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When I attended the Aritigiani in Chiostro craft fair in San Francesco della Vigna the other day, I couldn’t help but think a little of North Carolina. After all, the Appalachian region of North Carolina is well-known for its centuries-old tradition of crafts and craftsmanship, making it a great place to “see, learn, and buy things made their way.” It has become a destination for people interested in doing things. ‘Once upon a time’: Carefully handcrafted using techniques passed down through generations.
That being said, the artifacts found in Western North Carolina, as nice as they may be, are certainly not what was once made there. Such historical realism would include more of farming, lumberjacking, rock-cutting, and mining equipment, as well as traditions of making clothing and textiles in general that could withstand the rigors of mountain life. In other words, regional crafts were not necessarily considered art or culture. They are created by people to work and survive in the conditions in which they live, and they have evolved as part of culture itself, which is culture itself no matter how you look at it. And the purpose no longer exists.
So I went to a fair in Venice. There was also a conference of speakers, each offering quite different views on the current state of artisan crafts in Venice, but I think it’s safe to say there was a consensus on this idea. If Venice’s Artigianato is not in crisis, it is in trouble. High costs, online competition, the aging of the artisans themselves, and a limited supply of young people interested in learning the craft all came up again and again.
The host asked us in the audience, “Who will buy these products?” Who are you really? If crafts are essentially art born out of necessity, what would happen if the need for crafts among the population diminished or ceased to exist?
I found myself thinking about some forms of craftsmanship that were once central to Venice but were not mentioned at the conference, which is understandable since they are now extinct. The most well-known example, of course, is book printing. This technique probably reached its peak here in Venice many centuries ago, but of course it is now lost. But I was mainly thinking about Venice’s rich tradition in instrument making. Yes, Venice now has luthiers, but Rialto was once the de facto hotbed of the highest artistry in instrument making. Take a walk along Via Stanieri, opposite the Rialto. On the right was one of his most famous music stores in the world, Matteo Serres’ Bottega, known for providing instruments and services to the Maestro di His Strumenti. Antonio Vivaldi at the Pieta Hospital.
Serres and his competitors, such as Matteo Groffriller and Domenico Montagnana, who worked in Matteo Serres’ store before opening their own, were not born in isolation, nor did they work alone. Making musical instruments was a multidisciplinary task, requiring not only woodworking skills (many luthiers were also shoemakers) but also very specific skills in metalworking, carving, and varnishing. (Consider the very famous staining of wooden instruments that is still known as “”). Venetian Red”). Young people wishing to learn the trade became apprentices around the age of 12 and worked under the supervision of a maestro for up to eight years, after which they were allowed to run their own Bottega.
Theorbo, Venice, 1640, made by Matteo Serres (father of the owner of Bottega on Via Stanieri)
Of course, at the time, especially in the late 1600s and 1700s, these instruments were in great demand, and not just among the wealthy and aristocrats. By the early 1700s, Venice had 11 of his public theaters, including his 4 Grandi Hospital and his Teatro San Marco, where Antonio Vivaldi’s father himself was also engaged as a violinist. As a result, there was a community of several hundred active musicians who were constantly in need of maintenance on their instruments and musical instruments. Remember that all stringed instruments of the time used gut strings, but they were still notoriously difficult to make, tune, and keep fresh.
But more importantly, the craftsmen who made the instruments and performed this work were themselves part of a larger community of craftsmen. In Venice, the liuteri were associated with the Arte Guild, part of the broader Arte dei Marzeri, which included many trades, including commercial and retail. Liutieri had its own altar for religious ceremonies, namely the altar of Santa Maria Assunta in the church of San Zulián. Many active musicians were also Liutieri, and many Liutieri also worked in other related trades, such as shoe making, which required detailed woodworking skills. The liuteri and the cembalari (cembalari) were therefore incorporated into a larger woodworking culture, and their instruments often shared characteristics and materials with other Marangoni (woodworking) instruments.
In other words, there was a particular flourishing community in Venice that formed the cultural background of musical instrument making. Author Stefano Pio says of this period:
The Venetian people at that time felt a sense of belonging to an exclusive political and social reality and contributed to that existence both individually through the objects they made and socially through the existence of their unions. I felt a deep sense of pride.
This sense of belonging and pride that Pio speaks of still exists to this day. The Artigiani in Chiostro fair is therefore a perfect example of this feeling. However, the situation has changed irrevocably and the culture that produced the craft no longer exists. As a result, the art of making musical instruments that had once flourished in Venice virtually disappeared forever.
Currently, Via Stagneri is almost empty.
It is this important link between craft, culture and context that makes Professor Donatella Calabi’s proposal so compelling, at least in my view. Not least because it explicitly acknowledges the culture that produced the craft, which is now generally in crisis. no longer exists. So too is the fact that the conditions in which these crafts are produced have fundamentally changed. Not only in Venice, but all over Europe.
Calabi has studied historic market centers across Europe with the aim of understanding the evolution needed to survive. The function of cities has changed, their role in cities is different than before, and the populations that frequent them are not necessarily there to meet their daily household needs, if at all. They have different motivations now. These markets are no longer central to the community, but have become niche markets, forcing them to change their composition and offerings accordingly.
Along these lines, Donatella Calabi and the organization she heads, Progetto Rialto, are also repurposing and reconfiguring the Rialto market as well, preferably in areas that have been empty and unused for decades. Suggests adding more space. Instead of selling only fresh produce, markets can offer visitors prepared foods, cooking classes, and food “experiences.” The unused space is ideal for craft displays, courses, groups, as well as temporary and permanent exhibitions.
In fact, this proposal is not that far removed from “what is”. During the period of the instrument makers mentioned earlier, craftsmen mainly concentrated their activities and even their living spaces around the Rialto. Why not again?
rialto market
There are successful examples of this approach in historic markets in Europe, but I’ll return to North Carolina for a moment to stay in an area I know better. Population changes and cultural decline in this region (where driving to small towns in the mountains of North Carolina is a time-consuming, frustrating, and often precarious task) have led to changes in population and cultural decline, such as those advocated by Donatella Calabi. Integration has taken place. North Carolina Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Located in the Visitor’s Center in the middle of the highly popular Blue Ridge Parkway, the Folk Art Center has been attracting craft buyers for over 40 years. The website https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/poi/folk-art-center/ describes the activities available there.
“Enjoy our series of educational events throughout the year.”
Watch craft demonstrations held daily from March to December.
Find Parkway souvenirs at Eastern National Bookstore
Shop for unique handcrafted treasures from Southern Appalachian artisans. ”
Craft makers also have their own guild to jointly promote their work: www.southernhighlandguild.org
NC Folk Art Center (Photo from website)
In my opinion, this is not that different from what Calabi and Projet Rialto are proposing. The cultures and contexts that produced these artifacts may have changed, evolved, or disappeared, but that does not mean the artifacts themselves must disappear. But that means the work of producing, preserving, and perpetuating these artifacts has to be done in new ways, but if you look closely, it’s probably not so new after all. Maybe not. Events like Artigiani at Chiostro clearly show that Venice’s “artigiano” is still alive and well and that there is a real community that provides culture and context for the craft. North Carolina’s Folk Arts Center believes that bringing communities together in new ways, to new audiences, and perhaps for different purposes than in the past, will keep these crafts alive and provide a context for communicating them. It has been demonstrated that it can have a powerful effect on maintenance. To the next generation.
So what about here in Rialto, Venice?
Crafts, Culture and Context Last updated: April 18, 2024 by PAUL ROSENBERG
Craft, culture and context ultima modifica: 2024-04-18T05:04:03+02:00 da PAUL ROSENBERG
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