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HEAD, HANDS and MATERIALS LEAD THE WAY TO THE FUTURE Every time this triad converges into an expression of expertise, a “miracle” takes place, which we must recognise, protect and promote
“He who works with his hands is a labourer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” I recently came across this quote and the curious debate over its attribution. Some sources lead to St. Francis of Assisi, some to Thomas Aquinas, while others claim it was said by Michelangelo Buonarroti or London-born Louis Nizer. Whoever the true author is, I don’t think it is worth digging deeper; because while this statement certainly had value at the time, today I can’t say I agree at all. In Milan, Geneva or Hong Kong, I am often baffled by the works of supposedly renowned artists: like meteorites fallen from the sky, they are entirely out of tune with the beauty and the historical and cultural significance of the monuments that surround them. No, it is not the artist who works with his hands, his head and his heart. It is the craftsman. And the magazine you are holding in your hands is the tangible proof of this.
this occasion, institutions, museums and schools will be extending their opening hours to create a special showcase for the talent that, as I mentioned before, must be promoted and enhanced. The exceptional work of these masters also needs to be effectively protected. It is therefore interesting to discover that the Milanese laboratory of Open Care - Servizi per l’Arte has developed a specialisation dedicated to the restoration of contemporary art. Today, the role of the art restorer has taken on a multifaceted and complex form, requiring that understanding and manual skill are integrated with technical knowledge borrowed from various fields, science included. Indeed, contemporary art conservation represents the heights to which the noble artistic craft of the restorer has been pushed – a profession that has always represented Italian excellence in the world, and which has had to adapt to the new dimension of art that is by definition unstable and in constant evolution.
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The images alone convey how much heart these craftsmen put into their daily work, which is fulfilled every time the triad “head-hands-materials” converges into an expression of expertise. Every skill and talent that we are presenting and illustrating here is a piece of the marvellous mosaic that it is our duty to recognise, protect and promote. Which is why initiatives such as the European Artistic Crafts Days, an international event promoted by the Institut National des Métiers d’Art (INMA) with the support given by Vacheron Constantin, are so important. At the end of March, an entire weekend is dedicated to these artisans, who will have the chance to communicate to the public their personal expressions of excellence and innovation. Workshops in Milan, Paris, Geneva and other European cities will open their doors, inviting everyone to enter their world and appreciate its highly ontological content. On
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Exploring the universe that discloses from head, hands and materials, I have also enjoyed experiencing one of the rare cases in which the materials, once moulded by master craftsmen, manage to complete the cycle, becoming food for thought. It happens every day in a refined Chinese restaurant in Milan, where an artisan sculpts fruits and vegetables to decorate the plates on the menu with extraordinary skill (and speed). Watching him work, you realise that the final result already exists entirely in his head, even before he begins. There is no design to guide him, apart from his passion: the heart that we spoke of in the beginning, which allows him to transform pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, beets and even coconuts and pineapples into marvellous sculptures for each dish. This is the magic of an expression of expertise that starts in the head and through the hands may finally become “material”.
05/03/15 19:45