Formal ontology of the WE DON'T DESIGN thought system. A semantic knowledge graph encoding axioms, conceptual tensions, generative paradoxes, and the un-designed creative process.
Type of semantic subtraction applied in this work
Artistic gesture appropriated from a movement or artist
Cultural movement this person belongs to
Human sense intentionally blocked or frustrated by this work
Artist explicitly cited as influence on this work
Specific artwork explicitly cited or referenced in this work
Co-author who contributed conceptually to this work
Artist who created this referenced artwork
Social phenomenon this work critically addresses
Artwork this work engages in conceptual dialogue with
Axiom that this work physically manifests
Philosophical concept embodied in this work
Conceptual tension this work physically embodies
Functional archetype this work formally evokes
Audience type explicitly incompatible with this work
Primary function this archetype traditionally fulfills
First pole of the conceptual tension (thesis)
Second pole of the conceptual tension (antithesis)
Archetypal symbolic meaning of this material
Operational principle derived from this axiom
Physical object included to activate the work (e.g., hammer)
Cultural reference that influenced this work
The traditional design paradigm this axiom explicitly negates
Movement this referenced artwork belongs to
Cognitive/emotional effect produced on the audience
Master craftsman who physically realized this work
Performative act required for complete fruition of this work
Craft technique required to work this material
Cognitive effect this work stimulates in audience
Functional archetype this work subverts by negating its primary function
Total edition size (string to support '1959m' format)
Unit of measure for edition (pieces/meters/volume)
How this tension physically manifests in a work
Minimum acquirable unit for divisible editions
Cultural source of the symbolic number (e.g., Dante, Manzoni)
The philosophical question this work poses to the audience
Number with symbolic significance in the work
Physical object included to activate performative act
Target audience for WE DON'T DESIGN works
Foundational truth of the WE DON'T DESIGN thought system
Cognitive or emotional effect produced on audience
Immaterial entities treated as sculptural raw material in WE DON'T DESIGN
Generative binary opposition that creates meaning
High-quality glass with lead content for clarity
Act requiring destruction of part of the work
Edition measured and sold by continuous unit (meters, volume)
Archetypal object category that WE DON'T DESIGN works subvert
Archetypes related to knowledge and meaning
Material used in WE DON'T DESIGN works (physical or conceptual)
Identity axiom defining domain boundaries (who we are / are not)
Key principle of a cultural movement relevant to WE DON'T DESIGN
Material whose primary quality is olfactory
Operational axiom governing creation process (how we create)
Principle derived from axioms that governs creative process
Irresolvable conceptual tension creating logical short-circuit
Olfactory artist creating fragrance compositions
Archetypes related to perception and senses
Action required for complete fruition of a work
Work requiring performative act for fruition
Abstract philosophical concept embodied in work
Artist or thinker referenced in WE DON'T DESIGN work
Specific artwork cited or referenced in WE DON'T DESIGN works
Explicit rejection of a design approach or value
Archetypes related to daily rituals and living
Social or cultural phenomenon that WE DON'T DESIGN works critique
Archetypes related to space and structure
Type of semantic subtraction in WE DON'T DESIGN methodology
Traditional design paradigm that WE DON'T DESIGN axioms negate
Act that transforms the work irreversibly
Breaking the work to release its content
Seeks instant gratification without reflection
Seeks recognizable logos and status symbols
Archetypal function of holding/containing
Archetypal function of covering/protecting (floor, body)
Archetypal function of mirror/reflection
Archetypal function of preserving memory
Numerological structure: 9 circles of Hell, 9 heavens of Paradise
38 oval canvases with constellations of holes inviting reflection on human/transcendent interaction
Canvas slashed to transcend two-dimensional plane
Lines of various lengths sealed in cylinders, exploring concept of infinibility
90 cans whose content is knowable only by destroying the work
Meta-axiom that defines the domain boundary. WE DON'T DESIGN does not produce traditional design.
Operational axiom: form derives from concept, not function
Operational axiom: void as active element
Operational axiom: anti-functionalist inquiry
Transformation of base matter into noble
Sensible reality as imperfect shadow of absolute truth
Cross-sensory perception, union of senses
Traditional Lombard metalworking craftsmen
Mental conflict between expectation and reality
Mathematical infinity as conceptual raw material
Recollection as material that shapes the work
Transparent crystal from Murano tradition
Olfactory experience as immaterial material
Duration and temporality as sculptural material
Empty space as positive material presence
Object that weighs because of its internal void
Give weight and physical presence to void
Useless object that is useful precisely because useless
Practical uselessness as maximum utility
Complex object presented with absolute silence
Simple object described with dense philosophical text
Steel surface reflecting world but denying self-recognition
Mirror that reflects everything except the face
From Mirrorless: selective reflection excludes personal identity
Infinite line made purchasable by the meter
From Memorie: Manzoni's infinible line made divisible
Temple in ruin whose original form can only be imagined
From Memorie: textile so eroded it loses use value
Glass sphere must be broken to release perfume
From Aldilà: critical paradox - no other way to smell the fragrance
Economic value annihilated when aesthetic experience peaks
Value that reaches zero at moment of maximum experience
From Aldilà: breaking sphere = experiencing perfume = destroying value
Homogenization of beauty standards through mass media
Culture of consumption and disposability
Self-referential obsession amplified by digital media
Digital narcissism and constant self-documentation
Content knowable only by violating the work
Breaking through the plane of canvas as construction
Object evokes presence through deliberate void
Expected Function/Actual Non-Function Tension
Poetic title with mute form (or vice versa)
Minimal form with dense semantic stratification
Formal Simplicity/Intellectual Complexity Tension
Material dialogue between wood and resin
Polished marble juxtaposed with raw iron
Heavy material for function requiring lightness
Fragile material for function requiring robustness
Fragile Material/Robust Function Tension
Precious Material/Humble Function Tension
Radical Work/Conservative Context Tension
Humble material loaded with extreme semantic density
Infinite concept made divisible and possessable
From Memorie: geometric infinity of line made into purchasable fragments
Work that embodies temporal decay as form
From Memorie: tempus edax rerum as visible material condition
From Aldilà: keep the sphere or break it
Destruction as necessary condition for creation (of experience)
From Aldilà: destroy to experience fully
From Aldilà: perfume visible inside sphere but not smellable
Heightened awareness of time and transience
00:00 is a refusal of possession. The work does not manifest as object, but as a condition: absence sustained, value short-circuited, desire kept open. A collectible that cannot be collected.
Zero as threshold: the beginning that coincides with the end; the void as a generative condition rather than a lack
Can a work be acquired when it does not exist? What happens to desire, value and authorship when possession is structurally impossible?
A non-edition: a collectible that cannot be collected, where the work coincides with its absence
Beyond. Beyond physical reality, beyond the common way of relating to things. Only one instant separates the visual experience (rational, limited and unfulfilling) from the olfactory one (dreamlike, absolute and sensual). An instant that contemplates an act of destruction, of renunciation of material presence. There is no other possibility for the full enjoyment of the perfume.
9 circles of Hell, 9 heavens of Paradise - change and rebirth
What are you willing to destroy to truly experience?
A reflection on the value and desire for sensory consciousness in the experience of the real world
Memorie is an extreme act, a reflection on the fatal transience of things that has in the dimension of memory the only possible resistance. Memory contrasts oblivion, attributes to time an intimate dimension, in some way in(de)finite.
A textile without physical dimension, imagined to investigate the relationship between time and art, between the idea of infinite and the transience of things
Mirrorless is a metaphysical object, belonging to worlds of thought that move away from rational logic to experiment with other universes of meaning that deal with abstraction, paradox, utopia. Its conceptual identity lies in the absence of a reflective surface and the presence of a void.
Palindrome symbolizing dialogue between humanity and nature
What do you see when you cannot see yourself?
A utopian reflection on the physical and symbolic idea of mirror