In the summer heat, you can not do without the fan. But what can be done with the old fan in terms of design? As Valencia, Spain, was chosen as the 2022 World Design Capital, a traditional object that has been in the city's memory for a long time, the folding fan was the subject of a special project. Designed by Ángel Blay, a third-generation artisan and the most important donor of the Museo del Palmito, and Vicent Martínez, an industrial designer, the project "Designing The Air "The exhibition Designing The Air was created on this summer day.

Folding fans were first introduced to China from Korea, and only later became a necessity for women in Europe, especially in southern Europe. Therefore, it was natural that the materials used in their production should reflect the nobility of their status, and Valencia's folding fans are made of silk for the surface and mother-of-pearl for the bones, with decorative facets, by the most skilled craftsmen. "The 1920s and 1930s were the period when the folding fan industry was in full swing. The folding fans that were popular in Europe at the time, whether in the Art Deco, Art Nouveau or Futurist styles, were produced in Valencia." Angel speaks, "The power of industrial design is essential to bridge this traditional industry with contemporary culture. Through new means of design, this superb old heritage can be redefined and bring life to Valencia's creative sector." With this vision in mind, the twenty designers invited to the exhibition have given a new contemporary interpretation to the folding fan.

The traditional mother-of-pearl material was the entry point for a number of designers, including the celebrated artisan Angel. He was the only designer in the exhibition to combine two different types of mother-of-pearl - Australian mother-of-pearl and Gulf of Mexico green abalone. The folding fan, entitled "New York," immediately evokes the classic Chrysler or Empire State Building form of New York at first glance. The inverted triangle of the fan's bones, combined with two different types of mother-of-pearl, brings to life the fragrance of The Great Gatsby, and thus pays homage to the Art Deco style prevalent during this era.

Inma Bermúdez's "NÁCAR" is more pure in its use of mother-of-pearl. In order to give the fan a more refined shape, she does not give the body any mechanism, but only the small ebony bones, allowing the mother-of-pearl surface to become the focal point. Inma reveals that although the style is simple, the folding fan hides a complex technique that only a near-extinct artisan like Anjar understands. "The birth of Nacal also represents a tribute to the 'traditional artisans who kept the profession alive' by our new generation of designers." She laughs.

In the hands of Yukari Taki, mother-of-pearl takes on a different flavor. The long, teardrop-shaped mother-of-pearl bone, when the fan is folded, looks like a shiny piece of silver. But when the fan is opened, small and large round pieces of light blue, mint green and light purple intertwine to form the surface of the fan, like bubbles, bringing a refreshing coolness. The designer describes it this way: "I felt it touch me underwater, bringing a touch of itchiness ...... Suddenly, it playfully jumped out of the water and swayed in my hands full of rhythm. Its shiny shell feels comfortable to the touch, delicate and silky. Whenever I shake my wrist, I feel breathable and comfortable." The original shape of the fan bone is imitating the small anchovies commonly found in Spanish wine dishes, thus this work is named "delicacies" (Sakana, the Japanese word for wine dishes).

The folding fan from Sohei Arao and Sumiko Arao brings an oriental poetry to the piece, called "Tsuru" (Japanese for crane), which unfolds like a crane spreading its wings in flight. The designer allows the fan to rotate 360 degrees, creating a three-dimensional structure that is almost circular. The black and white "Suminagashi" totem on the surface of the fan has a sense of flow. This technique is also a Japanese tradition, and the flowing ink has an auspicious meaning, echoing the symbol of the work's title, "crane".

Vicent Martínez's "Senzu" also draws on Japanese fan techniques and stories: legend has it that during his reign, Emperor Tenkei carefully examined the flight path of bats and conceived the idea of a folding fan made of ribbons connected to leaves. So "Senzu" also uses three different woods: smoked oak, olive ash and sabelli wood, and makes the wood the focal point through the combination of different shades at intervals. Vicente says, "I always draw inspiration from the culture I experience, the art, the logos, the metaphors and the traditions associated with my social environment. Therefore, I design objects that seek a balance between form and function. Both emotion and the right and appropriate colors and textures are equally important."

Not all design pieces are folding fans. The exceptions are Carlos Tíscar's Dea and Eli Gutiérrez's Chess. But even though they are formally outside the framework of the traditional folding fan, these designs are familiar in the mechanism of the switch. The former, which the designer calls a "work of abandonment" - he knew from the outset that he could not bring functional improvements to the fan, so he simply abandoned the traditional form. "In reading the history of the evolution of objects, I found that the flag design was unusual in that it only required a combination of rigid fabric and small sticks." Carlos explains, "With this simple idea in mind, I then made a small and inexpensive fan: using only two sticks (i.e., large bones) and a half-circle of fabric, the folding fan opens with the control of a central fan peg, in a process that resembles a ship setting sail." To compensate for the simplicity of the design, he chose a printed fabric, which brings an elegant aesthetic. Another piece, "Backgammon," is made of slats of dark and light colors crossed and layered to "weave" the visual sense of a chessboard. The seemingly "rigid" fan surface actually has a folding function for easy storage.

When designers "design air", can they also inject the most important issue of today - sustainability - into this small everyday object? Fashion designer María Arroyo's DAGA meets this requirement: its fan bones are not only disassembled but also recyclable, and the dye used is also of natural origin - comfrey root (Comfrey) from the Mediterranean basin. The dye used comes from nature - alkanet, which is produced in the Mediterranean basin. Her design may not be "eye-catching" in a crowd of ornate and sophisticated pieces, but the deep red natural color evokes the historical and cultural context in which the folding fan was first used by Spanish women. The value of this design also goes beyond the basic function of cooling, which is wonderful. Perhaps this is the best answer to the expectations of the "Design Air" exhibition.

Article Source:艺术与设计

版权声明：【除原创作品外，本平台所使用的文章、图片、视频及音乐属于原权利人所有，因客观原因，或会存在不当使用的情况，如，部分文章或文章部分引用内容未能及时与原作者取得联系，或作者名称及原始出处标注错误等情况，非恶意侵犯原权利人相关权益，敬请相关权利人谅解并与我们联系及时处理，共同维护良好的网络创作环境，联系邮箱：603971995@qq.com】