Sunday, May 1, 2022

Homo Faber Revamps the Renaissance - Contemporary Craftsmanship in Venice

The enchanted setting of Homo Faber Event in the Venice lagoon
Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Photo: ©Michelangelo Foundation

“I will embroider the world,” declares Alicia Stanska as she pierces a panel of black silk fabric with her needle, a gold metallic thread swooping through the hook. Together with her partner, Tomasz Tarnowski, an architect, Alicia has invented a new form of haute couture for furniture, ceilings, walls and floors – even a hand-embroidered swimming pool – using the Luneville embroidery technique from 17th-century France. She embroiders golden stitches and timeless crystals onto black silk fabric encased in transparent panels made of a secret material described as “liquid glass,” creating the distinct Stanska brand of hand-embroidered architecture.

Embroidered Architecture 

Alicia’s father taught her to embroider by the age of six. Throughout her life, it was a way of relaxation. At the age of 28, after burning through a dozen different careers in the corporate world, she decided to bank on her talent and live off her embroidery skills. 

Seduced by haute couture, Alicia learned the Luneville embroidery technique, a high fashion essential. Instead of applying it to clothing, she was fascinated by its potential for interior design. After meeting Tomasz, they merged their different skills to create a daughter and a brand. Today the Polish couple live and work together in Warsaw, and I, an American expat based in Venice, am talking to them at the international exhibition entitled "Next of Europe" at the massive Homo Faber Event on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, an event that was organized by the Michelangelo Foundation, headquartered in Geneva. 
 
Alicia Stanska from Warsaw, Poland embroidering her gold metallic thread at the 
Artisan at Work live demonstration in Next of Europe
Curated by Jean Blanchaert & Stefano Boeri
Photo: Nicolò Zanatta ©Michelangelo Foundation

Island of San Giorgio Maggiore 

Going behind the gates of the Giorgio Cini Foundation has always filled me with a sense of awe. Full of history and mystery, I can almost feel the wise phantoms of the past brush past me in the grand corridors of the former Benedictine monastery, an oasis of knowledge in the Venice lagoon. It is the ideal setting for a universal event that aims to craft a more human future.

Occupied since Roman times, the island was christened San Giorgio Maggiore between the eighth and the ninth centuries when the first church dedicated to St. George was built -- the monastery was founded in AD 982. Throughout the centuries, it has hosted kings, queens, and heads of state – twice the G7 Summit was held here. Cosimo de’ Medici, the powerful banker credited for kickstarting the Renaissance, stayed on San Giorgio when he was exiled from Florence in 1433.

Normally closed to the public, during Homo Faber visitors get a
rare opportunity to wander outdoors on the island - Totem  Garden 
Photo: Ginevra Formentini ©Michelangelo Foundation

In 1560, Andrea Palladio, Renaissance architect extraordinaire, came on the scene and left his distinct imprint on the island. He got busy and built the new Refectory for which Veronese painted his masterpiece Wedding at Cana (1563), designed the second Cloister, renovated and enlarged the monastery, and replaced the existing Gothic church with the majestic landmark we know today.

After Napoleon suppressed the monastery and swiped most of its loot, the once-glorious compound became a military garrison and sunk into disrepair – that is, until Count Vittorio Cini, another powerful entrepreneur, blew the dust off Palladio’s original plans and transformed it into the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, an international cultural center, to honor his son, Giorgio, who was killed in a plane crash. Like Cosimo de’ Medici before him, Cini used his great wealth to bring humanism back to mankind.

Master works by "Japanese Living Treasures,"
artisans honored and subsidized by the Japanese government, on show in
12 Stone Garden in the Palladio Refectory, the facsimile of Veronese's Wedding at Cana as a backdrop
 (the original was nabbed by Napoleon and is now in the Louvre).
Curated by Naoto Fukasawa & Tokugo Uchida
Photo: Cat Bauer

The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship
 
The Homo Faber Event first arrived in Venice in 2018 on the shoulders of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organization which was founded by two present-day enlightened entrepreneurs – Johann Rupert, CEO of Richemont, the third-largest luxury company in the world with maisons such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Montblanc -- and Franco Cologni, founder of Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte. Both patrons think it’s time for a new Renaissance. “It’s humanity’s creativity, individuality, strong character and perspectives that truly endure over centuries and grow into heritage,” said Rupert.

The fine details of luxury: From Cartier to Hermès to Jaeger-LeCoultre,
15 top maisons reveal the secrets of their crafts with live demonstrations
in Genealogies of Ornament, curated by Judith Clark
Photo: ©Michelangelo Foundation

The founding purpose of the Cologni Foundation is to “accomplish a new Renaissance of artistic crafts and rescue artisans from the threat of extinction.” Its initiatives focus on training the next generation of craftsmakers, which includes providing internships to talented beginners. Selecting San Giorgio Maggiore to host an event dedicated to a more human, inclusive and sustainable future was strategic. Cologni explains: “We chose Venice for this exhibition not only because it is a bastion of culture and a place of unequaled beauty, but also because Venice is today and has always been a European hub for exchange and international connection.”

Blossoming Beauty, a fairy tale garden where 10 floral artists display their arrangements in Murano glass vases
they designed themselves, brought to life by the master glassblowers of Venini
Magical soundtrack by French composer Christian Holl
4 Elements video by filmmaker Olivier Brunet
Curated by Michelangelo Foundation, Sylvain Roca & Venini
Photo: Simone Padovani ©Michelangelo Foundation

Homo Faber Event Celebrates the Cultural Dialogue Between Europe and Japan

The Homo Faber Event cranks up the magic and transforms the island of San Giorgio Maggiore into a wonderland where artisans live in a world pulsing with dedicated people who spin straw into gold with their bare hands. Cushioned by aristocratic cloisters, meandering gardens and cypress trees, this year’s edition sprawls over 4,000 square meters, galvanizing the ancient monastery with contemporary craftsmanship. Master artisans of Japan and Europe, considered “living treasures,” are celebrated in 15 different exhibitions organized by 22 curators and designers featuring 850 works by 400 artisans from 43 countries. You can feel the human energy crackling in the air.

Baldassarre Longhena designed this library for the monastery between 1641 and 1680,
livened up by the white gold of Porcelain Virtuosity
Curated by David Caméo, Frédéric Bodet
Photo: Simone Padovani ©Michelangelo Foundation

The event is also a chance to glimpse venues rarely open to the public. There is porcelain in the 17th century Longhena Library, and Japanese Living Treasures in the Palladio Refectory. International artisans work in the Tapestry Room next door to custom-designed Venini vases spilling with floral arrangements. There are artisans from luxury houses at work in the former nautical school, and everyday objects and handcrafted games in the Artisan tea room. There is even a dramatic installation by American stage director Robert Wilson in the Gandini indoor swimming pool, inspired by his 1993 production of Madame Butterfly at the Paris Opera, complete with original props. From porcelain to paper, flowers to glass, ceramics to leather, gems to wood, it seems that whatever talented human beings can get their hands on they can turn into objects of beauty. 

Wearing two hats as both a Young Ambassador & designer,
Juraj Horňák plays the ancient Game of Ur with visitors in The Artisan:
a crafted tea room where every object tells a story
Curated by Tapiwa Matsinde
Photo: Simone Padovani ©Michelangelo Foundation

Young Ambassadors

We are not expected to navigate this monumental compound on our own.  Young Ambassadors are scattered throughout the grounds and inside every exhibition, eager to share their expertise — I love them. One hundred dynamic young people, screened and selected from the best European schools of arts, crafts, and design, were flown into Venice, fully trained, given food, shelter, a generous scholarship, sneakers from Venetian Heritage company Golden Goose, and some very cool uniforms from Makers Unite, an agency of refugee designers based in the Netherlands. The Young Ambassadors are grateful to be exactly where they are, mingling with the masters, and can answer any question about the crafts on display as if they made it themselves. 

From Young Ambassador to Designer

Juraj Horňák is a rising star. A Slovakian designer and craftsman working on his PhD in architecture, during his studies he started Lebo Mädveď (Beargames) with two classmates, a project that designs educational games.

Juraj was a Young Ambassador in 2018 and challenged himself: “I want to exhibit my work at the next Homo Faber.” He sent a one-minute motivational video along with his application describing his design for the Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia and believed to predict the player’s destiny. When informed he had been accepted as both a Young Ambassador and an artisan, Juraj scrambled to create two deluxe versions of the game. After playing a cutthroat round with him in The Artisan tea room, I predict his destiny: “You will become powerful like a lion.”

Young Ambassadors on the 17th-century Longhena Monumental staircase
inside the Giorgio Cini Foundation
Homo Faber Event 2022
Photo: Ginevra Formentini ©Michelangelo Foundation

Alberto Cavalli

“What is beautiful — and authentic — will always make you fall in love,“ says chief curator Alberto Cavalli, the powerhouse driving Homo Faber. Also the executive director of the Michelangelo Foundation and director general of the Cologni Foundation, Cavalli is heralded by stakeholders for his ability to keep the massive event running seamlessly, as well as his uncanny ability to materialize at critical junctures. Synchronicity is how we manage to meet for a coffee — I happened to arrive at a time when he had 17 minutes to spare.

Cavalli is a vibrant speaker whose passion for craftsmanship is contagious. “We need to form a common language. Take the word ‘sustainable.’ Is a world without dreams sustainable? Or a world without diversity? Can we sustain a world dominated by banality?”

One of Cavalli’s most important missions is to create a new generation of craftsmakers, which means empowering young people and providing opportunities for them to meet master artisans at the top of their game. “Why do we make things with our hands? Handwork can offer dreams to younger generations. When I was growing up, the future was full of promises. These days, the future can be full of threats. What kind of legacy are we leaving? Craftsmanship gives youth a clear, authentic way of expressing themselves.”

Alberto Cavalli at the Opening Ceremony 9th April Homo Faber Event 2022
speaking in "Lo Squero" auditorium, a one-time boat repair workshop
with a spectacular wall of glass that looks on the Venice lagoon
Photo: Marco Bucco ©Michelangelo Foundation

I ask Cavalli how he measures the success of Homo Faber. “Three ways. First, by ticket sales. We are asking people to visit an event in the Venice lagoon, reachable only by boat. For the inaugural edition in 2018, from September 14th to 30th, we had 62,500 visitors from all over the world. This year, opening weekend was sold out.

“Second, by comments from the participants – the curators, the master artisans, the rising stars – who genuinely appreciate interacting with like-minded people. What is so important for me about craft is the humanity – in the faces, the dreams, the expectations, the talent, the ability – also in the stubbornness of the master craftsman.

“And third, by the attendees themselves. Sometimes I take off my identification and mingle with the visitors, who are everyone from tourists to collectors to designers, and listen to the sparkle in their voices.

“We need to ask ourselves: do we want things that are just things? Or do we want objects that express who we are, what we are. When you surround yourself with goods made by hand, rather than being a passive consumer, you become an active participant. We were born to consciously change the world around us.”

WAITING with Peace and Darkness - American theater director Robert Wilson
transforms the Gandini indoor swimming pool into a stage set
inspired by his 1993 production of Madame Butterfly at the Paris Opera,
complete with original props
Photo: Alessandra Chemollo 
©Michelangelo Foundation


In Città and The Homo Faber Guide

In Città

During the Homo Faber Event, in addition to the main exhibition on San Giorgio Maggiore, visitors could create self-guided tours using In Città, a bounty of handcrafted experiences tucked throughout the labyrinth of Venice. All the artisans and craftsmakers in town threw open their doors and invited the public to witness Venetians in action -- the engine that keeps the city afloat. From shoemakers to costume designers, mask makers to glass blowers, eyeglass designers to local food and wine -- In Città gave visitors the golden opportunity to meet the actual people who live and work in Venice.

Homo Faber Guide

The Michelangelo Foundation has also created the Homo Faber Guide, an ever-evolving digital platform dedicated to craftsmanship that explores featured towns in Europe and beyond. From Greece to Norway, Portugal to Romania, the guide leads curious travelers through a world of artisans and their masterpieces in every corner of the continent, all year round. And with the recent addition of Japan, South Korea and Singapore, the Homo Faber network welcomes artisans from another continent – Asia.

The guide lets you view familiar cities through new eyes by following an itinerary that turns a spotlight on the world of high-quality crafts. Visit galleries and shops that sell singular objects. Explore workshops, ateliers and museums that embrace a human touch. Enjoy conversations and experiences of substance. The Homo Faber Guide aims to connect all the players in the world of fine craftsmanship on an international scale – from rising stars, to seasoned artisans, to astute consumers, and everyone along the way.

Practicing Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging
with Ikebana Ohara School Venice
Photo: Cat Bauer

Homo Faber is Latin for “man, the maker.” The ultimate aim of the Michelangelo Foundation is nothing less than to encourage the growth of a new cultural movement, one which would bring with it both social and economic rewards, most notably increased employment opportunities for artisans.

The Homo Faber Event hopes to return to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in two years' time, weaving itself into the fabric of Venice as a regular biennale, and helping the dream of a more human future become reality.

Relive the Homo Faber Event 2022 edition.

The Art of Writing -
the joy of finding the handcrafted Montblanc nib
that fits my style
with the help of a pen artisan
Photo: Cat Bauer

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog


1 comment:

  1. The Homo Faber Event cranks up the magic and transforms the island of San Giorgio Maggiore into a wonderland where artisans live in a world pulsing with dedicated people who spin straw into gold with their bare hands.

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