MASTER CLASS OF MOSAIC - HIERATIC VIBRATIONS
2 Weeks - 83 Hours

(Retrospective of the evolution of the language of mosaic and contemporary retrieval of formal quality in the new relationships possible among art, industry and design)

Mosaic is essentially an ancient art which, with its distinguishing characteristics, has over the centuries succeeded in integrating itself in architectural, social and ideological contexts in various ways: as floor and wall decoration, in sacred and lay environments. In Christian art, mosaic moved from floors to walls and vaults. Its functional and decorative value, the particularity of the message it communicates and the use of glazed glass first and gold tesserae subsequently help to explain the technical and aesthetic revolution it brought about. Almost inevitably, considering that the ancient craftsmanship of this millenary art both contrasts and merges with the architecture of the modern industrial world, mosaic is capable of offering an important contribution to the contemporary world of Design.

The History of Mosaic
The concept of space in the Greek classic world compared with that of Rome and Byzantium - Floor mosaic - Comparison between official and provincial Roman art - The laying of the mosaic - The birth of the wall mosaic - The mosaic in Christian art - Comparative analysis of floor mosaic and Byzantine wall mosaic - The decline of the mosaic as artistic expression - Nineteenth-century mosaic - The rebirth of the mosaic as a pictorial alternative - Nineteenth- century revival - Movements of renewal - The anatomy of the mosaic - Innovations - Mosaic techniques - Examples of individual mosaic creations - Futurist and Cubist influences on twentieth-century artists and decorators - Mexican muralists and the European influence in the United States - Restoration of ancient mosaics and the spread of mosaic throughout the world.

Modern Mosaic History
Mosaic today (Classification: 1 - Primitive mosaic: origins, permanence, presence today; 2 - Ancient mosaic: the Ligurian tradition, pebble mosaic, tesserae mosaic; 3 - Ravenna school; 4 - Contemporary mosaic: industrial, semi-industrial and artisan). The use of mosaic in objets d'art and domestic furnishings - Mosaic art applied to industry - Examples of mosaic art applied to contemporary space - Ceramic mosaics as architectural coatings for exteriors and interiors - The use of mosaic in the world of design - Projects and work experiences - Mosaic as poetic expression.

Practical Work
Mosaic workshop: Materials and tools - Mosaic techniques - Natural and artificial materials - Adhesives (wall glues, rabbit glue) - Grès - Ceramics - Murrhines - Sands - Thickeners - Supports - Inert matter - Sinterglass coatings - Tesserae - Cut - Characteristics - Disposition - Form - Matter - Nature - Interstice - Dimension - Plasticity - Color - Classification (common, special and imperial glazes, gold, Dalles) - Glassy materials for coating - Finding materials - Tools - Drawings - Cartoons - Sketches - Projects - Selection - Colors - Legend - Estimates - Tracings.
Direct Method: on floor, on wall, on sculptures, on objects or on temporary supports.
Hypothesis 1-2-3-4 (!: Putty; 2: Vinavil; 3: Kerabord and Isolastic; 4: Lime and cement).
Indirect Method: definitive supports for mosaics set by direct or indirect method on temporary supports.
Hypothesis 1-2-3-4-5-6 (1: Cement; 2: Chalk; 3:Resin; 4:Wood and Net; 5:Wall; 6:Floor).

Working plan
Visualization and simulation with a drawing, a model or a plastic mold - Estimate of materials needed - Focus on work in and out of context.
Approximate representation - Colors - Shadows - Light - Materials - Subjects - Photorealistic simulation and graphic representation - Position of the light sources - Physical characteristics - Study and testing of application of materials (opacity, color and transparency) - Use of textures - Choice of point of view - Viewing in several stages - Preparation of the environment - Introduction into the real context - Final research - Recording of materials, supports and techniques chosen.

GUIDED TOURS

• Venice - Aquileia (two days)
• Ravenna (one day)
• Rome (one day)
• Palermo (four days) (ON REQUEST)

Duration: Two weeks - 101 hours (Arrival and departure Saturday afternoon)
Number of Participants: Min. 14 - Max. 18


The Master Class is open to designers, architects specialized in this field, professional interior decorators.

MATILDE TRAPASSI
Matilde Trapassi, after getting her diploma in Decoration at the Fine Arts Academy in Palermo, taught as assistant-professor at the same Academy.In 1988 she moved to Milan where she worked as an assistant-professor at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Subsequently, she qualified as a full professor and taught at the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts until 1992 when she went back to Milan where she has taught Decoration and has been the coordinator of the Decoration Institute since then. In addition to her teaching engagements she works intensely as an artist: through a personal and original process of symbiosis, she achieves an evocative synthesis of painting, sculpture and architecture. She has participated in many national and international collective exhibitions: "Nuovi Materiali, Nuove Tecniche" (Venice, 1969); "Mediterranea" (Messina, 1976); "Villa Malfitano" (Palermo, 1986); "Città di Brera" (Milano, 1993). She had a personal exhibition in 1994 in Bodegraven (Holland) and her work has been in many collective shows, "Trush Trento Museo" (Trento, 1997) is the latest. She is also a representative of the International Relations Office at the Academy and is responsible for the Socrates/Erasmus Program. She devotes herself to the furthering of art competitions both in Italy and abroad. She has also held many seminars (Bristol, 1992; Granada, 1992 -1997).

CECILIA CAMICI
Cecilia Camici, a graduate of the University of Florence with a degree in the Literature of Ancient Oriental History, in 1990 organized lessons on the Religions of Ancient Peoples at the University of Caen (France) .In 1991 she went to Wurzburg (Germany) to do research on Ancient Languages. In the same year she obtained a Foreign Ministry scholarship to do research at the Linguistic Institute of the University of Vienna.
In 1993 she returned to Florence to teach Italian at the University of Michigan's program in Italy and also began participating in several archaeological excavations in Tuscany and organizing lecture cycles on archaeology and territorial stewardship at the Florentine National Archeological Museum.
In particular, she has held specific lectures about everyday life and everyday objects in ancient times and about the materials and decorative techniques (such as mosaic, pictorial art and the decoration of pottery) of the ancient peoples of Asia Minor, Egypt, Etruria and Rome. Among other activities, she edits a didactic catalogue on Etruscan daily life for the educational section of the Tuscan Archaeological Administration Agency (Soprintendenza Archeologica della Toscana). In 1997 she became President of CO.IDRA (Cooperativa di indagine e ricerca archeologica) in Florence and she organizes cultural training courses co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Province of Ancona. The author of several publications, she is in charge of Didactica and Learning Methods related to Archeology for both Italian and foreign schools, several cultural associations and local agencies.

RODOLFO CIRIANI
Rodolfo Ciriani, after winning three scholarships, completed his studies and received his degree from the Spilimbergo School of Mosaic in Udine in 1968. He began his activity as a mosaicist at the Rampini Laboratory in Florence and then went to the Peresson Laboratory in Milan. In 1992 he opened the Laboratory Academy of Mosaic. His works can be seen in the Cathedral of Giussano, in the Ospedale Maggiore in Bolzano, in the Church of the Crucefix in Valtesse (near Bergamo) and in the Santuario di Santa Rita in Milano Barona. He collaborated on Ciola's mosaic for the Triennale di Milano (an international art exhibition) and has continued his work as a mosaicist in the Santuario della Madonna di Caravaggio in Milan, in the Church of San Martino Lambrate and in the Chapel of the Garlasco Hospital.