【Editor's Note】In the square in front of the Today Art Museum, the huge red "armchair" "UP5_6 Armchair" of the legendary Italian architect, designer and artist Gaetano Pesce, with the abstract female body Up5 and the spherical footstool Up6 connected by chains, strongly express the global problems of women, and the imagery of symbolic confinement projected in the work comes to the face, reflecting his thinking on women's lack of equal power.
Footprint 83×241 cm resin 2014
Photo courtesy of Gaetano Pecher Studio and courtesy of Today Art Museum.
Gaetano Pesce's artistic journey spans more than half a century, covering furniture design, product design, architectural models, resin paintings and installations, etc., and is full of humanistic temperature and human light in the "Up Chair" series, "Destiny I Love You", "Portrait Lamp", "Portrait of a Cheerful Man", "No Perfect Chair" and so on. Pecher constructs a whimsical world of intense colors, creative sticky and elastic materials, and figurative anthropomorphic shapes.
Gaetano Pesce, who is 83 years old this year, under the influence of contemporary art waves such as abstraction, minimalism and conceptual art, did not fall into the solidification mode of various trends, but opened a revival of "figuration".
After the whole course of modernism, how did these figurative design works regain their vitality?
Artron Art Network through "Gaetano Pesce: Nobody's Perfect" (Gaetano Pesce: Nobody's Perfect) at today Art Museum, with the help of Gaetano Pecher Studio, began a conversation with Mr. Gaetano Pecher via web mail.
Legendary Italian architect, designer and artist Gaetano Pesce
Q&A conversation
Pei Gang, editor-in-chief of Artron Art Network
&
Architect, designer and artist Gaetano Pecher
(Gaetano Pesce)
Translated by Gaetano Pecher Studio Li Weijia Lizzy Li
Destiny I Love You 2020 Wood, Resin, Gold Leaf Exhibition Site
This portrait cabinet commemorates a woman, as well as a romantic story.
Q: Your design career has been influenced by the waves of abstraction, minimalism, conceptual art, etc., but he did not fall into the pattern of these trends, but opened a revival of "figuration". What kind of attitude is "figurative", thus forming a unique appearance of the individual. How do you think about the problem of "figuration"?
A: You are very interested in the "figuration" in my work, I can say that you asked why I returned to "figuration" after the wave of art such as minimalism.
It's not that I'm back to "figurative", the truth is that art and science are not the same. The development of science relies on existing theories. A new scientific discovery is based on another scientific discovery that preceded it. But art is the complete opposite: art is about overturning previous theories. Post-Renaissance art is completely different from it, such as the Baroque period. And the art after the Baroque period is also different from it, such as the neoclassical style...
And today, after the wave of modernism, I am back to "figuration". "Figurative" is a very simple way of expression, and I chose "figurative" because it reflects the way we work and communicate now. One of the most important features of today is "communication". When we want to communicate with others, we do not choose obscure abstractions, but simple and direct embodiments.
If you want to give meaning to your work and want the audience to understand, I think the best way to do that is to use "figuration," something that people can understand at a glance.
Unique Cabinet 2019 Wood, Resin, Cloth, Condensed Pulp Exhibition Site
Have I ever thought about giving up "figuration"? Maybe in the future, when I think that "figuration" is no longer the easiest way to communicate directly.
Q: In your design concept, "imperfection" is an important design idea for him. The "imperfect" design idea maintains some contingency and leaves room for the viewer's imagination, which also has a certain implicit agreement with Chinese "freehand" paintings. Please talk about the attitude and understanding of "flaws" and "imperfections", is there a clue to thinking?
A: We are human beings, so we are imperfect. If God exists, it may be perfect, but in general what is perfect are the machines that never make mistakes. I think "imperfection" is a quality, when a person does something, there is some "imperfection" in the result of the thing, which is a manifestation of human nature. It is precisely because of these "imperfections" that this result has a richer connotation.
Chair 94×48×43 cm Resin, pigment 2002-2019
Errors and imperfections, like I just said, are human nature. A long time ago, at a point in my career, I began to think that the first time a person makes a mistake is a manifestation of human nature, and from this point of view it is a positive thing. But to make the same mistake again is foolishness.
The first time a man makes a mistake, he shows his ego in that moment. Japanese Zen Buddhism has a very clear and easy to understand explanation of this. It was an important moment because it represented a person trying something, no matter how big or small, it was a record of human nature.
Pratt chair Pecher Private Edition 94×48×50 cm Resin 1984-2019
Q: It was very touching to see the two works "No One Perfect Chair" and "A Happy Man", and left me thinking. What was the thinking process and meaning of these two works when they were created?
A: "No Man's Chair" is a series of works that I am very satisfied with, because the chair is like a person, or like an animal. These chairs represent different people or animals: some have faces, some are laughing, some have different expressions...
A Happy Man 2016 Wood, Resin, Gold Leaf Powder
It is a multi-purpose cabinet with a smiling face, and the gold leaf powder on the surface makes the whole piece sparkle.
"A Happy Man" is about some men who are very shallow and content with their shallow abilities. "A Happy Man" depicts a man who is unaware of his mistakes and is complacent.
Q: And the deliberately retained brush marks, flowing paints, and irregular shapes on these two works are very wonderful, and they also confirm the presentation of "imperfect" design ideas in the works, and what is the concept that supports this way?
A: Like I said before, any trace of imperfection records one's own self at a certain moment. I would like to mention the theory of Zen Buddhism again: if a calligraphy has a little flaw, the moment when the defect is formed witnesses the action of a "person", a moment of emotional expression. I agree that everything we do is evidence that we are alive and that success or not is a very important testimony to life.
Artist self-portrait bookshelf 179×75×245 cm resin 2019
Q: The works named after "Bad Words Hurt The Table Lamp", "No One Has a Perfect Chair", and "A Happy Man" all carry a literary narrative, how do you think about the literature and poetry in the works?
A: The idea for "Bad Words Hurts" came from a moment when I was in a school. When I was young, there was a teacher who treated me very badly.
When I can't understand something, they say, "You'll never accomplish anything in your life!" This is what some ignorant teachers often say. Just like this lamp, when a person hears these hurtful words, they will gradually bend down, and the more you hear, the lower the waist will be bent.
"Bad Words Hurt The Lamp" is about such a past event.
Verbal Abuse Lamp
This is an example of how my work comes from life. As I've always said, reality is very important to me. There is another very important thing that I did not seem to mention before, and that is that the most important thing in the world today is "diversity".
In my view, all people are different, and I believe that the best quality of people is different. I believe that someone like you who can think so emotionally must be special, so you must be different.
Portrait chair 348×225.5 ×477 cm polyurethane foam, acrylic paint 2021
Q: Are those figurative designs formed gradually from the sketches of the manuscript? How does it work?
A: I don't start with manuscripts every time. I'm always thinking, I don't need to use manuscripts and models because I have the ability to describe in detail what I want to do in my mind. By the time the work in my mind was formed, the piece was basically finished.
Then I take a pen, a piece of wood, or a piece of paper and make the work in my head. It's that simple. These processes usually happen at night because the night is always very silent and I can concentrate on doing what I want to do.
Multivariate Architectural Manuscript 100× 133 cm Polyester Film on Indian Ink 1987-1988
Q: Your works often use new materials, including resin, metal, wood, etc., is the use of materials experimental for him? Are such experiments still under these considerations of practicality and "imperfection"?
A: I do do a lot of experiments. Some are successful, some are not. And those successful experiments are usually not perfect, so these experiments are also about "imperfection". "Imperfect" can sometimes allow you to discover new ways of creating, so "imperfect" is important.
Church of Solitude (longitudinal profile) 150×108 cm Watercolor, ink, color ink, gouache, graphite paper, 1974-1977
In art, architecture, design, I don't see a lot of people doing experiments, and I don't think that's a good thing, because innovation is often born out of experimentation. When the experiment is successful, you will find a new way of creating. Experiments are essential to bring the future to the present.
I don't know if Chinese schools will teach students to do experiments, but there are very few schools in Europe and the United States, and I regret it.
PVC Lamp Manuscript 2011 Pencil, Correction Liquid, Thick Paper Exhibition Site
Remake: HD micro-spray on Hanemler paper
The creation is Pecher's re-attempt at the silicone continuous extrusion process.
Q: The two works of "UP5_6 Chair Manuscript" and "The Cabinet of the Weary Man", one is a woman's concern, the other is a man with bent limbs, you intervene in the design of social reality, please talk about the thinking behind these two works and the process of formation of the work.
A: I think the greatest creation in the world is when women create a new life. There is no creation in the world that can be compared. Women are very important, but they have been treated unfairly by men from a long time ago.
UP5_ 6 Armchair 2021 FRP, Iron, Polymethyl Methacrylate Exhibition Site
"UP5_ 6 Armchairs" is a novel by Gaetano. Created at the invitation of Italian furniture brand B&B ltalia, Pecher has been a milestone in the history of design since its debut at Italy's Li Milan Furniture Fair in 1969.
As I said before, women have enlightened me in my education, and I have felt the diversity of their thinking from a very young age, as we now say, "interdisciplinary". At present, many countries still fail to treat women as men as "first-class citizens" of society.
I decided a long time ago to make a work that pays tribute to women, and this piece has since become very famous—a chair that resembles a female body with a ball tied to it. These two elements are reminiscent of prisoners with anklets. This represents the freedom that women lack. Even today, women in many regions still suffer. In some Arab countries, for example, women cannot travel alone.
In other countries, women are not as free to show their faces and bodies as others. I don't know what's going on in your country. But in general, even in the most developed countries, women and men are unable to achieve equal pay for equal work. This is unacceptable and I'm sure you will agree with me as well.
UP5_6 Armchair 101×110× 114 cm 57 cm ball Wood, Iron 1969
That's the story of Up5_6 Chair. Another worth mentioning is that this is the first time a chair has been given political meaning. For the first time, a design product has a political connotation – women are victims of male prejudice.
Cabinet of the weary 179×50× 110 cm resin 2018
You mentioned another work, The Cabinet of the Weary. I think that men in history have really made a lot of outstanding contributions in various fields, from science to social rights and so on...
But today, I think men are starting to get tired and gradually lose the energy they used to have. Looking at the world, the actions of today's politicians can be said to be unproductive to society.
I don't think they're serving their country and their people well. This kind of thinking led me to make this work, "The Cabinet of the Weary Man". "Tired" – because they don't have the energy they used to have.
Surrealist artist Salvador Dali sits on Peche's Up5_6 Armchair
Gaetano Pesce said in a conversation with Artron Art Network: "Women are very important because they make up half of the world's population.
But we don't treat them well and treat them as a minority/vulnerable group in society. This is very undeserved. For me in particular, I was very fortunate that women enlightened me, and they taught me a lot: the way they think, the way their brains work — in a way, pluralistic, pluralistic expressions are an 'interdisciplinary practice'.
I think another reason why my work has so many 'interdisciplinary practice' attempts is my Italian education. You can see attempts at interdisciplinary practice in the works of many famous Italian artists.
During the Renaissance, artists could be poets, musicians, painters, architects, and so on. I believe that artistic expression should not have boundaries and barriers. ”