In the last few days we have seen so many images on social networks of novelty chocolate treats (hens, bunnies, birds, fancy sculptures and such likes...) and more ordinary Easter eggs being ravaged and eaten that most of us are probably already nursing a choc overdose.
To avoid getting more bellyaches induced by further images of fancy chocs, we're wishing you a Happy Easter with the "Gallo Rivetti" (Rivetti Cockerel). This popular icon was used to advertise the Lanificio Rivetti, a famous wool mill and textile company founded in 1872 near Biella by Giuseppe Rivetti that became a strong and powerful company (from 700 workers in 1896 it went to 1,300 in 1917). The history of the company is marked by stellar success, expansion and decadence, but this advert dating around 1959 and remains a colourful and iconic image, well known in Italian families. Have a lovely Easter!
As a follow up to yesterday's post let's look at art inspirations linked with Easter that may come us from two artworks - Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome and Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ in Naples.
Michelangelo's Pietà (1498-99) represents Mary grieving upon the body of her dead Son. In his version of the Pietà, Michelangelo balanced the Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism, creating a pyramidal structure that, from Mary's head, widens progressively down to the base.
Fashion-wise the drapery of Mary's dress is particularly intriguing since it conceals her body, contributing to give the statue a monumental appearance and a serene fluidity that is mirrored in the abandonment of the dead Christ on her lap.
Preserved in the Sansevero Chapel, Sanmartino's statue (made in 1753) represents the dead Christ with his head resting on two pillows and features a very striking element, a draped veil covering the figure. The veil looks extremely real: its ethereal transparency symbolically separates the viewer from Christ the man and the Son of God, but also contributes to give visitors the impression they are standing in front of a real body.
A legend says that some of the veils and nets covering the other statues in the chapel were made with a secret alchemical process the mad Prince of Sansevero Raimondo di Sangro - known for being an anatomist, scientist and inventor - had discovered to turn fabrics into marble. So, who knows, maybe the veil is the result of the process of fabric calcification into marble that the prince had passed to Sanmartino.
Can you think about other religious artworks linked with Christ's death in which the themes of draperies and transparency may be particularly inspiring?
Readers who may be in Italy today should remember that it's Good Friday, the first full day of the Easter Triduum. The faithful will be commemorating the Passion, Crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ today, with processions being organised in most cities and towns. These events may prove interesting also for those who aren't believers and who may have an interest in disciplines such as art, costume, history and anthropology.
According to some historians the oldest procession in Italy is the one organised in Chieti, in the Abruzzo region.
Apparently they used to do a procession over there as early as the 9th century, but the format of the modern procession probably dates back to the 16th century when the Confraternita (Brotherhood) that organises it - also known as Arciconfraternita del Sacro Monte dei Morti (The Brotherhood of the Sacred Mount of the Dead) - was founded.
The procession takes place also in very adverse weather conditions. It even took place during the Second World War in a very brief version that enraged the German troops who had banned it (and who entered the cathedral to punish the men who had joined the procession only to discover they had escaped from secondary or secret exits...).
As the procession is in memory of Jesus Christ's Passion, it has got a somber and mournful character, with members of the Arciconfraternita donning a black tunic, gold satin cape and black hood.
Members of the other local brotherhoods have different colours and a white hood (the hoods are symbols of humility - the brothers erase indeed in this way their identity).
Symbols of the passion of Jesus Christ - the angel, the spears, the tunic and so on - are carried along as the procession moves from the Cathedral of San Giustino crossing the streets of the city accompanied by a live choir and musicians singing and playing Saverio Selecchy's touching "Miserere" (1740; you can listen to the procession soundtrack here).
This piece is extremely moving and it is definitely one of the main elements that distinguishes this procession from many others.
People with an interest in costume design should maybe pay attention to two statues in particular, the dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows (the latter dates back to 1910).
The former rests on a pall of black velvet decorated with gold and silver embroideries and made in 1827 by master embroiderer Pasquale Randazzi (this piece was restored in 1930) and is covered in a white veil with gold embroideries; the latter is dressed in a heavy black faille gown with gold embroideries (the traditional dress of Our Lady of Sorrows was copied by Dolce & Gabbana in their Autumn/Winter 2012-13 collection...), she clutches a white handkerchief and her head is covered in a black veil punctured with golden stars.
The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows usually wears more humble clothes and on the Wednesday before the procession a special team of women (the Governor's wife, a prioress, and a dressmaker who takes care of the sacred vestments) dress her in black.
As you can see, religious processions can provide plenty of inspirations, but try to think also about the people who are actively taking part in these public events and not appropriate certain elements (as too many prominent fashion designers have done so far...), remembering to always put respect in front of profit.
There are many ways to celebrate the creative power of paper from the art of scrapbooks to origami. Yet this delicate and fragile material can also have a sculpturally three-dimensional quality about it, at least it does so in Li Hongbo's world.
Fascinated by the Chinese flat paper decorations known as paper gourds that can be opened up to reveal a hidden and more fantastic world of colours and volumes, the Beijing artist started experimenting in 2008 with honeycomb-like structures.
One experiment led to the next and soon he began exploring the themes of shape and mutability in white marble-like sculptures that can be transformed, twisted, elongated and therefore radically altered.
The final effect is stunning and it truly enchanted the visitors at the Klein Sun Gallery in New York, where Li Hongbo showcased his work between January and March in his first solo exhibition in the United States, entitled "Tools of Study".
The latter featured a series of sculptures, from historical figures to replicas of classic artworks, but also geometric solids and parts of the human body.
Inspired by the plaster models he made while studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the sculptures looked as if they were made in white marble or porcelain, but, when touched, they revealed their flexible layered paper core, allowing visitors to explore in a playful way issues such as transformation, mutability and false perceptions of reality.
When did you start creating your sculptures? Li Hongbo: I began experimenting with paper as a material for sculpture in 2008.
What prompted you to use paper for your pieces? Li Hongbo: There is a Chinese saying - "life is as fragile as paper" - which has left a deep impact on me. Due to my past jobs, I have become very familiar with paper. This revealed to me the importance of paper to both society and individuals. It also allowed me to explore the hidden, broad expanse of uses of paper.
You were in the book business - what kind of books did you use to publish? Li Hongbo: I edited books such as The Complete Anthology of Chinese Buddhist Prints and Decorations of Chinese Ancient Books, so my job offered me the material to think about Chinese culture, religion, and traditional aesthetics. This led me to explore the language of art and address the diversity of cultural language through interdisciplinary research and various other means of expression. When I was working with these books, I would also read a lot of other books. Reading gave me a broader vision and a deeper knowledge that I could employ as the main resource in my work.
Sculptures are usually static pieces, but your works can do anything, from expanding to contracting: did you set mutability and transformation as the prerogatives of your artworks? Li Hongbo: It's more about the possibility of control over a certain space that my art works command. Controlling the space and material of the works is a focus of my art. When people look at a box, they think "It’s a box". But, actually, it can change into another thing. I want to change the image, change how people see things so that they think in another way, more deeply.
What kind of paper do you employ for your pieces? Li Hongbo: I have experimented with many different types of paper. Environmental paper is the best.Yet whenever I see a new type of paper or an innovative and creative way to use it, my impulses drive me to explore yet again the unknown aspects that may be hiding in its language.
Which was the most complicated sculpture you made so far and how many tons of paper have you used for it? Li Hongbo:"Ocean of Flowers" is my most complicated piece to date. I used 8 tons of paper to create it.
What kind of feedback did you get from the visitors of your recent exhibition at the Klein Sun Gallery? Li Hongbo: Visitors at my exhibitions are usually shocked and interested. The works live in their memories long after they’ve left the gallery space.
Will you be involved in further events/exhibitions in 2014? Li Hongbo: This year my sculptures will be on display at the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, Michigan, at the Cartasia Biennale in Italy, the 21c Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Today Art Museum in China.
With many thanks to the Klein Sun Gallery, New York, for facilitating this interview and for translating the interview questions to and from Chinese.
Whether you are a compulsory expert scrapbook fan who chronologically stores memories in an orderly and precise way and can tell one type of paper from the other, or you use scrapbooks to collect your thoughts, anxieties and frustrations in a punkish kind of way, you will definitely agree that this is a compelling and fun art form with no rules.
Throughout the decades scrapbooks developed from mere diaries to useful collectors of objects and visual thoughts. Wonderful examples of scrapbooks include Cecil Beaton's stylish collages and Shinro Ohtake's maximalist monster-like pieces.
Paperaholics of the world will rejoice to hear that an exhibition currently on at London's ICA (until 11th May) showcases a series of intriguing scrapbooks by iconic contemporary artists.
Curated by Andrew Roth and Alex Kitnick, Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists' Scrapbooks elevates the humble scrapbook to a proper form of art as images, drawings, photographs and texts are intertwined providing glimpses of the research behind a specific work of art or simply offering visitors a chance to get into the mind of the artist who created it.
Examples include Al Hansen's small notebooks covered with quick sketches; a facsimile of German artist Isa Genzken's scrapbook "I Love New York, Crazy City" (the original is stored at MOMA), with a mix of faxes, letters and snapshots from her American experience, and William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin's oversized books in which newspaper clippings, headlines and adverts produce a distorted reality that helped Burroughs to create his cut-up narratives.
Other highlights include Gerhard Richter's black and white minimalist pages, Richard Hawkins' chaotic pop images cut out from music and fashion magazines and juxtaposing the New Kids on the Block to Walter Van Beirendonck's A/W 95 catwalk show, and drawings by Brigid Berlin, the American artist associated with and overshadowed by Andy Warhol.
"Paperwork"is an inspiring event proving that found and random images, printouts, cut outs, and humourous and serious images can form tangible debris of a person's life, worthy of safekeeping because they represent collages of moments in time and space imbued with the personality, energy, curiosity and inventiveness of their authors.
Image credits for this post
William S. Burroughs & Bryon Gynsin Untitled (scrapbook 3) 1976 – 77 13.25 – 8.75 inches Image Courtesy Andrew Roth and PPP Editions
William S. Burroughs & Bryon Gynsin Untitled (scrapbook 3) 1976 – 77 13.25 – 8.75 inches Image Courtesy Andrew Roth and PPP Editions
Isa Genzken I Love New York City, Crazy City 1995 – 96 15.25 x 11.75 inches Image Courtesy Andrew Roth and PPP Editions
Brigid Berlin Our Guests 1968-72 11.75 x 8.75 inches Image Courtesy Andrew Roth and PPP Editions
Richard Hawkins Curious Yellow 1995 7 x 8.5 inches Image Courtesy Andrew Roth and PPP Editions
Blogger Shannon Bradley-Colleary recently posted on Change.org a petition asking Francesca Bellettini, CEO at Yves Saint Laurent, to stop using images depicting malnourished models and girls with a dangerously low BMI in their adverts.
Thousands of people signed the petition, while a few attacked her, highlighting how there are naturally thin girls out there. Yet, whichever side you take (yes, the woman in the YSL advert is a malnourished model/ no, it's a naturally thin young woman/a brutally photoshopped image), it's obvious that supporting images of uber-thin models only puts pressure on women in general and in particular on very young girls. Bradley-Colleary's petition was posted only a few weeks ago, so it's not part of Tansy E. Hoskins's volume Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion (Counterfire), but the "fashion and size" theme is one of the many points tackled by its author.
Divided in ten chapters the volume analyses the dangers and evils lying behind the glitzy façade of the industry, fashion is indeed a universe made of contrasting forces - it is suspended between grandeur and exploitation, glamour and enslavement.
Stitched Up opens with a key chapter in which the author, after reminding readers how Stefan Persson, the owner of H&M, bought a whole village in Hampshire in 2009, moves onto analysing the damaging acquisition tactics carried out by large conglomerates such as LVMH (Louis Vuitton/Moët Hennessy) and Kering. The result of the mergers and acquisition strategy launched by these groups is essentially one - they have sacrificed creativity to profit, de-skilling processes and imposing their own definition of luxury that makes sure wealthy people get richer and poor ones get even more dispossessed.
The author also explores the impact of the fashion industry on workers and new forms of slavery in apparel sweatshops that ended up causing human disasters such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and ecological emergencies ranging from water pollution and toxic pesticide plants releasing their deadly products into the atmosphere to exotic animals being slaughtered to produce exclusive bags.
Body image, models pushed to starve and the lack of diversity in fashion prompts the author to talk about exploitation and colonialism as well. The latter is actually another key topic considering the current tribal chic/ethnic trends. Hoskins reminds us that the history of fashion is rife with co-option and appropriation of traditional motifs, symbols, and patterns: from Dior's 2009 shoes with a heel shaped like an African Fertility Goddess to Rodarte's A/W 2012 collection being criticised by aboriginal law professor and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Megan David for using the sacred art works of Australia's indigenous people, while the case of the Navajo Nation filing a lawsuit in New Mexico against Urban Outfitters for trademark infringement, false advertising, and violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (over Urban Outfitters' products "Navajo Hipster Panty" and "Navajo Hip Flask") remains open.
There are a few elements and topics that should have been investigated a bit more in depth: the author should have indeed looked at sweatshops located nearer us as well, especially in Eastern Europe and Italy and at the luxury fashion houses tendering work to them.
While the media chapter also makes some interesting points (why does a fashion innovator such as Prada buy trend forecasts from Stylesight?), it would have been intriguing to expand the investigation on certain themes including the conflict of interest at higher levels (example: the partner of Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani - Vogue Italia/L'Uomo Vogue art director Luca Stoppini - directs an advertising company and takes care of the campaigns of quite a few fashion houses and brands appearing on Condé Nast magazines...) and the truth behind some of the collaborations with high profile bloggers (do such collaborations bring money or do they only bring media revenue for a relatively short time?). Hopefully Hoskins will expand some of these points in another book.
In the last three chapters of Stitched Up, the author suggests solutions to radically reform and revolutionise fashion, reminding readers that something must be done at the top of the pyramid, establishing for example collectively owned factories. Changing the shopping habits of consumers doesn't indeed bring any tangible benefits for people being used by the system in the same way as supposedly "ethical" ventures/collections/brands allegedly helping Africa actually end up exploiting it.
Yet, while fashion has gone quite, it is not an irreversible process. Only time will tell if we will surrender and let fashion transform us or revolt and therefore transform fashion. In the meantime, Stitched Up will hopefully manage to change the perspectives of those ones who are still excusing the industry for its many crimes.
Fashion-related exhibitions are currently so trendy that in capitals such as London you may easily find yourself in front of multiple choices spanning from events revolving around one famous designer or fashion house to historical/costume exhibitions.
In some cases there are also talks, lectures and other assorted events linked to the exhibition, but it's a shame that quite often they don't contemplate children.
The museum will be dedicating a series of events this Easter at children aged 6 to 12 (from 19th to 22nd April and from 22nd to 24th April).
Coinciding with the school holidays, the events are divided in two types - a tour programme for families and a proper workshop on textiles.
The former features a series of creative activities directly inspired by the garments on display in the museum that will culminate in designing a cape, and in creating and decorating it with the help of a team of grown ups.
The second event will instead be centred on fashion and clothing and will introduce children to the museum and its collection. After the explanations, children will take part in a practical workshop focused on textiles, their origins and manufacturing process, and they will put into practice the concepts and themes discussed in the exhibition halls during the first part of the activity, producing a piece of fabric.
While some museums do organise fashion related events aimed at children, most times fashion exhibitions are accompanied by talks and tours for grown ups. Maybe it's time to abandon old formats in favour of more practical and less boring workshops that may free the creativity of both children and grown ups while teaching them basic and useful skills.
Education-wise there is currently one trend that has damaged young people (and grown ups as well...) - the lack of a proper knowledge in subjects such as history/history of art. Historical dates and key events or art movements are all jumbled up in the minds of many young people who often wonder what's the point of learning by heart something when you can check a date or a poem online any moment and prove you have more or less the same knowledge (though in your case it's a sort of temporary knowledge...) of somebody with three degrees.
The damages caused by the lack of historical knowledge are clear also in the fashion industry: a relatively young critic may see something on a runway and enthuse about the genius behind it without realising that same design already existed fifty years ago.
Take for example the catwalk show organised by Diesel in Venice at the beginning of April to celebrate the first anniversary of Nicola Formichetti's appointment as Artistic Director of the brand.
The event was definitely conceived as a media stunt in which the clothes were secondary. Most of the reviews may have been entitled 'Oh Hey If Renzo Rosso Pays...' as they mentioned set and setting, celebrity attendance, models, parties, luxury hotels and water taxis in Venice – with maybe 40-80 words dedicated to the garments (none of such words highlighting any kind of innovative research into functionality or the use of slogan patches on garments but the lack of any kind of political intent in the same patches).
The show finale featuring rows of models in balaclavas and oversized fur pompoms or bunny ears actually seemed borrowed from Walter van Beirendonck. The Belgian designer sent masked figures on his runway already for his A/W 1989-90 collection, but the Diesel show seemed to have more of a connection with Walter van Beirendonck's A/W 1995-96 show for his W.&L.T (Wild & Lethal Trash) label.
You could argue that Diesel's balaclavas were about the Pussy Riot and a classic "I am Spartacus" moment, while Van Beirendonck's collection was more about developments in technology, sexual and fashion fetishism, the power of masks, Euro-trash club-culture hedonism, and models looking like aliens from outer space, but the final feeling seemed the same, considering also how Formichetti claimed on Style.com he is acting as a connector for a new species - the "indigo children" - suspended between the digital and the physical world and proliferating through Tumblr.
Young fashion fans may fall for it, but older fashion commentators are probably laughing at the very concept of the umpteenth new species of people (consumers) finally being spotted on our sad planet by the fashion industry and at how brands nowadays appropriate a cause and an image (the Pussy Riot) and turn it into the same thing that specific cause is rebelling against.
Who knows, maybe one day things in fashion will start moving again and we will find some genuine innovation and fun, but, for the immediate future, we'll probably keep on being trapped in a continuous déjà vu that we approve, love and appreciate also thanks to our collective historical ignorance. If fashion can genuinely be used as a way to define a cultural climate, then it is hinting at a lazy culture too busy on re-vomiting and regurgitating itself to actually go forward and finally produce something genuinely innovative.
Neon signs may be gaudy and tacky but they are also irresistibly eye-catching. Their intriguing story dates back to the 1920s, reaching the zenith of popularity in the '40s. In more recent decades quite a few contemporary artists started experimenting with neon as a conscious art form, but neon lights remain part of the iconic architecture of many cities, especially in America.
Philadelphia has a spectacular neon heritage, also thanks to neon saver and acclaimed neon artisan Len Davidson who photographed, catalogued and saved vintage signs establishing a space dedicated to them - the Neon Museum of Philadelphia.
Davidson's obsession started in the mid-to-late '70s when he opened an American Dream theme tavern, The Gamery, decorating its ceiling with signs picked from local neon graveyards.
Drawn to the neon world, Davidson carried out further savaging and saving explorations that led him back to his native Philadelphia where he worked on rediscovering the local neon history.
Realising this was a proper art form, he opened in 1985 the museum and launched a new venture - Davidson Neon - to produce modern pieces for clients going from large corporations to small shops.
One of North America's leading experts on restoration and preservation of classic neon signs, and author of the volume Vintage Neon (Schiffer Press, 1999), Davidson is best known in Philly as "The Man Who Neonized South Street" for his creations scattered along Philadelphia's South Street.
Davidson has proved neon is proper art form with an architectural value since he has worked and collaborated with architects and designers to highlight elements of buildings, from roof lines and ceilings to staircases (the neon griffin logos on the information desk at the Philadelphia Museum of Art were made by Davidson in collaboration with Venturi Architects).
To celebrate the art of neon signs, the Philadelphia Center for Architecture has organised a series of special tours of historical neon signs around Philadelphia (check out dates here) with Davidson himself as guide.
People joining the tours will be able to see signs in different styles and with various functions built from 1936 to the present. Though the shapes, colours and forms - from waves and camels to sunsets, girls in cocktail glasses, mermaids and animated trolley cars - the history, architecture and technology behind the signs are also important and will definitely provide enough inspirations to fall under the spell of vintage neon lights.
Image credits for this post
All images in this post are taken from Len Davidson's site/museum
1. Buster Brown and Tige, 1950s
2. Howard Johnson's Simple Simon and the Pie Man, 1950s
The term "wellness" should describe a completely natural feeling, hinting at a condition pertaining to the body and the mind. In more recent years the term has been appropriated to market a series of products, objects, workshops or travelling tours allegedly aimed at improving our psychological and physical health.
As a reaction to this trend a transdisciplinary team of students from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic, led by architect and curator Michael Vasku (from the studio Vasku&Klug, run with Andreas Klug) has created an exhibition revolving around concepts of wellness and lazyness.
Currently on at Milan's Ventura Lambrate, "About Layabouts" focuses on the traditional masonry stove ("pecival" in Czech literally means a person who lies down on a masonry stove and does nothing...), conceived as the centre of every household.
The students showcasing their work are part of the Faculty of Multimedia Communications that comprises a series of design based disciplines, but also advertising photography, marketing communications, and fashion.
"About Layabouts" offers a wide range of design objects, quite a few of them characterised by a humorous twist - from minimalist coffee cups and tea infusers to architectural fruit bowls, plant incubators, and unbreaklabe LED lamps covered in soft materials; from porcelain jewellery boxes and eye masks that incorporate soothing visual projections to objects capable of reproducing the sound of the rain or of the waves crashing, plus massage devices, glass Kinder eggs with monstrous surprises and porcelain and recycled fur animals that can help tense layabouts to de-stress.
Some of the students also looked at the possibility of transforming objects: the results of their experiments include a hoodie that turns into a blanket, a ceramic spa mug that can be used as a necklace, a fruit bowl that can be converted into a small fireplace and a book transformed into a lamp or woollen slippers surprisingly hiding inside a pair of flat shoes that can massage the wearer's feet.
Fashion enters the project through flexibile shoes, bizarre coral-like footwear, wooden platforms inspired by forests made with leftovers from the production of electric guitars, a heel-less shoe that demand the wearer to walk slowly and pause not to fall over and a glass skirt that freezes in time and space traditional costumes.
While providing a safe haven to the Milan Design Week visitor, the exhibition raises one key question - wouldn't we all be healthier and happier if we were a little more lazy?
Is this the first time the Tomas Bata University goes to Ventura Lambrate? Michael Vasku: Yes, it is the first time the Tomas Bata University will be represented at Ventura Lambrate and the second time it presents itself during the Design Week in Milan. Last year the university debuted in Milan at Fuori Salone in the Czech Centre with an exhibition called "Bite Me Milan". It was a partnering exhibition of the national Czech exhibition "The Wishing Table".
What kind of courses/disciplines are the students involved following? Michael Vasku: We are a transdisciplinary team gathering students from 8 different studios: Graphic Design, Spatial Design, Industrial Design, Shoe Design (there is a dedicated studio for footwear design at the Tomas Bata University), Animation, Advertising Photography, Visual Communications and Marketing Communications. Together we worked on the exhibition production covering everything from the exhibition design, over the catalogue and website to PR and logistics. The exhibits are provided from 4 studios: Industrial Design, 3D Design, Glass Design & Shoe Design.
Can you tell us more about the main themes of the showcase? Michael Vasku: The overall topic is "Wellness". That word is associated with a variety of services, goods and food products, promising a feel-good effect and aiming for passive recreation. However, it seems that what people once achieved by relaxing at home on their couch, is today demanded from consumption. Generally the exhibition evokes the question whether a little more laziness wouldn’t make us a little healthier and happier? Of course one achieves this effect only if he or she doesn’t regret but enjoys the time when being a layabout. The presented exhibits are concepts of products which help to consciously enjoy laziness for the purpose of regeneration.
In which way did the students involved tackled the themes of wellness, lazyness, cosyness and wellbeing? Michael Vasku: Many students were less conceptual and worked with conventional typologies like vases or lights and other accessories. Some came up with new concepts like Karolína Fardová, who designed a cuddly toy made out of porcelain, Matic Vihtelič constructed a sound device imitating ocean noise or Martina Řiháčková turned a rolling pin into a massage tool. But there are also great ideas in the field of conventional product design. For instance Vojtech Žák presents a showerhead that can be attached to the palm of a hand.
What kind of materials did they employ for their works? Michael Vasku: There are many porcelain objects, as many students tried to work with a high-grade material that fits into the atmosphere of everyone's home. I am happy that there are also some material experiments: Uranbileg Altangerel tried to imitate sea corals for footwear, Matic Vihtelč’s "Rainmaker" changed the time measuring material in a sand glass to water and Linda Kocmanová created soaps that can be used as massage tools.
In which ways will the showcase during the Ventura Lambrate event engage the visitors and inspire interior designers/creatives? Michael Vasku: The installation at Ventura Lambrate also addresses the "wellness" idea and is inspired by traditional central European stoves. For centuries a fireplace has been connected with the meanings of survival, feeling of warmth and cooked food. The function of a fireplace was once adapted into a stove, which had become the centre of every men's household. It would serve as a source of warmth, as a place for cooking, families would gather around it and some would even sleep on it. Stoves represent the warm feeling of home, the warm welcome and food that moms would provide us with, the well-feeling or well-being no other place can give. On the one hand the exhibition's aim is to provide a glimpse of that feeling to the visitors in Milan. On the other hand it should inspire them to be a little lazy in that hectic atmosphere of Milan Design Week. Therefore the exhibition provides a cosy calm zone where visitors can watch an animation explaining the exhibited products or simply become layabouts for a short time.
Have you ever been to Milan Design Week before and what do you expect from this event at Ventura Lambrate? Michael Vasku: Personally I have been going to Milan for about ten years, as we organize or participate in shows regularly. I believe this is a great opportunity for the students to broaden their horizons, compare their skill and meet new people. I am very thankful that the University agreed with the idea of joining Ventura Lambrate, as it still is the best place to be for academies and I hope that more people get interested in what we do at the Tomas Bata University in Zlin.
The Tomas Bata University showcase "About Layabouts" is in Via Privata Oslavia 7, 20134 Milan, Italy, until 13th April 2014.