4 Days later…

May 15, 2008

Well.. it’s a few days that we didn’t post anything, but time is flying and we are just running after it. In the last 4 days the D_art Lab group has been having many engagements:

Vernissage Michelangelo Pistoletto Opening in Galleria Giorgio Persano in Torino: Ettore e Michelangelo Coetanei. The exhibition would represent the connection between Michelagelo and his father Ettore – both artists and both at the same age. In the exhibition Michelangelo’s works retake and morror his father’s works, done for mirror and be mirrored back.
Visit for research/documentation purposes at Material Connexion in Milano: the new material global resource. http://www.materialconnexion.com

Company visits: Carcerano, PMA Design, Gabbianelli, Barbisio and Menabrea. All the Companies had been very welcoming by opening their doors to us. They explained what they are doing at the moment, the technologies and the future goals that they want to achieve: that is the most important points for starting any further collaboration.On the other hand they seemed available of considering new proposals based on new materials and technologies.

Written by Francesca Minero

Serralunga visit and User centered Design

Almost running at 10:30 yesterday morning we had our first company visit, the nextdoor Serralunga: rare example of long-life enterprise (third century in business) and capacity
for ongoing evolution (from leather manifacture to design producer).

First company using the rotating plastic injection moulding system in the Design Field it started applying the tecnhology for making VASES, and extending it to LAMP and FURNITURE. How to forget the very famous VASONE? (the 20000 litres overdimensioned vase)
Keep looking for innovation both outdoor and indoor, Serralunga is always searching new materials and techologies for developping everyday products able to match the actual people lifestyle.

Here Marco Serralunga: ‘Design is an industrial way for finding creative solutions and for developping useful things [...] first study the material, than know very well the techology and so you can start thinking new products [...] observe the final user, understand what he wants, meet his needs and desires!
We do agree Marco! Many thanks for your collaboration!

Very linked to those last thuoghts, yesterday afternoon started, still on today, the User Centered Design Workshop hold by Mark Vanderbeeken and Jan-Christoph Zoels, Senior Partnets Experientia. Here the program:

FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Presentation of participants and methodologies. Task assignments.
15:00 Introduction of the participants and their expectations for the workshop
15:20 Presentation Experientia
15:40 Presentation on user-centered design methods and processes, with Q&A
17:40 Creation of three groups and assignments for the practical exercises
18:00 Close

SATURDAY
Practical exercises with intermediate and final presentations.
10:30 Individual meeting with Group 1
11:00 Individual meeting with Group 2
11:30 Individual meeting with Group 3
10:30 – 12:30 When not in individual meetings, the three groups work separately
12:30 10 minute presentations by each of the three groups on insights learned
13:00 Lunch
15:00 SWOT analysis and brainstorming based on the presentations
16:00 Preparation of final presentations
17:15 Final presentation (open to others!) on insights and opportunities learned

Written by Francesca Minero

Talk about the roleplay of Design in the Society

My approach to social responsible transformation provides the effort for changing the ideas which limit the progress. One of these is the general behavior towards the global crisis: everybody is waiting for the worst in the near future and in the common point of view the crisis will be a natural disaster or an increasing condition of war for reachint the key resources of the planet (oil, water, food). The general reaction is waiting for the end of this situation, and to find solution only after the espression of the crisis: this idea derives from the common perception of the people, – generally speaking – to lazy in order to take the necessary measures for changing, except after the individual crash.
The result of this fact is the common paralisis and the block to the creativity: it’s anusfull to search solutions if the people isn’t ready…
But if we observe the behaviour of society in the former thirdy years, we found that the cultural industry proposed in the seventies a quantity of films, books and ideas for the natural disaster expected for the year 2000 and…nothing important or so important happend.
We have social and technical solutions for a part of our problems but we don’t apply these ’cause everybody – in a subtile way – is waiting for the disaster. On the contrary, today is really necessary to propose to the society all the best effort for improving the general conditions and, first of all, the vision of a society who works already with these new opportunities.
Designers can partecipate to this cultural effort especially offering these ideas to society trough objects and symbols.

Written by Francesco Bernabei

Films and Videos
“Soylent Green” 1973
“A.I – Artificial Intelligence”2001
“Al Gore – The Climate Crisis” 2006
“Exposed: the Climate of Fear” CNN 2007

Websites
www.algaefuels.com
www.massivechange.com

The second day Workshop

The second day of the workshop starts at 10:00 with everybody meeting in the workshop space, all ready to start the guide tour around exibition spaces of Cittadellarte. Everybody was on time, that is already a good start!

Emanuele Bottigella, the Architect, showed the group around giving some historical information about the buildings of Cittadellarte and showing the exhibition “ART AT THE CENTRE of a Responsible Transformation of Society ‘07/’08: Turning Point Products”.

After this interesting meeting with Emanuele the group met Michelangelo Pistoletto, who showed us his exibitions space explaning his work. Then all toghether we went in the cafeteria for a talk with Michelangelo drinking a coffee.

Michelangelo explained how the Segno Arte Sign started, drawing it on a big sheet of white paper. We all understood very clearly the Segno Arte Sign and now this big paper drawn from Michelangelo (but not signed!) is kept by somebody!

After a nice lunch under the warm sun, at 3pm we are meeting Francesco Bernabei, who is in charge of the Economy Office.
Soon some info about his workshop will be contributed, he is going to send it soon.
I am in charge of the curtains: When the projector is on the curtains should be down in ordr to see the films, otherwise the light is to strong! On the meantime I’m writing these words and listen to the presentation, films, discussion…

Written by Armona Pistoletto

Discussion

Brit has posted the main points we (Laura, Brit and Henny) discussed after the presentatin about the Role of Art and design in the society. We came up with some interesting points I think as did the two other groups.

A point I like to add to this afternoon is that I find it an important thing to have environments like this where discussion is stimulated on important topics like this. My personal experience since graduating as a designer is that I had to start working for money straight away. This doesnt leave much, hardly any, space for discussions like this. Simply because my colleagues and friends started working on their own and the interaction and discussion that was lively in college is gone.

Being part of a workshop where I dont need to worry about income for a while and have the time and space to think, discuss and work on the larger perspective of design is a very nice and important thing. So thank you Cittadellarte for organising this and inviting us.

Written by Henny van Niestelrooy

The role of Art / Design in Society

Paolo proposed to the group to create 3 teams of 3 people each. Each group had to discuss 10 minutes the Role of Art / Design PERCHÉ il link:
This article was the outcome of our discussion about the role of art/design in society. in the Society. Here some of the results:

Group 1: Brit, Henny & Laura

We question how we call ourselves.

Both, art and design as they used to exist are dead disciplines that need re-definition.

We like to see ourselves as creative thinkers in service of life.

Creative thinkers that question and give direction to the use of technology.

Creative thinkers that work on the future of how we live.

Therefore we question the role of the designer as it currently exists, since being a designer currently means to be merely part of a commercial process.

We have a bigger picture in mind. If we create a product we think about the whole life cycle of it. This is the main responsibility of creation.

Products don’t need to be tangible, they can be immaterial like a service or a organisational structure of information or space.

Group 2: Alejandro, Federico, Tomas

we started our discussion questioning how much power we as creatievs really have to generate some charge.
we feel that companies are acutally the ones that have a bigger role in this, and since ultimately is economics and money what makes the world go around, we have a bit of a pesimistic view on this subject.

on a more possitive note, we also discussed the fact that we, as creative people are in a privileged possition from the popint of view that we have the change of having the first imput in the objects/systems that people/world use.
we work in a way like sponges; we have the capacity to observe, absorb society and things happening around us, proccess that information and propose solutions that could/should transmit a message.
but with this privilege comes alos a responsibility.

that brings us to another point we raised and that for us is at the core of the possible solutions to generate change: education.
as designers/artis/creators we can assume that responsiblity to produce designs/objects concepts that are simple, clear, honest that people can understand, identify with and therefore use. we can use our work to educate at least in a very small way.

9 Designers are here

On 7. May the workshop has started, 9 designers are here. All apart from Natasa, who will arrive tomorrow.
We all had lunch together and we started meeting, then at 2:45 pm the first meeting at the workshop room. After presenting each other with a new method (each person had to speak 10 minutes with another person and than at the and present him or her). Then each designer presented a personal project to all the others.

Then Paolo PERCHÉ il link:
Because Paolo gave the issue. to discuss on Naldini, the Managing Director of Cittadellarte, came for his meeting with the designer: he is speaking (actually he is speaking now while I am writing this text) about the philosophy of Cittadellarte. I understand that presenting Cittadellarte in 1 hour is quite complex, because there is to much to say.
I don’t know what the 9 designers have understood of Cittadellarte after this talk, but we hope all this gave same info, to be curious to try to know more of what is Cittadellarte.

Written by Armona Pistoletto

The first arrivals

Tuesday, 6 May, the first 2 designers arrive at Cittadellarte. The first is the one who comes from the farest: Colombian Alejandro Vasquez Salina. He knows well Cittadellarte, he was here as a UNIDEE-University of Ideas resident in 2004. Then he came back more times, facing a long journey and visa formalities, to participate in 2 other projects: AIM – Attraverso i Muri (www.cittadellarte.it/citta2005/eng/art/aim.htm) and Cubi in Movimento (www.cittadellarte.it/citta2005/eng/production/cubi.htm). Now, here he is again, to embark in this new adventure, to design 1 (or more than 1) “turning point products”. Welcome, Alejandro.

Then, second, comes Henny Van Nistelrooy, from Britain. Francesca and I call him “the one of the chair”. Henny was invited as a designer for he is very good at it, sparkling new funny ideas, but that chair…

The third is Brit Leissler from Germany!! Looking forward meeting you!

And then, everyone else is going to arrive. Only Natasa Perkovic, from Bosnia, will be one day late, as she had to postopone her arrival for work reasons: she has an exhibition of her works just on the 7th in Sarajevo, which is a very good reason to be late. She knows Biella very well too, as she participated to UNIDEE in 2006 (she and Alejandro are the only 2 former residents in dartlab group). She also came back to cittadellarte to develop ideas for Chianti Classico Project. It is great to have her back with us until the 24th of May.

Written by Armona Pistoletto