«The problem of this world is that it’s a world that is always looking for the next extraordinary thing, when sometimes you just need one. The rest should be quiet, and I think boredom helps.»
play
and
points of view by Paola Manfrin
Antithetical adj. [from late latin antithetĭcus, greek ἀντιϑετικός] (pl. m. -ci). – Something that is in antithesis or contains an antithesis; contrary, opposite: a. term, moment; two a. characters; your ideas are a. to mine. Antithetically, antithetically, in antithesis: you and I think antithetically.
Seemingly different yet so similar in their cultural intent. A conversation between Piero Lissoni - a stern, boredom-and-silence-enthusiast architect, designer and art director born in the 1960s in Seregno, Brianza - and Charley Vezza, an unconventional entrepreneur born in the town of Alba in 1987, lover of chaos and acid colours, founder together with his mother Sandra of Italian Radical Design, a group featuring the likes of Gufram, Memphis and Meritalia.
PIERO: Italian Radical Design, what a preposterous idea. If you’re not wicked, you’re sad. How can you even begin to describe Italian radical design? It can’t have one. Radical design is radical, it goes beyond that. It’s impossible to define.
CHARLEY: And how do you describe Piero Lissoni? I’d say it’s just like one of his sofas, a LISSONATA!
PIERO: I was convinced I was great at designing dreadfully uncomfortable things, but with Pratone I was beat 10 to 0. 10 to 0 I say!
CHARLEY: We’re great at this. We really have the record on uncomfortable things. I have to say, this chair here (TWIN), works great indeed.
PIERO: Technically speaking I would invite you to sit in a normal manner. I understand it would not be very radical of you.
CHARLEY: It’s just I’m not used to it, we don’t have this functionality thing over here.
CHARLEY: The world needs anti-conformism.
PIERO: No, that’s too hard. You just need one extraordinary thins, the rest should be quiet, and boredom helps.
CHARLEY: Revolution has already been done by others, we’re not doing that anymore.
CHARLEY: The truth stands in the middle, between black and white.
PIERO: I use all variations of white. White is always being chosen because it’s white. White is a whole world. There must be around 200-250 different whites. The starting point is white and black and then, right in the middle, there’s the universe.
«So you like pussy?»
- Charley Vezza
«Very.»
- Piero Lissoni
Credits
Creative Director: Paola Manfrin
Art Director: Alessandro Bigi
Videomaker: Federico Cataleta for Art+Vibes
Photographer: Alessio Keilty
MUAH: Cinzia Trifiletti
Photographer Assistants: Luca Baldini, Andrea Leonetti
Creative Producers: Elisa Ambrosetti, Edoardo Lasala
Special thanks to Piero Lissoni, Lissoni&Partners, Charley Vezza and Gufram.
opere
PRATONE GUFRAM by Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi, Riccardo Rosso, 1971.
TWIN by Piero Lissoni, 2021.
GUFRAMINI GUFRAM: Cactus, Pratone, Bocca.
REGENERATE TOOTHBRUSH by Piero Lissoni, 2021.
PINA Coffee Maker by Piero Lissoni per Alessi, 2006.
GINZA MINIATURA, Memphis Milano, Masanori Umeda, 1982.