PAD. Pages on Arts and Design

5-16

Authors: Anna Mazzanti, Matilde Marzotto

Like the sailors, who for centuries have crossed their ways and their destinies plowing through the Mediterranean, this editorial marks a possible route between the different reflections proposed by the authors. Their essays are dedicated to the closed sea in all its complexity of the landscape with fluid borders, which has always been a space for sharing and exchanges, as well as a place of subtle dividing lines and dramatic human movements. Herein, the topic is investigated according to extremely varied critical approaches between art and design. Therefore, what brings together the authors is the attention to the complex and delicate space of the border and crossing, metaphorically furrowed in the essays from the points of view of authors, as contemporary Ulysses with skills and practices that were not easy to gather and at the same time distribute in chapters.

36-59

Authors: Matteo Aimini, Lucilla Calogero

The paper addresses a reflection and explores the intangible dimension of the Mediterranean Sea, in other words everything that lies beneath and above the surface of the water. Reasoning on how this hidden dimension is a well defined landscape outlined by many scientific studies due the complexity not always accessible. The attempt to draw a palimpsest of levels for the understanding of this liquid volume inevitably passes through the design of tools needed to understand and study the raw data and how it can serve to build a “physical story” useful to tell and reveal what is not perceptible to the naked eye. The effort is to hybridize the scientific disciplines of landscape architecture and data design, indeed the understanding of physical dynamics and how they can be returned in physical form, in order to open a strand of research in support of certain scientific disciplines such as marine biology, meteorology or physics of marine environments and so on. Moving from these premises and in order to validate the proposed, some examples are presented which give evidence of how data design and analytical sensitivity can merge starting from scientific assessments.

77-102

Authors: Alberto Bassi, Giuliana Califano, Tommaso Listo

The Mediterranean landscape represents an interface between two different shores, a skin dividing an inner from an outer space, a fullness from a void, which are generated by two symbolic ways of living and construction of space: the space of staying that is sedentary, solid, full and the space of going that is nomadic, fluid, void (Careri, 2006). This research proposes a reflection on how the territory’s surface is invested with meanings, playing the role of link between different languages and means of identity construction (Dal Buono & Scodeller, 2016), thus offering a double overview. On the one hand, on how the nomadic transhumance of several populations affects the creation of a new Mediterranean landscape and on new forms of living the individual and common spaces, which generate a different aesthetics and a new way of experiencing the city time. An unpredictable aesthetics that in some places becomes void, as in the abandoned and depopulated Mediterranean areas, while in others it gets full of new migrants thanks to resettlement measures. The void left by the old inhabitants, abandoned spaces waiting to be repopulated, residues devoid of an apparent function that get new meaning and become shelters for diversity (Clément, 2005): for plants, as well as for allochthonous people that driven by force majeure, move from one garden to another, generating a reborn and an increase in the biodiversity hotspots (Clément, 2011). On the other hand, we wish to investigate the role of design in its various facets, methodologies and contemporary tools as a means to foster the relationship between landscape and citizenship, to let them achieve its own identity representation and fill the socio-cultural void of the territory. The project’s practice can be a tool to trigger policies of self-determination of the imaginary, allowing those who live in the territory to be involved in making their own story, according to a sense of belonging when they make a representation of their community (Colafranceschi, 2015). Focusing on design actions and multiple case studies – such as urban regeneration labs, social cooking, social engaged art and participatory interaction practices through digital media – which have been able to generate and encourage relationships between different cultural, identity and aesthetic aspects of the Mediterranean area, sparking short and long term moments of contemplation, sharing and discussion.

133-159

Authors: Raffaella Trocchianesi

The paper deals with the enhancement of the Mediterranean identity in terms of visual communication starting from the landscape as the crucial aspect in creating a coordinated theme for the territory. In this context the landscape is read both as natural environment and as an extension and expression of the collective self (in anthropological and sociological terms), of a people’s culture and their way to relate with spaces. Therefore it is important – in the design approach – to isolate some identitary elements able to summarise the values, qualities and features of a territory. We are interested in communication design of Mediterranean visual identities and in the dynamics of building visual common codes. This research collects some case studies about the territorial communication field divided into three categories: Colours: in this category we can find those projects that are focused on the color as a visual code able to return the complexity of a place and its recurrent chromatic features.

183-205

Authors: Costanza Meli

Landscape is a containing and a contained space, an image space and a representation of space. Communities continuously interact with the landscape and in it. In this article, we will try to identify the trajectory within one of the landscapes that has posed the greatest number questions about the relationship between nature and culture over the centuries – The Mediterranean. We will do this with a non-linear perspective. We will make a journey that leads us to a reading of this space through a combination of different outlooks and experiences, like contemporary art and experimental museums, to affirm the impermanence that has always characterized the idea of the Mediterranean, and the necessity to continually reformulate its meanings. This article is based on the meetings I have had in recent years working as a curator between Rome and Lampedusa, within participatory artistic projects characterized by the dialogue between migrant people and local communities. The assumption of our article is the intersection of this Space consciousness with the aesthetics of engagement (Berleant 2004), through which artistic practices act in the anthropic landscape. This approach overcomes and articulates the meaning of site specific in the direction of a contextual practice that modifies the contexts in which it takes place and reformulates the geopolitical balances at the base of Western art. The practice of public artists will be presented through the example of a participatory project conceived in 2018 by the Bianco Valente duo in Palermo, for the exhibition Land of me. The works show the polysemy of this landscape: “Space of otherness, of confrontation and hybridization of identity” that build itself through experiences of dialogue and laboratory in which a shared creative practice can produce new narratives. The choice to introduce the works in mainly descriptive terms is due both to the lack of bibliography on such a recent project, and to my participation in the elaboration of the contents itself. The conversation with the artists for the drafting of the exhibition catalog highlighted the need to tackle very current and dramatic topics such as the experience of migration, in a simple way understandable by everyone.

231-255

Authors: Martina Marolda

“La matematica mi confonde. Come misura del mondo è strana./Per quanti conti si facciano qualcosa non torna mai pari./Due finestre fanno una vista? quattro muri sono una casa?”1 (D’Agostino, 2015). Art House is Adrian Paci’s family home transformed into a common, shared space, open to the ideas and cultural contributions of the art world, open to others and to the encounters within them. The concept of home, always dear to this artist of Albanian origin, finds here meaning and fulfilment here, thanks to an added value: a human element. The “four walls” of the house open up (not so much metaphorically, but above all physically, thanks to a series of large windows) and leave ample leeway to dialogue, to the exchange: “even if Albania is no longer as isolated as it once was, communication with the rest of the world is still difficult”, as Paci says, talking about the Art House project, conceived together with his wife Melisa Ballata, in his hometown of Shkodër.

5-11

Authors: Marinella Ferrara, Chiara Lecce

The Mediterranean scenario does not stop to attract our interest and attention. We believe it is essential today to generate a convergence of actions that promotes creativity and innovation in this region, looking at the future of youth, by breaking the barriers of differences and misunderstandings between the various national realities and making the most of the difference in understanding the other. PAD #16 issue deals with the design research and practices for the Mediterranean region, according to the vision of young creative innovators, in line with the previous #14 and #15 issues. It closes the trilogy of these last three issues to launch a new way of looking at the Mediterranean challenges. We decided to shed light on the potential of the new globalized generation who wishes to take control of their future. It is by supporting the innovation capacity of youth that we will be able to advance the actual Mediterranean reality and open new perspectives on the future.

35-57

Authors: Valentina Frosini

This paper presents a practice-oriented research on intercultural education, based on an interdisciplinary process shared with design, anthropology and pedagogy. On the basis of an exploratory case study, the aim of the research was to investigate whether and how design could contribute to the theme of intercultural education in terms of innovation in kindergarten (3-6 years), thanks to the design-driven method, which has been used in a more inclusive and extended version, the design-intensive innovation. The output of the research is a series of open-ended game-tools, designed to be part of the educational programs in schools and oriented to stimulate creative learning in terms of possibility thinking. The field research was conducted within the Scuola per l’Infanzia I Gelsi di Scandiano: in terms of methodology, the Reggio Emilia approach has been used to verify the learning effects of the proposals. Conclusions report strengths and weaknesses of the project practice.

80-101

Authors: Jomana G. Attia

This paper investigates the struggles faced by Design Entrepreneurs in Cairo. After using grounded theory, general challenges arose from the codes, yet in depth understanding of the communication problems between the entrepreneurs, the designers and manufacturers in a start-up. The study took place in Cairo, where the entrepreneurial ecosystem is still emerging along the past couple of years. Six entrepreneurs were interviewed. The results exhibit most of the problems faced within the start-up and the ecosystem, also challenges emerged in terms of dealing with designers and makers in the product development phases. Understanding the struggles and the failed and successful methods of solving them helps create a foundation for design entrepreneurship. When this foundation is better established, hopefully would allow the economic status in Cairo to flourish. Due to lack of documentation, this study aims to guide design entrepreneurs struggling in Cairo, acting as reference for some of the problems and their possible solutions.

124-135

Authors: Mona A. Marie, Ahmed Wahby

The Fatimid dynasty was established in the Tenth century in what is modern day Tunis. Their capital was founded in the city of Al-Mahdya from which they expanded their realm to encompass North Africa and Egypt. They founded Cairo in 969 AD and moved the capital to this newly established centre of what was the Fatimid Caliphate. The Fatimids were known to be a lavish dynasty with a lot of pomp and exuberance. They initiated a lot of cultural activities that are still part of the Egyptian inherited culture up till today. The Fatimids also had many exchanges and influences on Sicily and Southern Italy. The Fatimids as a shi’i dynasty have left a lot of religious buildings that are still standing and functioning today, however their secular architecture is long gone. Despite many accounts on the Fatimid double palaces of Cairo, the manzaras, and the amazing throne halls, none of these buildings survive today. Consequently, this paper focuses on reconstructing the Fatimid secular architecture through historical textual narratives in books and traveller testimonials and descriptions. A visual presentation of Fatimid secular architecture is achieved through creating illustrated frames that can serve in backgrounds in printed material, or studio setups for media purposes such as television series or movies. A meticulous frame of enquiry is used in order to define the characteristics of Fatimid secular monuments and details by comparing to neighbouring regions and styles of the time. Furthermore, building techniques and terminology were examined. The resulting data is transformed into a visual language using manual sketching techniques with colored pencil and ink and edited digitally using photo editing software.

157-178

Authors: Serena Del Puglia, Viviana Trapani, Laura Galluzzo

The article deals with design experimentation in the complex and composite field of design for the culture of the territory, aimed at enhancing the particular resources common to the Mediterranean areas, through an incremental and collaborative design methodology. The town of Salemi (TP) inherited an extraordinary concentration of cultural heritage from its history; in particular the preparation and display of the decorated breads for the Festivity of San Giuseppe, occurring on March 19th, which expresses a profound religiosity and a complex rituality, shared, handed down and recognized as an intangible cultural asset to be protected. In this territorial context, a vision aimed at encouraging increasingly wider cultural and tourist growth and interested in the quality of experience has led to the design elaboration and realization of an Ecomuseo del Grano e del Pane. This is an experimentation articulated through meetings with the various territorial actors, gathering experiences and testimonies, and laboratory activities. Together with the description of the project outcome, the article intends to describe and analyze the intertwining of the many aspects that have structured the design process, based on a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary approach “necessary” for cultural elaboration and looking at design as a multidimensional and relational discipline.