ITS#NINE Steam Ship One
July 07, 2010
STEAM PUNK: a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used - usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain, but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.
RETRO-FUTURISM: a trend in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced prior to about 1960. Characterized by a blend of old-fashioned “retro” styles with futuristic technology, retro-futurism explores the themes of tension between past and future, and between the alienating and empowering effects of technology. Primarily reflected in artistic creations and modified technologies that realize the imagined artefacts of its parallel reality, retro-futurism has also manifested itself in the worlds of fashion, architecture, literature and film.
SPACESHIP: a machine designed for human spaceflight. Used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration. a common theme in works of science fiction.
TIME MACHINE: a machine designed for moving between different points in time and between different points in space.
Wikipedia.org
The above definitions sum-up quite well the vision from which this year’s concept “The Confederation of Fantastic Voyagers” comes from. Our brainstorming to decide the location set-up for ITS#NINE started from here.
And when the brainstorming reached the crucial question “And what if we turn the location into a space ship ready to take off and take our guests on an incredible journey in search of the best creativity?” we knew we had it. The “Salone degli Incanti”, our wonderful location for the past 5 years would now become a spaceship. To be more precise a “steamship”, the ITS#NINE Steam Ship One…
Those of you who are new to ITS and especially to the ITS website probably do not remember last years’ articles on the location, so a very quick note on the genesis of the “Salone degli Incanti” is surely necessary. Developed by Architect Giorgio Polli in 1913 as the city’s fishmarket, it has an uncommon aesthetics for a market since it was intended to match the neoclassical buildings of the city’s waterfront. Newly restored in 2006 to become a centre for contemporary art, it has been the ITS location ever since, “wearing” very different “outfits” year after year, depending on the concept of the edition. After last year’s circus it is now time to start the countdown and get ready for takeoff….
Pipes spitting out fumes, cables everywhere, huge metallic cogs thrown around the area and projections everywhere giving the impression of motors and mechanisms of a ship ready to leave. There will be time capsules in the ITS#NINE spaceship, there will be pipes and manometers, retro-futuristic cages and mechanical hearts hinting at past editions of ITS. The sound effects developed for the location will also play a major role in giving our guests the impression of entering a spaceship. The motors will be warming up, the sounds of mechanical engineering and steam will permeate the whole space. Our finalists will be the astronauts and chrononauts who have come back from amazing fantastic voyages with incredible samples and finds (i.e. their projects) that will be showcased to the public.
The beautiful sketches you see are all done by Belinda De Vito, the incredible set designer responsible for several of the past editions’ set-ups…The amazing thing is that what you see in her drawings is what you get. EXACTLY what you get. Just take a look at drawings first and then photographs…For us it’s always jaw-dropping when she sends us the first work-in-progress images. Her ability to capture the pure essence of our crazy brainstorming and give it a physical existence is our personal experience of what creativity is: she gives us the possibility to see our ideas turn into reality….
We can’t wait to have you all onboard, take a seat, fasten your seatbelt and experience what this year’s creativity has to express…Forget your luggage, there is no need for it where we will be taking you!
