Paolo Baratta, President of la Biennale di Venezia
This year, la Biennale di Venezia has chosen to become directly involved in the Venice Pavilion in an initiative that is time-honoured yet looks to the future. The Pavilion was also dedicated to the Applied Arts in the past. Well we would like to pick up that thread, though in a different, up-to-date, direction: towards the most recent applications of advanced technology. We wonder whether the progress of technology, and in particular the spread of digital technology, is leading us towards horizons of standardization and uniformity, or whether on the contrary it offers new opportunities for development, for creative diversification and hence for experimentation with new forms. To be more specific, we wonder whether the progress of technology, and in particular of digital technology, is proceeding towards its designated fate of celibacy and a growing banality of forms, or whether on the contrary, the marriage of experience and technology, of handcrafting, understood as the direct application of man and his expertise, and the solutions that this very technology has made it possible to invent, is more fertile than ever. La Biennale wishes to explore this phenomenon, and it does so in an initiative that explores the theme of “digital – not only digital”, with the intent to examine those specific instances in which the two Muses, the Muse of technology and the Muse of knowledge born of experience, together can generate significant phenomena in the evolution of forms. La Biennale is taking its first step in this direction. This is a field of research to which it intends to dedicate part of its energies in the future. We will start by observing the reality that surrounds us. We have chosen, in fact, to explore the phenomena that have developed most recently in the Veneto region. Our intention is to broaden our outlook in the future. We are in the process of establishing relationships with important international institutions. It is no easy task to represent this state of affairs in an exhibition; these are results, but they are also stories which led to those results, the complexity of which cannot be ignored. This is the direction undertaken by curator Aldo Cibic. This phenomenon raises and inspires many questions, and for this reason we have chosen, in the autumn, to organize an event that will offer an opportunity for reflection and debate with leading national and international experts. In conclusion, while in a certain sense it may be seen as a return to the past of the Venice Pavilion, in other ways and in the light of its contents, this choice may be considered to be the cornerstone of a building we are beginning to construct, an area of research that we intend to develop: we are fully convinced that this initiative responds to the demands and interests that are arising from society and from industry, which are grappling with radical yet inevitable change, and that la Biennale, whose mission is to explore the “form” given to the creations of man in many different sectors, for which the issues being raised here may well be pertinent, cannot ignore.
Aldo Cibic, curator of Venice Pavilion
“Looking ahead. The evolution of the art of making. 9 stories from Veneto: Digital - not only digital” starts from an awareness of the importance of the creative approach to production processes and explores ongoing developments on the Italian scene, which offers many noteworthy examples. The exhibition is organised as an inquiry into the phenomenon on a local scale, beginning from the area closest to the Biennale venue, and describes creative processes which, from an inspired idea, have developed in often tortuous ways, involving experimentation, risks, errors, illusions and purposeful and casual encounters before finally producing results acknowledged for their intrinsic quality and originality. The research not only sets out to highlight formal and production results that stem from various synergies but also aims to describe the pathways taken. In this it will explore the methods, organisational modes and “craft” relations underlying the creation of products and therefore also the new elements and experiences that contribute to forming the professional creative and artistic figures involved. The relocation of business on a world scale, artistic creativity and technologies can be brought together to solve the dilemma between what is now pointless to produce here and what can only be produced here. Using various media, the exhibition illustrates the modes in which these processes have developed. To mention only a few examples, they range from how state-of-the-art products have been made using techniques from the past; the design of live-saving equipment; the possibility of combining social networks and production, or of being the sole producers of everyday functional objects. The exhibition is also enhanced by the views of people from various parts of the world. These mainly leading designers, top-level researchers and sophisticated customers have found the best producers here. They have chosen to work with our local creatives and producers, acknowledging the special nature of their “art of making”.
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY (2015) by Dainesela Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY
Dainese
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY (2015) by Dainesela Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY
Dainese
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY (2015) by Dainesela Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
TAILOR-MADE SAFETY
Dainese
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES (2015) by l.a.Eyeworks+M1la Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES
l.a.Eyeworks + M1
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES (2015) by l.a.Eyeworks+M1la Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES
l.a.Eyeworks + M1
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES (2015) by l.a.Eyeworks+M1la Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES
l.a.Eyeworks + M1
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES (2015) by l.a.Eyeworks+M1la Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES
l.a.Eyeworks + M1
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES (2015) by l.a.Eyeworks+M1la Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE DOLOMITES
l.a.Eyeworks + M1
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS (2015) by Magisla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS
Magis
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS (2015) by Magisla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS
Magis
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS (2015) by Magisla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS
Magis
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS (2015) by Magisla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
A DESIGN EDITOR AND HIS DESIGNERS
Magis
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
REDESIGNING HEAT (2015) by Tubesla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
REDESIGNING HEAT
Tubes
MASTERS OF PLASTIC (2015) by Virginio NPMla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
MASTERS OF PLASTIC
Virginio NPM
MASTERS OF PLASTIC (2015) by Virginio NPMla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
MASTERS OF PLASTIC
Virginio NPM
MASTERS OF PLASTIC (2015) by Virginio NPMla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
MASTERS OF PLASTIC
Virginio NPM
MASTERS OF PLASTIC (2015) by Virginio NPMla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
MASTERS OF PLASTIC
Virginio NPM
MASTERS OF PLASTIC (2015) by Virginio NPMla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
MASTERS OF PLASTIC
Virginio NPM
SEWING A DREAM (2015) by Staff Internationalla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
SEWING A DREAM
Staff International
SEWING A DREAM (2015) by Staff Internationalla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
SEWING A DREAM
Staff International
SEWING A DREAM (2015) by Staff Internationalla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
SEWING A DREAM
Staff International
SEWING A DREAM (2015) by Staff Internationalla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
SEWING A DREAM
Staff International
SEWING A DREAM (2015) by Staff Internationalla Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
SEWING A DREAM
Staff International
PRODUCERS ON THE NET FOR YOUNG CREATIVES (2015) by Formabiliola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
PRODUCERS ON THE NET FOR YOUNG CREATIVES
Formabilio
PRODUCERS ON THE NET FOR YOUNG CREATIVES (2015) by Formabiliola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
PRODUCERS ON THE NET FOR YOUNG CREATIVES
Formabilio
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON (2015) by De Castellila Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON
De Castelli
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON (2015) by De Castellila Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON
De Castelli
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON (2015) by De Castellila Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON
De Castelli
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON (2015) by De Castellila Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SOPHISTICATION OF IRON
De Castelli
THE SLOW FACTORY (2015) by Bonottola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SLOW FACTORY
Bonotto
THE SLOW FACTORY (2015) by Bonottola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SLOW FACTORY
Bonotto
THE SLOW FACTORY (2015) by Bonottola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SLOW FACTORY
Bonotto
THE SLOW FACTORY (2015) by Bonottola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SLOW FACTORY
Bonotto
THE SLOW FACTORY (2015) by Bonottola Biennale di Venezia - Biennale Arte 2015
THE SLOW FACTORY
Bonotto