Quote:
Originally Posted by
Biscione 
Italian AD may be different to what you read. However, I suppose a lot of that has to do with one's background. I come from an old Italian family with castles and palaces scattered around the region, so what may seem pretentiously bourgeois to some is the status quo to others. 'Good taste' is a multi-layered concept. It's not as simple as something that isn't challenging and is completely banal. What is considered to be tasteful can absolutely exceed parameters of normality: that's how art progresses. Conversely, can the bizarre be mixed with the traditional? Of course. Do I think that Duquette did so with any success with his interiors? Absolutely not. Honestly, his interior design seems quite nouveau riche, and represents an ostentatiousness that vastly exceeds anything I've seen in AD. Distincly American. I indulge in the tasteful almost always. Is it a vice? Absolutely not: I'd pick foie gras over MacDo any day. However, we must make the foundation that what is/isn't tasteful is completely subjective, so there's little that can prove the quality of one decorator over another, nor Picasso over Velaquez, so I suggest we stop this interraction: it's never going to progress. In fact, the line about Milano is absolutely relevant. It's a society that places a great pride upon interior design, and has a strong tradition in it. Naturally, I like Ponti, although along with most Milanese I detest the Pirelli Tower. texas_jack, with all due respect, your opinion means absolutely nothing to me in this matter.
I don't come from a Western family, but I understand and respect the classical Western tradition and canon of decoration. However, it simply becomes redundant at one point. I've never read Italian AD, but I suspect it's better than the U.S. version like other Italian versions of U.S. magazines--such as Vogue; I like Anna Piaggi's contributions to the magazine. Much like I'm perfectly capable of putting together an elegantly conservative outfit, I'm also capable of putting together a classically proportionate room, but I usually choose not to as I tend to find it slightly stuffy though for certain things, I vastly prefer the traditional: shaving brushes, fountain pens, watches, cars. Duquette was more about transgression in taste than simply "rebelling" against it. It was rather Postmodernist before such a concept was realized. Is it for everyone? I should think not. It tends to be oriented for a particular type--or force--of personality like Diana Vreeland or perhaps your own countryman, d'Annunzio whose own residence, Il Vittoriale was nothing short of ornate though more traditional in its flamboyance. Your comment about McDonald's is interesting. Though I'm not quite fond of the place myself, I like a certain low element sometimes, but not precisely as pedestrian like McDonald's, but more sordid like Jean Genet.
Here is Duqeutte's office: 
Asian youth--both the term and its attendant associations are almost as despicable as faux-Tuscan. Actually, that bothers me: simply because a person is young means they're not allowed to have taste or intelligence or they're seen as precocious, which in people's eyes is somewhat of an undesirable trait. Why? Because it's usually the adults who feel threatened. I mean, a 17 year old has a better eye or is better-read than some 55 year old? Sacrilege!
