Domestic Animals: The Neoprimitive Style

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Andrea Branzi, one of Italy's foremost designers and critics, and Nicoletta Branzi, designer of limited edition art clothing for women, introduce the neoprimitive style under the generic title "Domestic Animals." These mysterious creature-objects are oriented to domestic settings, intended to be used or worn, but they are also fetishistic and contemplative, arousing expectations that magic or tribal rituals are about to be performed. Uniting precision of design with natural raw materials, these objects fashioned from tree trunks, sticks of wood and animal skins joined to steel "bamboo" rods and painted in bright, totemic colors fascinate us. Taken out of their wild settings and tamed by technology, "domestic animals" establish a loving relationship with man, sharing his most private space. We have not seen anything like them in the world of interior, furniture, or fashion design before. The ideas and creations in Domestic Animalswere developed by the Branzis over several years, and can be understood as a metaphor of the relationship that links man to a number of animal and technical presences within the home. The Branzis have created clothing, furniture, and objects of decoration that challenge the conventional notions of habitation: Where living too often takes place in empty spaces marked out by couches they have introduced an environment of archetypal symbols and materials that invite a new way of inhabiting the home.