Thursday, April 19, 2012

Design Week Milan

Not only are classes nearly over, but it is Design Week in Milan with hundreds of events showcasing designers of all sorts, panels, art shows, and of course, appertivi. Also it has been raining like a fairy tale. The only event I have made it to so far was well worth the long subway ride and confusing directions. When I reached the Spazio MIL, there was a temporary workshop of letterpress workers organized by Milan's own Nove Punti, a group of eight designers and an architect. They have workshops, bring artists to Milan and show this city what type can do.
I met John from Flowers and Fleurons Press in Brighton UK who was printing these black and white graphics. The theme of the workshop was printing without electricity, a post-apocalyptic print world.
While everyone was busy printing, John went outside to start a different kind of type setting--carving letters into marble. I don't have any photos of that but I do intend to return Saturday and see what progress they have made. I got to try chiseling a line into the marble. The display and set up was lovely, people were friendly and having a good time. It was mentioned that we are lucky in the US, to have so much space that people hold onto presses instead of scrapping them, even when they don't know what they are for. I would add, I know see many more lady printers in the US than I saw today, though I was only there for a little bit and there was at least one women working on the presses. More photos Saturday!