Not guitars but “sound sculptures”: the genius of Wandrè on display in Bologna
At the Music Museum in Bologna, 50 models of guitars and basses by Wandrè, a brilliant luthier revered by rock stars, will be on display until September
BOLOGNA – There are those who might think that it was the Italian Leo Fender. And there are those who define him as “the Stradivarius of modern violin making”. ButAntonio Pioli, aka Wandrè, was much more. His guitars and basses are not simple musical instruments. They are “sound sculptures”, real pieces of pop art, which mix surrealism and futurism, and which anticipated the psychedelia of the 70s by at least 10 years, made with materials and colors never used before, with lines and bizarre designs. A brilliant craftsman and entrepreneur from Cavriago, in the Reggio Emilia area, practically unknown in Italy but venerated abroad, Pioli died in 2004. And to celebrate 20 years since his death the International Music Museum of Bologna has organized a dedicated exhibition to him (“Wandrè-The guitar of the future”), from 11 May to 8 September, in collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Region and ‘I partigiani di Wandrè’, an association that carries forward his cultural heritage .
LUTHIER, PARTISAN, ARTIST
Born in 1926, Wandrè lived multiple lives in one. He was a partisan, then a construction site manager and then a luthier, taking up his father’s business (who made violins). But that was ‘only’ a parenthesis that lasted 10 years, because then Wandrè closed the production of guitars in 1970 and entered the Fluxus movement, dedicating himself to art and fashion. His instruments are now collector’s items, the value of which can reach 25,000 euros. Pioli was convinced that the guitar was not just a working tool for the musician, but that it should be an emotional extension of him. From 1960 to 1970 he created his models in Cavriago in a futuristic round and open space factory, with a large oval window on the roof, because he maintained that work is still a constraint, even when one likes it, and that the workers had to always feel free.
THE UTOPIAN FACTORY
It was a utopian factory, Marco Ballestri, curator of the exhibition together with Oderso Rubini and president of the ‘Partigiani di Wandrè’, where the so-called “convening leadership” was in force, said today in a press conference. The workers were involved in the organization and planning of the work, in the customization of the models (no one was the same as the other) and in promotion. We worked towards objectives, with flexible and self-managed hours. In that factory they were always looking for innovative solutions and there, among other things, the idea of painting guitars with candle smoke or glitter was born, to create the ‘sparkle’ effect. Pioli’s instruments were exported to Europe, South Africa, South America and New Zealand. The relationship with the USA was more difficult, as it only imported low-cost models for beginners from Italy and from where, with the explosion of Fender and Gibson, came the final blow for production made in Cavriago.
THE ROCKSTARS WHO PLAY WANDRE’
Even today, however, a Wandrè usually plays in the hands of Buddy Miller, just as Peter Holmstrom of the Dandy Warhols uses it in Italian concerts. Sean Lennon is a Wandrè collector and also boasts the ‘Scarabeo’ model, inspired by the Beatles and whose headstock is modeled on the profile of his father John‘s face. The Wandrè was also used by Ace Frehley of Kiss and by Johnny Depp, who gave one to Joe Perry, guitarist of Aerosmith, according to whom the Brigitte Bardot model is the best for playing blues. In 1965 Bob Dylan was fascinated by the Wandrè, seen in a shop window in London, because those guitars could not be found in the USA. In 1986 Frank Zappa awarded two Wandrè first and second prizes in the ‘Miss off the wall’ competition promoted by Guitar Player magazine and dedicated to the most eccentric guitars.
THE EXHIBITION IN BOLOGNA
The exhibition on Wandrè was presented to the press this morning at the Music Museum in Bologna. On display are around fifty models including guitars, basses and double basses, mostly unique pieces, all inspired by current events or the politics of the time, but also by Pioli’s personal experiences. There is the guitar inspired by the Beatles and the one by Brigitte Bardot, the Rock Oval, the Etrurian bass and the models influenced by space exploration. Also on display was the so-called Fendrè, a Fender Precision bass model that Pioli customized by drilling dozens of holes into the wooden body of the instrument. This is because “he was obsessed with lightness”, explains the curator of the exhibition. In Italy Pioli built Adriano Celentano’s first electric guitar, the only one ever used by Francesco Guccini and those for Nomadi. Artists such as Federico Poggipollini, Max Martellotta and Filippo Graziani boast a Wandrè among their ‘axes’.
“A WONDERFUL STORY”
“I didn’t even know who he was – confesses the regional councilor for Culture, Mauro Felicori – but all this passion of the Partisans of Wandrè struck me. And I discovered a wonderful story from a human, political, social and cultural point of view “. To the point that Felicori does not rule out evaluating, together with the Municipality of Cavriago, the purchase of the Wandrè round factory to recover it (today it is in the hands of a private individual). There will be two collateral events to the exhibition (which also includes guided tours with the curator): on 9 June the musical narration on Pioli’s life (“Wandrè, who was he?”) and on 14 July a conference-concert in which a repertoire will be performed of songs with Wandrè’s instruments.