Before the lockdown, Pomés and Mas de Xaxàs entered his office and took a snapshot of his projects. "The other day I saw the documentary André Ricard. The Invisible Design for the first time and I liked it a lot. Poldo is a master at editing and Xavier asked me pertinent questions. I have to say that Poldo took care of everything. I told him he had to talk to Santa & Cole and to contact the Puig family, with whom I have had a professional and friendly relationship for over forty years. Poldo spoke with Mariano Puig before he passed away…".
Many years ago, André Ricard (Barcelona, 1929) was commissioned to design a bottle for Puig's Agua Lavanda. "I was received with great respect, a respect that has lasted forty years. He has been the client who has given me the best continuity, with mutual affection. That bottle became famous because Joan Miró noticed it and made a sculpture inspired by it, to which he added some elements and transformed it into Femme. The sculpture was commissioned for a park in Tenerife and now there is a copy at Puig's headquarters".
Every anecdote from Ricard's life and work is collected in his office in the upper area of Barcelona where he receives his visitors. "In this photo I am with Joan Miró," he points out after talking about the Femme sculpture.
Pioneer of industrial design
When he started, his profession did not exist, and that is why he dares to say that he is one of the pioneers of industrial design, along with Miguel Milá with whom he has many things in common. He has written many books in which he reflects extensively on design and knows that some of his objects work very well. "The Rania milk bottle was one of my first discoveries, I managed to give it a shape to make it easier to pour the milk; the Ibiza switches are perfect because when you turn the light on or off you don't care if the switch is beautiful, it has to be effective, and the Copenhagen ashtray prevents ash from flying".
Perhaps his most glamorous commission was the torch. "I didn't know that Barcelona aspired to host the Olympic Games. And one afternoon in 1987, Josep Miquel Abad called me to propose designing the container for the Olympic dossier to present Barcelona's candidacy in Lausanne, to the members of the Olympic Committee, and he told me that Miserachs would do the graphic part. It was a total success. Upon returning from Switzerland, they asked me what I wanted to design and I answered that I wanted to design the torch".
--- What inspired you?
--- I studied in detail the torches that had been designed before for the Olympics. I wanted it to be an object that corresponded to the time it was going to be used and that it would be metallic. It wasn't that simple because I had to take several things into account, such as that it wouldn't intoxicate the person, the athletes who had to transport it, that it wouldn't weigh too much, and that it would be beautiful.
--- What do you remember about Barcelona '92 and what remains of that Olympic spirit?
--- I remember a fantastic city and the enthusiasm of the people. That positive energy of all for one has been completely lost. Years later, an attempt was made to maintain the city's pulse with the Forum of Cultures, which boosted a neighborhood, but it did not function as an engine for the city.
"The Forum of Cultures boosted a neighborhood, but it was not an engine for the city"--- Citizen of Barcelona, what things do you think should be reviewed?
--- The future cannot be imagined because it will never be what we have thought. But if you ask me this question, I will tell you that the first thing they should do is reduce car circulation. Ideally, public services should be so perfect that they allow you to do without private services. Citizens should have a bus or a subway five hundred meters from their home.
--- Do you think the solution is the bicycle?
--- From eighteen to seventy, the bicycle does work, but after seventy, it is very risky.
--- Among the objects in your office, a huge button stands out. What is a button to you?
--- For me, it is a perfect object that fulfills its function, just like a pencil, a fork, a glass, or a cup. I believe there is now a great nostalgia for things that worked well and had disappeared due to marketing, and that is why there is respect for vintage.
André is still active and does not want to end the conversation without highlighting his collaboration with the Mas Casadevall Foundation in Banyoles (Girona), which hosts a group of adults with autism spectrum disorder. "I make designs for them that they then manufacture and earn their profits. They are very meticulous and do it very well."