September 12, 20178 yr Author 10 hours ago, John Morris said: He's also a communist? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzo_Mari Yes, that's why he can get $1000+ for $12 worth of lumber and a few nails. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
September 12, 20178 yr 22 minutes ago, PeteM said: As I recall Ponzi was Italian, too. But....but...he didn't have any sense of design. Well, I guess a pyramid is a design.
September 12, 20178 yr 38 minutes ago, PeteM said: As I recall Ponzi was Italian, too. Wasn't he the guy with the leather jacket, and a motorcycle in his living room? John
September 12, 20178 yr It's hard to believe that people would pay such prices for Jr High School quality work. "What's in a Name" ? Obviously, more than we know !
September 12, 20178 yr Author "Spending money you don't have to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't like." -- Walter Slezak
September 12, 20178 yr 1 hour ago, kmealy said: "Spending money you don't have to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't like." -- Walter Slezak Sad, but true. Today more than ever before. John
September 12, 20178 yr 2 hours ago, HARO50 said: Wasn't he the guy with the leather jacket, and a motorcycle in his living room? John IDK but I seem to recall he had a "scheme"
September 13, 20178 yr 18 hours ago, It Was Al B said: It's hard to believe that people would pay such prices for Jr High School quality work. "What's in a Name" ? Obviously, more than we know ! Most of the Jr. High stuff I've seen was done better than that!
September 13, 20178 yr 22 hours ago, It Was Al B said: It's hard to believe that people would pay such prices for Jr High School quality work. "What's in a Name" ? Obviously, more than we know ! more like a 4YO left to their own devices....
September 13, 20178 yr Some prices https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/dining-room-tables/important-enzo-mari-autoprogettazione-table-simon-1973/id-f_5736503/ http://www.icollector.com/Enzo-Mari-Autoprogettazione-dining-table_i8476573 http://www.icollector.com/Enzo-Mari-Autoprogettazione-dining-table-Ital_i8086920
September 13, 20178 yr If that Pistachio artist could get that icollector's customer list, he'd make killing.
December 8, 20223 yr Stumbled across this forum. There are a lot of commenters who are happy to throw out aesthetic opinions and thoughts on whether this is real woodworking. Mari designed these pieces to be accessible and quick for amateurs to build with no tools. People are searching for these designs and building them 40 years later. Credit is due to the man for putting out an enduring idea. As for the look - ask yourself if anyone will be searching for the plans of your designs in half a century. Search Mari’s name and witness his work’s ongoing relevance and capacity for reinvention and reinterpretation. Before you critique, question your own aesthetic ability.
December 9, 20223 yr On 12/8/2022 at 3:35 AM, B saw said: Stumbled across this forum. There are a lot of commenters who are happy to throw out aesthetic opinions and thoughts on whether this is real woodworking. Mari designed these pieces to be accessible and quick for amateurs to build with no tools. People are searching for these designs and building them 40 years later. Credit is due to the man for putting out an enduring idea. As for the look - ask yourself if anyone will be searching for the plans of your designs in half a century. Search Mari’s name and witness his work’s ongoing relevance and capacity for reinvention and reinterpretation. Before you critique, question your own aesthetic ability. @B saw, welcome to our community of woodworkers! Valid opinions you have and I agree, perhaps we jumped on this topic too soon without studying who the man is, because in order to appreciate an artist it's helpful to know who they are as well, and maybe a little more research was in order here, but, and a big but. Artists like Enzo Mari have faced this type of criticism in their works before, at the time no doubt there were many harsh critics of his work as it strayed away from the physical complexities that can make up spectacular furnishings traditional of his time, and he favored the seemingly more elementary skills and designs that it may have taken to form the pieces that he seems to be generally known for. I am sure art critics of his time, were aghast at his style, and they were probably scratching their heads and making the same statements in their editorial writings that our members have made here, after all Van Gogh and Picasso faced sizzling opinions of their "outlandish and elementary work that a blind school child could perform". I am sure as an artist and ground breaking Italian designer of his time, he faced down some of the harshest criticisms that would make most of us wilt and give up on our woodworking, I am sure he would entertain our commentary here if he happened onto it and just move on. Just as the harsh critiques of his time were valid, and not, the same is said of his critics of the future, now. The woodworkers who made statements here in this topic are valid, and for others as they read this topic, they are not We are also making the assumption that some of if not many of the critiques here were made without studying who Enzo Mari was, and that the critiques may be based on an ignorance of this man, but I must say, our members here are very dynamic and variable in their skills as woodworkers, and they also love history. I, and we have studied the greats of our time and in the past, so we cannot assume just because some criticisms may appear to be baseless, there is also the great chance that the critique is not baseless and they are educated criticisms. Even without knowing who the man was, the woodworkers in this topic who have given harsh critiques of his work have a very valid opinion as many here are excellent workers of wood and are to be taken seriously, no matter, the art is alive and well isn't it! I greatly appreciate you coming aboard and sharing a view of the man that perhaps some of us fell short on by lack of research, because of your query here I am more apt now to research Enzo Mari than I was before. Thank you for that! And I hope you stick around and continue to participate here in our woodworking community, thanks again for joining us!
December 9, 20223 yr While some of Mari’s industrial designs and art are aesthetically pleasing, particularly his wall calendar and pencil holders, this foray into what I can only describe as industrial brutalism in furniture construction is not. When this is viewed as coming from a man best known for quotes such as ‘form is everything, design is dead’ these appear to me to be more of a commentary on how he felt the design world was failing. It is an ultimate reduction to pure form without a hint of design past the consideration that the piece will maintain said form and that it will fulfill the purpose for which it was designed. As such, these designs are important and made a lot of people evaluate their design choices in a different context. I do not detract from the contribution that Mari made in this particular space. I view this as a similar commentary as Maurizio Cattelan’s Banana Taped to Wall insofar as it provides a rather scathing rebuke of a particular industry That said, I ,and others obviously, have other tastes that celebrate the natural medium and traditional craftsmanship of designers such as George Nakashima and James Krenov.
December 10, 20223 yr This has now become a wonderful discussion! So after reading about the furniture you see in this topic by Enzo Mari, was this the limit of his capabilities as a woodworker? Or was he just simply creating plans at the time that anyone could build from? Was he trying to help the common DIY man by publishing his book Autoprogettazione? It seems after reading excerpts from his book, that he knew it was simple elementary style work, he was completely aware of that, and he also knew that not every common man could build to the level that would be attractive and useful at the same time. It seems his goal was to design plans for everyone to build, and be able to use as practical furnishings in their home. A few planks of wood, no glue, a saw and nails, and voila, you have something useful to sit on. After reading some of his book of design or plans and his commentary about his plans, he knew that the furniture was simple, and elementary, it appears his goal was to get everyone involved in building, and that is admirable and honorable. What I enjoy about the man, is what you see here, is his push back against mass produced furnishings, or mass produced anything, it was his way of bucking establishment and trying to get back to the simpler methods and hand tools, thumbing his nose at manufacturers.
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