Sandro Tiberi is a paper artist, in Fabriano. The daily news tells us about the crisis in the paper industry, especially
in the office paper sector. However, there are those who bet on the added value by putting in the
his paper creations, the design, the new materials, the creativity, to propose a Made in Italy
appreciated all over the world.
Sandro Tiberi is an artist from Fabriano, expert in the production of handmade paper,
teaches paper technology at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He was President
National Association of Various Arts of Confartigianato. He has taught in hundreds of workshops in
main Academies of Fine Arts: Venice, Bologna, Rome, Perugia, Macerata, in the
secondary and primary schools, in cultural associations and for the purpose of social reintegration. It has
collaborated with the main museum activities on paper in Italy, is a member of the Pia Università
of papermakers and honorary member of the Fedrigoni Fabriano Foundation.
He would like to create a World Paper School in Fabriano to attract people to the Marche region
students and artisans from all over the world. He explained it to us in the interview at his
laboratory located in the heart of the city https://www.sandrotiberi.it .
I would ask you, Sandro, how you got here, tell us about yourself.
So …… I began my career as a papermaker in the distant '85-'86 when I entered the glorious
Miliani Paper Mills.
40 years ago?
Well yes, let's say it was a flash of inspiration. Consider that I have a degree in
Telecommunications that has nothing to do with paper. So it's strange, isn't it? I graduated in San Severino Marche with 58 sixtieths. I've always been passionate about technology and this has helped me a lot, even in my work, because now I use new technologies a lot.
So your first encounter with paper?
My first encounter with paper was when I was about 10 years old when I was given a
book that I would also like to reprint. It was by Aurelio Pellicanò, Le Carto Comiche, he was a genius,
Mondadori published it. A true genius. Through the Internet in Germany, I managed
to find his books. What was it about? It was a children's work where you cut out the
paper puppets, you colored them. And in another book there were the stories. To be used for
animate these puppets that you had made with paper.
A kind of little theatre.
Of the little theaters, I still have one. Now I was lucky enough to find it again because they passed by
many years. This was my first encounter with paper. So much so that now I have it
wanted, I found it and I would like to make an edition dedicated to this character
forgotten. Why Aurelio Pellicanò? It's really difficult to find any news, but he
he was truly a genius and worked with paper. That said, I was also fascinated by
computers, although when I was born there were not even calculators. And so let's say, I
I lived through the whole transition of the first calculators. But when the computer arrived I
I was struck by this technology which, even though today's cell phones are much more
powerful. This explains the choice of electronics, the fact of studying radioelectronics. And then
life leads you to take very extreme paths and in the period 85-86 I entered the Cartiere
Miliani: It was a bit shocking in some ways.
Why?
At Cartiere Miliani I started working on the F3 machine, the one that they closed recently
time ago, a continuous machine. When I entered I was shocked. It was a
mausoleum, it was not a machine. It was a huge thing that one cannot imagine. No,
because you see this huge thing and the roll, the noises, the humidity, very strange sensations. There
At the beginning they do a two-week course in which various managers and technicians introduce us to
quite technical way and this thing immediately fascinated me.
So in the 80s there was already a certain industrialization of the process.
Yes, completely. Industrialization and handmade paper was a flagship,
used for marketing purposes.
Outside of the Miliani, then, were there any complementary activities?
There were some related activities but no production, Cartiere Miliani was the only one
paper mill and subsequently others arose in the area.
So the production of handmade paper had been a bit lost.
She was completely lost. There were some small craftsmen, but with small businesses. Even
why the know-how was closely linked to the Miliani paper mill, there was no escape
knowledge from that point of view, it was very narrow there. And I must say that it was also
a rather closed environment. There was no dissemination, the study of techniques, the
training did not exist at the time. I was perhaps one of the first to start taking courses
of training when I left the paper mills.
When is success?
In '99, I remember it very well, I left and opened the Cartiera Artigiana in Fabriano.
At first it was called Cartiera Artigiana Fabriano, then they called me from the paper mills
Miliani and they told me that I could not use the name Fabriano because Fabriano was a name
identifier of that company and so I put “in Fabriano”.
But thanks to your commitment, the Cartiere were your training school.
At the Miliani paper mill I first worked as a specialized worker on the F3 machine, then I
arrived to do the watch it. At the beginning with a training contract for one year, then instead
they hired me and I played all the roles, starting from preparing the dough
up to the roll guard to get to the advanced functions of the machine, where we did the cycle
I continued, after which the opportunity to go to the Tini department came up and I took it on the fly
because I really liked this speech. Everyone thought I was crazy because I
they said you work hard there. Yes, it was true, but it was an interesting thing, I liked it
anymore and so I didn't care.
Maybe there was an industrial mentality to go towards the market and there wasn't much
diversification for experimentation?
Exactly, they were tied to this idea. But this always happens in a company, right? I mean
one focuses on what he knows how to do and does not experiment, even with materials. I, for example
I was the first to use this type of felt, which is not wool felt, but felt
synthetics. I started using the aluminum processing module. That is, I did research and
development, which is the characteristic of our ancestors, because Fabriano is famous throughout the
world. Not because he invented paper, paper was invented in China and modified
from the Arabs. But we did research and development in the thirteenth century. We have
made three inventions that changed the way paper is produced
Inventions are fundamental because the first and most important is the gluing with
animal gelatin. Previously, paper did not last over time, so much so that Frederick II issued an edict
to avoid the use of paper in official documents.
The second invention?
It is linked to production. How was the pisto, that is, the dough, prepared? To make paper
the rags were taken, cut into small pieces, left to rot, then passed in lime. And
then it was manually tracked, so it was a very long process. This process is
accelerated by the multi-mesh piles, a mill moved by the force of the water, which
initially it was used to work with a single hammer. Instead they use it in groups of
three hammers and therefore this machine increases the production capacity and therefore the
marketing. Everyone started making paper because it cost much less than
parchment which, by the way, was also very rare, because with animal skin in 1200
leather was made, so it was rare and expensive. Paper was much quicker to make and was
relatively cheaper, so it spreads a lot. What's happening? Many people start to
make paper by hand. And the problem of noise pollution arises, because these
machines were noisy, so all production moved outside the walls. There were
many master papermakers, but there was only one merchant who sold everyone's paper.
And here is the third invention: the watermark which is used to distinguish the various productions and
various manufacturers, it's the trademark. So it's a pretty simple thing, it comes
put a very simple symbol that the master papermaker made with a thread.
At the beginning it was only a trademark because the merchant had to distinguish the
various productions. This technique transforms and becomes a way to personalize the paper
for the customer. And here the pain begins. Because the master papermaker makes the paper, but he is unable to
make complex designs such as noble logos. So we turn to those who are
expert in this type of workmanship which is the goldsmith. And this is the reason why we call it
filigree, because it is not a paper-makers' term, but a goldsmiths' term. In Fabriano it becomes
This technique was so sophisticated because it was done by goldsmiths and therefore automatically
we made the watermark. If you think about it, in English it is called watermark, water sign e
as in Spain, water brand. So we are the only ones who call it a watermark.
For this reason here if I show you some very complex watermarks that my wife
It is hand sewn and it takes a special skill to achieve that definition. It is not the
field of a master papermaker. So here, these are the three inventions. Innovation has given us
always followed in all fields, so we must not stop. One of the phrases that to me
what was most annoying in the paper mill was "It's always been done this way." And what does it mean? If it was done
always like this, this does not mean that you have to continue doing the same things in the same way
way, that is, it can also be done differently, also because research is ongoing, the materials
change and you can't be tied only to the past. You have to have one foot in the past, but
also a look towards the future.
Sandro, whoever makes paper needs a worker, a craftsman, an artist, a
creative who experiments in various branches, in various sectors, in various channels? How do you do it from
alone to meet the market?
I am the proof that even if you are small and alone, as in our case, and yet you
they make products that are not comparable to anything else on the market, you can be
winners. Because it offers something that the person perceives as unique.
Let's go back to the goldsmith.
Who put the watermark and the art inside the paper. Today you do it in different ways, with a study
of forms, of applications, of evolution. In a certain sense we have returned there, to a
fork in the road: do you want to do it in an industrial way, despite all the variations that exist, or do you want to do it
a path where the mind and creativity still have value?
I have had several experiences, some quite negative, during my
work and professional experience, what this whole experience has taught me
that in the end nothing is totally negative, because you learn lessons that are
fundamentals. Everyone can make a car, but Ferrari or Rolls Royce are no longer
cars, they are status symbols.
So what is the secret? Being able to get that added value that cannot be recognized
have a sheet of paper. So the moment you can create this feeling of
preciousness, uniqueness, singularity. This is your product, this is your card, not the
you find it in the stationery shop, you can find it only here with me. And this philosophy accompanies both me
that my wife in creating our paper products, let's say better: our creations in
paper come out of this philosophy, that is this uniqueness, if it is recognized, at that
point you no longer have price problems.
Do you think there is still room for this, or is it difficult?
I teach at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome on Mondays and Tuesdays. From the point of view of
view of the artistic language. Why? Well, this is an aspect we have not touched upon, but
that permeates all my work, all my work, everything I do. The paper made by
hand is not just a production system, of course, but it is a real
language, that is, it is the way to make art. So if you transform this language, let's say
in product, here that product has a great artistic plus inside and it is here
important development. Handmade paper as an artistic language can be learned from
students, artists, professors like painting, like sculpture, like engraving. They do it
become a real language. And this is happening because I teach at the Academy of Fine Arts and I can assure you that when artists discover its potential, because you start from a liquid and arrive at the work, you don't start from a sheet, you have no dimensions, and these sculptures that you see here are proof of that. These are the latest works that I have done three-dimensional. This is paper. You wouldn't say it's paper, but it is paper.
Then if you can understand this it becomes a language. And here we can become the center of specialization for this sector in the art world. And the art world is much bigger than the technical world.
We should be monks of the trade.
Exactly, we must reach a level of consciousness where we do not hide our heads in the sand. There are serious and big problems around us and in the world and we cannot hide our heads in the sand, but we cannot get emotionally and negatively involved in these events. Because otherwise we will not get out of it. Wars have always existed, disasters have always existed. Instead, this is my thought, we must concentrate on what is our competence, each in his own way, and do our best, that is, try to give our best, because the ocean is made of drops. And each
He has to bring his own drop, that's what I think. What the artist thinks.
Well, I think this: when we do things, we do them with this philosophy.
Let's go see the works of genius. From handmade paper to wallpaper
made with recycled paper, to the wonderful paper bags and hats
of lamps. Yes, in this laboratory the master papermaker Tiberi has laid the foundations for
to turn paper into a language. His prediction could be right: because
don't make a handmade paper course for all the artists and designers who might
come from all over the world?
https://www.sandrotiberi.it
