Industrial Art

turin autoshow

Poetry can be found in the lines of a book but pure art can be fully expressed by bending tin foils as well, like coach-builders did for a long time during the 20th century. A thin line divides craftsmen and artists, whether they work on leather, steel, wood, marble and if they make unique pieces or thousands the difference is subtle. Industrial design can be conceived as a “process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through techniques of mass production”  (at least as Wikipedia sees it) but this is quite a mechanistic definition. To me, Industrial design is the ideal place where the production process with its requirements meets the will to create something emotional, the act of setting art free outside museums’ walls making it affordable for the community. Probably no one ever considered that buying the classical coke glass bottle is like purchasing a piece of art, the fact that a machine made million copies of it doesn’t matter: a genius shaped its iconic silhouette committing it to memory forever, it’s enough to consider that bottle pure art.

Advertisement

US vs EU Philosophy

worlds-most-amazing-beds--large-msg-13772834141

Germany, the Waldseilgarten, a resort in German Bavaria

I’ve spent eleven days in L.A. last month (this notion is not very important), it wasn’t my first trip to the US but each time I get there I discover something new and find more interesting aspects of their way of life. As a designer obviously I pay much attention to building details, objects, shops, vogues.. in the end I made a very short list of what I like the most of this friendly people:

  1. They Keep It Simple: why achieve a goal in an expensive, complicated way when there’s plenty of simple reliable solutions? Here’s an example: I slept like a baby for 11 nights at a motel without my perpetual low back pain. The last day I just wanted to see this “magical hidden frame” that relieved my problem so I took sheets and mattress out of bed and guess.. I found a big flat wooden panel, just so, no springs, not a hint of a professional structure. It was then that I remembered my friend’s famous last words: “I spent 1.500€ to get a high-end mattress, you know, sleeping is important”
  2. They Go Straight to the point: They don’t like the chit chat we do before entering into a business discussion. We love never-ending waffling during meetings, they don’t. To us it’s a tricky (ineffective) strategy to understand each other before sealing a deal. To them it’s a waste of time, You’d better be concise and pragmatic.

I’ll constantly keep the list up to date by adding things I like!