Images from the end-of-semester exhibition (Dec 2014)
Final Project Statement:
Two Points of View… (Maybe Two Starting Points?)
Where am I now and where am I going?
Is this a starting point, a milestone or the arrival?
In order to feel grounded in my current location I think that sometimes, in certain particular moments it is necessary to stop, to understand the map and maybe to illuminate the path. Wayfinding is one of my interests, as also light since I really need something useful that could enlighten my general view and my perspectives.
Light reassures and light gives the direction. At the same time, since ages, we have always tried to protect light and to give it a shape inserting it in a bulb, a vase, a box ……..an object. In this case the object is a container but; does every object is useful or sometimes only imaginative? Is it expressly designed for its purpose? The reply is not immediate and I could discover it only in using, watching, trying, modifying it by adding and subtracting details in order to look it in a different way.
Where am I now and where am I going?
Do I feel the need to get lost? To feel protected in a bubble, in a blur, in a liquid, surrounded by water, the primal water? Yes, I want to curl up, to restrict my vital space, to live suspended, to see distorted faces of reality, different views, images filtered by a texture or a mirror….So what is real and unreal? What is the perception of reality in this moment? Here, in Siena ? It is an ideal city to feel protected and to get lost, with its narrow streets and its ventral square, its little windows, its ancient buildings and its distorted perspectives. Suddenly Siena becomes an unreal and intangible city, like the ones of Calvino novel “The invisible cities” , mysterious and obvious at the same time. Siena as a souvenir, Siena in a bubble.
Finalized structures for collaborative installation “Today is Tomorrow: The Future of Colle”
Per “Oggi è domani: il futuro di Colle” ho immaginato una “zona libera” all’interno della città di Colle, con un parco giochi per i bambini e una zona ricreativa per gli adulti. Penso che svolgere alcune attività in movimento possa agevolare la socializzazione e possa contribuire a trovare soluzioni creative per l’intera comunità.
Il mio giardino è suddiviso in diverse sezioni:
-una zona dove le persone possono sedersi in una sorta di teatro (verde), guardare film o discutere problemi e iniziative legate alla comunità;
– un edificio laboratorio dove è possibile partecipare a corsi creativi, realizzare progetti o cucinare assieme cibi multietnici;
– un parco giochi dove i bambini possono utilizzare trampolini, tappeti e scivoli;
– un canale d’acqua “vivo” caratterizzato da ponti, pesci e canneti;
– un parco illuminato dove poter passeggiare la sera. La luce è importante per una città viva e sociale, aiuta a sentirsi più vitali e sicuri e agevola anche le attività serali, soprattutto in inverno. Per questo ho pensato ad alcuni diversi percorsi:
a)uno di colore giallo, dedicato alla memoria di Colle caratterizzato da grandi libri (legati alla storica industria della carta) dove è possibile leggere la storia della città e da una sfera dove invece è possibile disegnare il futuro della città;
b) l’altro, di colore bianco, pieno di fili colorati legati allo storico settore della lana. Rappresentano anche il mix di culture che abitano Colle; ognuno così può trovare il proprio percorso e sentirsi rappresentato;
c) infine alcune sculture di luce, composte da elementi in cristallo. Si tratta di sculture interattive che emettono suoni, il suono del vetro e dell’acqua, due elementi che caratterizzano questa cittadina.
Il parco dispone di fonti energetiche autonome (tegole fotovoltaiche e in cristallo, piante con pannelli fotovoltaici) e di acqua (un grande serbatoio sul tetto laboratorio è in grado di garantire l’approvvigionamento idrico dell’edificio).
Questo parco vuol essere uno spazio sostenibile, non solo in termini di consumo di energia e di acqua, ma anche perché garantisce una partecipazione attiva della comunità, la creazione di una zona che incoraggia la gente a vivere assieme e ad interagire con i propri vicini..attraverso il gioco e il divertimento.
For my contribution to “Today is Tomorrow: The Future of Colle” I have envisioned creating a “free area” within the city of Colle, with a playground for kids and a recreation area for adults. I think that people need to engage in activities and movement, in order to socialize and try to find creative solutions to community needs. My garden is divided into different sections:
Work-in-progress for collaborative installation “Today is Tomorrow: The Future of Colle”
Oct 13, 2014: Project Proposal Sketches, “Today is Tomorrow: The Future of Colle”
Oct 8, 2014: Fourth Reading Response: Questions for Prof. Ulivieri on Vernacular Architecture:
1) Come mettere a frutto l’ecostoria e le architetture vernacolari per creare progetto innovativi che non sia la copia del passato?
2)Scultura e architettura : a parte Deredia, dove si possono trovare altri esempi di questo connubio?
Sept 23, 2014: Third Reading Response:
The Vischer quote makes me think about the ideal space we figure out and the fact that we are always searching for balance, perfection, good geometric shapes, agreeable colors in order to place ourselves inside this space. It is a way to transfer our perception into a sort of setting or thatre scenography were we are the main actor. This reconnects me to the “Space and Desire” article where Thea Brejzek speaks about desire at the service of spectacle.
Sept 16, 2014: Second Reading Response:
Psychogeography
- Regarding this theory I had the occasion to start studying something concerning “wayfinding”, smart cities and the semeiotic language linked to a city. The starting point are maybe opposite: in wayfinding it is necessary to find the quickest or the most efficient way to reach a place while the concept of Dèrive starts from an opposite principle;the possibility to get lost and to rediscover a city through emotions. At the very end I think that both studies have some similarities: they consider the image of a city and its possibility to transfer emotions through roads, building and monuments..it is a sort of immediate message that a city gives that is often linked to “first impressions” or “image” in general.
- Certeau’s idea of “travel story” and “spacial practice” is way of synthetizing the fact that every time we walk or we start a path we need to get into relation with the space around, with our perception of the surrounding , with the perspective and the proportion between we -as individuals- and buildings or roads – made to hosts many individuals. It is always a balance between us and the space and the feelings may vary due to light, wheather,companionship,needs,,…..
- Regarding Siena or Colle Val d’Elsa, it is true what Certeau said “ Cities are geological,…full of ghosts”. Somehow these ghosts are evident while, in some other cases, it is necessary to explore and find them around. For example in Colle it was necessary to visit the archeological museums to discover the evidence of a story that wasn’t so immediate at the first sight. Etruscans, politician prisoners are part of the past, unified by the same historic building.
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On the other way Siena is an unusual city where strong traditions (like the true life of a Contrada) lives together with turists, conformed shops, a slow but continue modernisation. It seems that tradition is not only a way to keep his roots but also a sort of reassuring “theraphy”. Also the fact that Santa Maria della Scala was used an hospital till recent times is a symbol of the common habits, the tradition in using things and repeat procedures. These are only my firt impressions: I hope to add something in the future.
From the visit to Santa Maria della Scala: how an inscription on the ground could be significant.
Sept 9, 2014: First reading response:
Born in Carrara in 1971, Anna began her career working as a management consultant at Italian and multinational companies.
In 2006 she began working with a study of interior styling, creating sets for furnishing magazines such as D Home, Elle Decor, Casa Facile. Her activities related to the research of design led to her work in drafting articles for magazines such as Prima Casa and Cherie Bimbi and with the establishment of a web platform for the mediation between companies and designers.
In 2010 she organized an exhibition of photography, sculpture, and history inspired by the rescue of the monuments of Abu Simbel by the quarrymen of Carrara, inviting Georg Gester, one of the first aerial photographers who documented the operation and the Egyptian ambassador in Italy.
In 2010 Anna began the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, with a concentration in design. Meanwhile she has pursued various design projects, together with the collective of designers TIVD (This is very dangerous) realizing various exhibitions during the Salone de Mobile, such as “My Grandmother” and “Pic Nic”.
One of her creations “Connecting Dots” was published in the magazine Wallpaper in July 2013. Other objects, such as “Tales Box” will be exhibited at the next ” Festival della Mente”( Festival of the Mind) in Sarzana, eleventh edition.
Her works produced in china have been published in the anthology ” “Macchie d’Acqua” (Water Stains) from Mds Publishers and are present at the Biennale d’Arte di Montone.
Siena Art Institute Blog 
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