Functionality is the lowest standard of design. A statement of intent or a cover letter. The Kimpton Aysla hotel, in Santa Ponça, hosted this Wednesday the second edition of MADD Talks, a meeting space and networking for experts in art, architecture, decoration, landscaping, construction or interior design, promoted by the Mallorca Design District association, which brings together entrepreneurs in the sector living room based in the Son Bugadelles industrial estate. The meeting featured a colloquium between the art collector and founder of Gallery Red and Lionsgate Capital, Drew Aaron, and the renowned and eclectic Dutch designer Marcel Wanders (Boxtel, 1963), who rose to fame in 1996 with his piece Knotted Chair. Since then he has not stopped designing. From the interior of the most luxurious hotels in the world, to objects of all kinds, with brands such as Lladró, Alessi or Louis Vuitton. Some of his works can be found in the most famous modern art museums on the planet.
It is not his first time in Mallorca. In 2009 she designed ‘Casa Son Vida’ and, in 2015, the interiors of the Iberostar Grand Portals Nous hotel. What does this time bring you to the Island?
— I spend a lot of time here, two or three months a year. I appreciate nature; it is a good place to reflect. I think that the Island has everything to be a destination considered for its art; that inspires creativity. And it is also a responsibility to achieve that goal.
In your childhood you used to make small gifts for your loved ones. Do you still design as if it were an act of love?
—It’s the same thing I do now. Sometimes people say that design, art, is expensive. I think it’s free. The only thing that is not free is the property, even if it is the least important. Because art and design are about experience; What is significant is how they make you feel. As a designer, I feel like I give the gift of art to many people.
Hotel and villa interiors; furniture and lighting; accessories and decoration, and all kinds of objects. What do you enjoy most?
– I love my job. We live in a fantastic culture, which allows the development of creative people. I only do what I think I can do, and what I like, whether it’s a spoon or a hotel. If I don’t like it, I won’t do it. A project is only worthwhile if its designer is passionate about it.
He states that inspiration is always an internal force…
— Inspiration is another concept that we misunderstand. Inspiration is always an inner force, a fire that burns within us. The big problems, the primary questions, will always be the greatest source of inspiration. If you are not inspired, I predict big problems for you.
Pursue a humanistic design. What is human-centered design?
— Design is always spoken of in rational terms, of functionality. And I’m not saying it’s something insignificant, but we must understand that we are not rational beings. The most beautiful thing is not that we are very intelligent, but that we are very interesting, strangely poetic beings: we stop at the foot of a lake, pick up a pebble and enjoy throwing it and watching it bounce on the surface of the water. We enjoy the little things in life. We are human and only a small part of us is rational; when you pursue humanistic design, you recognize the fact that people are fundamentally human.
Do you think that rationalism and minimalism lead us to the loss of identity?
— It leads us to a disposable world and to undervalue the lives we could live. I think that if you are a designer and your intention is to ‘do less’, because ‘less is more’, you should not be a designer. Basically. If you don’t like ‘giving more’, being generous with what you give, dedicate yourself to something else.
In the creative process, do you look more to the past or the future?
—The beautiful thing is that I am here, between my mother and my daughter. In the end, there is only now, but my work can be bigger than me.
How to create a timeless object?
— The word ‘timeless’ suggests that an object does not possess any temporal, spatial or cultural signature; neither love. We should reformulate the concept, talk about ‘time of plenitude’. An old Chinese wardrobe, hand-carved in wood, is full of ‘time’: it has been made by a person who masters the craft. And that is why it is wonderful, and always will be.
What is psychological durability?
— That an object can resist the passage of time; the tax for ourselves. We live in a very fast world. We must design objects in order to make them worth keeping. And people must accept the slowness of the passage of time. Designers are responsible for managing the relationship between people and the artificial environment. It is important that we care about the objects around us: buying things you don’t need is the shortest way to the trash can. The big ‘problem’ in my life is to create designs that surpass modernism, that are romantic and long-lasting.
If our home speaks about us, what does yours say?
—My house speaks about me, but it also speaks to me. And I talk to her. I keep it clean and, if she breaks something, I worry about repairing it. I invest the love I hope to receive.
