Andrea Maragno
fka
JOE VELLUTO
designer
What does the element of light represent for you?
Light is essential because it creates shadows, and shadows are essential for peering into our innermost selves. We can only see the sun clearly if a cloud passes in front of it, otherwise we would be blinded by it.
What do you associate the term illumination with?
Without doubt, I associate illumination with freedom, with personal emancipation. Illumination from my point of view is a sincere, pure, direct gaze.
Tell us to what measure and in which manner light has influenced and influences your life, ideas, and emotions.
Most of the time ideas arrive out of nowhere, they emerge from darkness and silence. Light is used to give shape to ideas and is essential for stirring people’s emotions. Often it is the light that surprises us, beyond any intention and planning: a ray of sunlight that filters through, hitting a finish, or a sunset that creates a particular colour by mixing with the clouds. Light, any light, lets you know that you are alive, and it reminds you that this is all there is, illumination.
How much does light or the metaphor of illumination influence you in your profession?
I would say, as a metaphor, it is central. Whoever works in creativity is always looking for the so-called “illumination”, that is, the spark that generates an idea. Then, over time, you realise that the more you search for it, the less it arrives, and it is when you are not looking for it that it suddenly appears. Many creatives talk about this aspect, from Jodorowsky to Toscani to Seth Godin, to name just a few.
Could you, in your way, through your any medium of expression, represent to us the concept of illumination?
SNAP! Is that enough?
We need to be ‘illuminated’ creatively and socially.
Where do you think this metaphor finds its expression?
I believe there is a need for sudden enlightenment, as described in one particular current of Zen, as opposed to gradual enlightenment – another Zen pathway. A real insight, an awakening of global consciousness, a leap into the void. But these days one must be careful… having a different vision is very dangerous!
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