the natural

and the man-made, indispensable to ensure survival.

Moreover, as we learn that the word ‘paradise’ derives

from the Ancient Persian for ‘protected garden’, we

visualize a connection between Earth’s abandonment

and a detrimental life. As a result of this speculation,

the eight-shaped symbol takes the form of three

consecutive circles, where the opposing nature and

artifice get detached and again united by a larger

central circle, ‘the generative womb of a new humanity’.

Another, more immediate symbol utilized by Pistoletto

to illustrate the Third Paradise is ‘The Apple Made

Whole Again’ (‘La Mela Reintegrata’), a big size work

first installed at the centre of Piazza Duomo in Milan

for the EXPO, later donated to the City of Milan and

permanently moved to Piazza Duca d’Aosta.

Since its inception, Third Paradise was activated at

an operational level through variegated activities

undertaken by Cittadellarte and its global network,

following the ‘Art of Demopraxy’ - a neologism

where ‘praxis’, Greek for ‘practice’, replaces ‘kratos’,

Greek for ‘power’ -, that aims at people’s practice of

democracy, freed from political parties’ mediation. If

we think of the micro-organizations - family, company,

school - each of us is part of, then this is not a

complex system to embrace, but rather a sustainable

tool that, making us conscious of our role in society,

can improve our decision-making process.

Keeping the focus on the big scheme of things, the

Foundation instituted a ‘Rebirth-day’ on the 21st

December - after the 2012 ‘end of the world’ belief

- to celebrate ‘the commitment to collaborate in

a responsible transformation of global society’. In

addition to that, each year, the Rebirth/Third Paradise

ambassadors pick a new allegorical color to ‘dress' the

symbol and spread a message. Linking to the keyword

‘rebirth’, 2020’s shade is Pantone 375c, a bright

green.

‘Light green as a bud, a newly born leaf on the Third

Paradise tree. The trunk is representing Cittadellarte

and the lymph is the Demopraxy, forming together

the living and lively work designed by an artist:

Michelangelo Pistoletto.’, explained Saverio Teruzzi,

project’s coordinator.

154 155

Michelangelo Pistoletto has never stopped protecting and nurturing his relationship with the city of

Biella. This year, on the occasion of the city’s entitlement as one of the 66 new UNESCO Creative

Cities, the master decided to license the Third Paradise symbol to the Comune of Biella, allowing a

thorough visual representation of the city’s operative and innovative power, together with its global

cultural engagement. Another initiative in synergy with Biella Creative City is the BIellezza Foundation,

recently presented by the founding partners Paolo Zegna, Franco Ferraris and Maurizio Sella, together

with Cittadellarte’s director Paolo Naldini. The Foundation is aimed at increasing the local tourism and

creating new job opportunities for the youth, imperative goals especially within today’s crisis.

In relation to the current situation, Naldini composed a ‘Quarantine Manifesto’ that asks: ‘How will

you live? How will you learn? How will you communicate? How will you express yourself? How will you

do everything you do?’. Believe it or not, we have the power to give our personal answers and act

accordingly. In this sense, the Manifesto proposes and promotes, next to the sense of balance - fully

embodied in the Third Paradise -, a choral shift from Demopraxy to Pandemopraxy, envisioning a

post-coronavirus rebirth pursued by collective responsible practices. Together with it, the research

activity is highlighted as the third resource to intimately understand our environment and contribute

to its regeneration.

Pistoletto himself contracted the virus and, in exibart.podcast’s ‘New Normal’, he recalls the sense

of emptiness felt looking at the hospital’s white wall and the need to give it a meaning. Once

experienced our potential nullification as single entities, emptiness becomes the central circle of the

trinamics, necessary to meet each other and create. The artist specifies that, being art the expression

of man’s creative capacity, we can all be sensitive and responsible creators. He concludes with the

memory of Arte Povera’s founder Germano Celant, who sadly died of coronavirus on April 29, at the

age of 80. An exceptional figure and friend, Celant has always been present in the artist’s career -

the two were collaborating on the creation of Michelangelo’s catalogue of works.

Cittadellarte has started a year-long partnership with Lanificio F.lli Cerruti aimed at the donation

of 100000 masks to the Croce Rossa Italiana, plus 10000 certified surgical masks destined to

Biella’s Hospital. To support the production cost, a crowdfunding campaign has been activated on

cittadellarte.it, and Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T. (Biella Ethical Sustainable Trend), that researches and

plans sustainable fashion since 2009, has relocated and moved its sewing machines to the Cerruti

headquarters. The initiative strengthens the collaboration between the Croce Rossa Italiana and

Cittadellarte: in 2018, the two entities founded Arte della cura* - whose symbol is a new version

of Pistoletto’s Third Paradise - with the aim of alleviating people’s physical and emotional suffering.

Terzo Paradiso, Michelangelo Pistoletto, 2018, Italian Cultural Institute, Berlin, Ph. D. Laganà

156 157

Why MELC likes it:

Michelangelo Pistoletto and his Foundation are the perfect

embodiment of Leopardi’s look ‘beyond the fence’,

which opens previously unreachable realities.

Metrocubo d’infinito in un Cubo specchiante, Michelangelo Pistoletto, 2019, Villa Colloredo Mels, Recanati

Eventually, we’d like to put the accent on the master’s relation with Giacomo Leopardi. ‘Metrocubo d’infinito in

un Cubo specchiante’ was created for the ‘Interminati spazi e sovrumani silenzi. Giovanni Anselmo e Michelangelo

Pistoletto’ exhibition, held in Recanati to celebrate the bicentenary of ‘L’Infinito’. The work was a reinterpretation

of ‘Metrocubo d’infinito’ (1965), a cube formed by six mirrors with their reflecting surface turned inward, defined

as a finite container of infinity.

158 159

ESEMPLARE

Breath-In, Breath-Out

Francesca Scarfone

Founded in 2000 by the two pattern-makers Fulvio Botto and Francesco Martorella as a garments Prototyping

& Engineering specialist, today Pattern represents the largest independent reality in the pattern-making field,

serving the most prestigious haute couture maisons. The first Italian pattern-making company receiving the

SA8000/Social Accountability certification, Pattern Group aims at being an Italian champion of sustainability

in the luxury fashion system by meeting and exceeding the standards of the circular economy, as the company's

participation to several global agreements on climate and environment proves. In 2019, the group confirmed its

strategic investment in sustainability, technology and human resources by being the first Italian signatory of UN’s

Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action: a 360-degree commitment that includes a target of 30% GHG

emission reductions by 2030.

In 2014, Pattern acquires ESEMPLARE, a functional menswear brand characterized by a constant research on

fibers and textiles, applied to an innovative design. In line with the parent company, the brand succeeded in

achieving and striving for Sustainable Development Goals, as it started a five-year plan to be carbon neutral

within 2023, to support economic and social sustainability, to implement circular economy and revalue waste

principals.

ESEMPLARE designs garments that can reach the highest performance under any climate condition and

environmental stress, providing contemporary urban travelers with a unique experience. This cross functionality

is embedded in the products’ minimal and clean aesthetics, and emphasized by the iconic reversed Y yoke. All

products are designed, engineered and developed in Italy, as a result of continuous experimentations on noble

raw materials, aimed at perfectly merging technology with ecology on the one hand, and Italian sartorial elegance

on the other. With the objective of crafting designs made to live, whilst promoting a circular consumption, all

ESEMPLARE collections are sustainable and the FW2020 collection is 93% recycled.

Within the current multi-layered evolution, ESEMPLARE’s values of ‘regeneration’ and ‘diversity’ truly act as the

foundation to offer innovative models, that can support the wearer in any challenge and extraordinary experience.

For this reason, the team concentrates on the development of smart textiles, that can flexibly offer protection

to environmental agents and, thanks to the ergonomic focus, are able to guarantee extreme comfort and high

performance.

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The most recent addition to the brand’s functional product range is ‘Breath-In’ - where ‘In’ stands for ‘Integrated’

-, which implements an innovative protective technology, fully integrated to town-wear. A concise expression

presents the project: ‘Ability to Breath in Chaos’. Deeply linked to our mission, these words summarize a multitude

of hopes and fears, and build a bridge between safety and self-care. Reconnecting to ESEMPLARE’s core

proposition of a challenge-ready outerwear, evolving and reactive, the brand has looked at our newly fragile

society, and found an unprecedented way to keep it protected. In this sense, ‘Breath-In’ anticipates ‘mobility’

as the brand’s SS12 collection’s theme, shifting the focus from the weather condition to the city’s renovated

landscape. Once more, this wouldn’t have been possible without some strong engineering competencies and

a thorough research of the most performing materials in terms of movement, comfort and safety. The result is

a combination of a ‘4way stretch’ fabric of highly technical composition, and two heat-sealed Sensitive® Plus

layers, that, thanks to the antibacterial, sun block, and quick drying features, work as a barrier against smog,

smoke, pollen, and mites. The fabric is produced in an ethical way in line with the SensitivEcoSystem® program,

that requires a strict monitoring of production phases to reduce water, energy and chemicals consumption.

The project is composed by four modular genderless styles, in a deep blue shade: two soft shell, one balaclava/

second-skin and one mask. ABC1-softshell is the first prototype providing the breathing apparatus with a highly

innovative protection system - fully integrated with the hood - comprising of a renewable filtering. Each of the

ergonomic models - sold with a kit of spare filters - comes with an external aeration system and a replaceable

infra-layer filter. The products will be available for sale exclusively on the e-commerce platform of ESEMPLARE,

starting from mid-June 2020.

Exercising the brand’s sustainable-thinking approach, the ‘b-in’ are designed to last. ‘Something has changed.’

says Fulvio Botto, co-founder of Pattern. ‘Many more consumers are developing a critical approach towards

shopping, supporting companies committed to Earth’s wellbeing… Our real heritage for future generations.’.

ESEMPLARE has been able to translate its complex vision into pure products, setting new industry standards and

proving that real commitment, together with authentic actions, makes things possible.

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VI

'E mi sovvien l'eterno,


E viva, e il suon di lei'

LAURA ROSSI

New Bottega


Photos courtesy of Laura Rossi

ALONDRA - When did your passion for

fashion start?

LAURA - My passion for fashion started a

long time ago. I started reading magazines like

Vogue when I was a little kid and I fell in love

with the whole fashion world right away. I also

grew up watching movies and shows like The

Clique and Gossip Girl, which made me feel

even more fascinated by it.

A. - How did you get the idea for

@newbottega?

L. - I’ve always loved keeping up with the

fashion musical chairs, especially when it’s

about fashion houses and their creative

directors. I remember walking by Bottega

Veneta stores in the past and being fascinated

by how majestic and luxurious they looked

from the outside, but I’ve never really known

much about the brand, it always looked very

mysterious in my eyes. One day, I saw the

article about Tomas Maier’s departure and,

a few days later, Daniel’s appointment as the

new creative director was announced. When

Daniel’s first interview for Vogue came out, it

felt like it was the beginning of something big.

I remember reading about his plan for Bottega

Veneta and thinking: 'YESS! This is what

fashion needs right now!'. I felt excited about

it and I thought that it was time to celebrate a

new beginning in fashion.

A. - You now have more than 250k followers,

but when did you realize that the account was

becoming very popular and impactful?

L. - The account didn’t have immediate

success… I never thought it would have

had success at all, to be honest; it was just

supposed to be an archive of the Bottega

Veneta products, where the brand’s customers

could get inspiration from. The growth

reached its peak around summer, when the first

collection started dropping in stores; that’s

when magazines also started reaching out to

me for interviews and collaborations and that’s

also when I realized that things were becoming

more serious.

A. - You previously said that you were a

big fan of Celine before the departure of

Phoebe Philo, what was your reaction when

Hedi Slimane was announced as the new art

director?

L. - When I've heard about Slimane's

appointment I was surprised, obviously, but I

was also excited to be honest, because I was a

huge fan of his work at Saint Laurent and I was

really curious to see what were his plans for

Celine.

A. - How did you receive the news about a

possible Phoebe Philo brand? Do you think this

will influence the success of Bottega Veneta?

L. - When I’ve heard of Phoebe’s possible

comeback I was thrilled, but I think we won’t

be able to tell how much this will influence

the success of Bottega Veneta until her first

collection will be presented. Honestly, I think

that Bottega Veneta and old Celine - well…

Phoebe Philo’s clients -, they kind of share the

same aesthetic, but I don’t think that people

want to replace one with another, because,

with time, Bottega Veneta and Daniel Lee

showed that they know how to create their

image. They are independent, they are not

relying on his past at Celine anymore and they

never did, so I think consumers will really love

both brands and this will just be a nice way

to have two maisons that reminisce about the

same aesthetic at the same time.

A. - Which are your plans for the future?

L. - My plan for the future is definitely to

work in fashion, but at the moment I want to

let things naturally evolve and kind of just go

with the flow. I’d be definitely focusing more

on the communication side of fashion from

now on, which is something that I’ve always

been passionate about, but never got into it

properly, and then I’ll just see where it will lead

to...

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A. - Nostalgia has been dominating fashion's

biggest trends over the past years and you

have been the first to look forward, what do

you think will happen now since we need to

look into the future?

L. - I think nostalgia has brought many

positive things, but also some negative things

to fashion; now it’s very important to look into

the future, but, as we look forward, it's also

necessary to keep all the good things about

the past and include in the future of fashion

everything we have learned from it.

A. - In your opinion, what is the role of

Instagram in such an insecure time, and what

will it be in the future?

L. - Usually, I am not a huge fan of Instagram

when it comes to art and creativity, but I love

how fashion and social media combined can

bring people together from all over the world.

It’s the best tool that we have nowadays to

share our work and our passions, so I think

that is important that we keep using it as a

platform to connect and to support each other

as much as we can.

A. - Which was the last thing you ate?

L. - Pasta with carbonara sauce.

A. - What is infinity for you and is there a

relationship between infinity and fashion?

L. - Infinity to me is such a complex topic,

that sometimes when I think about it I end

up having so many thoughts that I can’t even

really figure out what my opinion is about it.

I guess that, if there’s something that fashion

and infinity have in common, is that the former

will always exist as long as humanity does. It will

always be there, constantly changing for sure,

but always with the same role towards people,

community and society.

'I think my role is

very much about

creating a product

that has an emotional

connection.

There's a lot of

consideration, a lot

of precision.

And I think that is

where we stand out'

D. Lee

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A recollection of inexperiences

Beatriz Barros

The more technological we get, the more we long for the simplicity of

analogical processes. The sales of vinyl records, tape recorders and

film cameras continue to increase. An opposite reaction that perhaps

subconsciously aims at creating a balance to our fast-paced world, but one

that is led by people who feel nostalgic for something they never had.

We construct in ourselves a memory in which theoretically we can be

nothing but spectators, and we escape there. We take refuge in the hope

or in the despair of missing what is over. A place that will always remain a

foreign home to us because no future could ever destroy it.

And so in times of present restlessness, we return. Return to being the sons

of mothers who were never born. We bring back tokens that manifest the

grandiosity of things we could never measure.

It's curious how we always seek an escape. Most of us just buy plane tickets and head off to a place where no one knows us,

to experience some sort of reality that was not available to us back home.

Others escape in time. Think about science fiction or futurism, how millions of us rely on the future — sometimes utopian,

other times visionary — to create new realities that simply wouldn't fit in our 9-5 schedules.

Escaping to the past could seem nonsense. On one hand you have your previous experiences to rely on, a home to which

you can always come back. On the other hand, how real can your memories actually be? Childhood seems like a time of

wonders and discoveries. Pain and suffering are covered with a soft resilient layer.

Memory, however, is not always the target of our need to escape. How could it be? If every time we remember something,

we don't really remember the fact or situation per se, but what comes to our mind is the last time we thought about it. No

memory could ever be held in high regard when it comes to being truthful. And still we blindly rely in our past as something

set in stone to guide us in our future decisions and in what we believe that creates our values and principles.

Photo by Adrien Converse

Even the most skeptical minds could argue that as hazy and deceitful as memory can be, we would still need to trust it. After

all, the present is as immediate as much as it is gone, and the future can be nothing but the concept of a constant state of

becoming. A mise-en-scène that as soon as the curtains open, it stops being what it is. A mise-en-abyme of stories and

possibilities placed one inside the next until it becomes memory.

Therefore it comes as no surprise wanting to stray towards a non-locality of remembrance. We regress to a foreign memory,

one in which we played no part but can relate so intensely to it. Think of the nostalgic feeling that overwhelms you when

you are confronted with a past that you didn't experience.

That is precisely what Anemoia is. A present state of incompleteness that generates a longing reaching as far back as one's

imagination may travel.

There has been a resurgence of movies, songs, objects and even advertising campaigns that refer to certain aspects or

objects that belong to a bygone era, a period in which the creators themselves did not even take part.

Think of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, that revisits les années folles, the crazy years of Paris in the 1920s. The movie was

a huge success not (only) because of the renowned director, but specially due to the fact that it turned into reality what

we could only experience as the feeling of anemoia.

The main character, Gil Pender, hops on a 1920's car that takes him back to the Roaring Twenties, directly at a Jean

Cocteau party whose guests were amongst the likes of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, and Cole Porter. Further on he meets

Hemingway, Dalí, Picasso and Gertrude Stein, a somewhat premium selection of the intellectual and artistic society of the

time. In fact, it doesn't come as a surprise when he explicitly mentions that certain things were exactly as he had imagined

them to be, and says it in a way of someone that recalls a distant personal memory, not one informed by books.

The grip this particular movie has on many of us is the precise fact that we, as much as Gil, have not only imagined how

life in those years might have been like, but we actually feel nostalgic about it. No need to say that, as the main character,

Woody Allen was not even alive at the time the main part of the movie was set in.

Recollect all the masterpieces you can gather from your longings. Make

an inventory and say it out loud. Say it enough times so it becomes part

of your breath. Relive once, twice, maybe a hundred times again in your

imagination. Tokens for the yearning of a time in which words stripped bare

many barriers but you were not there.

Anemoia teaches you to tear nostalgia off piece by piece and feel how

softly it bruises your reality. The problem is not the memory, it's the content.

The trigger is not factual, because you weren't even there. The desire to go

back is so much stronger than what you can deal with.

Indulge in present reminiscence, knowing that no masterpiece was ever

considered as such in the period when it was made.

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'THE GODFATHER'

Vitamin C of symbolism

Oana Alondra Mocanu

'They are and were there. At the old worlds rim,

In the Hesperidean grove, the fruit

Glowed golden on eternal boughs, and there

The dragon Landon crisped his jeweled crest

Scraped a gold claw and sharped a silver tooth

And dozen and waited through eternity

Until the tricksy hero Herakles

Came to his dispossession and the theft.'

These verses, taken from the epigraph of Possession and written by A. S. Byatt, narrate the eleventh labor of Hercules: to

take three fruits from the Garden of the Hesperides. In Greek mythology, this secret garden, located at the edge of the

world, was protected by Landon, an immortal creature with a hundred heads, the Hesperides, nymphs of the evening, and the

golden light of sunsets, daughters of Atlas. No human knew the location of this garden, where the Golden apples, gifted by

Gaia to Zeus and Hera for their wedding, were guarded. These Golden Apples symbolized knowledge and immortality, and,

differently from what the name suggests, they were not apples, but oranges.

These juicy and delicious golden fruits, whose name comes from the Persian ‘nārang’ (fragrance), are often represented

in literature, art, and cinema for their radiant and sunny color, and for the round shape that reminisces perfection and

continuity.

Over time, the connotations related to these fruits have changed, but always keeping a positive nature: the fruits epitomize

fertility and love, while the orange blossom symbolizes generosity and chastity - they are often present in wedding

receptions, to showcase the purity of the bride -, even if, in the past, their smell was evoking a sensual imaginary.

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Photo by Charles Deluvio

These meanings are rooted in the tradition of many cultures, but somehow, oranges have taken on a new and completely

different meaning in one of the greatest masterpieces in the cinema history: ‘The Godfather’.

The movie, based on the homonymous bestselling novel written by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a

true classic, in which symbolism is the main character: the door separates two worlds, the family unity and the underworld

family, the chair conveys isolation and the religious symbols are ubiquitous: the title of the movie itself, and the sacraments,

respectively the wedding and the baptism, that mark the beginning and end of the film, are the perfect occasion to

showcase the contrast between good and evil, sin and redemption.

In addition to these analogies, the role of food is very interesting: the apples, the grapes, and the peaches found in the

fruit baskets at Connie’s wedding reception, are associated to the desire of growth, richness, and loyalty; the raw fish sent

to the Corleone family is a Sicilian message that stands for drowning; the tomatoes that surround Don Vito Corleone on his

death, represent the fullness in life, together with the pleasure and satisfaction for the living he created for himself and his

family.

The Golden Apples, which primordially were

representing immortality and continuity,

became a sign of impelling death, and an omen

of conclusion, with Don Vito Corleone himself

dying with an orange wedge in his mouth.

This symbolic fruit is present across the whole

trilogy, but evolves from the second movie to

become an allegory of sacrifice required in

exchange for power: the young Vito Corleone,

after having killed Don Fanucci, humbly accepts

an orange as a gift, as an acceptance of the

sacrifices that he will need to make for his

position as a ‘Don’, while his son, Michael, will

die alone, with an orange in his hand, after

having sacrificed his own family for power.

This film, acclaimed by the critic for its

scenography, dramatic photography, and music,

is an everlasting classic that has conquered the

mind, the hearts, and, probably now, the palate

of many, while changing the tradition.

Despite the cunning that unites Hercules and

Don Michael Corleone, and their connection

with the golden apples, the two characters,

as the oranges’ symbology evoked in the two

stories, are very different: the first becomes

immortal, while the second dies in loneliness,

full of regrets. Maybe because Hercules was

living in a simpler society, while the Don,

paraphrasing what Francis Ford Coppola once

said, had access to too much money, too much

power, and, little by little, he went insane.

Photo by Lisa Valmorbida

Food, in ‘The Godfather’, generally constitutes identity, honor, family, and accomplishment, unlike oranges, that became,

unintentionally, a harbinger of extreme negativity.

These fruits appear in many scenes across the movie, under various forms: singularly, in fruit baskets, in carts, pressed

as juice, or simply on a billboard… They foreshadow that something terrible will happen to the characters. This was not

intended by the director, nor by the set designer, Dean Tavoularis, who admitted to having added the golden apples as a

reminder of Sicily, the native land of Vito Corleone, and to create a chromatic contrast in the dark set, where all colors had

red nuances.

MELC's tip to avoid insanity:

Take the cannoli, an orange juice, or Coppola's wine

if you prefer, and enjoy the intricate symbolism of this cult.

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CARMELO NICOTRA

The shape of rituals


Photos courtesy of Carmelo Nicotra

Carmelo Nicotra, born in Agrigento in 1983,

lives and works in Favara.

During his research experience, Carmelo

has identified a specific line of inquiry that

starts from observation in order to reach a

recording and archiving of dynamics (social

and political) governing the community in

which he grew up.

Always attentive to both the aesthetic and

the content matters, the artist experiments

with media (painting, sculpture, installation,

drawing, audio, video and graphic design)

to share his study of the local dialect, the

traditions, the oral heritage, customs and

beliefs, with the intention of writing a visual

history of contemporary Favara.

At the same time, Carmelo's production shows

a clear interest in daily news (for example, with

respect to social and architectural changes to

the urban context), carefully investigated and

transferred with a language that alternates

communicative immediacy and conceptual

poetics.

Aside from his artistic opus, he co-founded,

together with his mother, Scocca Papillon, a

brand specialized in handmade bow ties and

men's accessories, all crafted from secondhand

and vintage fabrics.

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FRANCESCA - Leopardi says ‘Sempre caro

mi fu quest’ermo colle’, how would you describe

your relationship with Favara and Sicily?

CARMELO - It’s a relationship characterized

by harsh contrasts, that are indeed part of

the territory’s DNA. I’m glad I was born there,

especially considering the local culturalhistorical

and naturalistic treasures, but it

has always been a conflictual love. I never

resign myself to the political neglect and

mismanagement that unluckily keep trampling

on my region. If we compare Sicily to other

places, a lot of things are still far from being

achieved, and if, on the one hand, this made

me even prouder of myself and my work, on

the other, I realize how much Sicily has to offer

- without any effort - and I get upset about

such paradox. I’m one of those guys who chose

to stay in Sicily, and I’m proud I built up a job

that is rooted here and allows me not to leave.

Luckily, there’s also a positive Sicily, the one

I observe and approach. Favara, in this sense,

becomes an epitome, considering the urban

regeneration project carried out by Farm

Cultural Park’s cultural center, that, in ten

years, has managed to awaken a community

and turn it into a crossroads of individuals,

practitioners, architects, artists, designers…

Maybe, without such movement, I wouldn’t have

stayed in Favara.

I feel connected to Sicily not only because it’s

my birthplace, but also because, since school,

I engaged with its culture, and got intrigued

by authors like Pirandello and Sciascia, the

study of the dialect and all local customs.

Favara has exercised a major influence on these

interests, that later came forward in my artistic

research, as a sort of magnifier to look at that

‘Sicilianità’ that I generally represent, often

using a critical/ironic eye, perhaps to exorcise

both discomfort and specific values.

Photo by G. Abbruzzese

F. - Your artistic production originates from

the study of the relations between man and

territory, intended as an ‘architectural, social

and anthropological place’. How did this

research grow and what did you learn from it?

C. - It has been a gradual process, brought

forward with time. It all started from a social

research: an activity of anthropological

analysis of certain habits and customs proper

of my community - also carried out through

interviews, as you see from my 2008 work

on the mourning tradition. A series of analysis

revealed how many patterns were reflecting at

a formal level, and this made me understand

how cultural legacies can influence - for

example - the concept of ‘housing’, the impact

this can have on buildings or architectural

ornaments, as on the broader development of a

urban environment.

Ars Dicendi, 2011, 7 chairs, monitors, colour video, sound, '7''19 loop, variable dimensions

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Le ragioni della leggerezza, 2018, installation view, Bocs, Catania, Ph. G. Abbruzzese

Suspended memories, 2011, frame, bedside table, chair, door, variable dimensions

(site-specific installation, Farm Cultural Park, Favara)

F. - In your last exhibitions, contrasting shapes and materials merge, giving birth to

unprecedented elegant sculptures, within a set that recalls a theatrical volatility and

transience. Which role do space and time play in such representations?

C. - To answer this question, I’d like to cull a part of the text written for me by Nicolas

Liney, PhD student in classical studies at Oxford University, upon the invitation of Cornelia

Lauf, who curated the text of my most recent 2019 solo exhibition, held at the Massimo

Ligreggi Gallery in Catania. I believe no one has ever examined my bond with the theatrical

dimension of space in such a precise manner. ‘Carmelo Nicotra is an artist who is reinhabiting

the theatrical world of antiquity. His works particularly exhibit a deep connection

with the dramaturgy of Greek tragedy. For the ancients, the theatre was a place of representation

and reproduction of well-known stories, organized to reveal something new,

unfamiliar and profoundly disorienting. Nicotra’s strange spaces and orchestration of the

familiar and quotidian into an unusual narrative similarly dislodges us, prompting us into a

cathartic state of self-reflection. They hover between the creative act and representation,

what Aristotle would call mimesis – the fabricated imitation of the real. What especially

intrigues me is how Nicotra carefully negotiates space as a site of embodied contest and

struggle between the ideological extremes of architectural, social and political realms. Like

tragedy, there is no scene of consensus, but playful imbalance and continuous change.’

(Nicolas Liney, In e-mail correspondence, University of Oxford, England, with the author,

Rome, 10 June 2019).

F. - Seeing demolished houses has inspired artworks like ‘Suspended memories’, ‘37° 19’ 07’’

N 13° 39’ 47’’ E’ and ‘Vuoti urbani’. Can joining such places and art re-evoke, at least in part,

their primordial beauty, thus preserving both collective and individual memory?

C. - Absolutely, that is the major analysis I aspire to propose to whoever tries to codify this

transposing intervention of mine. It has been nice to find myself multiple times - to my surprise

- with people encountering those works for the first time, and to see their diverse reactions,

from concussion, to weeping, to the remembrance of personal memories… It really impressed

me, and it made me more aware of art’s universality: it reflects each of us in a unique and

different way.

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Solo Show, 2019, installation view, Massimo Ligreggi Gallery, Catania, Ph. L. Guarneri

F. - Your wish for change comes clear also in Scocca Papillon, your company specialized in

handmade bow ties created with vintage fabrics. Can you describe this project and tell us how

you managed to carve out a space in the vast Italian panorama?

C. - Yes, I like to define it as ‘a pleasant accident’, one of those things in life that start as

a game from a passion, and then unexpectedly become a full-time job. Scocca Papillon is a

micro-enterprise, producing bow ties and small matching accessories for men. I deal with the

design and marketing side, while my mom takes care of the sartorial production. The project

was born in 2012 as a part of The Second Life, a vintage and handmade market exposition -

that I co-founded -, which found its seat within the cultural center/contemporary art space

of Farm Cultural Park, in my city, Favara (Ag). In line with the ‘re-use’ mission, I decided to

proceed with my own production of entirely hand stitched bow ties, reutilizing vintage and

scrap fabrics from old warehouses, aiming at the valorization of one-of-a-kind pieces and

sustainable consumption. Over the years, pushed by the growing wedding market, the project

evolved to include new fabrics in a range of fashion-oriented colors and original patterns.

Our main sales channel is the digital international marketplace Etsy, which has allowed us to

ship our bow ties almost in each continent, and to gain visibility on mainstream magazines like

GQ, Glamour and Brides UK.

Papillon and Pocket square, Scocca Papillon

Display cabinet, 2018, wood, polystyrene, plaster, 177x150x37 cm, Bocs, Catania, Ph. G. Abbruzzese

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F. - Do you perceive art and fashion as two

interdependent entities?

C. - Sure, I believe all arts are tied and

mutually influence each other, bringing forward,

often with similar methods, socially relevant

messages and needs. This type of expression

arises from artistic sensitivities that met across

the history of art and costume, specifically

thanks to eclectic artists, who implemented a

360-degree vision into their opus, spanning

from paintings, to design objects, to clothing.

I’ve always been fascinated by this openness to

contamination, and this expanded gaze that

goes beyond one’s specific sector.

F. - You said that ‘the act of confrontation and

relation to the work should be an experience,

not entertainment.’. How will the interaction

between the audience and the artwork mutate

in the forthcoming ‘new normal’?

C. - Yes, sadly, we happen to visit exhibitions

that result being entertainment events ends

in themselves, where the artworks are only

the boundary. Probably, the fact of accessing

exhibitions at intervals makes the spaces

uncrowded, and I hope this new approach

will help to intensify a ‘personal’ relationship

with the piece, favoring an much more

intimate interaction with the art object and its

fundamental reading within the exhibition -

being it an enclosed or an open space - that

hosts it.

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Costruzione esagonale and side table, installation view, 2017, Sandretto Foundation, Turin, Ph. G. Perottino

F. - ‘Necrologio', ‘Istogramma’ and ‘Dialogo’ are visual translations of rituals rooted in your

land. What value do you give to these rituals, do you think they’re still effective tools to hold

communities together?

C. - These particular works are of massive, almost ‘ancestral’ value to me, as they are a

transposition of my personal narrative and childhood, when I used to visit my grandmother and

my aunts, who were living a communal dimension with their neighbors. Back then, I was even

closer to a world still culturally attached to certain customs, and to slowness, with rhythms

less affected by technology, which landed aggressively and radically changed our daily habits,

social interactions and the perception of space and time. I don’t demonize technology, but

we must acknowledge that it surely created a large gap in human relations. It’s curious to see

how things that until a few decades ago were considered common, today have become ‘social

experiments’, presented with sensationalism! It’s really sad to observe how much we’ve lost in

the short time, leaving more and more room for homologation. I feel privileged, today, to draw

a comparison with a certain kind of past, and to have tasted, even for a little while, part of

that now lost authenticity.

Dialogo, 2010, sunflower seed hulls, Ø 120 cm

F. - What does infinity mean to you?

C. - That moment when I’ll be sure to wake up each day and draw eternity.

Necrologio, 2008, print on paper, 200x300 cm; Istogramma uomo/donna, 2008, print on paper, 25x25 cm each

F. - Could you draw it?

C. - Yes, I will… tomorrow.

*Read more about the curator of Le ragioni della leggerezza on page 226*

188 189

REGENESI

Do you believe in second chances?

Francesca Scarfone

One of the most captivating projects developed by the brand is the Fruit Bag, a shopper made of regenerated leather,

that fully resembles the paper bags from the local market. Fun, cute, but functional, the model was designed by Setsu

and Shinobu Ito, who seized the opportunity to give added value to an everyday object, by turning it ‘from throw-away

shopping bag to unique accessory’. Elevating products through innovation and creativity, Regenesi aims at providing you

with lifelong companions, the ones you can count on to store fruits, memories, and other valuables.

What should I do with an object, once I feel

like it does not serve its purpose anymore?

Regenesi will easily give you an answer and

provide you with a tailor-made solution.

Born in 2008 from Maria Silvia Pazzi’s dream

of making the world a better place by giving

new life to old materials, Regenesi is globally

recognized as the first lifestyle brand to fully

invest in sustainability.

A true example of ‘post consumer luxury’,

Regenesi has been able to expand its portfolio,

that now includes women’s and men’s bags

and accessories, plus home and office décor.

An extensive range of fully recycled materials

(aluminium, glass, leather, plastic, paper…)

is ethically and beautifully reworked by

the minds of Regenesi’s designers - Denis

Santachiara, Giulio Iacchetti, Marco Ferreri,

Matali Crasset, and Setsu and Shinobu Ito, to

name a few - and by the hands of skilled Italian

craftsmen.

‘Transform waste into beauty’ has been

Silvia’s mission, since she understood the

criticalness of the waste emergency in the

south of Italy. The ability of turning a rejected

piece into an object of desire lies at the

brand’s core and represents a solid base for

growth and longevity, especially considering

the increased global concern towards the

remnants of today’s consumeristic society.

What differentiates Regenesi from many ‘ecofriendly’

competitors, is that circular economy

has been an integral part of the brand’s vision

since its inception, 12 years ago.

We read on their website: ‘for us 100% style,

100% regenerated and 100% made in Italy

is a way of being, even before a pay off.’.

o-Re-gami Mobile Lamp, Matali Crasset for Regenesi

This has played a fundamental role in building

credibility, so much that leading brands like

Lamborghini have turned to Regenesi for

co-branding collaborations and circular

economy consultancies. Silvia defines Regenesi

as a ‘cognitive’ company, and highlights the

Regenesi Method©, that, characterized by

‘a balance between the creative act and the

extreme organization’, facilitates partnerships’

and projects’ success.

Fruit Bag Beige, Setsu & Shinobu Ito for Regenesi

‘Aesthetics without ethics cannot exist. The world of production and goods will become increasingly, positively intertwined

with values bound to sustainability.’, says Giulio Iacchetti, Regenesi designer and winner of two Compasso d’Oro.

In an era of fast continuous images, we can easily get carried away, lose our focus and forget what we really like. In this

context, having brands that promote a deeper and longer connection with products, encourages society to move forward in

its crucial journey towards the abandonment of an unconscious consumption.

190 191

VII

'Così tra questa

Immensità s'annega il pensier mio'

JOCHEN HOLZ

The playful side of glass

Jochen Holz is a London-based

German artist and glassblower.

Specialised in lampworking

technique, which originated in

the 20 th century, Holz transforms

prefabricated borosilicate glass

tubes into one-off glassware,

bespoke objects, jewellery,

and neon pieces, which are

represented in craft and gallery

shops across the UK and Europe.

By letting the process of the

making play a central role in his

practice, his work always pushes

its material, defying conventional

notions of glass as pure and

uncorrupted.

His works also include fashion

jewellery for Peter Pilotto’s AW17

show, fine art with See-ds and

numerous design fairs such as

Cumuliform at Nomad Monaco

and Miami Basel.


Photos courtesy of Jochen Holz

194 195

FRANCESCA - How and why did you start

working with glass?

JOCHEN - I was drawn to glass because

it had the image of a difficult and special

material to work with and I liked the idea of a

skill-based practice. I was very lucky to come

in contact with lots of different crafts and

materials in my high school years but never

with glass, so I decided to enroll in a 3-year

technical glass course in Germany when I was

20.

F. - Can glassblowing, with its immediacy and

spontaneity, be compared to the manipulation

of marble, wood or other materials?

J. - Glass is a unique material in this respect,

it changes from fluid to solid so quickly that it

really has a very particular way of working with

it. There isn't a slow approach to glassblowing,

it has to happen at the moment when it is hot

and malleable.

F. - You create one of a kind pieces, how do

you perceive this uniqueness? Do you ever

dislike the end result?

J. - Of course I make things which go wrong

and it is this risk that makes it interesting and

challenging to work with glass.

F. - German, living in London, working as an

Italian master. What did all these countries

teach you?

J. - I am glad I had the chance to learn a

craft in a very skill-based school in Germany,

but I think most importantly was my time at

the Art College in the UK that made me ask

the question 'what do I actually want to make

now?'. The idea of mastering a material is

important to me but I can't identify so much

with being a 'master', there is a bit too much

machismo in this term for me.

Neon Lights, 2020, dis/rupt, Make Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Ph. E. Lewis

F. - In your 25 years of experience, which

creation have you been most proud of?

J. - I don't think I could pin this to a single

object, it is more that I feel happy to have

found a language I like and I feel it keeps

feeding my practice.

F. - Your glass objects, such as ‘Colored

incalmo Glass’, are colorful and playful. What

are your inspirations and how do you ‘use’ them

during the process?

J. - I like to animate forms in my work, and

for this to happen playfulness is important,

so changes and decisions come naturally in a

sort of conversation with the work during the

making.

F. - Considering the glassblowing tradition,

everyone would call you an artisan, but you

also like to push boundaries, as you did with

‘Neon lights’. How important is it for you to

experiment and innovate?

J. - Skill-based crafts can become

monotonous and repetitive, and for me it is

very important to escape this sense of 'closing

down'.

F. - Yours is a highly physical work that

requires, quoting you, ‘to stay in the present’.

Does this influence your perception of the

digital world and how?

J. - I am slightly pre-digital in that sense and

it certainly has no impact on my work in a

direct sense. There is a parallel thought in the

very smooth, organic, fluid-like shapes I make

in glass with digital renderings in films - the

liquid metal robot in ‘Terminator 2’ for example,

etc.

196 197

198 199

Coloured Incalmo Glass, Ph. A. Mill

F. - What does infinity mean to you and how

would you portray it with glass?

J. - I think infinity is a pure internal concept

and is only meaningfully experienced by

looking inwards. A physical representation of

it is only interesting when it becomes a ‘nonobject’,

so maybe I would just stretch out a

glass strand into a long glass fiber. When glass

is stretched out to a hair thickness it becomes

flexible and could be rolled up into a circle, like

a lasso.

200 201

Pastel Candlesticks, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Ph. A. Mill

EōN

Infinite melodies

Giacomo Ioannisci


EōN is the triumph of the algorithm that escapes the analytical schemes to finally ‘come alive’ with music.

Using Jarre’s original material, not only music gets constantly rearranged in countless compositions, but

every particular ‘instance’ within the infinite album is different. If we restart the app, another album will

be initiated. It all depends on us - and our laptop battery. We remain 'dei ex machina' of all things.

Just like numbers have been constituted by man, Jarre’s app has a human input, but what is performed is

magically unique, indivisible and unspeakable.

The fleeting infinity. I feel like this expression perfectly translates

the 'EōN' project: a music and graphic app, curated by Jean-

Michel Jarre, whose name reminds to the ancient Greek God of

Time and Eternity.

Primordially, any object, place, or era had its musicality. In this

sense, the artist who knew how to spread and popularize the

almost obsessive search for a worldly sonority was Brian Eno,

British composer and mastermind of ambient music. According

to Eno, music lies within spatiality, and, therefore, within our

surroundings. Yet it can also take the form of math, calculus and

rationality; everything that the technological evolution let us

experience. Over the decades, in fact, sound has been digitalized

and converted into a summation of inputs and outputs that can

be controlled from apps.

Photo courtesy of Aero Productions

In this framework, we connect to the ‘EōN’ experiment, which is

structured like a music album. It is based on 7 hours of music,

composed by Jarre with a software able to generate a potentially

infinite album. Each subjective instant in which the app is

accessed - by a specific person in a specific moment - leads to

an expanding and eternal music.

As shown by the demo that is accessible on different platforms,

including YouTube, this is, to all intents and purposes, a concept

album of which each of us is the sole protagonist-user-listener.

But it’s not just music, because Jarre paired the continuous

sounds with some equally infinite visual effects, as a welcome mat

for what we’re listening to. Eternally.

202 203

MAURO COLAGRECO

Mira all'azzurro

Oana Alondra Mocanu

Grandmothers getting up early, tomato sauce bubbling, flour clouds, and the fragrant smell of bread -

this is the traditional Italian Sunday. An almost sacred event, that initiated Mauro Colagreco’s love for

food.

Born in La Plata, Argentina, but with Spanish and Italian roots, the Michelin starred chef spends his

childhood helping his grandma preparing tomato sauce ravioli, or simply eating the crispy bread that

she just took out from the oven. When he’s 14, unfortunately, she passes away and his culinary passion

fades. He studies literature in high school and majors in economics for two years, planning to take

over his father’s accounting company.

Nevertheless, he knows, in his heart, that this is not the career he wants, and, fortunately, his sister is

there, to remind him of his happy moments cooking with his grandmother, and her vision of food as a

medium to share affection.

So, he enrolls in the Colegio de Gastronomía Gato Dumas,

in Buenos Aires, and, after having paid his dues in different

restaurants, in 2001 he follows his professor's advice and

relocates to France. Here, Colagreco installs himself in

Chamalières, where he starts studying, and later working

along the great Bernard Loiseau, until his suicide. After this

devastating experience, the Italo-Argentinean chef moves

to Paris and apprentices under Alain Passard and Alain

Ducasse.

However, Paris and its frenetic pace of work starts to tire

him. He wants more, he wants an activity of his own. The

lack of investors, and the prohibitively high prices of

French real estate makes it hard, but he can’t give up, and,

in 2006, at the young age of 29, he rents a space and

settles in Menton, on the Italian-French border.

Here begins the beautiful story of Mirazur.

The restaurant, at the foot of the mountains overlooking

the sea, has won awards and certifications, one after the

other.

The most recent - and the most important one for us - is

the ‘plastic-free certification’, assigned by the homonymous

Italian start-up at the Chef World summit, for the

commitment taken by Mirazur within the restaurant’s sphere,

but also in respect of the external local community. The chef

has indeed made arrangements with suppliers, making sure

that they don’t only limit the usage of disposable plastic,

but also follow more generally sustainable habits.

204 205

*Discover one of Mauro's partnerships on page 246*

Colagreco’s fight against plastic started around four years

ago, when he was on vacation on the Yucatán Peninsula, in

Mexico, and saw 40 km of coast, which was supposed to be

unspoiled, strewn with plastic products, including some he

constantly used at Mirazur. This was an awakening moment

for him, who decided to find new innovative fibers that

would not harm the planet. He can now proudly say that he

managed to reduce plastic consumption by 95%, but he is

still working hard to eliminate that remaining 5%.

The chef has always valued local products and the Earth.

Already since 2008, he established in Menton, ‘the land

of the golden fruits’, four gardens, where he, his family

and team grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs, following a

permaculture system.

The Aromatics garden, The Rosmarino garden, The City

garden, and the garden in Castillon are not only a food

source, but also an exploratory activity for guests. In

‘Les sanctuaires du Mirazur’ - as the chef defines them

-, moments of reflection and dialogue on cultivation

techniques are stimulated, because, as he states: ‘A garden

is above all a territory of hope’.

Colagreco acknowledges the obligation of stopping and

focusing on sustainability and the future. Being at direct

contact with ingredients and producers, and having a high

visibility, he feels the responsibility to educate his team and

clients, sharing his values founded on respect - for people,

Earth, and life -, instilled by the rich Argentinean and Italian

cultures.

Why MELC likes it:

Exactly as Leopardi’s mind drowns in the immensity, our five senses

are inundated by Mirazur’s unique ‘green’ mix of details and balanced

ingredients, and, like the author, we gently sink into the sea, which is

now more ‘azzurro’ thanks to Mauro Colagreco's boundless cuisine.

206 207

'SKY BLUE', 1940

Art as action and reaction

Giorgia Nicolosi


Sky Blue, Vassily Kandinsky, 1940, oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris, France

It’s the year 1940 when Vassily Kandinsky

paints ‘Sky Blue’, observing the world from his

atelier.

Preserved at the Centre Pompidou, the

artwork was actualized during his period of

residence in France, concomitantly with the

occupation of Paris by the Nazis.

Kandinsky, father of the abstract movement,

was born with ‘First abstract watercolor’,

realized in 1910. This artistic current has the

scope to research shapes, colors and lines

that could express in new ways reality and its

concepts. Every reference to what is knowable

disappears, because art must not imitate

reality, but it has to be the relief valve of the

artist which allows him to liberate his fantasy.

The art piece presents itself as a blue expanse

- the color most beloved by Kandinsky - which

represents the sky recalling mankind towards

the infinity. The color is shading, as if the

scene was shrouded in mist, and surrounds

various biomorphic forms, with insect parts,

jellyfishes and other terrestrial and aquatic

creatures. Every being is a microcosmos of its

own, capable of resisting independently from

the painting’s figures and free to fluctuate

with no geometrical limitation.

Kandinsky’s intent, in this picture, is to apply

his biological and microorganisms studies into

a constant research of truth and knowledge of

what the mankind can not reach just with its

sight.

We are not observing the ordinariness

anymore; we are looking at a new reality, a

fantastic and oneiric world created by the

painter not only for himself, but to engage the

viewer which projects himself in, with all of his

senses.

It is fascinating to analyze the historic period

during which this work came to life.

Nazism was tightening his grip more and

more on the whole continent, imposing its

ideology and its dogmas, convicting any form

of dissent and freedom of thought, among

which the artistic expression. In fact, during

the second half of the 30s’, the ‘Degenerate

Art Exhibition’ was presented: an exhibition

of works by many artists, whose pieces were

confiscated because they were 'insulting the

German sensibility, destroying or confusing the

normal form or revealing an absence of manual

and artistic capabilities’. Kandinsky, but also

Picasso, Mondrian and Chagall composed the

group of artists on display.

This exhibit contrasted the ‘Great German

Art Exhibition’, which aimed to stage classical

art and the racial purity promoted by the Nazi

regime.

‘Sky Blue’, taking into account what just said,

it was also an attempt to continue to fight the

regime, the artist’s claim to break conventions,

the urge to escape an unsatisfying reality,

barren and dangerous, to reach a new

destination. It is the last remaining liberty in a

world getting more rigid every passing day, to

being seen as beings with their own will and

not as mere spectators.

208 209

VIII

'E il naufragar m'è dolce in questo mare.'

Fellini, Flaiano, and the sea

Giacomo Ioannisci


A hundred years and still going strong. Clearly, not lonely years, if we think about it now. Yes, 1920-2020: Federico

Fellini, born in a post-war Rimini, capital of the Romagnolo spirit, made us dream with his movies, and saved us from the

hopelessness of the second post-war period with his unprecedented cinematic language, guiding Italian cinema to the

world Olympus and asserting himself as one of the greatest filmmakers ever.

Throughout history, only a few directors have been able to lead with such an impactful film, then follow up with a

masterpiece and never stop molding their skills, continuously creating unforgettable works. For what concerns the most

recent cinema history, we could mention a handful of names. Spielberg? Scorsese? Mann? Tarantino? A few. and always

less numerous. These creators, of Fellini’s same generation, are the ones who gave the coordinates of a modern cinematic

language. Indeed, since he passed away on October 31st 1993, in Rome, Italian cinema seems to have lost its virtue and

charism.

A movie highbrow, Fellini was not even as little prolific

as many of his colleagues: in a 40-year long career, he

produced 17 movies, 3 documentaries, 3 episode movies

and one co-direction - not to mention the screenplays he

wrote, and his acting roles. As the industry begins to recall

a certain way of filming by making a director’s last name

an adjective, then cinema history is within him or her. This

happened with Fellini and the ‘Felliniesque’ cinema, which

is still a major source of inspiration. Once, Fellini himself

said: ‘Felliniano… Avevo sempre sognato, da grande, di fare

l’aggettivo’ (‘Felliniesque… I’ve always dreamt of being an

adjective’).

There’s no doubt that his beloved Rimini influenced his style

not only scenography-wise, but also in its essence. For

instance, the dichotomy of man and sea was an element that

the director never stopped narrating and portraying in his

movies. Think about ‘Amarcord’. The Grand Hotel, the pier,

the lighthouse, the port, the seafaring traditions, poems and

stories coming from another era, faraway from us. It is no

coincidence that, today, the city of Rimini has chosen his

former illustrious citizen to safeguard the beach in winter:

still images of his works and other evocative panels were

used as barriers to protect the sandy shore against swells

and wind. We hope he could be as protective with cinema

itself, but, as far as can be studied, genius and magic can’t

be learned.

212 213

Again, Fellini and the sea. It’s not by chance that, as he

needed someone to write his movies, he picked a man

who was related to cinema, but also to the sea: Ennio

Flaiano, from Pescara. Of the latter remain not only the

screenwriting masterpieces, but also and especially the

valuable witty jokes, the aphorisms and the cosmicomical

calembours that, maintaining that Abruzzi spirit - both

strong and kind, as it is tied to sea and mountain -, let him

chronicle Italy’s transformations as few ever did. All this, up

until Flaiano’s rupture with Fellini, recorded in the infamous

exchange of letters (it sounds very cinematic today) that

followed the trip the two took to Hollywood to accept an

Academy Award for ‘8 e mezzo’, where Fellini sit in first class,

leaving Flaiano in economy. Moral of the story: a decadelong

relationship broken by frivolity. Here, the sea itself can

give us an explanation. Flaiano mentioned frivolity as a way

to blame Fellini’s light-hearted behavior, typical of Romagna

- once, the director said: ‘Sono autobiografico anche

quando parlo di una sogliola’ (‘Even when I describe a sole,

I’m autobiographical’) -, completely opposite his: fierce,

but sensitive, typically Abruzzese. When Flaiano got mad at

Fellini for ‘betraying’ him with Pier Paolo Pasolini, brought

in to write the Roman dialogues for ‘Le notti di Cabiria’, he

‘warned’ the director: ‘Se perdi me, perdi tutto!’ (‘If you lose

me, you lose everything!’).

Same coast, same sea, different behavior.

AMARCORD - Il Grand Hotel, Federico Fellini

Fellini talked about it as a working relationship, and

friendship, ended for a ridiculous reason. Maybe yes, maybe

no. What is certain, instead, is that without this ‘Adriatic

alliance’, Italian cinema wouldn’t get ‘La dolce vita’. As

Flaiano himself wrote: ‘Coraggio, il meglio è passato!’

(‘Come on, the best is behind!’).

214 215

PANE E PANELLE

We are what you eat

Francesca Scarfone

‘If I can do it, then anyone can.’: this is the motto of Luca Giovanni

Pappalardo, chef of Pane e Panelle, a restaurant located in Bologna

that stands out for its ethical and sustainable practices.

We visited the chef in his kitchen and witnessed the preparation

of a wholly sustainable menu, created in collaborated with MELC.

Before diving into this gastronomical journey, we’d like to share with

you the precious insights that Luca has given us while telling Pane

e Panelle’s story:

‘For us, sustainability is linked to how and where we buy the raw

ingredients. Within today’s vast enogastronomical, agricultural

and ichthyic markets, we choose not to buy super-industrialized

products. We like to have a direct relationship with the fishing

boats, granting fishermen higher profits. We put the same care

in the selection of fruit, vegetables, and herbs: in fact, we follow

seasonality, meeting farmers’ needs and supporting the local

market. Who do we buy from? Only virtuous producers, like Campi

Aperti - an organization of ‘clandestine’ farmers often arranging

markets in community centers -, whose products taste as they

should.

Today, being a good restaurateur means having a keen eye on the

world, but this is not a common approach. On Christmas, clients

ask me: ‘why don’t you have pasta alla norma on the menu?’ and the

answer is simply that they are not in-season. Seasonality is being

conscious of and respect your senses.

With fish, we tend to forget about seasons, even if it’s an equally

relevant topic. The eel, for instance, faces a long journey from the

Sargasso sea to Italy, and back to the sea to breed. We believe we

can dominate the animal world, but we don’t. At Pane e Panelle, we

only serve caught fish, and, to have fair prices, we opt for bluefish

or other less-known types of fish of a high organoleptic quality.

This proposition gave birth to #pescidiversi, a project - and

cookbook - aimed at teaching and directing consumers to a new,

ignored market.

Another fundamental aspect when talking about sustainability is

waste. As critics say, you understand a chef’s talent by looking

at his bin. For example, we only buy and use the whole tuna -

preferably not the bluefin variety -, actively reducing waste. The

head, which contains 8 kilos of meat, is transformed into kebab -

including eyes and cheeks, known as the parson’s nose. The bones

are roasted with the marrow and served as a Milanese osso buco,

and I’m currently experimenting a way to make a tuna ham with the

fibrous tail. At the end, what remains becomes the base for the

fumet.

As you see, a very basic dish can require hours of responsible

decisions, and this should be food’s future.’.

216 217

STARTER

Marinated anchovies with panelle hummus and misticanza

FIRST COURSE

Tuffoli with Jerusalem artichoke and fish fumet

HUMMUS

A panella is simply chickpea flour - Luca knows where

the chickpeas are planted and turned into flour -

mixed with water and salt into a sort of polenta,

later cut into diamond shapes and fried. To make

our hummus, the panelle's cutting waste is whipped

together with tahini, lemon, garlic, cumin and iced

sparkling water (to give foam and structure).

ANCHOVIES

On top of this, we add the anchovies, contrasting

hummus’ fullness with sapidity. First, we give them

the right structure by leaving them covered in salt

and sugar for ten minutes; afterward, we quickly

dip them into an acidic solution made of white wine

vinegar, organic lemon juice and white wine - Luca’s

one is from Sicily.

INTRO

This recipe shows how to recover fish cleaning

waste or a fish that has lost its aesthetic worth.

Ulay, artist, photographer and Marina Abramovic’s

former partner who passed away on March 2, believed

that ‘Aesthetics without ethics is cosmetics’, and,

as Luca underlines, at Pane e Panelle the two things

always match.

PASTA

For the pasta, Luca opts for some Tuffoli from Mancini

Pastificio Agricolo, producing pasta exclusively

with the durum wheat grown and harvested in Le

Marche region. Mancini is one of the seven brands

of Unici, a collaborative project aimed at excellence

in quality and originality. Tuffoli have a length of 40

mm and a diameter of 26,7 mm; their cooking time

is between 10 and 12 minutes.

ADDITIONS

Now, let’s complete the dish by topping it with some

toasted sesame seeds, whose aroma emphasizes the

tahini, some bitter radicchio, and, last but not least,

mizuna (Japanese mustard), that adds a balsamic

finish. For the final touch, we pour some exquisite

extra virgin olive oil - Luca’s advice is to invest in

an oil that costs at least 8 euros.

SERVE

The result, a sort of marine landscape with sea

vegetables, is an example of a complete paradigm

of flavors, in-between the sea and the earth.

Full of proteins, omega-3 and fibers, this is a highly

satiating starter.

SAUCE

Take an aluminium pan and pour a ladleful of Jerusalem

artichoke - pre-Columbian potato -, together

with an amberjack, Mazara del Vallo red shrimps,

and octopus fumet. The fumet, differently from

regular broths, has a cooking time of 15 minutes.

The burning smell you perceive is caused by the

flavorful sugars released by the proteins; skim the

sauce by deglazing with some water.

THE END

Now, the Tuffoli have to be drained and ‘risottati’.

As the sauce dries up, start with the ‘mantecatura’:

turn off the heat and give the sauce that muchbeloved

creamy consistency, pouring some olive oil.

You can now add some fresh chopped parsley, if

you like an extra herbal flavor. Don’t put too much

effort in the plating, pasta is naturally impolite.

MAIN COURSE

Roasted monkfish cheek, leeks, and fennels with saffron

MELC'S GUILTY PLEASURE

Frittura di Paranza

MONKFISH

This recipe illustrates the use of another common

waste. The head of the monkfish, which accounts

for 60% of the full animal, is often discarded, and

with no reason. In fact, this dish is only made with

the head, and specifically the cheeks - previously

marinated.

COOKING

Heat a non-stick pan with some Cervia Salt - also

known as ‘sweet salt’ - inside, then add the fish and

the Campi Aperti’s vegetables. As you wait for the

cheek to form a nice golden crust - the so-called

Maillard effect -, pour a round of oil, not on top

of the ingredients, but all around, so that it warms

up as it reaches them, avoiding additional greasing.

PARANZA

Fried ‘paranza’ is made with all those fishes that

remain in the eponymous fisherman’s net, and that,

due to the small size, can’t be sold on their own.

This is, therefore, another recovery recipe, made

from poor and undersized fish. Luca’s ‘paranza’

is composed by a variety of red mullets, cod,

‘zanchettas’ (a sort of sole), mini mullets, and some

local calamari, that add a crunchy texture to the

mix.

PREPARE

Luca specifies that, unlike the common belief, fried

food is healthy, because if you seal it with a good

batter, the fish will basically steam.

A good frying requires a heat shock: before dipping

the fish into the boiling oil - Luca uses a peanut

seed oil -, immerse it in a boule with water and ice.

Then drain and flour it, creating a velvety patina,

and sift the excess flour.

PLATING

Once the monkfish cheeck, the leeks and the

fennels have a nice brown finish, put them on a flat

plate. Pour some more olive oil and a last pinch of

Cervia Salt. You're almost done.

SERVE

To build up the dish and make it spicier, add some

Dijon mustard and barbecue sauce on the side. This

will make sure to give each bite a round structure.

You're now ready to serve the main course.

FRY

Now is time to see if the oil has reached the right

temperature by immersing a ‘calamaro’: as it sizzles

and rises to the surface, add the remaining fish.

Wait a few minutes until you get the afore mentioned

Maillard effect, and our fried paranza is ready, crispy

on the outside and juicy on the inside.

SERVE

Leave the fish to drain on a paper towel and salt.

Take a flat plate, cover it with a natural paper towel,

dispose the fried paranza, and serve - Luca doesn’t

recommend adding lemon juice, as it softens the

batter and alters the fish taste.

DESSERT

Smart Mimosa Cake

MIMOSA

Two days before meeting with Luca for the creation

of this menu, it was Women’s Day. Thus, he decided

to make his own smart version of the mimosa cake

- just to be clear, he hates mimosa flowers -, again

reducing food waste

SPONGE CAKE

For this dessert, first you need to make some sponge

cake, that Luca calls a ‘miracle’, as it is the only

leavened dessert that doesn’t actually need leaven

to rise. Take 6 eggs, 200 g of sugar and 100 g of

flour. Beat the eggs with the sugar for a very long

time until the mix is white and foamy, then add the

sifted flour and gently incorporate it with a spatula.

Transfer the mix into a baking pan and cook it in a

static oven preheated to 160° for 40 minutes.

ASSEMBLE

Once the sponge is ready, it’s time to assemble our

mimosa cake. Slice the sponge cake with a saw knife,

and save the edges for later. Dispose one sponge

slice on a dessert plate, layer it with custard - easy

to make, you only need egg yolks, sugar and a hint

of starch/flour -, add another slice of sponge and

coat it with some whipped cream.

SERVE

Now, take the sponge edges, usually removed and

scrapped, cut them in little cubes, and add them

on top. Complete the dessert with some fresh

raspberries and icing sugar. Serve.

223

ROOMS BY THE SEA

An optical proposition of the unknown

light noun

/lait/

Francesca Scarfone

The brightness that comes from sun, fire, and electrical devices. It allows things to be

seen.

Bright, cold, soft… Light is an ever evolving epiphany.

Capable to influence our perception and final judgement, light has always played a

critical role in artists’ success; its seamless manipulation is the most immediate route

to inspire precise feelings. By giving closure to the scene, and guiding our gaze

through, light is paintings’ immaterial frame.

Edward Hopper and his ‘magical realism’ awarded him the

epitome of ‘the painter of light’. The Hoppers spent nearly

every summer, from 1930 through the 1950s, in Cape Cod,

Massachusetts, where the artist designed and built a sunny,

secluded studio on the bluff. The location, precisely the

ocean view out the back door, inspired one of Hopper’s

most arresting and introspective works, often referred to as

his metaphorical self-portrait.

‘Rooms by the Sea’, put on canvas in 1951, could be

summarized as ‘74.3 x 101.6 centimeters of infinity’. Once

we wonder what the future holds, distancing our mind from

the tangible, eventful spaces of our family home, we’re

already taking a step into the unknown; or a half-step,

because it is hard not to hesitate as we abandon comfort

and motherhood - evoked by the partially visible living room

- to begin the adult chapter of our life. How many times do

we hear the expression ‘a sea of possibilities’? In this weirdly

cropped painting, initially described as ‘The Jumping Off

Place’, we are quietly put against this endless ocean in all

its estrangement and riskiness; the original intimate nature

of the interiors turns into the ‘cinematic’ background to

Hopper’s existential reasoning.

Within this real but surreal composition, a sharply defined

light hybridizes into a human/divine character - Hopper

himself? -, that lies in limbo between finite and infinite. Such

strong light emphasizes the vacancy of any human activity,

evoking solitude on one side, but universality on the other;

it comes and goes, its presence is transient, just like life.

Usually, in other works of the artist, light seems about to

announce characters a revelation, but what happens if

humanity is absent, and an unreasoned side-perspective

excludes the spectator from the scene? If light is the one

element saving Hopper’s creations from nihilism, here no one

is ready to receive it… Mystery landed in an empty room.

‘Maybe I am not

very human - what I

wanted to do was to

paint sunlight on the

side of a house.’

E. Hopper

Both Leopardi and Hopper find the stepping stone to

project themselves into the infinity within their circadian

environment. While the poet exerts and narrates the

experience, comparing it to an oxymoronic flounder, the

painter, framed, comes to a halt. A mood of eerie, yet

solemn stillness pervades the space. Observing his limit

coming into being with an eye, and his everyday life with the

other, he stands in awe of the vast sea.

Hopper believed that a painter needed seclusion and

protection, even if that might have resulted in losing his

biggest chance. He found a way to overcome Leopardi’s

fence, but again a sense of caution kept him from diving

into the infinity.

Rooms by the Sea, Edward Hopper, 1951, oil on canvas, 101.6x74.3 cm, Private collection

224 225

LORENZO BRUNI

Reflections on art


Photos courtesy of Lorenzo Bruni

Lorenzo Bruni is a Florence-born

art critic and independent curator,

who’s curating the non-profit space

BASE/Progetti per l’arte, a collective

of artists interacting with the

international art scene since 2000.

In 2015, he started teaching

Aesthetic of New Media at the

Accademia di Bologna and, a year

later, he worked as a consultant

for the Pecci Museum in Prato and

published the book ’66/16’ on the

dematerialization of the work of art,

from the ’70s until today.

In time, he keeps on teaching in

Bologna and collaborates with

Accademia di Firenze, while curating

the exhibition of an international

collective of artists, ‘Raccontare

un luogo’ in the Astuni Gallery in

Bologna, and publishing a new book

- ‘Parole, site specific e il mutamento

della percezione dell’arte visiva degli

anni Novanta a oggi’.

His curatorial researching practice

led him to bring to life various

exhibitions intended as platforms of

theoretical and practical reflection,

later transformed in articles and

essays. Among them, the most

interesting are the one reflecting on

the contemporary landscape, Travel

in the Google Maps era, and the

temporality of the modern sculpture.

226 227

FRANCESCA - Interdisciplinarity is

fundamental within your work, as you proved

at BASE - different artists for generation

and artistic birth -, and in other occasions,

where you nurture a passion for photography,

videography, graphic design and archeology.

Are we still in front of a hierarchical disposition

of the arts, or are they equally recognized?

LORENZO - Martin Creed’s music would

anticipates this conversation's focus, meaning

the idea of exceeding artistic disciplines to

reach new dialogues, rendezvous, directions

and unprecedented discussion spaces.

A cardinal term that rose in the ‘90s is

‘crossover’, which entails the surpassing

of specific cultural departments, and, even

more, of all distances between elite and pop

culture. If we discuss creativity, we need to

start by making two preliminary remarks. First,

our society finds itself at the end point of

a decades-long process aimed at devising

new spaces for creative interactions. The

‘90s, in fact, were preceded by multiple

experiences, like postmodernism and musical

experimentation in the ‘80s, fanzines in the

‘70s, up to the ‘60s, with the inception of

independent spaces, where artists co-work

to be free from institutional art, to discuss art

and the role of 360-degree culture. In this

sense, across the last 50 years, if on the one

hand art has been properly recognized as a

cohesive ‘system’, on the other it looked for

alternative approaches. In those times, artists

started creating art editions - the artistic

rework of daily objects - with the intention of

reaching people’s homes, making the space of

art and the space of life meet. Such activity

was, quoting Nannucci, ‘building the creative

artist’ and modifying the spectator’s daily

customs and habits.

Then, we need to take into account the

current society. I would define our world with

the expressions ‘post-global’, ’post-internet’

and ‘post-ideological’. Once the 2000s

euphoria driven by information’s accessibility

passed, our activity in relation to a globalized

world became passive: we wait for information

to come to us, as it occurs with social

media. Last but not least, referring to ‘postideological’,

after the collapse of the Berlin

Wall society stopped chasing a collective

future and entered an ‘expansed present’,

where past and present form a unicum, as our

eclectic tastes confirm.

Today’s economy is based on services, and

we are all possible producers of entertaining.

Having the possibility to share our thoughts,

the ‘fake news’ phenomenon grows as every

opinion is instantly turned into an objective

truth.

In such context, we need to carefully analyze

what the audience means by art, creativity,

information and content. When new meeting

and reflection platforms like MELC are created,

you should start by asking yourself: ‘Who are

these opinions directed to?’.

F. - You defined BASE / Progetti per l’arte

as ‘a daily practiced utopia’, how did its story

begin?

L. - To me, art has never been a contemplation

object, but a device to initiate a debate on

our observations and dialogues, but also on

present and future. Since 2000, I coordinate

Progetti per l’arte, a non-profit space located

in Florence that plays a relevant role in the

international visual culture, being rooted in

different generations and languages. Founding

artists like Paolo Masi, Maurizio Nannucci

and Massimo Nannucci, experienced this

already in the ’60s, when it had the original

unconventional nature of a place where to

experiment with guest artists. That seed grew

and in 1998 the mentioned artists built BASE

with the new generation - Massimo Bartolini,

Paolo Parisi… Progetti per l’arte is democratic

horizontal place, perfect for boundless

reflection. In-house artists don’t showcase

their works, but invite international artists to

bring contemporary debates to Florence, the

city of history, via site-specific exhibitions.

When artists exhibit at our space, the usual

stress felt with museums and galleries vanishes.

In fact, museums now focus on gaining as

many visitors as possible through spectacular

expositions, and galleries force artists to face

the art market.

On top of that, exhibiting at BASE means

being part of a community unified by the

language of culture.

228 229

Le ragioni della leggerezza, curated by Lorenzo Bruni, 2018, installation view, Bocs, Catania, Ph. G. Abbruzzese

F. - Do you recall some particularly interesting expositions organized at BASE?

L. - I’d start by describing the 2004 historically and politically relevant exhibition by Rirkrit Tiravanija entitled ‘Qualsiasi

(tv)’. Impressed by Berlusconi’s full control over media and communication, his work shows that if one has content to share,

he can still find a way to be heard. He arranged an open recording studio with machineries to record and transmit audiovideo

materials, thanks to an antenna with 1 km reach.

Another artist working on the influence on perceptions and belongingness is Rainer Ganahl, who, in 2002, moved by

police’s violent reaction against the manifestation held the previous year in Geneva during G7, exploited the international

meeting organized in Florence by active movements to invite students to engage in a one week reading project entitled

‘Leggere Antonio Gramsci’ – ‘Reading Antonio Gramsci’. In this way, the artist improved his Italian, while recalling and

discussing Gramsci’s ideas on intellectuals and their political function.

In 2005, Elisabetta Benassi and her ‘Abandoned in place’ exhibition anticipated today’s image overload, by putting together

and day by day eliminating an infinity of images, questioning freedom and production.

In 2008, Franz West, active in Austria since the ‘60s, organized a collective exhibition, putting BASE’s collective in contact

with his community of artists. Later, the project was awarded with a Golden Lion at Venice Biennale.

Christian Jankowski, curator of the 11th edition of Manifesta, exhibited several projects at BASE. In 2015, with ‘no-profit’

he reflected on our permanent interaction with economy and on the increasing power of time as a currency. On the other

hand, he developed a map indicating traditional Florentine restaurants where you find pictures with VIPs on the walls. Next

to the map, he exhibited his pictures with the restaurants’ owners. Another example of BASE's will to build direct interaction

F. - Would you consider yourself an artist?

L. - My relationship with art started at a pragmatic level, where I was mediating between artist and institution, and work of

art and spectator. Mediation is fundamental to me and I can confirm that I don’t consider myself an artist. My job consists

in helping the audience’s understanding of art, and helping the artist in building a public dialogue within an ever evolving

environment.

Also at BASE I act as a mediator, since my role is to share opinions with colleagues to design the best strategies, never

imposing my ideas, but remaining active - a valuable teaching that I acquired hands-on and through studies.

To be specific, I don’t consider myself as a curator only in terms of exhibitions’ designer, but I’m also an art historian,

investigating on tools that can lead to art’s comprehension. This dual role is imperative, since I’m always in-between a

future-oriented vision and a re-reading of the past. Obviously, the latter coincides with art’s need to rediscover its

heritage; as Nicolas Bourriaud would define it, ‘relational art’, which considers physical space, audience and especially

collective memory - increasingly relevant after 1989. In that period, I developed this theory together with research carried

out by the first emerging artists I’ve organized exhibitions with - Mario Airò, Jonathan Monk, Daniel Rees, Peter Coffin,

Rossella Biscotti, Marinella Senatore -, who, despite the different media, shared the reflection on art’s role and peruser.

I developed many of my projects as cycles exploring specific themes: in the early 2000s I focused on the heritage of

modernism through 5 years of collective exhibitions held at ViaNuova Arte Contemporanea, then I concentrated on the

themes of traveling and natural landscapes.

Working with cycles allows me to implement a diffuse narration and a continuative relation with artists and spectators.

F. - Art critic, curator, and coordinator of a non-profit space: how did you relationship with art originate?

L. - When I was an Art History student, I was lucky enough to meet Fabio Cavallucci, with whom I decided to collaborate on

the ambitious ‘Tuscia Electa’ initiative, which consisted in inviting artists who chose Greve in Chianti as the place to live or

work in - Jannis Kounellis, Joseph Kosuth, Joe Tilson, Luigi Mainolfi… - to organize site-specific installations in the region’s

historical landmarks. In that occasion I spoke to the artists and I developed an interest for the concept of ‘site-specific’,

where artworks are created after a physical and mental frame. This theme followed me in my career, on those years when

connecting global and local was becoming more and more important. I think such approach should always match a conscious

point of views, or one risks to get lost in the world’s continuous stimuli.

230 231

F. - Recently, you published ‘Oltre il colore

come tabù’, centered on the Italian art scene

between ’60s and ‘80s and its possible

interpretations in our ‘post-internet’ era.

Within the art field, was the one between

physical and online an easy encounter or a

clash?

L. - When I was unable to work on cyclical

exhibitions, I put a great effort in catalogues.

While, before the web, catalogues were a

useful document to testify the exhibit, now

we quickly have all information online, thus

this publication had to become an actual way

to generally cogitate about the recent art

history, adding something that is otherwise

lacking. An example is the analysis of society

and video, present in the catalogue realized

with the Poggiali Gallery in Florence for the

'Making Time' exhibition, where I combined the

works of Park Chan-kyong, Slater Bradley and

Grazia Toderi, artists focused on video and

suspended time.

‘Oltre il colore come tabù’ is a thorough

consideration - done in the age of social

media - on the path of Italian art during the

second half of last century, mainly marked

by an objection toward ‘Arte Povera’ and the

Transavanguardia, and a slow inclusion of color

next to the predominant black and white, as a

new medium to relate with society.

F. - Considering that you coordinate a non-profit space, can art remain such even when it is marketed?

L. - As we discussed, the idea of being able to distinguish between art and commerce falls short, being our world mostly

based on services and new economies, as it happened with YouTube. The cliché of ‘true art equals uncommercial art’ was still

popular in the 2000s, but art, as Lucio Fontana said, is only free when, though confronted with rules, it is able to find its

own space. If art stays at a ‘zero’ layer, with no dialogue nor debate, it’s not free, but rather lonely or apathetic.

Already by the end of the ‘90s, artists think about the concept of freedom and commerce, linked with advertising.

Non-profit spaces like BASE also changed their identity, facing a rebirth. Some of these spaces even work for art’s

commercialization, not for speculative reasons, but especially to allow new collective exhibitions and debates. Speculation

brings us to see art merely as a contemplative fetish and money maker, while art hopes to establish ideas through the

addition of a reasoned inclusion within economy, as we saw from Ancient Greece, through the Renaissance and the

Baroque, until today.

It hasn’t been odd to me to accept the role of Artistic Director for The Others, an art fair born 10 years ago in Turin,

which unites young galleries and non-profit spaces, that were unable to take part to major fairs. In this decade, things

deeply changed, and huge fairs started to be more inclusive, as for Art Basel, which expanded globally and financed projects

related to the interaction with urban spaces as one in South America.

Within this panorama of enlargement, The Others needed to evolve. One year ago, we initiated a collaboration with four

Italian academies working with four communication channels: web, tv, magazine and social, driven by the idea of educating

rather than hiring directly. The fair is organized in a site-specific location, and, with our board of curators, we looked

into European realities that work with the concept of independence. In this moment, where we could all hold fairs, who are

we independent from? In the next edition, we’ll build on this thought also via an ideas-sharing platform. In this sense, we

launched an online quarterly magazine focused on emerging international scenes, new methods, promotions and researches.

If 10 years ago it was impossible to make non-profit and economy cohabitate, today we should cogitate on what is profit

and non-profit. This doesn’t entail spaces’ acceptance of economical regimes, neither an outright denial of the latter.

Joining The Others was also a provocation to many curators organizing institutional fairs with the aim of growing culture,

while our initiative shows an underworld of ideas on the boil, with the aim of building a network, aside from earning to keep

activities alive.

The Others Art Fair, 2018, installation view, Ph. M. Nisticò

232 233

F. - Can contemporary art, as a visual and meditative moment, be a bearer of hope in this

difficult period?

L. - During quarantine, we often talked about shutting down activities and restarting, and

wondered what we could expect. Many moved online, and this has been a real occasion

for The Others, working on a sharing platform. Nowadays, we should all put to use what

before was given for granted, such as worldwide communication and digital archives, or

the thought that everything has already been invented. We have to take things more

seriously, and again seek a collective future and planning. Artists started applying the

principles of ecology since the ‘60s, when Piero Gilardi stopped making art to develop an

alternative system, becoming an activist.

F. - Your career began in 2000, so how did the Florentine and Italian scene change in

these years?

L. - The Florence art scene has changed as many others. We’re not Florentine anymore,

we’re European, part of a larger culture made of various viewpoints. BASE didn’t change,

but was followed by new realities like the Museo del Novecento, the Marino Marini

Museum, and the Strozzina Center. There’s a renovated focus on the urban environment,

with exhibitions taking place in the city rather than regions like Chianti, that between the

‘60s and the ‘80s saw the rise of many projects - ‘Tuscia Electa’, ‘Volpaia’… Tuscany has

always placed the attention upstate, but today this is shifting. This approach opposes

prominent intellectuals, who see the future in the countryside, as the recent Guggenheim

exhibition by the architect Rem Koolhaas confirmed.

Talking about my experiences, in 2005, with the Young Artists Archive I realized

‘Metropolitan Ways ’05’, a project consisting in exhibiting for one year not finished works,

but the work in progress, creating a meeting point within the expositive space inside the

University of Architecture for artists to meditate on art. It was also a way to drive off

the backward view of the artist as a romantic naif who doesn’t live in the world, while the

reality is that artists are perfectly conscious of societal mechanism and help people to

perceive things differently.

F. - What was the last thing you ate?

L. - ‘What I’ve cooked’, I could say… Since everyone has been posting recipes and culinary

creations on Instagram lately. This has been a really negative part of living lockdown - not

cooking, or sharing one’s feelings, but using the web as a declaration of existence rather

than a call for real dialogue. In the previous weeks, I didn’t share thoughts because to me

we should build interactions, not fondle our ego. Art teaches us how to do that without

the risk of losing our identity and unique point of view on the world.

F. - What does Infinity mean to you? Could you draw it?

L. - To me, Infinity is a point.

Lucciole per lanterne, curated by Lorenzo Bruni, 2019, installation view, Museo Novecento, Florence, Ph. L. Morfini

234 235

Blue Beauty

Laksmi Deneefe Suardana

The word ‘cool' is one of those words that have multiple definitions and are constantly changing from time to time. Cool

can refer to temperature and at the same time being a stylish individual. With nowadays’ global warming and social media,

being fashionable and aware of the environment plays a major part in young people’s lives.

The term ‘blue beauty’ refers to the latest and coolest movement in the beauty world. We have all heard about ‘green

beauty’, which has made its way to the commercial side, but it’s time to bring attention to the adjacent color.

Blue beauty is our next step to be co-existing more responsibly on this planet.

With green beauty we have paid closer attention to raw materials or ingredients in our products, how it affects everything

on land including the animals, ourselves, and nature. But what about the rest of the planet that we don’t occupy? Our

ocean. To many, it is a matter of out of sight and out of mind, but we do live on a blue planet. Without our ocean, we won’t

exist.

The idea of going blue was pioneered by Kapua Browning, founder of Honua Hawaiian Skincare, and the precise term ‘blue

beauty’ was coined by the founder of Beauty Heroes and creator of Project Blue Beauty, Jeannie Jarnot. Many brands have

joined the blue beauty bandwagon, which is listed and sold on the Project Blue Beauty website.

Blue beauty covers substantial issues surrounding the health of our oceans and marine ecosystem, many that we are unaware

of. We are mostly exposed to images of tonnes of plastic floating around the sea, but we may not yet understand that

ocean pollution goes beyond that.

Toxic chemicals are also a great contributor to irreversible mishaps like coral bleaching. One of the biggest challenges is

to create sunscreens that don’t pose as a threat to the coral reefs and our health, but at the same time are able to protect

our skin. Harmful sunscreen has already been banned in Hawaii, a wake-up call for the rest of the world that needs to follow

suit.

It was only very recently that we realized the harmful effect of micro-beads or micro-plastic in the ocean. Our natural

behavior is to think of only our own lives and wellbeing, but as we evolve it is important to start taking action toward

cleaning up our home. We have come to an age where we should use our cognitive capabilities to be more creative and

make better decisions to solve our problems.

'Blue beauty

is when

personal care

and beauty

companies

have initiatives

within their

operation

that go

beyond being

sustainable,

non-toxic,

or green,

but rather

contribute

back, in some

way, to the

health of the

planet'

Photo by Milena Santos

J. Jarnot

236 237

FUTURE

fashion

music

design

retail

technology

literature

ESSENTIALS

INNOV-ABILITY

Game-changing fashion brands built

on innovation and sustainability

Michela Bordina

Duedilatte and Nuvi Nomad: these names are probably

not ringing any bells for you, yet. They might spark

your interest as soon as you get to know them better

in the following lines.

'Latte', the Italian word for 'milk', is Duedilatte's

superpower. In a time when organic cotton,

biodegradable fibers and alike have become too

mainstream and, very often, the façade of many

greenwashing campaigns, this 'made in Pisa' brand

stands out by producing innovative fabrics starting

from protein amino acids derived from the casein

extracted from exhausted milk – as well as from

coffee and rice sources.

Surpluses from the agri-food industry are the

raw materials behind the brand's antibacterial,

hypoallergenic, thermoregulator clothing.

Last but not least, Nuvi Nomad runs counter to the

traditional principles of the FMCG industry as a

slow-fashion guru.

The brand's vision combines high-level biochemistry

engineering with ancient Thai traditions and

heritage, in a path towards broader environmental

responsibility and results in a sustainable, crueltyfree

yoga bag collection made of teak leaf leather.

The latter is, of course, 95% natural and vegan,

providing a lasting and light-weight alternative to

common toxic fabrics.

What is clear is that the rules of the fashion game

are changing, and innovation and sustainability are

the cornerstones of the ascending playmakers.

FASHION

Those abovementioned are young, start-up brands

that have turned tables in the fashion system over the

last five years, and that are about to rock your world

and all you have ever known – or thought of knowing

– about apparel-making.

Two questions ought to be asked and investigated:

Why are these brands special? What do they have

in common? The answer can be summarized in two

capital I and S: Innovation and Sustainability.

Triggered by massive upheaval in a global

environment and the eager need of standing-out in

a prepackaged, homogenized and fast-consuming

world, the clothing industry amongst many has been

undergoing profound changes over the past few

years to cope with consequent shifts in businesses

and consumers' mindset and consciousness, with

Innovation and Sustainability playing a pivotal role.

This is what makes Duedilatte and Nuvi Nomad so

special, as well as the fil rouge between them: they all

stepped up the innov-ability game to a whole new

level, and both of them in their unique way, as we will

find out.

240 241

STUMM433

Mute 4.0 (1978 > tomorrow)

MUSIC

Giacomo Ioannisci


Carthusian monks consider silence and the sum of random sounds to be true rock, in opposition to all

principles ruling the music world.

What if a scream suddenly coming from a park, a distant car noise, the brakes of an oncoming train,

and other daily events entail something more, bigger than the event itself? What if every sound, or

absence of sound, according to the environment, is pure musical essence?

Photo courtesy of zopf pr

With this idea in mind, we are set to discuss ‘MUTE

4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW): STUMM433’: a genuine

experience, conceived by Mute Records, that seeks

real musicianship in all its lack of logic. Available from

October 2019, the project comes in a sleek box set

made of 5 vinyl records (180g each) sleeved with

white foil blocking outers, a 36 page 12" sized softtouch

lamination booklet, a set of silence-scented

candles, a certificate of authenticity (numbered and

signed by Daniel Miller), and a pair of archival gloves

together with a cloth strip for handling and lifting

out the content. All this material is packaged in an

exclusive frosted opal PVC case with 3mm walls.

But who do we find on the inside? The list extends

from The Normal, Mute’s founding artist, to the

label’s last signing, K Á R Y Y N. ‘STUMM433’, in

fact, sees the participation of more than 50 Mute

artists - Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, Yann Tiersen,

Liars, Silicon Teens, Irmin Schmidt and more -, who

present their interpretation of John Cage’s infamous

composition ‘4’33’.

Imagine a music-based installation of postmodern art

that you can visit without leaving home. The show is

in the vinyl records. The experience is as defiant and

challenging as when ‘4’33' was premiered, a moment

that radically changed the popular notions of silence,

sound, composition and listening.

To fully comprehend the project’s key assumption,

Cage himself once stated: ‘Wherever we are, what

we hear is mostly noise’. In ‘STUMM433’, every artist

contributed to turn that noise into music. Available to

order directly on Mute Records' website, this deluxe

box set has a cost of £220, and it's worth it if you

think that you'll bring home a piece of art without

need to travel.


If with Jarre we discussed how an infinite

reproduction of music is the true musical experience,

with John Cage music's interruption in its execution is

endlessly setting silence and eternity to sound.


242 243

HARTH

Who said only cats have nine lives?

Francesca Scarfone

Allowing members to borrow exclusive pieces from either brands, makers,

galleries or dealers, as well as lending or renting out your own items to and

from others, the platform tackles the overproduction issue and provides an

environmentally friendly and easy alternative to ownership or storage.

And not just that: Harth also offers a bespoke styling and interior design

service to all members, with experienced and dedicated design consultants

on hand for every requirement and budget.

As Ed suggests on the project’s introductory video, ‘Something really well

made, with really good craftsmanship can live on for a very long time and it

can go through different stories, different hands and it can live in different

homes with different people and everyone can enjoy that’.

‘Ownership is overrated’. This is how you are welcomed when you visit Harth’s

website, and we quite agree with them.

Harth shows a unique flexible route to personalize and switch interiors,

letting you to continuously be inspired or just be ready to surprise guests,

therefore eliminating the obstacle of inaccessible or unsustainable good

design.

DESIGN

Launched in 2019 by Henrietta Thompson - Editor-at-Large for Wallpaper*,

author, curator -, and her husband and business partner Ed Padmore, with

the vision of bringing circular economy to the world of interior design, Harth

is the world’s first furniture, accessories and art rental platform.

In a society where slowing down and savoring experiences are becoming

our favored currency, we finally decide to look beyond the mere physicality

of a piece to instead relish and keep possession of its intangible emotional

character.

Illustration by Paul Thurlby

244 245

KOMO MONACO

Toyland for your senses

Oana Alondra Mocanu

Photo courtesy of Colibri

In the picturesque and posh city of Monaco, there is a whimsical

place, where the best in gastronomy, pastry, and fashion connect to

activate and satisfy all of your senses: the touch with the beautiful

limited edition products, the sound with the live music proposed by

a DJ, the smell with the delicious ingredients coming from all over

the world, the sight with the delicate flowers and the taste with the

exquisite pastries.

I know you think it’s too good to be true, but this place it’s real, it’s

called Komo Monaco and is located in La Condamine district, close

to the beautiful Hercule port.

This all-in-one store is composed of three different spaces: a

boutique, a pastry, and a restaurant.

RETAIL

The first area, curated by the renowned fashion & buying director

Pascaline Smets, proposes luxurious ready-to-wear, a selection of

streetwear, and limited edition accessories, some of which created

especially for Komo.

The second one is a shop-in-shop, where no less than Pierre

Hermé, awarded the title of ‘World's Best Pastry Chef’ in 2016,

is proposing both his signature macarons as well as his jams and

chocolates.

The third and last space is a cozy chic restaurant signed Mauro

Colagreco - yes you are right, here he is again - which offers

Mediterranean starters and dishes inspired by his countries:

Italy, France and Argentina. This multicultural allure is given also,

curiously, by the selection of water that they showcase and sell,

composed by almost 130 varieties coming from all over the world.

The best part of Komo is its ‘accessible exclusiveness’, the fashion

pieces are carefully picked to dress the it-girl, the millennial, but

even an older fashion-addicted clientele; the dishes are curated,

but reasonably-priced, while the pastries are perfect to-go. Try

and savor them on a warm summer day while marveling at the city

from the top, you won’t regret it.

Photo courtesy of Colibri

246 247

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Carcel, Ninety Percent, Reform Studio

Michela Bordina

Social responsibility noun [U]

“the practice of producing goods and

services in a way that is not harmful to

society or the environment”

(Cambridge Online Dictionary)

FASHION

Photo courtesy of Carcel

Social responsibility has become a

defining feature within the skill-set

of contemporary corporate players.

However, you might be surprised by

the way a concept that has often been

associated with traditional business can be

reproduced in the fashion world, too, and

in the most innovative ways. The latter is

the living proof that dispels the common

– wrong – assumption that addressing

social matters comes at the expense of

business success and product design.

Three brands, among many others, stand

out for their creative, socially responsible

voice. They dared to step further, away

from stereotypes and common knowledge,

and create alternative ways of fashion

stemming from unconventional sources –

and no, not only in the environmental sense

of the term. These brands are only few

examples of how fashion can be revised by

simultaneously pulling two unconventional

levers: society and environment.

248 249

Let’s start from Carcel, for instance, a unique breed

of responsible and sustainable fashion. What makes it

so unique? Those who know some basics of Spanish

might hazard a guess.

As a matter of fact, 'cárcel' is the Spanish word for

'prison', and the term pretty much embodies the main

thrust of the brand’s dogma: Carcel’s own supply

chain is rooted in the work of incarcerated women in

Peru and Thailand.

The changing force which this entails spreads

towards multiple directions: on one hand, it creates

a social impact, empowering women in prison and

enabling them to gain new skills and providing means

for – otherwise hopeless – financial independence;

on the other hand, it has a sustainable footprint

on the environment, as all materials are natural and

locally sourced. All of this, without harming the

quality and design of their collections!

Next comes Ninety Percent, which launched a

revolutionary business model that is, again, well

defined by the brand’s name itself: 90% of its

profits, in fact, are channeled towards a variety of

charitable causes and, of course, to those involved in

the production process.

What is probably even more outstanding is that

Ninety Percent creates awareness among its audience

by, substantially, sharing its social responsibility. How?

Via Ninety Percent’s apparel itself, under the banner

of the #DressBetter movement. Using the unique

code in the garments’ care label, customers have the

chance – and are invited – to vote for their chosen

cause. Isn’t this amazing?

Last but not least is Reform, whose declared

purpose is to design responsible products that

serve a twofold goal: producing both a socially and

environmentally sustainable footprint.

Reform’s first and most known product, Plastex,

is the flagship of the brand’s mission: by giving

plastic bags a new, more useful and less harmful life,

Reform managed to solve, on one hand, the major

waste problem in Egypt, and, on the other, to raise

environmental awareness, reviving handloom and

empowering local communities.

Photo courtesy of Carcel

Photo courtesy of Ninety Percent

250 251

UNWASTEFUL NOMOPHOBIA

Can I use my phone more consciously and helpfully?

Oana Alondra Mocanu

good on you

Mission: to create a world where consumer choices

drive business to be sustainable and fair.

TECHNOLOGY

22 h 56 min: the time I’ve spent on my phone the past

week - probably too much.

Social networks, Whatsapp notifications, endless

emails… they are all becoming distractions instead of

assets.

It is no news that the consumption of media on mobile

is growing every single day, or the fact that the

usage of the internet shifted from laptops to mobile

phones. This is probably the natural course of events:

quicker and faster information need smaller space.

Unfortunately, this restriction of screen size also led

to a lot of noise, in which we get trapped constantly,

without even realizing it.

We are spending many hours a day on this device and,

most of the time, we do not remember what we’ve

actually used it for. Thus, I started to think: can I use

my phone more consciously and helpfully? Yes, I can!

With my phone, I’ve already managed to reduce three

different types of waste: fashion waste, food waste,

and, last but not least, time waste - perhaps the most

important one.

All thanks to three easy downloadable apps.

'Fashion brands have a responsibility to be

transparent about their impact’; this is Gordon

Renouf and Sandra Capponi’s belief. This is

why, in 2015, they created ‘good on you’, an

app that ethically evaluates and rates fashion

brands, considering more than 50 standards and

certifications concerning People, Planet, and Animal

welfare.

Founded in Australia by Ethical Consumers Australia

- a non-profit organization -, the app quickly

expanded to the USA, Canada and Europe. Currently

available worldwide for iOS & Android, good on you

is used monthly by more than 300,000 designers,

activists, and fashion fans coming from all over the

globe.

This free fast-growing service is evaluating

more than 2,200 fashion brands, from the most

mainstream to the least known ones, following an

easy-to-understand rating: ‘We Avoid’, ’Not Good

Enough’,’ It’s A Start’, ’Good’ and ‘Great’. They do

not only consider the present care for workers,

supply chain, environment, and animal wellbeing, but

also if the brands are taking positive steps.

In the future, they plan to include other consumer

product categories like cosmetics, self-care,

homeware and electronics, and I am really looking

forward to it.

By drastically decreasing my effort in picking a

sustainable brand, I have been able to make quicker

and more ethical choices, not only lowering textile

waste but also, and especially, time waste.

Photo courtesy of good on you

252 253

Too Good To Go

Forest

Mission: to inspire and empower everyone to take

action against food waste.

‘By creating a new market for surplus food, we

ensure more food gets eaten, making businesses

and consumers winners in the process.’. This win-win

situation is what Mette Lykke, CEO and Co-founder

of ‘Too Good To Go’, often talks about.

Founded in 2016 in Copenaghen, this app makes

sure that no food is wasted across 14 European

countries and the USA through a very simple, 3-step

system: Find - Collect - Enjoy.

1. Find a store and place an order through the app

2. Collect your meal at the store at the specified

time

3. Enjoy your meal

Since its launch, the app has already saved 37.6M

meals, by partnering with over 45,000 restaurants,

bakeries and grocery stores; it headed to the

reduction of 94,000 tonnes of air-derived CO2,

and to more money in the pockets of 22.2M users.

All of this just by changing the unfortunate natural

habit of throwing away expiring food.

Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development

Goal 12 - ‘Ensure sustainable production and

consumption patterns’ -, they are not only reducing

surplus food, but also educating households,

businesses, schools, and political organizations on

the impact of wasted food on the environment.

Mission: to help users stay focused and be present.

Do you know the ‘Pomodoro technique’? You decide

on an activity to complete, set a timer, work without

distractions until the time is off, rest for a couple of

minutes, and then restart.

This is exactly what Forest is helping you to do.

Launched in 2014 by Seekrtech, a development

team formed by Amy Jeng and Shaokan Pi, this mobile

app combines the above mentioned technique with

gamification and forestation, with the end objective

of making the user focus and not ‘disturbed’ by his

phone.

The journey starts in the iOS or Android app store,

after having purchased and launched the 2,29€

app, you will find a timer that goes from 1 to 120

minutes. Just set it, and start working, studying, or

simply having a real conversation with your friends;

meanwhile, a tree will grow until the time is over, or

you use your phone. In the first scenario, you would

be awarded with coins, according to how long you

focused, while in the second bad scenario your tree

will die. So, the more you focus and the least you

use your device, the more money and trees you gain

- you can make it even more challenging by inviting

friends and family.

The app partners with Trees for Future, an American

NGO, offering the possibility to plant a real tree

for every 2.500 coins won in the app just by being

productive.

Too Good To Go drove me to quick yet healthier

choices, and, by using my own box, I have been

able to reduce my plastic use and save even more

money. On top of this, knowing that I helped the

environment made the food taste better too.

Photo courtesy of Too Good To Go

Forest reduced my procrastination, and made being

productive even more fun and satisfying.

Photo courtesy of Forest

254 255

HORROR PLENI.

La (in)civiltà del rumore

Oana Alondra Mocanu

LITERATURE

Horror vacui - literally, ‘the fear of emptiness’ - is something that has deeply

characterized us since forever. We have all experienced insecurity, fragility, and a sense

of abandonment; but today, we live exactly the opposite: saturated with information, we

feel a sense of repulsion against all those intricate messages, which usually say a lot but

mean nothing.

This is exactly what the art critic and philosopher Gillo Dorfles highlighted in ‘Horror

Pleni’, the book he wrote in 2008 to investigate today’s society and its excess of noise.

Noise: from Latin 'nausea’ - ‘disgust, annoyance, discomfort’, literally ‘seasickness'.

Reworking old articles from the newspaper ‘Corriere della sera’, but also from lectures,

conference proceedings, and scientific magazines, the author is trying to respond to

a major question: ‘Can we still maintain a consciousness in our ordinary Horror Pleni?’.

He pointedly uses the term ‘imaginative pollution’ to express the excess of visual and

auditive stimuli coming from advertising, political propaganda, fashion, daily news, and

even art.

Across the six chapters, Dorfles addresses many topics: from the inexorable lability of

time to the present sociolinguistic conformism and the manipulation created by media -

all overlooked by the general concept of Horror Pleni. Moreover, the different contents,

not following a chronological order but the author's rationale, seem to be his own

collection of ideas and knowledge.

This book aims at encouraging the reader to live instead of pseudo-living, to claim its

individuality, and take a 'pausa', eliminating humanity’s risk to fall and be dominated by

the 'too much' and the excessive noise.

Gillo Dorfles wrote this book at the ripe old age of 98, and died nine years later, after a

lifetime of seeking to bring the irrationality of art under control.

‘In contrasto con l’antico

Horror Vacui dell’uomo

preistorico che colmava

ogni angolo della sua

caverna con immagini

autoprodotte, oggi

l’orrore del troppo

pieno corrisponde con

l’eccesso di rumore

sia visivo che auditivo,

che costituisce

l’opposto di ogni

capacità informativa e

comunicativa’.

256 257

SPECIAL THANKS

Lorenzo Bruni

Laura Carboni (Infinito Design)

Roddy Clarke

Térence Coton

Jochen Holz

Yuija Hu

Cristiana Mapelli (Sistema Museo)

Carmelo Nicotra

Laura Rossi

Luca Giovanni Pappalardo (Pane e Panelle)

Sonia Pedrazzini

Giancarlo Piretti

James Shaw

We deeply thank the Polimoda faculty and our families

for supporting and encouraging MELC since day one.

This would have been impossible without you.

Aero Productions

CANGIARI

Carcel

Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto Onlus

Colibri

Eleventy

ESEMPLARE

Forest

good on you

HARTH

Ninety Percent

Regenesi

Too Good To Go

zopf pr

Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle,

E questa siepe, che da tanta parte

Dell'ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude.

Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati



Io nel pensier mi fingo; ove per poco

Il cor non si spaura. E come il vento



Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l'eterno,


E viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa

Immensità s'annega il pensier mio:

E il naufragar m'è dolce in questo mare.

MELC Magazine

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