| interviews with the protagonists of the international creative scene: we have met the italian designer stefano giovannoni ............................................ | |||
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stefano giovannoni born in 1954 in la spezia (italy), graduated in architecture in florence in 1978, he lives and works in milan. since 1979 he has taught and done research first in the florence faculty of architecture and later, in 1989, at the domus academy in milan. he is professor at the project university in reggio emilio. he is one of the founding members of the bolidist movement and of "the king kong production" (with g. venturini). his interest is focused on cartoons, science fiction, celluloid mythology, and on the areas of the imaginary and artificial fictions. he is working as an industrial/interior designer and as an architect. he was awarded with several international design prizes and his works are part of the permanent archive of the 'centre george pompidou' in paris and the 'moma' in new york. the design work of stefano giovannoni is part of following manufacturer's collections: www.alessi.com www.cappellini.it www.flos.it www.seikousa.com |
 stefano giovannoni © designboom |
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--- this interview took place on the 20th of july 2000 in his' milanese studio. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- what is the best moment of the day? the evening, when I’m back at home and I have time left to listen to some music, or spend time with my children. what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? any kind, but mainly electronic music. do you listen to the radio? no. what books do you have on your bedside table? some books about the internet, electronic commerce, and other theoretical works, like baudrillard. do you read design magazines? I just take a look, I don’t read them. where do you get news from? 'repubblica' and 'corriere della sera'. do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences? yes, sure (laughs), my preferences? it depends on each subject. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? tie and shirt, the latter cause I find it uncomfortable. do you have any pets? not in this moment. where do you work on your designs and projects? I design in my car (laughs) in fact, I’m having a lot of crashes, ...and during the 'costanzo-show'. who would you like to design something for? there are many interesting situations, even if I’m quite satisfied with the job I’m doing in this moment. I’d like to realize an architectural job, like I did just after the degree. when you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues? yes, I keep in touch with a lot of friends-designers; we don’t discuss so much about cultural topics, but more about managerial or economic aspects (smiles). describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. I work on the 'goods' product, the mass production object, with high sales potential and large public use, thus on a communication project. what is the most playful shape you’ve ever created? I can’t say, I don’t like to talk about my objects like "toys", for me the "goods" aspect is prevalent. which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction? and which do you like the most? I’d say the hit selling (smiles). is there any designer from past you appreciate a lot? I appreciated ettore sottsass, as personality representative of a certain historical period. today our job is quite distant from the job of the masters, who worked in the past ... also verner panton. what about your younger colleagues, are there any particular ones you appreciate? jasper morrison and marc newson. do you use the internet? what do you usually search in it? a lot of music, and a lot of information regarding my job. do you believe in sharing knowledge via internet? or do you think that the internet has more negative effects on us, as the 'big brother is watching you'? I believe in sharing knowledge, even if knowledge is related to individual experience. the same cognitive assumption can be interpreted in different ways, according to the specific experience of a referrer. last week on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future ? during the 30's, 50's and 60's there were great visions about the future world, projected in a distant future, while today time runs so fast that we live our future every six months. everything is more pragmatic, there’s no more gap between the informative and cognitive moment, but fear is related to life and death. anyway, I have an optimistic vision. |
 cico alessi, 2000  bombo, 1999 chair for magis  mami, 1999 tockpot for alessi  pino, 1998 funnel for alessi (with miriam mirri) |
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the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ................................................................................................................................. (in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings". seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire) in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement. for designboom stefano giovannoni has answered these 'old fashioned' questions. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
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the main lineaments of my character. good balance between logic and intuition. a quality I desire in a man. moral instinct, as we have lost trust in words. a quality I desire in a woman. standing me. what I appreciate most among my friends. to rely on them, availability, reliability. my principal defect. tendency to perfectionism, which sometimes limits my action. my favourite occupation. underwater fishing and listening to music. my dream of felicity. to see realized the new space I’ve just acquired. what would for me be the biggest misfortune. - whom I would like to be. a rockstar. the country were I would like to live. on a boat. the colour I prefer. green. the flower I love. the tulip. the bird I prefer. the mallard. my favourite authors. marquez. my favourite poets. I don’t read many poems. my heroes in fiction. king kong. my heroines in fiction. bjork, naomi (laughs) my favourite composers. fat boy slim, liam howard, dorfmeister. my favourite artists. I’m not more interested in contemporary painting. my heroes in real life. we don’t fall in love anymore, for no one. my heroines in history. - my favourite names. rocco, antonio, francesco. what I hate most. the need to tell untrue things. the historic characters I dislike most. - the military enterprise I like the most. none. the reformation I appreciate the most. the reform of the relationship between designer and company would be necessary. nature’s gift I would like to have. being able to sing. how I would like to die. very old, relatively healthy, rich and on a boat. my soul's present condition. positive. the faults I can bear. if in good faith, they can be justified. my motto. I don’t know. |
 mago, 1998 broom for magis  volcano, 1998 watch for alba-seiko  liliput, 1993 salt and pepper set for alessi  tv, 1990 telivision trolley for ardes |
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