Lampoon RUVIDO, the new issue is ‘rough’

Skin, patina, eyelids — anything that is rough on our hands and eyes; Ruvido, meaning ‘rough’ in Italian,  is the title of the new issue of Lampoon, and composes its identity

Lampoon — it can be translated as ‘irreverent pamphlet’

I found the word ‘lampoon’ for the first time while reading a book by Orson Welles in which he wrote about The Harvard Lampoon — the student newspaper with a mildly subversive impetus, peculiar to the imagination of American undergraduates at the University. In January 2015, CNN reported on an attack on the Charlie Hebdo newsroom, pointing to the student newspaper by referring to it as a ‘lampoon’. I gather from the American that, among the various notions available, ‘lampoon’ can be translated as ‘irreverent pamphlet’. The character concept of ‘irreverent’ is close to the tactile concept of ‘rough’, also by assonance.

Lampoon: What does ‘irreverent’ mean? 

That which brings no reverence? But what is reverence? Reverence could be a synonym for respect, but if so, that would be reductive. Reverence is respect for form in the first instance, regardless of substance. It involves bowing to an institution, a power, an authority. Whether it be the bishop, the minister, the lord, the ruler or the master. Regardless of whether that institution has substantial merit. In contrast, its negative counterpart, irreverence, will never be merely a lack of formal respect: irreverence takes away respect from form only if, beyond this form, there is no substance. It takes away respect from form that does not provide precise substance: that is, statements about sustainability that do not correspond to real commitments — especially in the high-end sector, because sustainability is perhaps the most expensive commitment, in terms of resources, for any company. 

‘Rough’, an adjective for Lampoon

As much as I endorse the definition of Lampoon as an ‘irreverent pamphlet’, the word itself — ‘irreverent’ — is not my first choice: it carries a sense of provocation, a demand for attention, and is too over explanatory of a  caption, which is not in keeping with my work or my attitude. I choose titles and words that can change a question, never an answer. Rather than defining Lampoon as ‘irreverent’, I prefer to refer to Lampoon as a ‘rough pamphlet’. At Lampoon, we look for all that is ‘rough’ — starting with natural fibers and discarding synthetic ones, we look for imperfections, for impurities, such as details of toil and reality, for materials that can breathe, never plastic. From here, from this word ‘rough’, comes a cultural narrative and a visual context.

Lampoon – RUVIDO, the Rough issue: ethical entrepreneurship and responsible information

Lampoon believes and reiterates that, today, the luxury sector can only exist and subsist if it carries with it a viable social and civic message — one in support of craftsmanship, the choice of natural fibers, circularity, and the denial of plastic. It believes in an ethical entrepreneurship that no longer places revenue as its primary purpose, but the sharing of income, of educational information that does not place dissemination as its first goal, but authority. These values might once have appeared as bastions of left-wing politics (Whigs, democrats and laborists) — but today, these values are the cornerstones of the only version of capitalism that will not go bankrupt. Today, these values must belong to the currents that were once understood as right-wing (Tories, republicans and liberals).

Lampoon: promoting local Italian supply chains to the world – is it a contradiction?

Lampoon reports and releases journalistic activities dedicated to the manufacturing sector — whether it be textiles, fashion or construction — and that which manufacturing requires in order to be possible: energy and raw materials. On this basis, Lampoon continues its intent to promote local Italian supply chains to the world. An elitist reference, if you insist that these issues of sustainability are boring to the general public.

Lampoon, roughness and vanity: RUVIDO, the Rough issue

Roughness is in the difficulty of rendering prose for a news article, in the complication of a variable to the concept. Roughness, like vanity, is built with self-confidence, mingled with supremacy, with the haughtiness of our mistakes, of our failures — because both vanity and roughness are not formed when we sit on the throne, but when we rise from the earth. Authenticity, roughness, imperfection: we are made of toil and sweat, love, skin and hair.

Lampoon Issue 27 – RUVIDO, the Rough issue

Out worldwide on March 30, 2023
You can buy it online at Lampoon / Prototipo Store starting from March 30, 2023

Carlo Mazzoni

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