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Certi
Made in art
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Ugo L a Pie tra
WHEN EXCELLENCE DOES NOT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE An attribute created to single out distinction, but incapable of certifying itself. To do so, it needs schools and experts to select the very best and showcase it permanently
The term “excellence” has often been employed to differentiate high-grade products, in an attempt to raise the standard of artisan production, all too often the expression of bad taste and of little, if any, design quality. Excellence: an attribute that has been overused in exhibitions and fairs, without ever making a significant difference. In the last thirty years, a handful of designers have endeavoured to elevate the quality of craftsmanship in various manufacturing sectors, which have, in turn, failed to develop and establish “service companies” or “cultural centres” to provide authoritative and permanent reference points for craftsmen.
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In recent years, Art Institutes have been downscaled to the status of high schools without workshops, and quality productions have not been appropriately developed through the manufacturing and commercial model of “limited editions”, which is the one best suited to sustaining this type of proposal. For this reason, “excellence” has not been cultivated in any of the hundreds of Italy’s historical manufacturing districts: from the mosaics of Monreale, in the south, to the ceramics of Nove, in the north. Unfortunately, so far the only step taken by the institutions to safeguard the value of local craftsmanship has been focused exclusively on the traditional field of Italian ceramics and has been limited to guidelines that establish the tenets of production: materials, decorations, colours and techniques.
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Elements that should guarantee this type of production, providing a sort of mark of authenticity. But not, alas, of quality! It is easy to deduce that even when craftsmen respect the guidelines to the letter, it is not guaranteed that the outcome will possess those elements of aesthetic quality that will entitle them to be described with the word excellence! In order to be guaranteed, excellence needs good schools, and a group of experts entrusted with the selection of the best models, to create a collection of works in a permanent exhibition. What we need is indeed the development of real institutions that can provide an authoritative benchmark for artisans. Principally with regards to aesthetic codes, but also in terms of market trends. Something inspired by the “Permanente” experience: a model developed in the ‘50s in the region of Cantù, when architects the likes of Zanuso, De Carli and Ico Parisi organised exhibitions and awards, and set up “La Permanente” project. Through their political and cultural activity, they established the prestige of the “made in Cantù” hallmark, and the production of furniture in this district continues to possess that added value which they managed to create. In order to achieve excellence, then, it is not enough to define regulations and guidelines. It is also necessary to encourage research and the development of a process, as yet under-exploited, whereby the design culture and the maker’s culture interact with one another.
10/03/14 19:47