Rei Zentolo - obradoiro de artesanía
Transcripción
Rei Zentolo - obradoiro de artesanía
1 4 Re-designing the Atlantic 72 Gallery foreword 45 It is a great satisfaction for the Regional Ministry of Innovation and Industry to present the magazine “Crafts Workshop”, a publication designed to become a channel of communication with the crafts sector, at the same time as serving as a display of the different artisans’ work. As a twice-yearly publication, our aim is to create a specialised magazine for consultation and reference on any matter related to the Galician crafts sector, which goes beyond offering the latest news. “Crafts Workshop” will be an instrument used to divulge the diversity of our sector, in which traditional trades, historic memory and cultural heritage, and the knowledge passed down from generation to generation all go hand in hand with new crafts activities and concepts related to art and design. “Crafts Workshop” will reflect the diversity of the sector, at the same time as being an open space for the promotion and publicity of our artisans and their creative work in Galician society and the rest of the world. From the Regional Ministry, we consider the world of crafts as anything but a ‘sealed compartment’. We are seeing more and more that it is a dynamic, diverse sector, in constant contact with other artistic disciplines such as photography, architecture, fashion, design or sculpture, to name but a few. We will focus all of our efforts on creating a section we hope will become a permanent feature in forthcoming editions, exploring the production of crafts workshops as works of art that are perfectly suited for exhibition in art galleries. And so, each edition of “Crafts Workshop”, apart from offering articles and interviews on matters of interest, will dedicate a large part of its content to traditional crafts, showing how this activity is being modernised in the present day, either as a result of new interpretations of traditional styles and methods, or from research and innovation applied to the field. Our aim is to explore both sides of the work of artisans in Galiza, showing how traditional crafts are made and the application of these ancestral methods to producing contemporary pieces, highlighting the work of the craftsmen and craftswomen involved as creative authors. Each edition will also dedicate space to new crafts activities appearing in Galiza in response to the new demands of modern society, and our new way of life. The definitive goal of the Regional Ministry of Innovation and Industry is that this publication serves to publicise the reality of our crafts sector as a whole, going beyond preconceptions, topical issues and shortsightedness. A sector in which tradition is combined with the new perspectives of artisans and creators, with their artistic visions, with new uses required by consumers and new crafts activities that arise. A diverse sector, whose most commonly shared feature is quality craftsmanship, the guarantee of unique pieces, and the prestige of a trademark used to present their work in markets throughout the whole world, the name “Crafts of Galicia” that identifies them. Chiselling 30 as a way of life 10 Melted in glass Opinion 61 Tuning up an invention/ Avant-garde Luthiers Fernando Xabier Blanco Álvarez Regional Ministry of Innovation and Industry The magazine “Crafts Workshop” is available in PDF format at the website www.artesaniadegalicia.org 2 44 ‘Raku’ Nigrán style 34 summary Textile expression Random ceramics 15 38 Masterpieces Published by General Directorate for Commerce Regional Ministry of Innovation and Industry Coordinated by Galician Crafts and Design Centre Foundation L25MN Área Central 15707 Santiago de Compostela Tel. 881999171 / 881999175 Fax 881999170 e-mail: [email protected] Photography Xoán Piñón Manuel G. Vicente Juan Carlos G. Franco e contribucións dos artesáns Design, edition and production Vermasmedios S. L. Tel. 881 926 236 [email protected] Legal Deposit 111111111111 3 Textile expression Pop culture and the conversion of a series of icons of Galician identity into expressions of urban style are the features that mark the work of the company Rei Zentolo, which continues to grow by bringing graphic art to the streets and using modern marketing methods to promote its products, as part of the steady rise of T-shirts with a message. The company began selling at festivals and crafts fairs, and today has five stores throughout all of Galiza and two new lines of business: Yobordo and Shirtgigolo. 4 5 Graphic irony Figures including the well-known local musician Iván Ferreiro have been had all of the right ideas, but couldn’t reach our end customers. That won over by the charms of Rei Zentolo, a company producing T-shirts was when we came up with the idea of selling directly to the public. We with a message that is causing a major stir in the world of Galician started to travel round visiting festivals and crafts fairs with a shopping textile design as a result of combining Pop culture with the traditional trolley, beach table and a tent, the perfect kit to start out on a business ironic humour of the region. The ex-member of the pop group Los Piratas project without grants from the local authorities or support of any kind”. has had major success throughout all of Spain wearing Rei Zentolo’s T-shirts on stage, a company that was created in 2002 in the city of Galician Pop culture T-shirts Rei Zentolo came about as an idea by two Fine Arts students Pontevedra and which six years later continues to go from who decided to seek an outlet for their creativity by strength to strength. “The original idea was to create starting up their own T-shirt workshop using the a brand that broke away with everything on offer screen-printing technique. They discovered a niche up to that moment. From the outset we wanted in the market that had not been filled: messages to make something that wasn’t available on based on popular Galician iconography. From the market, with a specific look and cultural “THE FIRST STEP IS A the famous local octopus to the green peppers ideology”, says Jose Miranda, one of the BRAINSTORMING SESSION of Padrón, to famous Galician writers owners of Rei Zentolo, adding: “At first it was WITH ALL OF THE MEMBERS and thinkers, such as Rosalía de Castro or quite a struggle as our products lacked any OF THE COMPANY, FOLLOWED kind of reference on the market, and this Castelao, legendary creatures such as the BY A SELECTION PROCESS TO led to stores giving us the cold shoulder, as werewolf, or the region’s valiant barnacle CHOOSE THOSE WE THINK ARE gatherers, presenting Galiza as a land of the slogans were in Galician, and it wasn’t myths that still had a message to transmit to a language that sold well, unlike English or THE BEST TO PRODUCE AS the region’s young people. Jose defines the Castilian Spanish”. AN ORIGINAL IDEA”. But little by little, gradually edging into a company’s growth saying: “The success of our market with a bias towards Anglo-Saxon and T-shirts was firstly due to the fact that they are a Spanish culture in textiles, the company found its basic garment that everyone wears and needs on most important support to become successful in the a day to day basis. We think they work well because field: the general public. It began selling in the streets they’re a product our customers identify with, something before starting to expand with its own store and franchises selling that makes them feel different and is representative of the its products in Coruña, Compostela, Carballo, Vigo and Pontevedra, as Galician way of being”. All of Rei Zentolo’s catalogue can be consulted on the website www. well as in multi-brand stores throughout all of Galiza and other parts reizentolo.com which offers interactive sections, information and has an of Spain, gradually creating a commercial distribution network. “We online store with all of its designs. The items on sale include key rings, badges, garments for babies, mugs and even sunglasses, although its star products are its T-shirts, producing an average of 5,000 per month, although in peak months this figure rises to 20,000. The artistic style, creativity and teamwork involved are all key factors in achieving the excellent final result. A complex process is involved from the original sketch until the T-shirt reaches the customer: “First we have a brainstorming session amongst the members of the company. Then we sieve out the designs we think are the best and most original that can be used. The next stage is to create a more polished version, and if we don’t think it’s got any future as a definitive design we put it to one side to come back to in the future. Then we lay out the design on the computer, trying out colours, compositions and typography… finally we produce a series of test runs with screen printing inks and different colours to choose the definitive models that will be included in the catalogues”, explains Jose. A number of designs from Rei Zentolo have already become classics, appearing in TV interviews, on the streets and in foreign countries, all with the aim of making the statement “Yes, I’m Galician”. For example, the T-shirt poking fun at the band from California, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, using peppers from Padrón. In this case the slogan reads “Little Green Hot Peppers from Padrón”. This humorous take on Anglo-Saxon cultural products may also be seen in the “Warholised” version of authoress Rosalía de Castro, imitating the portrait of Marilyn Monroe from 1964 by the ‘high priest’ of Pop Art culture. “Marilyn and Rosalía represent a specific cultural period. Both are iconic figures from these periods and both are firmly identified with the idea of an independent, modern woman. For this reason they both became Pop Art images”, says Jose, who did not hesitate to include in the portfolio of iconic Galician figures –not without a certain touch of irony– the presenter of the popular How does an illustration find its way onto a T-shirt? After working on the concept based on the illustration, the most suitable colour range is tested so that the final garment fits with the original idea. Taking icons of European culture and adapting them to a Galician viewpoint is one of the specialities of Rei Zentolo. 6 7 I embroider, you embroider, she embroiders… local TV show Luar, Xosé Ramón Gayoso, who despite not personally representing the region, is “a well-known personality from Galiza from the last fifteen years”. The driving force behind the growth of Rei Zentolo is its talent and staying in touch with the latest trends at street level. For this reason it constantly updates its products, although its ‘classics’ are kept in the catalogue. “All of the brands on the market that have a model that sells well try to make the most of it. For example, textile companies keep a pattern year after year if it works well. Logically, when we see something isn’t selling well we take it off the shelves. We also produce limited editions, with products such as the Yobordo clothing, socks, or mugs”. “We see ourselves as artists from the nineteenth century” The Yobordo team creates clothing for the modern woman, with a touch of innocence and a love of handcrafted objects with a long-lasting value. Sketches and threads. Working material that serves as the starting point for the team of YoBordo (shown above), which offers women’s garments that are sophisticated, unique and totally hand-made, based on a world of innocence and imagination. Today Rei Zentolo has become a well-known brand, present throughout the whole of Spain, and is much more than just a company: it is a way of understanding the culture of Galiza and the main demands of young people in the region. A style all of its own, somewhere between ironic humour and fine art. 8 A LARGE TEAM WITH AN INTREPID SPIRIT T-shirts and much more besides. Rei Zentolo’s stores have a style all their own, where visitors will find handcrafted fashion garments and highly original gift items, ever faithful to the culture of Galiza. The members of Rei Zentolo’s design team are Juan, Pablo, Nieves, Jano, Kiko da Silva and Miranda. However, working together with them in the warehouse and product delivery department are Óscar and Cote (with José), as well as two others in the administration and customer service department (Salvador and Abilleira, together with Jano). They are joined by the staff in the franchises, in their screen printing workshop, and the heads of product marketing in Catalonia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Aragón, the north of Castile, Valencia and Murcia. In total, more than twenty people are dedicated to a single project: guaranteeing the success of a symbol of Galiza’s cultural identity that is having a profound impact on the whole country. T H E WO R K S H O P The members of Rei Zentolo began their commercial adventure when they had still not found full time work, and their success has served as motivation for other young men and women who, like them, were planning to emigrate as a solution. “This was a process of creation that was seen up close by a lot of people, meaning it’s logical that a lot of people without work but with ideas or design studies decided to start making T-shirts as a way of getting out of a rut”, says Jose. Despite being a hugely successful company, they have a very clear idea of being twenty-first century artists, capable of adapting their art to modern times and a wide range of supports, beyond just being a commercial formula. “We see ourselves like the artists of the nineteenth century, when there was no difference between art and crafts. Until quite recently this same idea was supported by artists like Chillida or Picasso. We understand craftsmanship as research in the workshop, where you have to invent new things both at formal level as well as in terms of design or ideology”. They are critical of modern crafts, which they say suffers from “being far from what it could and should be. We think that the world of crafts is suffering from a delay in values, because it is seen as something associated with the past that cannot or should not evolve. An example of this is that the designs of lacework from Camariñas mustn’t be made in materials that are any colour other than white”. They form a part of a generation responsible for serving as a driving force behind a new concept of manual work. • • • Two more specialised brands have appeared as part of the Rei Zentolo stable, aimed at attracting other types of public and complementing the creative philosophy of the team from Pontevedra. “YoBordo (www. yobordo.com), [“I Embroider”], appeared as a collaboration project with a colleague from the faculty of Fine Arts, with all of the products made by hand, down to the patterns used. In turn, ShirtGigolo (www.shirtgigolo. com) appeared in response to the prejudice that exists towards Galicians in the rest of Spain, and as a means for our sales team to survive in other parts of the country, because otherwise we’d be condemning them to not be able to sell outside of Galiza”, says Jose, adding, “We’re working in this direction because at Rei Zentolo we consider that in order to survive, you have to continuously evolve and not rest on your laurels. That’s the way to stay alive and keep going forwards”. The history of Yobordo dates back to 2005, when Nieves Sierra, originally from Santander and a Fine Arts student in Pontevedra, joined up with Rei Zentolo to bring out a range of women’s clothes. She started with embroidered T-shirts, and then skirts, dresses and blouses, all hand-made, with hand painted designs but within the reach of the most fashion conscious young people. The Yobordo woman is original, fun and with a slightly naïve touch, and the products from the company all include these signs of identity: a fresh, youthful approach both in the fabrics used (wool, cotton, corduroy, polyester or satin), and in the colours and decorative motifs used, from ribbons or birds to skulls, flowers or rainbows. This ‘baby doll’ look has already proved to be a major success in European fashion shows such as Ego Cibeles or the Prét-á-Porter fashion week in Paris. Address of the main store: rúa Dona Tareixa Casco Vello-Pontevedra Telephone: 986 856 844 Websites: www.reizentolo.com www.yobordo.com www.shirtgigolo.com 9 Melted in glass Craftsmanship in glass, a tradition enshrined in the master glassblowers of Venice, is alive and flourishing in Galiza. Proof of this is the highly personal and delicate work of Rosa Méndez, who in her small workshop in Teo, close to Santiago, transforms large sheets of the material in pieces of modern and multi-functional jewellery. The glass bars seen in the top photo are turned into necklaces and other jewellery thanks to a fine control of the blowpipe, a speciality of the artisan Rosa Méndez for more than eight years. 10 Her work is her main passion, and this may be seen in her pieces, some of which are more commercial in nature –such as the collections of jewellery offered to her clientele every six months– while others are so personal that they do not even have a specific function: they are simply harmonious. These are large-scale pieces that Rosa Méndez shapes with loving care, the first she shows to visitors at her workshop. Works of art seemingly more at home in a museum of decorative arts than in a shop window. “These aren’t utilitarian pieces, or at least they’re not meant to be. They are pieces that catch your eye, that you keep in your home, like when you buy a picture or a sculpture… they say something to you, or are pleasing to look at”, says the Galician designer. Méndez works with volumes with a sensitivity all her own, producing pieces that lead you to ask questions and be inspired by the colour and fragility of the glass, which has all the appearance of a piece of ice taken from nature. The work of this craftswoman, however, is highly focused on the production of jewellery, present each season at the international fairs held in Madrid and Paris, from where it finds its way to displays in jewellers’ and stores specialising in arts and crafts. “My work has been very well received in Galiza, but particularly in France or Barcelona. Different collections are more successful in one place or another. In Paris or Barcelona, for example, I had a lot of success with a collection made using newspaper and parchment, materials that aren’t often seen in my work, and which go down very well in museum shops, but don’t sell so well in Galiza”, explains the artist, who began her training with renowned specialists in producing artistic glasswork in the USA, Austria, Holland and Italy. 11 Necklace and earrings form the series “Burbullas”, available from Rosa Méndez’s catalogue in different colours and settings, depending on the customer’s preferences. Her professional career with this material began in 2000, a period she looks back on with fond memories. “I discovered glass by chance at a school that was in Galiza for around five years. It depended on La Granja de San Ildefonso, and that’s where I still go today to learn new techniques. When I discovered what was possible with glass I said to myself ‘this is for me, I’m staying with this material’. My first teacher was Italian, she taught me and I got more and more hooked. After training in Galiza, I continued learning in La Granja. I studied there for two years. First I set up a workshop with other artisans, and for the last four year’s I’ve had my own”. Classicism, with a close eye on the latest trends The work of Rosa Méndez combines design, manufacture, commercialisation and also a firm commitment to create a crafts culture. For this reason, apart from continuing to take part in meetings with other professionals in the sector, she offers training courses for young people starting out in the field of glass blowing, and works because she recognises the value of unique, hand-made pieces in which the tendency is towards the consumption of more temporary, easily replaced products. “When someone takes home a piece that has been made by hand, they are taking something unique and special. Before things were sold more with a view to the future, but not any more, and for this reason it’s important to work with young people to get them interested in the world of craftsmanship. Age has an important influence in this process of recognising quality work, but it’s also positive that young people learn and distinguish what makes it genuine and special. The French public, for example, values much more highly things that have been made by hand. For them it’s very important to know the person behind the objects that are in each collection”. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings… glass never looses pride of place with respect to silver or leather, the main supports for the icy, brightly coloured pieces by Rosa Méndez. Jewellery that is occasionally based on initial designs, but at other times appears from direct contact with fire. Most of her initial collections have three or four items from each model, although the rest are made on demand from distributors or directly from her customers, faithful fans of her work and part of an ever-growing client base. All of her series have their own name (Caramelos, Burbullas, Xeados, Barroca), referring to their appearance or the time when they were made. Rosa Méndez makes variations of each model, playing with the colours or materials they are set in. At the same time as blowing and moulding her glasswork, she shares her experiences with other professionals in classes (every year, at the School of Jewellery in Madrid), or from whom she receives new knowledge. “This profession is something that comes from very deep within you. If you like working with your hands, when you have a material placed in front of you, you go crazy. I see it when I organise a course: once people realise what glass is capable of, they start working on it intensely”. As well as jewellery, Rosa Méndez creates decorative objects. Colour and lively shapes make her work ideal for younger collectors. 12 13 “You’ve got to get out there and take a gamble” O How would you define your jewellery? They’re pieces that are easy to combine, I don’t make them too complicated and they look great with different types of clothes. The glass is the most important element, and I try to make big pieces, without them being too heavy so the wearer feels comfortable with them. My jewellery makes any type of clothing look different, for example a two-piece suit. When you wear one of my necklaces, what stands out about you is precisely that: the necklace. O How do you commercialise your work? Apart from the fairs in Madrid and Paris, which give you an outlet for your work and also the chance to share with your colleagues how the sector is going and the latest novelties, when it comes to selling I’ve always got my display boxes ready to travel to shows, and for my sales reps to take round the stores. No one comes to look for you in your workshop. In this business you’ve got to get out there and take a gamble. O Tell us about your side as an artist working with blown glass. Is this technique usual in Galiza? I’ve always worked with glass, since I began in the business, and I apply it to different technical conditions. Jewellery reaches a lot of people and it’s more popular, but blown glass has a lot more to offer. Blown glass, for example, is hardly made at all in Galiza or in the rest of Spain. To learn the technique I had to travel abroad and learn mainly from American teachers. To tell you the truth, my dream would be to work with blown glass alone. But I don’t commercialise it, it’s my little luxury. For the time being I do it because I love it, I’ve never put it on sale. 14 O What raw material do you use, and where does it come from? I use glass sheets, but I don’t buy them here but instead put in an order every three months to the USA. Here in Spain a lot of window glass gets made, but it doesn’t give you the same results as this imported material. I buy it in different thicknesses, colours, transparencies and opacities. I’ve got a small storeroom where I keep the sheets, and from there I take them straight into the workshop where I cut them and work with them. FROM VENICE TO TEO “Collections come and go, but I’m always left with some memory or other”. The work of Rosa Méndez is the best possible proof that when an artisan goes to work, even ice can become warm. Her style is reminiscent of the Italian style, although the colours and shapes she uses give it a personality all of its own. She spends hours and hours in her workshop in Teo, a quiet space where she practically lives, dedicating her time to something for which she has felt a true passion for more than eight years: creating beauty from the art of glassblowing • • • • T H E WO R K S H O P O To what extent do you keep your eye on fashion trends, what’s going on in the garment world, when you’re creating your jewellery collections? I always make two collections, one for the summer and another for the winter, and now I’m supplying orders to stores for Summer 2008, but I’m already trying out designs for the coming winter. I’m always watching out for fashion trends in relation to my pieces, especially the colours. If gold is in, I use golds, if red is in, I use more reds… in the case of the clips and supports, they’re nearly always adapted to the glass, more than the glass being adapted to them. In terms of the shapes, my jewellery is more classic and timeless. Address: Vilar de Calo, 49 15895 Teo (A Coruña) Telephone: (34) 981 523 146 (34) 667 266 098 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.rosamendez.com O How do you use the blowpipe technique? This blowing technique (while she explains this, Rosa makes a piece, as may be seen in the photo) is the one used in Murano by companies as prestigious as Antica Murrina from Venice. This is the way the Venetian master glassblowers work with the glass, although I learned the method from a French expert. When it’s hot, the glass behaves like jelly, and that’s when you can stretch it or mould it, for example in the way I use it in my necklaces. As a base, I always use silver or steel bars, and of course a good pair of safety goggles. O How do you join the glass and the silver? To do that I use a special lamp at the point where I join the glass to the silver, using a special glue that doesn’t leave behind any residue. In that way both materials end up looking like a single piece, and you can’t see where they’ve been joined. O How do you use leather in your work, as an alternative to silver? The combination of glass and leather is quite strange but looks great and goes down very well with customers, specifically the younger generation. I look for leather strips that are best suited for using with glass, as not all of them look good, and I get mine from a specialised firm in Murcia. O What’s the current situation of the glass crafts sector? There was a boom when I started to work with glass in 2000, but now the sector’s a little less active, although it still has its loyal followers. Today there aren’t so many workshops operating. There are plenty of people making large-scale pieces like stained glass windows, but there are less of us making jewellery. We’re competing with other materials and precious stones, although there’s a market for all of us.. Masterpieces Galiza’s artisans look to the present, recycling and learning from the past. For this reason issues that are very much at the forefront of modern society, such as immigration, women’s equality, respect towards the environment and culture itself are all present in the philosophy behind the thirteen pieces selected by the jury as finalists in the first edition of the Galician Crafts Awards. Equality, the environment, recycling, respect towards others, plurality and cultural diversity… the Galician Crafts Awards, presented on the thirteenth of May this year, distinguished the position of artisans in the face of the changing and complex society of Galiza in 2008, in which immigration, care for the environment and women’s equality are all signs of identity. However, as would be expected from a prize-giving event that recognises the work of creators as renovators, when it came to choosing the finalists and winning entries, special attention was paid to skill and control over manual techniques. A precision at times bordering on virtuosity, as is the case with the two winning entries: the tuneable ‘chanters’ for bagpipes created by Lis Latas, and the sculptures in granite entitled “Transportiños” by David Soengas (winner of the New Creators Prize). Small pieces made with delicacy and infinite patience but always, as was the case with the works of the other eleven finalists, suffused with a knowledge of Galician culture. The first edition of the Galician Crafts Awards was convoked by the Regional Ministry of Innovation and Industry with the aim of stimulating the creative work of Galician artisans, and at the same time to raise public awareness of the strategic importance of the sector in providing an economic and cultural impulse for Galiza. The jury responsible for making the selection was chaired by the general director of commerce, Ana Rúa Souto, with the director of the Galician Foundation of Crafts and Design, Maruxa Ledo Arias, as secretary. The five members of the jury were Xohán Viqueira, artist and teacher from the School of Ceramics in Manises (Valencia); the artisan and sculptor Acisclo Manzano, member of the Galician Royal Academy of Fine Arts; the art critic Xosé Manuel Lens; the designer Antonio Ibáñez, and Begoña Bas López, member of the Museum of the Galician People and conservation specialist at the Archaeological Museum of A Coruña. The winning entry of the first prize of 10,000 euros was the ‘tuneable bagpipe chanter’ created by José Luis latas Vilanova, an artisan from Lugo specialising in the bagpipe, thanks to his research work aimed at improving the piece responsible for tuning one of the most emblematic instruments of Galician music. His work was carried out with the constant advice of the bagpiper Pepe Vaamonde, and is revolutionising the Galician bagpipe and the rest of the Celtic world. The jury commented that “this piece provides practical and simple solutions to bring about improvements in the playing and adaptation of the bagpipe for new audiences, making the process of learning and playing the instrument easier. These characteristics are new elements that complement the intelligent and contemporary accompaniment of the dialogue with our history, not only in musical but also in cultural and creative terms, factors of undeniable importance for a craftsmanship of quality with its sights set on the future”. In the “New Creators” category, with a prize of 4,000 euros aimed at artisans younger than 35, the winner was the decorative piece made of recycled granite entitled “Transportiños” by David Soengas Ben. The jury praised it as “an exercise in the re-adaptation and recycling of material components, of the significance and cultural component that characterises stone in Galiza”. Apart from these two winning entries, the thirteen pieces by the other finalists reveal the control over a wide variety of techniques and materials through which Galician artisans are in contact with the modern-day public, with strong links to the past helping to ensure traditional products have a bright future in the sector in the region. 15 AN ALLY FOR GALICIAN FOLKLORE Galician Crafts Award Title: Reprodución de rosetóns do románico galego Author: Ana María Martínez Gómez 16 finalists and prize–winners Title: De dúas en dúas Author: Xabier de Sousa Alonso Title: Cabra e paxaro Author: Nacho Porto Title: Versus Torque Author: Sánchez-Cano Orfebres “O punteiro afinable con copa de concerto” (The tuneable chanter with top section for concerts) is a device that improves the tuning of this traditional instrument of Galician folklore, maintaining its original appearance and at the same time solving the problems caused by heat and cold that affect the stability of the instrument. Built using five conical wooden sections fitted together “to form a single adjustable body at the different connection points”, it is mainly made of wood and resin, with metal reinforcements (in silver and brass) to protect the wooden cylinders from damage and decorate the piece, which includes a concert top section making it possible to extend the notes that can be played using a series of keys. A device that improves the tuning of this traditional instrument of Galician folklore, maintaining its original appearance and at the same time solving the problems caused by heat and cold. Title: O punteiro afinable con copa de concerto Author: Jose Luis Latas Vilanova WINNER Innovation Award Title: Luz encorsetada Author: Pilar López Cupero Title: Lapis de cores Author: María Silva Pérez Title: Trioval Author: Virginia Rodríguez Lorenzo Title: Yerbera Author: Victor Manuel Ares Ces Title: A cor da terra Author: Xabier de Sousa Alonso New Creators Award Title: O serán desta aldea Author: Sabela Orgueira Viqueira Title: Ceibalúa Author: Oscar Barros García Title: Transportiños Author: David Soengas Ben WINNER 17 ANIMAL DUALITY Two hand-modelled pieces, one weighing thirteen kilos and the other just 250 grams, form the sculpture “Cabra e paxaro” (Goat and Bird), the larger piece in refractory clay and the smaller piece in while clay, based on symbols and exploring ancestral mythology through modern-day parameters, symbols and techniques. The animal in two sections, half goat and half bird, was created “to remind the observer that in life there are still things that are worth looking at in detail, compared to the fast, superficial changes of post-modern society”. A TWO-WAY TICKET In life the Emigrants and immigrants, Galicians know what it is to leave their homeland in order to make a living, and also to receive people from other countries, fleeing from hunger, war or dictatorships and who now live alongside us, together with those who have returned from the wave of migration to Europe and Latin America. “De dúas en dúas” (Two by Two) uses the technique of engraving, which according to its creator “began with a creative idea, an image that took shape as a central figure and which is decorated with the colours of the author’s sentiments, impregnated in wet paper and from there to the printing press to achieve the final result”. A result which in this case has the appearance of a suitcase with family photos, memories and hopes… the same things that we as a society must recover for ourselves. e th fast il, compared to e rf h a lc ia ic wo a in det t a g n i look up ,s re re are stil l things that a rth A result which in this case has the appearance of a suitcase with family photos, memories and hopes... the same things that we as a society must recover for ourselves. ng es o f po s t-mo d e r n societ y. 18 19 THE ROMANESQUE WITHIN REACH DISMANTLING STEREOTYPES The world of fashion and the creation of stereotypes in relation to women’s bodies is the theme underlying the aesthetic of “Luz encorsetada” (Light in a Corset), a piece made in iron, wire, fabric and adhesive PVC, representing a mannequin as a symbol of how the male fantasy of femininity is constructed. The author has taken everyday objects from our lives, such as a woman’s bra and a decorative lamp, which in this case is used to create a suggestive light to seduce the observer. a s Rose windows, architectural elements from the Galician Romanesque style of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, interpreted on a small scale and for a daily use. bri c and adhesive PVC as m ate r ia l am , s a quin is represented as nn e w ho le fantasy of feminin ity is con str uc te d. ym bo f lo ma the Using a technique dating from 2000 BC, the lost wax method for gold and silverwork, the pieces that comprise the “Colección de rosetóns do románico galego” (Collection of rose windows from the Galician Romanesque period) stand out as a result of offering designs from eleventh and twelfth century Galician rose windows in jewellery. Creating the designs in silver called for extensive fieldwork, visiting the main churches built in the style throughout Galiza, taking photographs and making sketches, before creating a prototype that guaranteed the accuracy of the final product with the designs of the mediaeval architects. n Usi 20 fa ire, w , n g iro 21 CATCH THE MOON! The collection “Ceibalúa” (Freemoon) consists of two earrings and a necklace made of silver and cultivated pearls. It is inspired by observing nature and the Galician sky “on a clear night, when the moon wandered freely amongst the stars”. A silver cage contains the pearl, representing the moon. The piece is particularly noteworthy for its detailed process of creation, resulting in a unique object that is highly precise in all of its details. GALICIAN CHARACTER The graphic work “A cor da terra” (The colour of the earth) explores the idiosyncrasy of Galiza, taking into account the environment, its climate, its social and economic problems and politics in the widest sense of the term: “all of the factors that provide us with character and make men and women grow as living, rational beings”. The piece is engraved using a wooden plate and then coloured, and is aimed at expressing the uniqueness of our region and its people through craftsmanship. This is highly coherent with the author’s opinion of the engraving, which he defines as “a reflection of the capturing of the emotion, of the character or the social atmosphere that surrounds us, and represents a window that is open to helping us to develop our capacity for imagination and humanisation”. 22 fa sk y li ci an Ga i prov m wom as l o rati e th d an nd e r a u w t n na g oo n i m v es r e e s h h b t t yo en st r ed b g i h p s w n n t, It is i mo igh a n y r l clea fr e e “o n a ta rs ered ”. All e of th ctor at s th ith sw de u cter ra cha ake m and nd en a row en g g, ivin . ings be nal 23 na t en is ma de or ft e qu sb . en m o yw e of shap the in he us eo or nd t ic m This plant pot, weighing two kilos and hand shaped in clay, is decorated with high temperature enamels. Named “Yerbera” it consists of two parts: the pot to hold the earth, and the lid. Through it, its author refers to problems caused by the scarcity of water and the need to preserve this natural resource. The lid has a series of holes through which the plants grow, as “over the cracked earth so typical of dry periods, there is the hope of what we can improve when we see the plants grow out through the lid”. an ea ppe ara nce a ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE Th is cla ss rs ho e, a da t n ope es ho up nd p roposes a more to THE FEMALE CELT Over the cracked earth so typical of dry periods, there is the hope of what we can improve when we see the plants grow out through the lid. 24 The unique nature of this exquisitely crafted piece of jewellery, “Versus Torque”, lies in the vindication for the use by women of this Celtic decoration awarded to warriors, emphasising a social superiority or used by the gods, who wore the torque as part of their trappings. Based on the traditional design made by artisans in the hill forts, this classic ornament is made in the shape of an open horseshoe, and proposes a more up to date appearance and the use of torques by women, far removed from the historic memory of these and other cultures that served to create modern-day Europe. The piece stands out as a result of the eclectic use of its materials: silver, gold, jet and a steel base. 25 WORK AT SEA Th ep en cil ,w ith all Through a ‘unisex’ piece entitled “Trioval”, the artist has recovered art inspired by fishing gear –in this case fishing pots– offering a homage to those who work at sea. This light piece of jewellery (weighing less than seventeen grams) stands out for its simple lines, and may be worn by men and women. It consists of ten melted silver beads woven together using silk thread. Each bead is formed in turn by three oval pieces, made using medium thickness wire soldered together. it s of i soc as ati ons th wi ew th ild f ch do orl ren nc oce nn di an e, is transformed into a work of craftsmanship, as an alternative to other more ‘noble’ raw materials, such as precious stones and metals. th i 26 ar – ng ge shi by fi ired Ar ti n sp A whole series of jewellery comprises the work “Lapis de cores” (Coloured Pencil), in which the artisan has taken an everyday item, the pencil, with all of its associations with the world of children and innocence, and transformed it into a piece of craftsmanship, turning away from more noble raw materials such as metals and precious stones. The work sits comfortably alongside contemporary avant-garde movements such as Dadaism or Pop Art, which introduced art into everyday objects, bringing about a process of reflection amongst critics and consumers of culture. The set consists of earrings, a necklace, pin and bracelet, and together with the wooden pencil and paint, the materials used are sterling silver (which replaces the lead in the pencil) and threads in different colours. e in PENCIL JEWELLERY as sc . ea n g s i a r e h f f o o m t – a ge to th a ots ose who work ng p i h fis 27 Ah om ag e to A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST s ne to Ceramic pieces on an oak wood base, recreating a festive scene with eight musicians representing the instruments and clothing of a period from Galiza’s history, and the footprints left by this culture in the present day. The piece “O serán desta aldea” (Evening in the Village) is intended to be “a new vision of the popular tradition reflected in ceramics, and in the use of highquality materials”. As part of this adaptation to modern times, women are intentionally included, represented by four figures in a circular design on the wooden base, and who, like the men, take part in the popular festival in equal conditions. as re s ral atu an our v of ce a st imp orta nce for th e Ga l i ci an eco om n e popular tradition reflected in c era mi cs , an A y. w ne f th no o i s vi d n i th e STONE PATHWAYS use . erials t a m y of high-qualit In this piece the material used –granite– is of major importance, as in this case it is 100% recycled material from quarry remnants, with the implicit hard work of the artisan in having to use this material, and at the same time as a homage to stone as a natural resource of vast importance for the Galician economy. “Transportiños” is the result of laborious quarry work on a small scale based on a type of stone traditionally used for monumental or functional elements, which in this case has been transformed into a decorative or interior design element with the aim of transmitting a sentimental value. The expression behind the work of David Soengas, its author, is “there is no hard stone, only a soft quarryman”. 28 29 Chiselling as a way of life Designing, making and selling. But above all, living and working in a trade that is adapted to their concept of life. A whole philosophy of work and honesty underlies every piece made by Zimzelatum. Jewellery that combines classical elegance with avant-garde minimalism. A firm belief in the fact that the great classics never fail. And that long lasting elements achieve the value of truth. 30 31 The characteristic bracelets of the Zimzelatum workshop, to the left, together with a necklace and set of earrings, which form a part of their catalogue at national and international crafts fairs, as well as in the shops that distribute their products. in their workshop, in which the designs, sketches or rough versions made directly in metal are turned into jewellery using hammering or chiselling techniques, combined with the skilled handling of the blowtorch, clippers, polisher or microfusion machine, the latest acquisition by these two artisans, used to melt small pieces of jewellery, a process carried out by hand like everything else they produce. Artistic Oxygen 32 THE TRIUMPH OF THE CLASSICS Rosa María González Alonso and Camilo Rodríguez Rial lived through tough times in the 1980’s, but thanks to their ability to adapt to change, passed from selling their jewellery in the street to professionalizing their work, setting up their own business and having an important distribution network in Galiza and the rest of Spain, as well as at crafts fairs. “It’s difficult for us to see ourselves as a company. It ended up being our job, but without us being really aware of it. There was a period of outright resistance, but now we see everything more clearly”, they explain. Their consolidation in the sector is thanks to the jewellery they produce, gift items for businesses and a decoration that uses primitive shapes from traditional Galician and Celtic culture, bringing their work to the homes, hands or necks of lovers of good contemporary jewellery. Although they regularly bring out new products, particularly decorative items, their repertoire is based on classics with which they always triumph. T H E WO R K S H O P to replace many of our pieces and extend our inventory, to respond to For Rosa and Camilo, craftsmanship began as a way of life. But today orders from the fairs we visit on a regular basis”. their pieces are an exception. Their dedication and the details of their Primitive designs, based on the beauty of simplicity and Celtic work in silver, alpaca (a white metal alloy) and brass make Zimzesymbolism. The main achievement of Zimzelatum has been latum a workshop of reference in Galiza as a result of the to remain faithful to these elemental lines and work on exclusiveness of their objects, mainly jewellery and dethem purely by hand, using a chisel and little else. corative pieces. “We started out in this profession at The ‘flagship’ accessories of the firm from Pontevethe end of the 1980’s. We focus our work as a way “WE HAVE A STABLE dra are its famous bracelets, which continue to be of living that goes beyond necessities, learning in CATALOGUE THAT WORKS, demanded by its main clients and which, like the a self-taught way. More than a profession, it is a AND WHILE THAT’S THE rest of their jewellery, are made from polisway of living, a way of re-inventing yourself”, CASE, WE HAVE TO KEEP hed silver, a timeless material that is always in they explain, from their workshop in Vincios PRODUCING, ALTHOUGH style, together with brass, mixtures of brass and (Gondomar – Pontevedra), a quiet space in WE ARE CONSTANTLY alpaca, or combining both of these materials with contact with nature, which inspires a modern and silver. Copper and even wood are used as mahighly exquisite product. In fact, their closeness to INNOVATING AND ADDING terials, together with precious stones such as coral the city of Vigo made them into what they themselNEW PIECES”. or aquamarine, giving the piece a touch of colour. ves define as “urban artisans”. “We make decora“The piece, in essence, is still the same. We have an tive items and jewellery, at this moment in time mainly extensive market we want to respond to with our brand jewellery. We have a stable catalogue that works, and philosophy, and we take charge of everything: the design, while this is the case, we have to keep producing, although manufacturing, and travelling around to sell our pieces”, they say. we are constantly making innovations and adding new pieces”, they Their working tools are also traditional. Different devices for technically comment. “Ideally we should change our offer every season, but that’s not possible, as fortunately we have a lot of demand that obliges us treating the silver and other metals have gradually been incorporated Like many artisans, Zimzelatum began their career selling from a street stall, in Principe Street in Vigo, but as soon as the opportunity arose, Rosa and Camilo became professionals in the trade, in this case with the support of the Galician Artisans’ Association (AGA), a reference point in the sector. “When the AGA was set up, our workshop took the decision to progress and evolve. Being a part of the association allowed us to be less time in the street selling, and to focus on production. It was a decision based on the reality of our situation, in line with the way things are done today, and also served to legalise our professional situation and access institutional grants that helped give our activity a dynamic boost”. They entered the world of working with precious metals as part of a Bohemian socio-cultural movement, suffused with the hippy philosophy, but saw how young people in the twenty-first century “leave school with an industrial mentality, and are more trained in the world of economics and business”. In terms of marketing, their greatest strength is, without doubt, their product. Today they have a catalogue of more than 300 pieces, to which more are constantly added. “When we bring out a new piece, we like the fact that people see it and identify it with us, and everything we want to do and transmit with it”, say Rosa and Camilo. The need for contacts with foreign countries, a sign of the situation of a market that is undergoing constant changes, have led Zimzelatum to regularly present their work at trade fairs in Spain and abroad, in countries such as France, Italy, England or Germany. The trade fair in Paris stands out above all the others, as it is a country where “crafts have a very important place, and there is major cultural value and respect paid towards them”. These fairs have made it possible to sell their work throughout the whole year, in Europe but also in Galiza; at Christmas or during the summer, as well as “educating people in valuing hand-made items, not only the people who buy but also those who look at our products”. They also take advantage of the trade fairs to meet up with other colleagues. “We have excellent relations with all of the people working in the profession, we all get on well together and that’s essential when it comes to learning from each other, or solving any doubts we may have”, they say. The workshop of Zimzelatum is now a solid enterprise, supported by the hours they spend working with metal, and which is reflected in unique pieces that never go unnoticed. • • • Address: Vincios–Arcos, 5 36316 Gondomar (Pontevedra) Telephone/Fax: 986 363 345 e-mail: [email protected] 33 ‘Raku’ Nigrán style (IN MEMORY OF BERTO GONZALEZ POZA) In the far-off year of 1978, as a student at the ‘Maestre Mateo’ School of Applied Arts and Artistic Trades in Santiago, I saw a number of ceramic pieces in the Sargadelos Gallery that I thought were enigmatic, as if they had wandered through the cosmos before arriving here. They were works by Xabier Toubes, and had been made using the Raku technique. In 1984, destiny led me to start out using this technique at the School of Ceramics in La Bisbal (Girona). There I learned about the history, techniques and processes involved in something that many considered as an ‘anti-technique’. An extreme technique like the process involved, which one either loves or hates. I ended up loving it. Then came Faenza (Italy), in 1986, where above all the firing process were much more evolved, and from where I obtained a light kiln, cheap and versatile, which eventually ended up in all of the workshops and studios of Raku creators in this part of the world. In 1989 the passionate tale of Raku according to Nigrán began. Emilia Guimeráns, a teacher at the ceramic workshop run by the Local Council of Nigrán, Miguel Mázquez, professor of modelling and moulding at the Municipal School of Arts and Trades in Vigo and myself decided to organise a week of contemporary Raku. Those cold and warm December weeks were not easy. The years went by, and the colours of the Raku became personalised “in Nigrán style”. Mentallic reds1, frog green or the adapted version of the song that Berto delighted us with: In 2002, to celebrate an exhibition by Emilia and myself in Tokoname (Japan), we had the privilege of visiting the house of Chojiro, the son of Ameya in Kyoto, considered as the first Raku, dating from 1550. On seeing the first kiln used, his tools, his equipment and his bowls, our legs began to shake, and in my case I had a feeling I had only experienced on seeing an exhibition by Marcel Duchamp in Madrid in the 1980’s. What nobody knew, or nobody could clarify for us, was if Ameya had emigrated to Japan or if he had been kidnapped, as the Japanese said. Because otherwise, the Koreans affirmed that the Japanese needed one of their countrymen to develop one of their main traditions: the tea ceremony. This said, the ideogram ‘Raku’ signifies liberation, happiness, enjoyment and satisfaction. And everything that surrounds this art is usually something magic, as if taken from a fable. Now in 2008, the year in which we reach adulthood (celebrating 18 years of existence), we continue to offer a technique that some have classified as a ceramic ‘happening’, and others simply refer to as Raku, Nigrán style. Vigo, 21st May 2008 Miguel Vázquez Pérez Professor of Ceramics at the Municipal School of Arts and Trades of Vigo “Tú tenias mucha “rasón”, no me hase “reducsión”, si no le echo SQ3 (sé-cu-tres)…. … Y volver, volver, volver…. a hacer Raku otra “ves”2 The centres would change, with the unfair pilgrimage of its school, the area of A Porquería, the police and the area of Os Cotros. In 1999 we celebrated our tenth anniversary, something difficult in this part of the world, and with all of the enthusiasm and happiness transmitted by this technique, published a small book explaining the trials and tribulations experienced up to that time, work by beginners, and a poster. A large number of bowls were also made, offered as decorative pieces for everyone who taken part in the process, or those who were just passing by in front of the school. Out of the three who started that week of contemporary Raku, only two of us remain, and without the energy and determination of Emilia Guimeráns it would have been difficult for us to arrive where we are today. A play on the word ‘metallic’ Roughly translated from the original Galician, the lyrics are: “You were right, /it doesn’t reduce /if I don’t add SQ3… /…And going back, back, back… /To make Raku once again… 1 2 34 35 Enjoyment, happiness, pleasure… this is the meaning of the term “Raku” (樂). The history of this type of ceramics originates with a Korean immigrant potter to use this firing technique, designed to created bowls and implements for the tea ceremony. Nigrán, in Pontevedra, preserves the tradition 36 who arrived in Kyoto (Japan) in 1525. His name was Chojiro, and he is considered as being the first of Raku, and holds a festival and meeting every year in June with fervent admirers of this technique. 37 Random ceramics More than thirty individual and collective exhibitions serve as proof of the achievements of the sculptress from Vigo, Emilia Guimeráns, in the world of ceramics. She began to produce hand-made pieces of utility ware, and now plays a fundamental role in training new generations from the school of Nigrán, and promoting projects such as the virtual ‘Tras Os Montes’ gallery which help artisans working with ceramics in Galiza to present their work beyond our frontiers. ‘Pan’ (Bread) is one of the latest works by Emilia Guimeráns, her vision of the basic products for life in a large format. The bread is represented by a field of wheat in white porcelain, using a very minimalist ceramic technique. 38 39 The piece ‘Sal’ (Salt) also forms a part of the series of natural elements the sculptress from Vigo is working on, and is made using pieces of white porcelain. The art of ceramics in Galiza is present throughout all of the world (in Japan, India, New York and Europe) thanks to a collective of professionals who, from the schools of Vigo and Nigrán, give classes at the same time as creating new formulas in their workshops to take their art beyond the frontiers of the region. Virtual galleries, recreations of the oriental ‘Raku’ ceremony, collective exhibitions, trips to visit other groups and exchange knowledge with master potters from other cultures; all of this effort is transformed into the recognition, and above all the pleasing sensation, of “doing things just the way you like”. This is how Emilia Guimeráns feels, an artist from Vigo who began by creating pottery for everyday use, and whose work is now present in the main art centres displaying ceramic pieces. Guimeráns describes herself as a woman who does not feel a close affinity to possessions and objects, and that for her the purpose of art lies more in the creation of a piece than in the final result. At present she is working on a large-scale piece based on primitive designs and nature, making every effort “as long as it’s possible” to simplify things to the maximum. The result is a piece of great beauty and intrigue. “Bread, salt, light, sea… right now I’m recreating elements and basic, vital products that are monosyllabic. Bread, for example, is represented by a field of wheat, based on stalks in white porcelain. Salt is essential for life, and I’ve also recreated it using pieces of porcelain… I’m playing around with all of these ideas”, she says. To the left, a vision of pirate videos and CDs being sold at village fairs. Flowers are one of the most recurrent elements in the work of Emilia Guimeráns after her stays in Holland and Japan. The piece below is ‘Tócame y escúchame’ (Touch me and listen to me), simulating cowbells that emit a very ancestral sound, “as if you were on a hillside and all of the goats had just run past you”. More than twenty years’ experience avail the trajectory of this artist, a teacher at the School of Ceramics in Nigrán (Pontevedra), recently appointed as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, an organisation with the presence of the world’s most prominent experts in the field. She specialises in organic ceramics, saying “I began making objects for everyday use, and travelled around fairs selling them. But I got tired of that, because you get into a commercial routine, focusing on what the public wants and adapting your production accordingly. I’m a bit of a rebel in that sense, and I decided try and concentrate on what I enjoyed making, and stop worrying about whether it would sell or not.” This was the point at which Guimaréns started combining her work with giving classes in Nigrán, teaching what she knows best and also learning “through constant communication with my students”, being able to finance works in which she narrates “those things you most feel like telling”, generally based on her outlook on contemporary reality, using the raw material of the earth. This professional change was not sudden, but came about gradually thanks to the advice of people telling her “you know, this really isn’t at all bad”. “I started to work with shapes that were much less utilitarian, and send them to competitions. When they were chosen, it gave me encouragement”. At the Porcelain Triennial Exhibition in Nyon her pieces received awards on two occasions, and she had the privilege of forming part of a prestigious competition in Mino, Japan. “It was that and comments from different people that helped establish the direction I should be working in, and to see what would happen”, she adds. Thanks to a grant from the Dutch government, she spent three months in one of the world’s most important ceramics centres. A space with the best technology, kilns of all kinds and sizes, and specific workshops for moulds, wood and metalwork. There she had her own studio and was able to consolidate her knowledge of ceramics techniques, which she perfected before going on to apply them in line with her artistic philosophy. “It’s important to know the technique as a vehicle for what you want to express. But you don’t have to unveil all of the techniques in everything you do, there’s no need to be a virtuoso. In ceramics there are so many procedures and a sense of perfection that may turn on you and become a hindrance. I think it’s better to free yourself from these constraints, so you can say what you want with more liberty”. 40 41 TRASOSMONTES VIRTUAL GALLERY, A DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR GALICIAN CERAMICS The Japanese influence At the time of this interview, Emilia is resting at her home in Vigo for five The second meeting was with seven master artisans from India, after days, prior to travelling to China to take part in her first meeting after a trip from the north to the south of the country by train to meet them being appointed as an active member of the International Academy of personally, based on an initial contact she and Miguel Vázquez had Ceramics. It is a country she wishes to investigate, in the same way as she made in Galiza. All the indications seem to point in the direction of did with Japan and India, where she established contacts with experts China being her third adventure, with specialists invited to these working in the field of ceramics and also had the opportunity to discover Asian meetings that highlight local creativity, and thanks to which research into culture, in which she found many similarities. “I feel very close to the ceramics in Galiza is put on the international map. Japanese. I even think they were once our cousins”, she says with certain The oriental influence is also seen every year at a ceramics meeting irony. “There, ceramics are totally present in homes, and the crafts held in Nigrán: a Galician recreation of a Raku session. “We fairs have a totally different appearance. There aren’t discovered the technique because Miguel Vázquez (one of stands, instead people set up their products the way its firmest supporters in Galiza) had been in Italy and they’ve always done it, naturally, and you can see up Gerona, and saw it there. When he came back and to two kilometres of stalls. It’s a concept that feels told us, we said “let’s give it a try”. We started to “LEARNING ABOUT very close to home, in a country with such a distant experiment and saw that it was quite spectacular JAPANESE CERAMICS LEFT image”. Although throughout her twenty years of and brought together all of the aspects we were A STRONG IMPRESSION experience she has worked with very different interested in: the results and also the fact that techniques and dealt with different themes, it’s a very participative process, as you can’t ON THE WORK OF learning about Japanese ceramics left a strong do it on your own, it fosters communication and GUIMERÁNS, LEAVING impression on the work of Guimeráns, leaving her collaboration with others. It’s like farming work HER WITH THE FIRM BELIEF with the firm belief that in art, less is always more. in the old days, when the seeds were sown in the THAT IN ART, LESS IS The Galician artist’s contacts with the East began fields, and all of the local neighbours helped to ALWAYS MORE” to take shape five years ago, during a visit with bring in the crops. That creates a very special type the ceramic artist Miguel Vázquez to take part at of spirit”, says Guimeráns, who throughout her career an exhibition in Japan. “I thought ‘what am I going to has changed styles, and even alternated between do here, if this is the paradise of ceramics?’ I had created a strong use of colour and pure white, but who remains a piece based on flowers, representing nature and as something faithful to the material from the earth, “which has a lot to offer”, you give as a gift when you’re invited to a celebration”. This led to a for a life dedicated to art. series of workshops organised by the local council of Nigrán, with the Raku is considered as something of an ‘anti-technique’, as although it aim of allowing Galician artists to exchange knowledge and techniques is possible to foresee the result, many aspects are totally random. For with specialists from Asia. “During the event, we got in touch with the this reason it calls for a very open mind, and knowing how to adapt to six master artisans who came to the first ceramics meeting that was this randomness. For Emilia Guimeráns it represents a specific technique organised in Nigrán, with the title ‘Japan, close to you’. We wanted it to within her work, but a philosophy she likes to apply to her daily life: “I be plural, and so there were ceramics, but also calligraphy and ikebana, try to apply it at all times, to have goals but stay open to whatever life arts that are representative of Japanese culture”, she explains. offers you”. 42 AN UNCONVENTIONAL CERAMIC ARTIST Liberty. This is the objective of Emilia Guimeráns, as she gradually sheds the things around her. “I worked for a long time in the workshop of Miguel Vázquez, but we reached a point where we decided that each of us needed our own space, and I became an atypical kind of ceramic artist, as normally you have to wait until you’ve got a certain amount of work to your name and a studio with a great kiln, but I only had a small number of pieces. My philosophy changed: try and do as much as possible with a small amount”. And so, Emilia Guimeráns cooks up her ideas at her home in Vigo, a Bohemian space full of books and with a kitchen full of ceramic pieces, each with its own history. Also in the kitchen, alongside other ceramics and materials, there is a laptop, from where she plays an active role in the blog La Barbotina (http://www.barbotina.blogspot. com/), makes sketches of her sculptures, and stores her creations. Once she has a clear idea of what she wants to make, Emilia Guimeráns goes to a workshop where they have the kiln and machinery she needs. “Here at home I draw, I have a potter’s wheel, and if I need to do anything I can convert my house into a workshop quickly”. • • T H E WO R K S H O P Emilia Guimeráns was recently named a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, and is one of the figures behind the Trasosmontes Virtual Gallery. In the Spring of 2008, at an exhibition at the Contemporary Ceramics Fair of Aragón (CERCO, in Zaragoza), considered as the most important event in Spain, the Trasosmontes Virtual Gallery was presented (http:// www.trasosmontesvirtualgallery.com/), designed to offer information on this discipline in Galiza and exhibiting the work of Emilia Guimeráns, Suso Dobao, Marta Armada, Javier Aguilera, Miguel Vázquez and Verónica Pérez. The project began with a physical presentation, with the six artists showing their most recent works on one of the stands at the event, although it is essentially a means of diffusion based on the Internet. “The idea came about spontaneously after we were invited to the CERCO event as a gallery. Six of us got together at first, although we are now looking at how to develop the project, as there are a lot of people doing really interesting things that aren’t getting any exposure”, says Emilia Guimeráns, adding, “there are some really interesting people coming out of the schools, for example in Vigo, who are making serious headway and organising exhibitions at alternative level. Getting your foot in the door of the professional art gallery system is more complex. The world needs to be more agile, and you have to be resourceful. The Internet is our platform, but if other initiatives or possibilities arise out of it, they’ll be given a warm welcome”. Through its virtual gallery, the collective aims at exploring different areas: being more realist, more acidic and ironic, more comical, more minimalist and more Pop, with artists of different ages and using different styles, all from Galiza. “This is just the beginning of the story. We’ve got things up and running, but there is still a long way to go”, she concludes. e-mail: [email protected] websites: www.trasosmontesvirtualgallery.com/ www.barbotina.blogspot.com/ Although the predominant colour in her most recent work is white, the intentional use of strong colour to elicit emotions is present in many of her pieces. 43 Meeting places, blurred boundaries by Xosé Manuel Lens opinion Where do we see the limits of creation? Where are the places that exist on the margins, at the frontiers of a given creative style? The relationship that exists between crafts and visual arts serves as an example of the disappearance of these boundaries, resulting in a blurred boundary, a deliberate exchange between two worlds, two poles, a space of relative distance, with more connection points than fractures. In this section we will see a series of notes on that explore these connection points, open up new inroads, hybridize different facets, and bring different fields closer together. Meeting places: craftsmanship seen as a nexus related to the body, with authorship. Manual crafts have always been present in design and the development of a work of art: the hand of the painter using a brush, shaping a fragment of stone or a block of wood; for this reason it is not by chance that when we create links and crossroads, the action of the hand is the main factor in the boundaries that are blurred in this encounter. Here we discover Xabier Toubes, Helena Colmeiro or Acisclo Manzano modelling ceramics, reaffirming their work in contemporary forms of expression; Carlos Rial or Diego Santomé constructing modules of autobiographical repetition: Montse Rego or Mónica Alonso questioning aspects of daily life related to the body; David Castro, structuring the non-essential parts of furniture to recreate possible objects and devices. The process of creation moves comfortably between frontiers, in the different modern day proposals that draw strength directly from a dialogue with craftsmanship, with manual production, related to an activity, applying exercises and methods for effective, creative completion. Ignacio Basallo also explores working implements, Francisco Leiro updates the work of popular sculptors, while Silverio Ribas or Manolo Paz strengthen relations with quarrymen. These authors have been capable of transcending these frontiers, affirming these encounters with different boundaries, as is the case with the work of architects who scrutinise and redefine cultural topography, and create a critical interpretation of tradition, of a memory that is never extinguished and continues to shine forth behind different types of work, products and areas. The cultural perspective does not turn its back on popular elements, and always takes into account a relationship with the territory, with its inhabitants, with our collective spirit, with places and memories, key factors that are constantly applied and defined in modern creation. 44 The names mentioned above serve as an example, as Galician creators, of the difficulty that exists in defining different fields, and above all the inexhaustible evolution of artistic terminology, bearing witness to actions, postures and manoeuvres designed to come ever closer to the world of crafts, of design, by many contemporary creators. One of the fundamental examples of this situation begins with the changes that took place at the end of the nineteenth century with the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris, which sought out a relationship between arts based on an ethical and aesthetic principal, a movement that saw its greatest moment of expansion in Modernism, applied in a global manner, even to architecture. The avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century brought about a renewal of forms of expression, together with technical and social conditions, in the hands of emblematic creators, especially the Bauhaus, in an exchange of radical strategies for creation and production. They were years of change, of transit, in the arts and their relationships at social and economic level. We also saw the exile of the ‘Laboratory of Shapes’ of Luís Seoane and Isaac Díaz Pardo, and the singular products of Sargadelos, continuing through the second half of the century with the Scandinavian and Italian schools, then ending up in the last decades of the century. Trends that endorse the inexhaustible relationship between different creative fields, by artists, designers and artisans, with the aim of combining strengths and concentrate these relationships on a type of creativity intended to be useful, practical, critical and with a firm sense of place. The present, which wanders between the contamination of forms of expression and references, adopts this relationship between different disciplines in a dialogue with the territory that leads to a suggestive type of hybridization. It sinks the roots of its relationships and bases into the deepest strata of the territory, at social level, striving for a renewal, a continuous change of expression and reciprocal resources. We discover artists seeking a means to make this relationship more solid, opening channels of communication between the worlds of art and crafts, or between artists and artisans. Links and bonds that are possible, necessary, daring and even undisciplined, in these contaminated spaces. 45 ro sa higue ro L´ Ar t i gi a n o i n f i era , M i l a n 2 0 07 I n tergi f t , M a dri d 2 0 0 8 Fei ra de Pa ri s , 2 0 0 8 46 47 a feitu ra Iberjoya, M adrid 2008 Feira de Paris, 2008 Collec tione–Tendenc e, Frankfur t 2008 ana c a m b a In terg i f t , M adrid 2008 Col l ect i one–Tendenc e, Frankfur t 2008 48 49 a uga t int a I n ter g if t, M a dr i d 2 0 0 8 dr uída I n tergi f t , M a dri d 2 0 0 8 I berj oya , M a dri d 2 0 0 8 50 51 a rd en tia Iberjoya, M adrid 2008 Collec tione–Tendenc e, Frankfur t 2008 el i s abet h s al gado L´Ar t i g i an o i n f i era, Mi l an 2007 In terg i f t , Madri d 2008 52 53 c g re c ycl e d gl as s wo r k s h o p L ´ A r tig ia n o i n f i er a , M i l a n 2 0 07 I n ter g if t, Madr i d 2 0 0 8 Feir a de Pa r i s , 2 0 0 8 silve re ira I berj oya , M a dri d 2 0 0 8 C ol l ec t i on e– Ten den c e, Fra n k fur t 2 0 0 8 54 55 pac a pec a Collectione–Tendence, Frankfur t 2008 56 ra món con d e Intergif t, M adrid 2008 57 re gal ce rám ica I n tergi f t , M a dri d 2 0 0 8 m ay sil L ´ A r tig ia n o i n f i er a , M i l a n 2 0 07 Feir a de Pa r i s , 2 0 0 8 58 59 60 61 Modern times have come to the bagpipe, and in general too much of the sector dedicated to making musical instruments Galiza thanks to the latest R&D&I techniques, which at the same time as ensuring respect towards the environment, are being applied in workshops with the aim of improving the sound quality of the region’s traditional instruments. The workshop of Lis Latas in the city of Lugo is a perfect example, and with the invention of the ‘tuneable chanter’ represented a quantum leap in resolving the problems associated with tuning the instrument. 62 2008 was the year that marked the recognition of the ‘tuneable chanter’, a device patented four years previously created in the workshop and laboratory of Lis Latas, a lover of Galician music from the city of Lugo, who apart from being an artisan is also the musical director of the folk group Reviravolta. At his workshop, fifty percent of his time is dedicated to making bagpipes, and the other fifty percent to investigating how to improve them, with the aim of responding to the real needs of professional and amateur musicians, making scientific advances in the areas of tuning, ergonomics and other technical improvements. While in its origins the bagpipe was often made by the musician himself, with a limited technical knowledge, with the passing of time production has come into the hands of skilled manufacturers, making every effort to ensure the sound of their bagpipes blends perfectly with that of the other instruments, and mainly to ensure a correct tuning, the weak point of the bagpipe in extreme temperatures, or when playing together as part of a band or orchestra with other instruments. But the contact between the maker and the player never totally disappeared, and the case of the Lis Latas Workshop is proof of this. All of his instruments reach the hands of their owners after a rigorous quality control process carried out by the bagpiper Pepe Vaamonde, co-inventor of the tuneable chanter, in his quest to discover the ‘philosopher’s stone’ that could bring an end to the tuning problems suffered by the bagpipe. In the same way as the bagpipes that leave the workshop, Vaamonde spent six years testing each of the prototypes of the chanter made by Lis Latas and his team, until finally arriving at the version that was presented in public in March 2008 at the Museum of the Galician People. To celebrate this presentation, an act was organised that brought together Pepe, his brother Suso Vaamonde, Iván Costa, Edelmiro Fernández, Anxo Lois Pintos (from the group Berrogüetto), Bruno Villamar, Xosé Manuel Budiño and Brais Monxardín. Together they performed the piece Farruquiña chama á porta, so that the audience could see for themselves the effectiveness of the device, which consists of five sections that can be taken apart, but which have the appearance of a single unit when joined together. “It was a really special moment to see eight musicians from three different generations performing together using the chanter, without any rehearsal. It was as if they’d been playing together all their lives. It was a very emotional moment that had never happened before, and will be difficult to see again”, explains Xosé Luís Latas Vilanova, recent winner of the Galician Crafts Award given by the Regional Ministry of Industry and Commerce for having invented the device. 63 Different stages in the process of making a bagpipe in the workshop of Lis Latas, in Lugo, such as carving the wooden pieces and creating the mouthpieces by computer. The discovery of the tuneable chanter was not a matter of luck or chance. Scrupulous attention to detail is one of the trademarks of the “LIS LATAS BELIEVES artisan from Lugo, who carefully IN THE NECESSARY selects the SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN different types MUSICIANS AND ARTISANS, of woods used TO IMPROVE BAGPIPES in his workshop, AND FACE UP TO NEW uses computers CHALLENGES IN THEIR to make designs CONSTRUCTION” and carry out sound tests, as well as to reply to orders received from outside of Galiza, and also makes the necessary tools that are not available on the market, or adapts existing tools to correctly handle the original materials until creating the perfect instrument. Lis Latas believes “in the symbiosis that is necessary between the musician and the artisan in order to improve and face up to new challenges in the construction of the bagpipe”. Together with Vaamonde, his team also has the outstanding collaboration of his sister Marisa, who creates the bags and outer coverings of the bagpipes, focusing on comfort of use. Between the process of sawing the wood and the final packaging there is a whole manufacturing process that involves the carving and hollowing out of the different sections, the preparation 64 of the ferrules, sanding and waxing, preparation of the chanter, drilling the holes for the different notes, and sealing off the bag. Once the instrument has been assembled, the quality control process begins, checking the stability of the wood used, the correct selection of chanters and reeds, and a technical check of the tone and tuning. Eureka!, the chanter has arrived! The chanter is the part of the bagpipe that is similar in appearance to a flute, and which is used to produce the melody. The sound is produced by the palleta, the reed that vibrates to give it all of its power and harmonious sound. The creators of the new mechanism had a very clear concept from the outset: any change that was made to it could not alter the acoustics of the traditional Galician bagpipe. “When we started working, we had a clear idea that it should sound like a fixed chanter, and that it was essential to maintain the quality and the tone of the traditional bagpipe”, he says. Based on this idea, Lis Latas and Pepe Performances using the tuneable chanter: Berrogüetto at the Rosalía de Castro Theatre in Coruña (above) and an image from the concert presenting the tuneable chanter at the Museum of the Galician People in March 2008. Vaamonde began to investigate, and a large number of pieces were rejected. “We threw out lots of prototypes, and created chanters in all shapes and sizes. For every change that was decided on, up to fifty different chanters were produced”. Before reaching the definitive model that was presented in March 2008, there were years of work and a major economic investment of more than 120,000 euros. There were also moments that helped encourage them in their task, such as receiving first prize in the Inventions Patent Awards for 2004, which cover any invention throughout the whole of Spain in any professional sector. The prize served as recognition of the enormous technical advance this piece represented in the history of Galician instruments. The final product we see today is a chanter that is comprised of five different sections that slot together, and are capable of overcoming problems derived from hot or cold weather conditions. By moving the parts closer together or further apart, it is possible to tune the chanter. “Using this system, tuning the bagpipe no longer depends exclusively on the chanter reed, the temperature and the construction of the bagpipe, but instead it can now be modified by a semitone, depending on the needs of the player”, says the artisan. For example, at 25 or 5 degrees, or 0 or 18 degrees, the tuning of the instrument can be guaranteed, without the weather affecting it in any way. It also means players do not have to change over chanters of different sizes, something that makes life much easier for musicians playing in concerts. According to Lis Latas, the device is ideal for professional bagpipers and those at a less advanced level. “In fact”, he says, “it’s more difficult to fit the reed to a normal chanter than a tuneable one”. The result of this new invention may be heard at the concerts of groups such as Berrogüetto, Budiño or the Pepe Vaamonde Group, and its morphology and history is detailed on the website of the Latas workshop at www. 65 Musicians and inventors. Galician artisans are recovering old pieces of which only drawings or photographs remained and had been lost as a result of falling into disuse, or from wars or conflicts. Although the bagpipe is still the main instrument, traditional percussion and the hurdy-gurdy are also being recovered, evolving towards instruments that can be played and tuned easily, while remaining faithful to Galician traditions. Avant-garde Luthiers The musicians Pepe and Suso Vaamonde try out two bagpipes in the workshop of Lis Latas lislatas.com. However, he is by no means resting on his laurels, as the artisan from Lugo hopes to continue moving ever closer to the degree of perfection required by modern day music. At the age of 37 he created an investigative ‘route map’ that would last “until I reach the age of 65”. At the moment he is working on a concert chanter, designed for playing a repertoire alongside a symphony orchestra and choir. “We also want to extrapolate what we have so far to other tones, and to continue studying so that Galician music can continue moving forward”. According to Latas, after testing the tuneable chanter, Budiño enthusiastically declared that the Galicians had discovered “the best musical invention in the last hundred years”. However, he is not the only one to have enjoyed success thanks to this advance in crafts techniques applied to music. Brais Monxardín won the 2007 edition of the prestigious Constantino Bellón traditional Galician music award, playing a typical muñeira tune written by himself (called Aires de San Martín) and Bach’s Suite Nº3 using the tuneable chanter. The musician from Fonsagrada stated at the time that the invention had allowed him to tune the instrument in a “faster and more precise” manner. In the Celtic music community, the tuneable chanter is causing a sensation. Orders have come in from all over the world, from Ireland, the USA, Italy or Portugal. “Three months after starting to sell them, in March 2008, we’d already sold fifty chanters” says Lis Latas, specifying that the orders would take five to six months to complete, “the same time it takes to create a set of bagpipes”. The invention has marked a before and after in the history of the bagpipe, which may now stand alongside other instruments characterised by the absolute perfection of their tuning. • • • • 66 Name of the workshop: Obradoiro Lis Location: Lis Latas Vilanova Rúa Alvedro 28 27003 Lugo Web: www.lislatas.com Contact: [email protected] Lis Latas was born in Lugo in 1971, and forms part of a new generation of artisans who are combining tradition and research to meet the new demands of Galician musicians. His workshop specialises in making bagpipes, which are made by hand and are characterised by having a special tonal ‘colour’ and an absolute technical perfection, combined with an exquisite finish and all the beauty of the Galician instrument par excellence. Together with his daily work, he may be considered as a lucky man. When a chanter (the pipe with holes for playing the notes) fell to the floor and split in two, on piecing it back together and discovering that it maintained all of its sound quality he reached an initial hypothesis that would lead him, six years later, to be the creator of the ‘tuneable chanter’. This invention is now revolutionising the world of contemporary bagpipe performance. T H E WO R K S H O P THE LIS SOUND A number of professional instrument makers in Galiza are working to counteract the effects caused by exposing bagpipes to contrasts of hot and cold temperatures, from damp or excessively dry conditions that affect the wood and the pipe mountings, and above all the chanter reed, due to its proximity to the holes in the chanter. The higrotapón created by the artisan Sito Carracedo is also designed to overcome problems related to changes in the weather, and to ensure the tuning is a perfect as possible. This device is a type of humidifier, consisting of a rod with a small section inside containing a dampened wick, which helps keep the chanter reed damp. It is ideal for playing in dry climates or in places with air conditioning, heating or dehumidifiers. Many of the artisans making musical instruments in Galiza today are fully aware that the process of creation must be closely linked to the preservation of popular culture and its transmission and continuity in the present day. A writer, restorer, creator and inventor, Carracedo is a fine example of this. At the age of 21 he set up his first workshop where he made bagpipes, pipes, clarinets and side drums, after training with the master craftsman Antón Corral, with whom he learned to play the bagpipe, build them and make chanters. Today he continues to make traditional Galician bagpipes, but as part of a process of reaching out to an international market, also makes other types from areas with Celtic origins, such as the ‘small pipe’ from Northumbria in the north of England, or the Scottish bagpipe known as the ‘dudelsack’. He also works on recovering ancient instruments, such as the gaita de barquin bagpipe from the south of Galiza that has fell out of use a century ago, the sackpfeifen, from Germany, of which only photos and etchings are preserved, or the Veneta bagpipe from Italy, which disappeared after the Second World War. Carracedo is one of the ‘disciples’ of Antón Corral, a hugely popular bagpipe player and maker, who has created a school in the same way as the famous Seivane 67 The bagpipe is not the only traditional Galician instrument, nor the only one that Galician artisans work with. Some of them, like Xoán Manuel Tubio, Xaneco, specialise in percussion, and produce side drums or bass drums in their workshop that are essential for accompanying the bagpipes and voices of traditional Galician musical quartets, the same groups who played at festivals before the appearance of more polished travelling orchestras, and who continue to be demanded by lovers of traditional Galician music. workshop. Both continue to be references for new generations, and in the case of Seivane, his workshop in Cambre is also exploring means of improving bagpipe tuning, such as the pallón Seipal, designed to achieve tonal stability in any humidity or temperature conditions. Together with the quality of his instruments, Seivane has modernised his channels for selling and distribution, offering the possibility of buying tailor-made bagpipes over the Internet, selecting all of the individual components according to the buyer’s tastes and requirements. The woods used for manufacturing bagpipes have nearly always been from fruit trees, while the most highly valued is the buxo or box tree. Today, this raw material continues to be used in many traditional workshops, such as Musical JR in the town of Carballo, whose pieces are made using box wood, rosewood, pau santo, ebony or granadillo, all of which are treated naturally. The techniques and machinery used are evolving at a steady rate, although the experienced hand of the master craftsman and his knowledge of historical prototypes continue to be fundamental in maintaining the quality of Galician instruments. The designs used continue to preserve the traditional ornamental style, although the workshop of Gaitas Seivane has shown that the use of inlays of mother-of-pearl and silver or connecting sections in white metal or silver, together with adjustments to the lathing styles used, have brought these traditional instruments up to date with modern tastes, and have made it possible to personalise the instrument for each customer. 68 Xoán Manuel Tubio, luthier from the Xaneco workshop “Without doubt, the hurdy-gurdy will be the Galician instrument of the 21st Century” Full image and details of a hurdy-gurdy from the Xaneco Workshop, which specialises in the recuperation of this mediaeval European instrument that had such an important impact on Galician culture. Since 1996, Xaneco has had a workshop in Outeiro de Rei, working to endow percussion instruments with the same prestige as the bagpipe, and also to popularise the hurdy-gurdy. An instrument with mediaeval origins and of great ornamental beauty, the hurdy-gurdy arrived in Galiza along the Way of St. James. It features prominently in Galician iconography, especially in the Portico da Gloria in the cathedral of Santiago, where two of the 24 ancients are playing the hurdy-gurdy at the top of the main arch. Xaneco’s workshop is a clear example of how modernity and total respect towards traditional craftsmanship live alongside each other in Galiza. O What led you to set up your workshop in 1996? The idea of being able to make a living making instruments used in traditional Galician music, and at the same time creating pieces that were in line with the demands of professional musicians. I was also seduced by the possibility of working professionally on creating a product made in Galiza, the result of the wisdom of popular traditions, and which contributes towards keeping our musical culture alive in the 21st Century. O Why did you specialise in percussion, and where do you find the models for making your pieces? I learned to play traditional Galician per- cussion at a time when it was considered as something inferior to the bagpipe, both in terms of playing it and making it. I was driven by the idea of contributing towards bringing that level of recognition to percussion instruments and players. The models I use for my pieces are a mixture of features and measurements from old instruments and models I’ve created, taking into account the knowledge I acquired from the techniques of the Luthiers. O Do you maintain the sound and appearance of the ancient instruments, or are they adapted to the demands of modern-day musicians? How do you make your own adaptations to the designs? I try to combine the aesthetic features and 69 Different stages of working with wood to make percussion instruments such as the tambourine or bass drum. Xaneco produces totally hand-made castanets and tambourines, together with other traditional Galician musical instrument. O What is so special about a hurdy-gurdy for an artisan who specialises in instruments? On the one hand there’s the question of its construction, which is very complex and time consuming, and on the other the symbolism it has in our culture. It’s a real challenge to pick up a two hundred-year old hurdy-gurdy, study it, and use it as the basis for constructing a new one that is adapted to the needs of modernday musicians, while maintaining the essential sound of the Galician hurdy-gurdy. It’s a great feeling to make an instrument that comes from a time when lyrical compositions from the kingdom of Galiza were some of the most cultured of the time, and it was a basic reference throughout all of Europe. It’s also a great res70 ponsibility to contribute towards the instrument continuing to be played in Galiza for at least a few more centuries, an instrument that blind musicians kept alive over the years, and it’s thanks to them that we can make hurdy-gurdies today that have their own particular sound. O Is it an instrument that’s much in demand in the twenty-first century? There are more and more men and women who are learning to play the hurdy-gurdy. I think it will be the Galician instrument of this century, in the same way as the bagpipe was in the twentieth century. O After twelve years, at what stage is your business, and who are your main clients? Where are they from? Right now we need a new workshop where I can step up production, as there’s a very big demand that I can’t deal with from our current workshop. The clients I have at present are from all walks of life, I work for a cultural association in Galiza, traditional musicians, folk groups, Galician centres (mainly in Europe), and even musicians in the rest of the Peninsula who have nothing to do with our traditional music, but have a very high opinion of the instruments we make in Galiza. O Are there many workshops in Europe that make hurdy-gurdies? There’s much more of a tradition of the instrument than here, as in Galiza there was practically a generational divide. The recuperation work of Faustino Santalices was a key factor, with the publication of a book and a record featuring the Galician hurdy-gurdy in the middle of the last century. If it hadn’t been for him, it’s possible that the hurdy-gurdy tradition would have been lost in Galiza, and we wouldn’t have any recordings. This isn’t the case in France, where the hurdy-gurdy was used at village dances when here we used the bagpipe. Today they are made in crafts workshops throughout all of Europe (in Portugal, France, England, Austria, Italy, Hungary and the eastern countries), in all shapes and colours, with a lot of elements that make them different from our own version, in both their shape and their sound O What are the most technically complex aspects of making a hurdy-gurdy, and how long does it normally take to make one? It’s a very complicated instrument to make, as it contains a lot of moving parts that have to be made very precisely in order for its mechanism to work properly. It normally takes about two months of solid work to make a hurdy-gurdy. A SPECIALIST IN STRINGS AND PERCUSSION O Your technical work goes hand in hand with a commitment towards Galician culture and music. How do you as artisans collaborate with musicians to carry out your work? In my workshop, respect for Galician culture is fundamental. I try and make sure that all of my products maintain that character which sets us apart from the rest. I make sure that by maintaining our traditions, we maintain our existence as a people. Also the symbiosis between the artisan and the musician is essential for a luthier. It would be impossible to improve the overall quality of the instruments we make without listening to the complaints or suggestions of musicians about the problems they have when using them. • • • • Name of the workshop: Xaneco, Galician Musical Instruments Workshop Location: Xoán Manuel Tubio Fernández Barrio do Monte, 21 27150 Outeiro de Rei (Lugo) Web: www.xaneco.com Contact: [email protected] The Xaneco Workshop was created in 1996 to combine the study of ancient instruments with modern-day construction methods, staying in constant contact with musicians to discover their needs. Xaneco specialises in traditional percussion instruments (drums, tambourines, bass drums, castanets, drumsticks, hammers, spoons, bones and the ‘charrasco’ (a wooden frame with bells) as well as the hurdy-gurdy, an instrument he learned to make at the workshop of the luthier Xermán Arias de Sarria. T H E WO R K S H O P the sound of the ancient instruments, with the sound and appearance demanded by modern musicians. This means that any new development or innovation that can be included in the instrument will always have a relation with our tradition. Before making the pieces in the workshop, the design process involved is highly complex and ensures they are unique. 71 Atlantic design is growing from strength to strength in its most industrial facet. Taking the peculiarities of Galiza and applying them to graphic design, products or spaces is the work of Cenlitrosmetrocadrado (One hundred litres per square metre), a studio that has been working since January 2007 on finding integral imagery solutions for Galician businesses and institutions. Its main weapon is combining beauty with functionality. Companies are turning to industrial design more and more, a discipline of functional art that affects the most aesthetic and humanistic aspects of products and objects that are produced industrially. The firm intention of Cenlitrosmetrocadrado, a company based in Santiago de Compostela, was to fill the gap that exists in Galiza in this area, and offer integral solutions to the region’s companies and institutions. “The three of us who are partners in the company [Manuel del Río Regos, Xabier Rilo and Ricardo Tubío] studied together, and saw there was a niche in the market that wasn’t covered, and in which we could work. There are lots of graphic design companies in Galiza, but none for product or industrial design. We wanted to work from a much more interdisciplinary perspective to present more than other companies offer, based on the fact that the roots of design all come from the same point”, they explain. This added value ranges from providing clients with graphic elements (corporate imagery, packaging, gift items, leaflets, audio-visual projections and signposting), to bringing a social, emotional, ecological and practical perspective to the interiors of their premises, or creating reactions as a result of reinterpreting everyday objects, such as a gift box or the ribbon on a diploma. “We’ve got enough industry here to work with industrial design, but the companies continue to be wary of getting involved in projects of this kind, which have an important production cost. In Catalonia for example, there is a culture of design as an integral part of companies that is much more difficult to find here”. For the time being, a year and a half after it was created, the main methods used by Cenlitrosmetrocadrado to come into contact with potential clients are direct visits, mouth-to-mouth information and its website (www. cenlitrosmetrocadrado.com), which includes a blog designed to generate debate and discussion about the current situation of Galician design. “We started out with the idea that there are certain prejudices and preconceptions about designers that go against us, because we’re seen as artists and people think that’s as far as it goes, that you’re going to present them with a really costly project and it won’t have much to do with what they really want. For that reason you’ve got to go to the client with proposals that are tailor-made for their needs, knowing what you’re putting forward to them and the best thing for their company at that moment in time, and in the market they want to enter or capture. When we present our work, we also explain the way we see their work, and of understanding what’s around us”, they explain. 72 A ‘Unidade Básica Atenuante de Morriña’ é un proxecto que resume a filosofía de traballo de Cenlitrosmetrocadrado. Trátase dunha caixa de regalo pensada para os mozos que están fóra de Galiza, ben estudando, ben traballando. Inclúe produtos da terra nun orixinal envoltorio que despois se pode converter nunha caixa decorativa para gardar cousas na casa. 73 This contextualisation of the situation is based on a business philosophy that can be summed up in a single concept: “Atlantic design”. It involves considering each project from the point of view of Galiza, its climate, its culture, and the idiosyncrasy of its people. Manuel explains it in the following terms: “We want to be different, to think about things in a different way, because in such a globalised world, the fact that we all think alike can be very boring. Design is almost lacking in identity, you see a project and you don’t know where it comes from, the cultural aspects that are involved. In the land we grew up in, Galiza, there are a number of factors that make us different, and just like you live in a certain way, you design in a certain way. It’s something inherent and logical”. Playing with materials, achieving a result Imagining, studying, testing and finding what you are looking for. The creative stages of the team from Cenlitrosmetrocadrado may be seen in the final result they deliver to their clients. Everything is tested, various prototypes are made, colours and typography are changed, materials are swapped around until the ideal solution is found. This process may be seen in their work for the ProHeritage Foundation in Rois, responsible for the recovery, cataloguing and diffusion of heritage. In its corporate image and applications, as well as in its promotional leaflet, a symbolism is used with mythological beings taken from the oral tradition. If clients have specific needs, these are analysed to find the best possible solution. In the Academic Excellence Awards for 2007, presented by the Regional Ministry of Education, they provided a metaphoric image of the student an integral component of progress, an image that was used on the awards table, the audiovisual display, invitations, envelopes, programme and even the diploma, which replaced the traditional ribbon for an original piece of red felt. “We aren’t artisans, but we love working with our hands. And in our work you can see that there is manual work involved. We have an approach that pays a great deal of respect towards crafts”, they emphasise. On the left, an example of a graphic design project for a campaign by the Regional Ministry of Education and University Organisation on Health and Safety Risks at Work. Above, business cards that also served as wrappers for chocolates served with coffee at a presentation by the Architects’ Association of Santiago de Compostela. Tradition reformulated 74 REACHING SOLUTIONS MAKING IT RAIN FOR ONE AND ALL Cenlitrosmetrocadrado was created in January 2007, although its members had already worked in the field of industrial design since their time as students at the University School of Design in Ferrol. The name of the company arose as a result of the studio’s vocation for identity. In this case, rain was an element present in the way of life in Galiza that served as the inspiration for the name of their personal project. Their clients include the local councils of Ames and Rois, the Architects’ Association of Santiago, the Regional Ministry of Education or the Board for Linguistic Normalisation. The company works in three main areas: graphic art, product design and spatial design. T H E WO R K S H O P Project created for the Academic Excellence Awards 2007: diploma holder, lectern and background audio-visual display, to suggest a concept of the future and how Galicia is developing based on the educational talents and energies of its students. The organisation of the workshop Tradition reformulated, which took place at the María Martínez Otero Foundation on the 10th, 11th and 12th of July, served as a meeting point between traditional Galician crafts and industrial design. With the subtitle The value of craftsmanship in the development of contemporary products, the master basket weaver Carlos Fontales and the team from Cenlitrosmetrocadrado, under the direction of Martín Azúa, worked on “the possibilities of crafts processes and materials, and particularly basket weaving, in the areas of culture of contemporary projects”. Twenty creators from the fields of design, architecture and crafts had the opportunity to discover possibilities for collaboration. “For thousands of years, the world of crafts was working in a specific way, and over the last two hundred years, with the arrival of industrialisation, it has undergone a sudden and radical change”, states Manuel del Río, who adds: “Objects evolved naturally, together with the way of living around them, the different trades. And suddenly there was a profound shake-up. So profound that we have been going round in circles for the last 200 years, and still haven’t found our place. Suddenly it seems that crafts form a part of the past, and that with production lines and new materials it’s something that has been totally surpassed, but this just isn’t the case”. For the members of Cenlitrosmetrocadrado, together with an understanding of traditional crafts, “which forms part of the general cultural knowledge of all of us, and which therefore has to be studied, understood and preserved, in the same way as we preserve the cathedral of Santiago”, a modern-day industrial designer has to “understand the processes involved in the world of crafts, because when they are carrying out product development, there are elements that can be transposed from one to the other. For example, the way of understanding materials”. • • • • • • • Name of the workshop: Cenlitrosmetrocadrado Members:Xabier Rilo Calvo Manuel del Río Regos Ricardo Tubío Pazos Address:Rúa da Cruz de San Pedro, 11 15703 Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña) Web: www.cenlitrosmetrocadrado.com Blog: http://100lm2.cenlitrosmetrocadrado.com/ e-mail: M [email protected] Telephone: 981 576 771 75 76 77 78