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BLADE DIARY the book (Pietro Firrincieli)

Pietro FirrincieliBLADE DIARY the book
from Pietro Firrincieli on 5 May 2016

http://pietrofirrincieli.com/books/blade-diary/

BLADE DIARY

Blading has been a D.I.Y. culture since the ’90’s. When the trend boom was over, the businessmen left the market and we had to reorganize our industry. That event, which may seem disgraceful to some, is instead a precious gift to me. We had to learn to be independent. And so to be free.

While editing the book over the last two years, I’ve met different people from the international photography industry: publishers, photo-editors and curators showing them the progress of the project. They all agreed that the BLADE DIARY is an interesting story worthy of publication, but most of them cared only about their self-interest without really understanding what the project’s about. For example I was advised to replace a Jon Julio portrait with a picture of Dominik Wagner peeing on a wall, because it’s “stronger” and the book “would sell more” they said.

Needless to say, I turned down the deal. It didn’t make sense to me to sell out our culture and share proceeds with people who don’t really care about what’s between the covers of their “new book in catalogue”.

Some others were very interested and encouraging, like Tiziana Faraoni who supported the project for what it is, publishing it in the Italian magazine L’ Espresso, and Colin Pantal who, in an honest way and with the right words, encouraged me to write something meaningful about the pictures.

And so I did. And while writing, I realized that the book was changing. It became more than a photobook, but a book to be read.

While travelling I’ve always brought a book with me. Usually a biography of someone who was on the road, for inspiration on how to keep going and to “share thoughts” about the “no direction home” condition, and the clear feeling of the universe setting up amazing and unpredictable things which happen for you as soon as you let it go.

For this reason I’ve redesigned the size of the book so that it fits in the back pocket of a pair of jeans, and took great care about choosing the right paper. To make it a nice object to keep on hand while on tour.

Xerox prints and posters belongs to D.I.Y. street cultures since the first zines appeared at the punk concerts in the ’70’s. And I’ve always used the same materials, since the beginning of the project for self-publishing, the exhibitions and the The Black Jack Project collaboration in 2013. This choice will stay on through the book, bringing the freedom to publish the exact number of copies required. Creating a limited edition, handmade, hand numbered and signed collectable object.

A €40 donation is all that’s required to make your copy exist and have it delivered to your door, worldwide shipping included. It’s the best deal I can afford.

The donation time will close on 30th of May. In June will start the printing and in July the delivery.

I would be open, in the future, to a collaboration with an honest publisher who respected the project and the people involved. To make a new edition of the BLADE DIARY to be distributed to bookshops and spread the story of blading to a larger audience. If this were ever to happen, I’d make a different edition of the book. Keeping this as the limited edition original collectors item, owned by the people who believed in the value of this project enough to make it exist, together with me.

This is for all those kind souls who I met, photographed, chatted to, skated with, partied and crashed with over the course my three years on the road.

Thank you,

Pietro.

BLADE DIARY 2013

Pietro FirrincieliBLADE DIARY 2013
from Pietro Firrincieli on 6 Jun 2013

In july 2013 I was asked by Filippo Romano to make a video to show the BLADE DIARY project in an art exhibition in Milan.
It was then in stand by to be used as fund raising video to afford the printing of the BLADE DIARY book.

After the loss of Brandon Negrete this video took a new meaning to my eyes.

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