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La Biota: Difference between revisions
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Sottocasa’s interest in pipes began in childhood, as his grandfather had been a pipe smoker. Sottocasa later became a pipe smoker himself, with his first forays into pipe making being through the crafting of his own smoking instruments. It was not until he felt that he had “reached artistic maturity,” that Sottocasa began making pipes for others. The name chosen by Sottocasa for this new venture into artisan pipe making was ‘la Biota.’ | Sottocasa’s interest in pipes began in childhood, as his grandfather had been a pipe smoker. Sottocasa later became a pipe smoker himself, with his first forays into pipe making being through the crafting of his own smoking instruments. It was not until he felt that he had “reached artistic maturity,” that Sottocasa began making pipes for others. The name chosen by Sottocasa for this new venture into artisan pipe making was ‘la Biota.’ | ||
While many artisanal and factory pipes take their name from their makers or company founders, it is comparatively more common for Italian pipe brands to be given a name of their own, typically with an especial significance. ‘Ser Jacopone,’ for example, was the name of an early-modern Italian nobleman, and the namesake of [[Ser Jacopo]] pipes, with this Renaissance aesthetic reflected in their designs and presentation. Similarly, [[Le Nuvole]] (English: ‘The Clouds’) expressed an idea of pipes as cloud-like in both their uniqueness and their lightness. More contemporary examples include [[il Picchio Nero]] (‘the Black Woodpecker’), [[il Cerchio]] (‘the Circle’), and [[Alinetu]] (a mountain of the Aggius range in Sardinia). Il Biota, as a name, | While many artisanal and factory pipes take their name from their makers or company founders, it is comparatively more common for Italian pipe brands to be given a name of their own, typically with an especial significance. ‘Ser Jacopone,’ for example, was the name of an early-modern Italian nobleman, and the namesake of [[Ser Jacopo]] pipes, with this Renaissance aesthetic reflected in their designs and presentation. Similarly, [[Le Nuvole]] (English: ‘The Clouds’) expressed an idea of pipes as cloud-like in both their uniqueness and their lightness. More contemporary examples include [[il Picchio Nero]] (‘the Black Woodpecker’), [[il Cerchio]] (‘the Circle’), and [[Alinetu]] (a mountain of the Aggius range in Sardinia). Il Biota, as a name, may be said to belong to this tradition of sorts.[[File:La Biota lepipeit1.jpg|left|thumb|A conical la Biota pipe with plateau at its rim and shank end. Image courtesy LePipe.it.]] | ||
In Italian and in English, ‘biota’ is an ecological term, designating the complex of flora and fauna in a particular habitat. In the Lombard dialect, “la Biota” also roughly translates to “the naked.” Both of these senses were in mind when Sottocasa baptized la Biota, and both remain central themes in the production of la Biota pipes. On the one hand, Sottocasa approaches pipes as being an object that intimates the connection between humans and nature, much in the way that the various flora and fauna of an ecosystem are bound together as a condition of their flourishing. Nature is a prominent theme more broadly in la Biota pipes, as Sottocasa finds much of the inspiration for his designs from frequent mountain walks in Italy’s northern region. Diego Morlin, renowned author of books such as ''La Pipa: I migliori marchi italiani'' and ''Io sono Baldo Baldi'', writes:<blockquote>“In line with the thought that ‘nature is the true artist and man can only interpret it’ stands the concept with which Michele [Sottocasa] demonstrates all his excellent skill, which distinguishes him from other pipe manufacturers. Michele is a master, he plays with nature and like a child he manipulates different objects composing them in a harmony that only he is able to find. This type of pipe is his signature.”</blockquote> | In Italian and in English, ‘biota’ is an ecological term, designating the complex of flora and fauna in a particular habitat. In the Lombard dialect, “la Biota” also roughly translates to “the naked.” Both of these senses were in mind when Sottocasa baptized la Biota, and both remain central themes in the production of la Biota pipes. On the one hand, Sottocasa approaches pipes as being an object that intimates the connection between humans and nature, much in the way that the various flora and fauna of an ecosystem are bound together as a condition of their flourishing. Nature is a prominent theme more broadly in la Biota pipes, as Sottocasa finds much of the inspiration for his designs from frequent mountain walks in Italy’s northern region. Diego Morlin, renowned author of books such as ''La Pipa: I migliori marchi italiani'' and ''Io sono Baldo Baldi'', writes:<blockquote>“In line with the thought that ‘nature is the true artist and man can only interpret it’ stands the concept with which Michele [Sottocasa] demonstrates all his excellent skill, which distinguishes him from other pipe manufacturers. Michele is a master, he plays with nature and like a child he manipulates different objects composing them in a harmony that only he is able to find. This type of pipe is his signature.”</blockquote> | ||