Milan Design Week - Part 2

Just a simple continuation post about living life in Milan during Design Week...wait, there is nothing simple about living in Milan during Design Week. LOL! (Check out Design Week - Part 1.) This time my evening was mostly spent at the Martini Racing Lounge watching a live cooking presentation from Andrea Grignaffini, a Italian Gourmet expert chef associated with the famed International Italian cooking insitution called Alma. I even got the chance to help the chef create one of his presentation dishes. Only in Milan. 

----------Milan Design Week - Day 2----------

Martini Racing Lounge

Pouring liquid nitrogen in Martini Bianco 

My buddy, Andrea (We are on a first name basis LOL)

Keep it flowing @ Martini Racing Lounge

Wall of Robots...?

I just don't know

Milan Design Week 2014

As luck would have it, my stay in Milan is crossed by one of the city's most internationally renown events...Salone Internazionale del Mobile (aka. Design Week).

From April 8-13, 2014, Milan will become inhabited with masses of international visitors and some of the world's "hottest" designers showcasing their concepts and ideas about design particularly in the home furnishing sector. Many say this annual Milanese festival sets the global design benchmark.

Brera Design District

The headquarters of the festivities is located at the Milan Fairgrounds, but due to massive expansion and interest the entire city is transformed into a giant design venue with the Brera Design District and Lambrate area containing the highest concentration of "fuorisalone" events. Walking through the Brera Design District last night, I was able to catch a few (ok, more than a few) cocktail parties. There is nothing better than browsing the latest and emerging design concepts while sipping on free drinks and munching on hors d'oeuvres. 

-----------Milan Design Week - April 9-----------

Saturn & Sons Lamp (Cocktail Party)

Saturn & Sons Lamp (Cocktail Party)

Sound wall made of peat moss (Swedish Cocktail Party)

Designer Jangir Maddadi (Swedish Cocktail Party)

Svensk Form's Cocktail Party 

Design display in a historic Brera church

New seating concept on display in Brera

Lighting design

WhereMilan: Your 5 Star Tourist Publication

WhereMilan Event at Milan's Newest 5 Star Hotel: Palazzo Parigi

Officially opening its doors in September 2013, the Palazzo Parigi currently holds the title of "Milan's Newest 5 Star Luxury Hotel." As soon as you walk through the Palazzo's revolving door, you are hit with a wave of hyper-lux elegance. Maybe it's the glass chandeliers, marble embedded architecture, artworks which are centuries old or a combination of everything, whatever it may be the Palazzo had just taken you to a place that is out of this world. With a price tag of rooms starting around $500/night, you will not be upset with the Palazzo's hospitality and location as it it sits in the heart of Milan near the Fashion and Brera Districts. What a perfect location for a WhereMilan event!

Palazzo Parigi was the perfect location to host WhereMilan's reception and introduction of it's new product offerings. Some of the publication's biggest clients were in attendance, including the editor of Berlin's newest tourism publication WhereBerlin. Again...another fantastic experience provided by WhereMilan.

The entry of Palazzo Parigi

Artworks accenting the hotel's focus on luxury

View of the glass chandelier

WhereMilan CEO, Andrea Jarach, presenting

WhereMilan

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Work Pizza Party at Spontini's

A few weeks ago, WhereMilan treated its team to a pizza party at one of Milan's best pizza joints. The pizza was remarkably good that now I have to update my "Top 3 Pizzerias in the World" list, and make it a global list because of a newcomer in the top ranks. Drumroll, please.... 

1. Lou Malnati's - Chicago, IL (Chicago Deep Dish Pizza)
2. Pizzeria Spontini - Milan, IT via Cenisio (Thicker than most Italian pizzas I've had so far...almost a focaccia style crust)
3. Fong's Pizza - Des Moines, IA (Thin style, orgasmic pizza with an Asian fusion flare)

Spontini Milano Pizzeria 

DELICIOUS Spontini Pizza for 5.50 Euros

The WhereMilan Group

Exclusive Look into Piero Manzoni's Exhibit

Have you heard of the Milanese artist, Piero Manzoni? Well, you are about to because WhereMilan provided Anna, Alessandra, Joy and myself with press passes to the grand opening of Manzoni's Palazzo Reale exhibition! (A perk that comes with working for a tourism publication.)

Piero Manzoni (Image: Timeout.com)

Born in 1933, Manzoni lived only 30 more years until his death in 1963, due to a heart attack. During that time, he was an extreme benefactor of the avant-garde movement. Members of this movement had a tendency to experiment with various techniques and materials bringing new and innovative ideas to the art scene. Manzoni...now he was famous for introducing the world to a style of work called achrome. Achrome is created mainly out of a white, colorless rough gesso and/or karolin compound that is placed on a surface and left to dry. The outcome was not a work of art created by a self-imposed process but was created by the art itself. Here is one example of his achromes.

Achrome by Manzoni

The next Manzoni work I pondered about was titled "Linee". Inside the cardboard tube, was a scroll containing a simple, black line that went from end to end. Individuals were given the opportunity to buy these labeled tubes complete with Manzoni's autograph, the work's description and the length of the scroll. Next, it was up to the buyer to decide whether or not to open the tube.

Manzoni's "Linee"

"Magical Base" is where Manzoni presents a pedestal shaped platform as if it was meant for a statue. In fact, it was meant for a statue....a living statue. Here he would have participants stand on the specified area indicated by the two footprints; therefore, turning the actual individual into an working art. Manzoni then applied his signature to the skin of the subject.

"Magical Base" by Manzoni

Another of his most famous concepts is using the human body in an artful way. Not only did Manzoni sell a kit containing a balloon and instructions where the buyer could create the intended art work, but  he also sold hard boiled eggs with his thumbprint representing his signature. It was then at the buyer's discretion to decide if they wanted to eat the Manzoni's boiled egg art or not.

"Uova con Impronta" by Manzoni

In addition to selling eggs with his thumbprint and his breath, he also sold "Artist's Shit". These cans are probably some of his most famous works. In 2008, "Artist's Shit" can # 83 sold for 97,000 Pounds.

Artit's Shit by Manzoni

Overall, the Piero Manzoni exhibition at the Palazza Reale in Milan comes in second out of the three exhibits I've seen there; slightly beating out Andy Warhol. Thanks WhereMilan for this amazing experience!

Mind-blowing Exhibits at Pirelli HangarBicocca

When I say "contemporary art," what do you think of? Cement towers that are seven stories high? A used shipping container filled with old operating motors? Well, what I experienced at HangarBicocca is perhaps the best visual definition of the term!

"Iliokatakiniomumastilopsarodimakopiotita"

The first exhibit I will explain is their temporary one created by Italian artist, Micol Assael, titled "Iliokatakiniomumastilopsarodimakopiotita." (Done on purpose, the name is a bunch of Greek words combined to make no sense at all.) The exhibit space contained five cells/environments where Assael provides the viewer with an opportunity to absorb the beauty of what is taking place though sound, smell, sight, and feel. 

Micol Assael's, 432Hz. 

During this work, the exhibitor enters a large wooded room only to notice a series of frames containing backlit wax drawings accompanied with the hum of bees; think beehive. The work is called 432Hz because that is the frequency of the bee's hum.

Vorkuta

Referencing the artist's trip to Siberia, this is the coldest exhibit with an environment temperature of -30 degrees Celsius. (It might be because it is inside a refrigerator LOL) Vorkuta is the name of a mining town in the bitter cold northern part of Russia.

Assael's, Sub

Rather cool, this work is pure science. It uses dripping water as a pure source to create an electrical charge.

Mindfall

The smell of "fatigue", or just running electric motors and oil, happens to be what's inside this environment. With 21 old running motors, making music only a mechanic can love, there is an obvious reason why you are only allowed to stay inside for three minutes.

I think the video speaks for itself and explains Micol Assael's work titled, "Untitled," quite well.

The Seven Heavenly Palaces

Another more permanent exhibition is by the famed contemporary artist, Anselm Kiefer. When I first set eyes on Kiefer's exhibit, my first impression was simply jaw-dropping awe. Standing before me were seven concrete towers wieghing about 90 tons each and they looked like kid stacked building blocks. Each individual tower had a theme it followed.

Kiefer's Seven Heavenly Palaces...are you in Awe?

Tower 2: Melancholia...Each shard of glass represents
NASA classification numbers for stars.

Towers 5 & 6: JH & WH... Meteorites with symbolic meanings based off writings in the Kabbalah.

Just me,,,always asking random people to take a photo for me LOL

Warhol and Kandinsky Exhibts

For many centuries, The Palazzo Reale di Milano (The Royal Palace of Milan) was the home of Milan's city government. Nowadays, it is still an important part of the Milan government but on the tourism side as it houses some of the most world renown exhibitions and expositions. This time it showcased two of the most famous painters of all time...Andy Warhol and Wassily Kandinsky.

Andy Warhol: The Father of Pop Art

It's not everyday you get to see a gallery full of Andy Warhol masterpieces, but when you are in Milan....anything is possible. The Warhol exhibition at the Palazzo Reale, near the Duomo, contained  some of his well known pieces like the Campbell Soup Can, Mao Tse Tung, Self-portrait, Marilyn, etc. They even had  one of Warhol's "piss paintings" where the canvas was urinated on to cause an oxidation effect.

Warhol was fascinated with Leonardo da Vinci. Ironically, his last art exposition during his lifespan was called "The Last Supper" and was held right here in Milan. The tour was also international friendly as they had individual audio players explaining certain artworks in ENGLISH. :)

Andy's Liz Taylor

Lady Sketch

The Elvis Presley Boot

Campbell's Soup can

Andy's Flowers

Wassily Kandinsky: Father of the Abstract

Immediately after my mind being blown away by Andy Warhol, it was time to see Wassily Kandinsky's exhibition. At first I couldn't put a painting behind Kandinsky's name, but as soon as I entered the exhibit my exact thoughts were, "He was the one who painted that?!"

Born in Moscow, he originally studied law and economics but his concentration was soon to be pointed in a different direction...painting. I guess his educational background would explain how he moved towards becoming a theorist painter. Unfortunately, the two images below are not originally taken by me as the gallery security guard forced me to turn off my phone; nonetheless, these were two important Kandinsky works on display and the Palazzo Reale.

Sky Blue by Kandinsky

Yellow, Red, Blue by Kandinsky

Basilica of San Lorenzo

Saturday: Church Exlploration

No matter what your religious beliefs are, when you come to Milan you HAVE to take some time out of your day and visit any and every church that crosses your path. If I'm correct, I think Nico and I visited around five of them on Saturday. The one I will be describing in this post is the Basilica of San Lorenzo. 

With the origin of this magnificent Catholic church dating back to the late fourth (390AD) - early fifth (402AD) centuries, the original structure has been rebuilt several times due to fires and other natural disasters. However despite these setbacks, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Colonne di San Lorenzo (the square plaza in front of the basilica) are still symbols of the Roman Empire legacy in Milan. 

Complete with decorative marble and early christian mosaics, inside the basilica you will notice the main geometric shapes used for its development where squares and circles. Over history, several chapels have even been added along the sides of the original structure. One in particular which is still standing and can be seen by the public for a small fee (1-2 Euros) is the Chapel of St. Aquilino. This chapel dates back to the origin of the basilica...late 4th century.

Overall, this was an amazing church located in the center of Milan, Italy. Milan...a city for anyone who wants to take a journey back in time. Enjoy the pictures!

The front of the basilica

The main dome...not original but still remarkable

Let the sun shine in! (Basilica's main light source)

Decorative marble art 

Notice that details are everywhere

Mosaic in the Chapel of St. Aquilino

Ceiling above the Main Alter in the chapel of St. Aquilino

The back of the Basilica