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Kharitonov: Difference between revisions
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By chance, in 2019 Kharitonov discovered a Moscow-based store that sold briar from Manno in Italy. He bought his blocks of briar later that year and set about making his first briar pipes. | By chance, in 2019 Kharitonov discovered a Moscow-based store that sold briar from Manno in Italy. He bought his blocks of briar later that year and set about making his first briar pipes. | ||
Despite his years of experience with pipe repair, when Kharitonov first began making briar pipes, he did not possess a workshop to make them in; nor did he have the traditional tools used in the craft. This limited his ability to reproduce standard European pipe shapes. According to Kharitonov, | Despite his years of experience with pipe repair, when Kharitonov first began making briar pipes, he did not possess a workshop to make them in; nor did he have the traditional tools used in the craft. This limited his ability to reproduce standard European pipe shapes. According to Kharitonov,<blockquote>''“My first pipes had nothing to do with classical forms. Classical forms were created for processing on a lathe, but at that time I did not have a lathe. I had practically no tools necessary for making pipes. There were a few files, a couple of narrow wood chisels, and sandpaper bought from a nearby hardware store. There was also no workshop. I would come home from work, sit in the kitchen and start working.”''</blockquote>[[File:Kharitonov early 2.jpg|left|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | ||
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[[File:Kharitonov early 2.jpg|left|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | |||
[[File:Kharitonov early 4.jpg|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | [[File:Kharitonov early 4.jpg|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | ||
[[File:Kharitonov early 3.jpg|thumb|left|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | [[File:Kharitonov early 3.jpg|thumb|left|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | ||
[[File:Kharitonov early 1.jpg|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | [[File:Kharitonov early 1.jpg|thumb|An early Kharitonov pipe. Image courtesy Andrey Kharitonov.]] | ||
These constraints on Kharitonov’s pipe making yielded surprising results. His earliest pipes show a markedly experimentalist approach to form, coupled with a clear talent for expressing the various figures hidden within a given briar block. But when Kharitonov shared his pipes on a Russian pipe smokers’ forum, his audience was, according to Kharitonov, not impressed. Here he encountered another problem concerning his pipe making, expressed in the form of a question from another user: | These constraints on Kharitonov’s pipe making yielded surprising results. His earliest pipes show a markedly experimentalist approach to form, coupled with a clear talent for expressing the various figures hidden within a given briar block. But when Kharitonov shared his pipes on a Russian pipe smokers’ forum, his audience was, according to Kharitonov, not impressed. Here he encountered another problem concerning his pipe making, expressed in the form of a question from another user:<blockquote>''“Who do you make your pipes for? For pipe smokers or pipe collectors?'' | ||
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''If for smokers, then almost all of your smoking pipes are not suitable, for one simple reason. They are uncomfortable and impossible to hold in your hand. Look at your ‘Mermaid,’ ‘Goby,’ ‘Orange,’ and so on – these pipes do not have a comfortable position in the hand and therefore the average smoker is unlikely to ever buy them. If you make pipes for collectors, then there are no miracles in the world. First you must earn a name for yourself and become a famous master. Only then can you possibly get to selling pipes to collectors. You must decide for yourself what audience you will work for.”''</blockquote>[[File:Kharitonovearlypipe.jpg|left|thumb|A Kharitonov squat tomato from 2020, showing a transition to a more conservative design ethos following feedback for his earliest pipes. Image courtesy MLariosLMP.]] | |||
[[File:Kharitonovearlypipe.jpg|left|thumb|A Kharitonov squat tomato from 2020, showing a transition to a more conservative design ethos following feedback for his earliest pipes. Image courtesy MLariosLMP.]] | |||
This feedback had Kharitonov rethink his approach to pipe design, though it did not completely discourage him from continuing to explore unique and elaborate forms. The pipes Kharitonov made in response to the challenge posed by his new audience were more conservative in their designs, with greater emphasis placed on function. But 'conservative' pipe design in the 21<sup>st</sup> century is not at all like the conservatism of early- to mid- 20<sup>th</sup> European shape charts. Kharitonov's pipes were, instead, more in keeping with the formal conventions of post-Danish artisan pipe making, as most prominently seen today in the United States and Japan. | This feedback had Kharitonov rethink his approach to pipe design, though it did not completely discourage him from continuing to explore unique and elaborate forms. The pipes Kharitonov made in response to the challenge posed by his new audience were more conservative in their designs, with greater emphasis placed on function. But 'conservative' pipe design in the 21<sup>st</sup> century is not at all like the conservatism of early- to mid- 20<sup>th</sup> European shape charts. Kharitonov's pipes were, instead, more in keeping with the formal conventions of post-Danish artisan pipe making, as most prominently seen today in the United States and Japan. | ||