shells: portable architecture

man has long been inspired by the symmetry and beauty of shells. see the photo close-ups of shells by giuseppe molteni and roberta motta ...............

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giuseppe molteni and roberta motta / photography
shells: portable architecture

august 2002
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seashells have held a prominent place in our culture.
many great artists were inspired by the beauty,
diversity and design of the shell,
that they incorporated them into their masterpieces.

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portable architecture
archaeological diggings at many ancient sites have
produced shells and artifacts in the design of shells.
phoenicians, greeks, and romans used the shell's shape
as part of their building design and decor.
shells and shell motifs have often been incorporated
into man's homes and public buildings.
also architecture has been profoundly influenced by the
symmetry of molluscs.
suspended in an empty space or in an transparent liquid,
the shells of giuseppe molteni and roberta motta
offer their shapes as archetypes of 'portable architecture'.

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luxury and ruin
pliny the elder (the most important naturalist of the
antiquity, together with aristotle) complains the luxury
and ruin of good manners due to shells.
in his 'naturalis historia', in the chapter reserved to
aquatic animals, he is referring to the waste of money
on a couple of shell (murex brandaris) 'byproducts'.
roman patricians spent millions of sesterces for
- pearl-yielding shells,
which were fished in red sea and indian ocean
and came to rome through the spices way,
- and tyrian purple ( the colour was a symbol of power )
extracted from the mucus of the 'murex brandaris' shell.
read the original text in latin

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contemplating shells
pliny in his half-scientific, half-amazing notes on shells
wrote about contemplating activities which lead people
to an inner serenity.
1681 the jesuit father filippo buonanni (1638-1725)
affirmed in his work 'ricreatione dell'occhio e della mente
nell'osservazione delle chiocciole.'
(recreation of eyes and mind by the observation of snails)
that inner tranquillity could be reached through the study
of shells. the author described about 450 shells, chosen for
their particular beauty, in order to educate the reading public
to meditation on the perfection of nature.
the text incorporates many drawings and presents a deeper
study of mathematical and geometrical problems,
emphasizes that inner peace could be reached through
solving problems due to the forming of their complex structures.
the work of buonanni and his exquisite xilographies of
exotic shells, taken to rome by his brothers, widespread all
over the world and were a precious reference for malacology
experts in the following decades till linneus.

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species recognition
these 'natural wonders' are created by snails, clams,
scallops, and other marine mollusks.
starting from the dissertation by buonanni,
many scientists have faced the study of shell shapes
from mathematical and geometrical points of view.
there are three fundamental figures :
the first shape is the spiral, which corresponds to the
gastropod (also called univalves) seen from the top;
the second is the pyramidal shape,
which corresponds to the gastropode seen from its side;
finally the third one, the circular shape, relative to the
winding process of the shellfish.
more than 100 000 species of shellshave been catalogued,
all of them provided with a soft body,
the major part of them with an external
supporting structure, the so-called exoskeleton,
composed by calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
shape and colour of shells are mainly due to the
influence of their habitat.
the major part of shells live in shallow water,
on muddy, sandy or rocky bottom.
warmer water determine brighter colour shades.
water turbulence and deepness cause bigger thickness
and consistency, less external 'decorations'and wider cavities.
sober shapes and pale colourscharacterize exemplars
living in icy antarctic water.

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the nautilus shell
shell spirals obey to precise laws:
a constant underlies the logarithmic spiral found in the nautilus shell :
the ratio of width to length is 1 to 1.6180 .
the nautilus shell embodies what the ancient greeks
termed a 'golden rectangle' .
(with its perfection of chambersthrough which the siphon
comes - letting the shells move and swim at the desired
speed and deepness -).

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giuseppe molteni and roberta motta
designboom invites you to admire the work of
giuseppe molteni and roberta motta;
the perfect spiral of 'architectonica trochlearis',
which seems to fall into an endless well’s vortex;
the path, on which a buddhist monk seems to walk,
suggested by the top of the 'thacteria mirabilis'
or the 'latiaxis mawae';
the 'argopecten circularis',disposed with a valve
like a hull and the other like a sail,
like a boat or a bird, ...
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the milan-based photographers are well known for their
high-quality images of architectural interiors and design.
starting from 1973 they have collaborated with the
best international print-magazines.

the small images on these pages are but a pale shade of the real thing:
all these images are available in limited edition signed b/w photography,
printed on paper in 100% pure cotton.
for whichever contact:
archiviomoltenimotta@animaliparlanti.com

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