THE LOSS OF DEXTERITY

The other day I was reading about a piece of work being prepared by Gaetano Pesce, one of the greats of 20th Century Italian design, called “La Perdita della Manualita’” which translates to be “The Loss of Dexterity”. This piece and its title is acknowledging and lamenting the loss of hand craftsmanship in the creation of many things, a skill which relates to many cultures but certainly is near and dear to the hearts of Italians. And, as someone of Italian descent who makes hand-drawn maps, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, many of the people who have shared and enjoyed the maps often comment that they are amazed that these “are made by hand”. Something that used to be just normally done this way has now become differentiated and taken on a new cache’ because everyone seems to expect that it’s somehow made by a machine. How quickly we’ve forgotten the way things were for at least the last 5,000 years or so! This is what Signore Pesce is reacting to, as his work famously reflected the handmade quality in every design and material. I, too, feel that I get a different and better understanding of an area I’m working on as I literally draw each line that represents a seashore or a mountain. It’s different than hitting a key stroke and watching it appear on a screen. I firmly believe this ineffable quality communicates with others who look at the work and draws them in. We are tactile, emotional beings and handmade products speak to us in a way that is different and we respond to them. And, although it’s been more of a challenge to put this quality across on the website, as we were able to better represent it, the response to it improved significantly. I’ll continue to make the maps this way and trust that making things by hand will never truly go out of style.