Momojiri Guitar | Made in Venice
GUITARS COLLECTION
THE LUTHIER
William Marinello
LUTHIERLuthier and sculptor. Venice. (Italy)
Photo by Francesca Magnani
With over a thousand years of history and independence, Venice, over the centuries, has always been a point of reference and home to free intellects of the avant-garde. Also, the level of the Venetian artisan production has always been recognised as one of the highest in quality. Working in this city, it is impossible to ignore the responsibility in maintaining the high standards set by our production. Venice is light but resilient, unique and exciting. This awareness is part of our work as well.
PHILOSOPHY
What we seek is absolute to avoid making
beautiful guitars without a nice sound.
I simply removed the unnecessary
to obtain the essential:
the sound.
Fullness has its function, but the essential value belongs to the void.
Lao Tzu 老子, Philosopher and poetOur work is a constant research in identifying and removing
anything that is redundant in the strive to let the void play.
In Japanese, the term “momojiri” literally means “peach’s hip”
(the juicy Japanese white peaches have an anthropomorphic shape)
and this term leads to envisage the sensual shape of a young woman’s hip.
We have learnt the lightness from Antonio de Torres Jurado,
to then take it to its extreme.
Our work ethic
Our work is intense research striving for the extreme: unconventional ideas, ventures, working at the limits of lightness, inconsistency of materials, minimum weights, fragility that holds and strength with the least of physical material.These peculiarities are typical of Venice’s building systems, hence of its beauty and uniqueness. Working in this environment, it is unavoidable to be affected by it. Thorough analysis of the forces at play and drastic reduction to the bare minimum. Sensitivity that translates into lightness. The aspiration to make the void play.
The Momojiri soundThe sound produced by these guitars is choral but an independent resonance spreads simultaneously, supporting a great output of sound. If we had to describe the sound of our guitars with just one adjective, this would be “complex”. It is not easy though to find the right word because we talk about something outside common conventions, something we are not used to hear. Our sound is the product of several design solutions. This complexity resembles the single elements as much as the whole, which is greater than the sum of the parts. We take licence to say that, despite the wide design span across our range, the sound of our guitars always reflect our character outside conventions. This is what matters: this is a search of a new way, different, that mirrors us. This is what motivates our work and materializes in our creations.
CONTACT US
Request and book a visit to our workshop.
Musical instruments of this kind cannot be purchased blind. If you wish to find out, see, touch and, most of all, experience the sound, you must come to Venice, in our workshop. If you do, on the occasion, we will open an excellent bottle of Prosecco, which will complement the overall experience.
Momojiri Guitars – Venice, Italy – info@momojiriguitars.com
Website by Enrico Manente | Photographer Alberto Favaretto & William Marinello