Family stories and handed down knowledge: the Vuillermoz

An exhibition that tells the story of the family and the ability to pass on know-how within the family nucleus through the works of the Vuillermoz, a large family of artisans from our region.

The MAV – Museum of Traditional Valdostano Crafts has dedicated 2019 to the family and the knowledge passed down from generation to generation.
The exhibition “Family stories and handed down knowledge: the Vuillermoz” is dedicated to the production of a large family of artisans from our region with the aim of enhancing the historical ability to pass on knowledge within the family nucleus. Artisan practice, knowledge of techniques and materials are often a “family tradition” since the latter is the primary place of learning and work for artisans. Jules Brocherel, a great expert on Aosta Valley folk art, even speaks of “very special small family industries” that make craftsmanship a form of sustenance. In the artisan world, the family, in addition to guaranteeing the quality of production through the craft, guarantees its origin from a specific area of the Aosta Valley territory. Each surname is linked to a well-defined area and thus an interesting geographical map of Aosta Valley artisan production linked to families emerges.
The first exhibition, dedicated to the Vuillermoz, will tell the story of craftsmanship as a family knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation since the 1930s: Vittorio, Giulio, Luciano and Franco. The Vuillermoz are a family of great craftsmen, skilled both in the production of agricultural tools and in turning, but who demonstrate their great qualities in the creation of splendid sculptural works. The father Victor worked with dedication creating artifacts such as agricultural tools, turnings and sculptures depicting the agro-pastoral world that surrounded him. The two sons: Luciano, the eldest, was a great turner, capable of creating works of fine quality and finely decorated and splendid cutlery; Giulio, a very skilled sculptor, still represents the link with tradition by following the teachings imparted by his father both in the choice of wood and in its drying, and in the methods and methodologies of processing. Giulio tells of an ordinary and customary knowledge. He produces precious and very fine sculptures, only in maple wood, harvested near home, of chiseled workmanship and great mastery. Works that tell of the village, of memories and of the sacred world. Finally, last in chronological order, we have Franco and Vittorio, sons of Luciano, the first sculptor who loves to interpret in an abstract way forms and figures that emerge from the roots and the second trained as a carpenter. Four craftsmen who have been able to make their manual ability a family tradition, giving life to a refined art that has spanned an entire century.