KITCHEN: 1

This time I'd like to post something which is not directly connected to art & design...actually it's just my yesterday night dinner at Giacomo's restaurant... a very good and affordable place where to taste typical Italian (and in particular Venetian) very very fresh dishes.

Ok so, why this? off course for colors, composition, and good taste!all things that can inspire your creativity making art...


enjoy my beautiful tagliata (beef on the grill) with peaces of Parmigiano (the Real one..) & rucola and make yourself ready for a delicious Tiramisù dessert...sorry...almost finished!

ART applied on CAR DESIGN project

Hi designers & artists!

in this post I'm going to show and to explain my apllication of Boccioni's art on a car design I made in 2004 as thesis' project, sponsored by Alfa Romeo-FIAT group.
But first of all, let me say sorry for my not always great use of the english language! ;)

As I said before my main inspiration is the statue "Forme Uniche Della Continuità Nello Spazio - Unique Shapes Of Continuity In Space", art work of 1913.

With this mood board I tried to explain all my inspirations and values I took care thinking on my style creation.

1. first idea was thinking of a automotive styling concept as a piece of art on wheels which could show his dynamism and elegance also if not in movement.

That's why this concept reminded me to the statue I talked about before. That is the transfiguration of the perfect aesthetic canons of the ancient Greek art works like "Nike of Samotracia".

photo from Wikepidia.org:

"Nike of Samotracia" II-III century B.C.
Louvre Museum Paris.

In this "new version" Boccioni wanted to create a new view of human body, an apparent monster with no harms and with all its parts creating movement and splitting the air. All extensions of its head, shoulders, thighs and calves seemed to me like beautiful aerodynamic car's parts, as vents or rear lamps.

2. like Boccioni's art, very personal and distinctive of his artistic mind, my Alfa Romeo needed to have avery charismatic personality with strong styling elements; like I did with the front "scudo" grill and with a very light chrome line along the car' side, to add more motion and flow to the body.


3. my little sportive car had to be very Alfa Romeo, off course, but I wanted to create this sensation getting inspiration from the old forgotten beauties that Italy was creating during the 30's, like the onces I posted on thee first mood board.

That was an amazing inspirational period in car design and architecture and at the time artists were certainly giving to show their great talents drawing and modeling such incredible pieces. Unfortunately sometimes in the 60's and 70's Italian designers forgot about their great background they had created since just before 2nd WW...but this is another story! ;)


So I tried to remember those great moments in history of art, focusing on very strong and elegant elements like the proud from the Milan & Alfa Romeo' symbol (cross&snake) which I made it big in the front view, the poetry from an ancient dark blue liver color, the elegance of very well defined volumes of the global body, giving a special sharp cut and power to the hood and to the hatch back.

ART: 1 intro to Boccioni

On these first episodes I would like to focus first on the images and symbols that helped and still are helping me to create designs. Starting from this I'll go head expanding contents of this blog touching other fields or themes that people could ask me (I hope!) to talk about.

In my experience as artist I had 2 very great masters and I would like one day to post here an interview to them. Another awesome teacher of mine, who unfortunately I've never met in person, is Umberto Boccioni (1842-1916, Italian). Here is an auto portrait (1905-1906, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milano-Italy).

I really think He was THE ARTIST! and it's unbelivable that, also if his most important artwork
(Unique Shapes Of Continuity In The Space, 1913) is on the back on the 20 cents of €, almost nobody knows what of important he did in his career...I think that is because nobody at school in Italy pays right attention on what is really innovative in our historic and cultural background...by the way I'm very glad to write something here about this great guy who I learned to consider him one of my best friends!


I'll talk later about some of his master pieces focusing on the key elements to understand his art. For now I just wanna make an introduction and do a short brief on the values that he wanted to express.

1. He was a FUTURIST. This label could be enough for me but, because I know too many people think about this artistic movement just connected to the bad sides of the growing politic scene at the time, I want to spend a few words saying that being part of FUTURISM meant for their exponents apparently rejecting all it was old and classic but inside their mind they deeply knew where they came, they were proud of their Italian history. Starting from that belief they truly had great respect for what has being done before.

They just wanted to be a unique group of intellectuals and artists creating a complete modernization of art and culture.

In that important period, meanwhile the new modern and rich industrial society (1909) was enlarging, Futurists were clever to feel and to understand what was happening to people, industries and places.

All those cities, where new engined vehicles started rumbling fast, needed to have a new FLOW and they also needed to be cleaned by the old past stiffness and boredom.
The Futurism GOAL was to create a new art, closer to the people's new style and taste.

MODERN IDOL, 1911

2. Being conscious of the world changing meant they NEED to change the ART situation at the time. And you all know that being strong and direct helps a lot to show the idea of a "cultural revolution". That's why this apparent rejection for the art of the past.

3. So..how to change everything and creating new art?
==>GOING BACK to elementary shapes and forms.

4. Thinking of the LIGHT not as just a white color but as compositions of different singular colors.

5. Analyzing MOVEMENT/DYNAMISM in all its steps, as important value for all the new modern art. An example of this interpretation is the Boccioni's canvas "Dynamism of a footballer, 1913".



I'll come back talking about Boccioni's art focusing on some of his most important art work, explaining inner meanings behind them, taking out from them what I think he really wanted everybody knows for to make new exciting examples of creativity.

CAR DESIGN: 1

Hi everybody!

here we are...finally sharing together some concrete design ideas.

I really think it doesn't matter exactly which field of design/art we are talking about...instead it's very important showing people we have something really deep and strong we believe in...some very personal artistic values that we can express and make them real with our creations.

Off course ideas and values come from our background of inspirations, our school teachings, our interests since we were kids...and here for the first post I want to make visible this concept by showing you 3 pics of one of my favorite examples of art applied on a car.

CADILLAC Eldorado 1968

This beauty is not here just to show how much I love USA...it's here to say that I love the way Americans use their forward thinking view+history background+the need to show power and exaggeration in a very elegant and innovative way...also if here we are back in 1968.....

FRONT: Look a the hood, with sharp and simply modeled lines...go head observing the few details are making the full face perfectly complete...wide chrome grill with invisible lamps, Maison logo in the middle, Cadillac elegant signature, like the name of a painter on its canvas.

BACK: barely you can find a car with a perfectly proportioned global look.
Here we have a great example of that. Also if full dimensions are not of a city car, it's amazing how compact and modern are still the volumes of this "cloth with wheels".

Also in this view we have an idea of what it means purity of lines, very strong edges created in the right place, and just few more details that gives the car the value to being good looking, original but in the same time very sober. I like to compare this to the look of a pretty & tall woman who just needs to emphasize her lips and eyes with a very light touch of color, who uses to wear few original details or a jewel on a very simple black outfit.

Ciao a tutti!

Hi Creative People!

here you go...my first blog ever...that's a very good challenge...I guess it will be a pretty intensive job but I'm sure it'll be fun!

I decided to create this blog to drop a new line on my long "goals-list" of my design career and whole life.

well..actually I think and I hope it will be useful to place in a very clear order all my design and cool facts research, that I usually look for everyday...and I'll try to do that using my personal view of things I learned to acquire during my college period in Milan (1999-2004) and that I improved while working for different Italian companies in the last three years.

I think if I'm starting this new exciting experience I have to thank my friend Katie first of all, who inspired me with her "chic and clever" vision for fashion and art (you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to GO to her page designtoaster.blogspot.com ) and I also have to be grateful to all the other friends I met in the US few months ago.

You can say whatever you want or what is commonly bad to say about America but you have to agree with me that you do that just because you're jealous that's the most OUT-OF-BOX & FUTURE THINKER country in the galaxy dudes!!!
...and that's amazing for me and for who's really excited in front of new ideas and design concepts, conscious of the history where they come from but always willing to be what is never been before.

Ok, you're right now it's time to stop talking...I'm going to look for post interesting new-photos-designs to show and, off course, it would be great to receive your comments, suggestions and collaboration ideas!

we wanna rock.period.

stefano