Unanimously
admired by the panelists- Cornelius Mänz.
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Greg Pease:
I see a couple of guys that are already poised
to take over the reign, and a couple nearly there. Kent Rasmussen and Cornelius
Mänz are both exhibiting everything it takes to be in the upper echelon;
in the case of Cornelius even a low yearly output. Despite his more
conservative approach, I think Eltang has a solid grasp of aesthetics, and
produces remarkably beautiful pipes in the classical vein. Paolo Becker
continues to innovate, and is in my mind the finest Italy as to offer, with
respect to the 'total pipe'. Larry Roush, too, will continue to develop, and
will, I think, retain the US crown for fanatical attention to detail. These
guys are all young and enthusiastic, and will always push their own boundaries,
constantly reaching toward that brass ring of perfection. Then again, in 20
years, we'll have seen some new young makers climb onto the rungs. It's taken
Kent and Cornelius a remarkably short time to reach their current level, and
there's no telling who might come along that may rocket to the top. I've got an
idea who one of them might be, but I'm not telling. Like anything else, success
is built upon the successes of those who came before. It's probably easier to
grow giants now than it's ever been.
Erwin Van Hove:
I am convinced that pipe history will skip
a generation. In my opinion, none of the established Scandinavian and German
masters will ever be perceived as the equals of Bo, Jess and Lars. The only two
carvers who seem to have what it takes to become mythical are the young lions
who have managed to impress the connoisseurs in record time: Kent Rasmussen and
Cornelius Mänz. Both of them are obsessed with perfection and attention to
detail, which results in superiorly engineered pipes. Moreover, both of them
managed to develop a vocabulary of their own surprisingly fast. The Snails and
Ballerinas of the future will be designed by Kent, while Cornelius will become
the master of elegant understatement in a Jess-like way
Jörg Lehmann:
When the grand Scandinavian masters are
around 80 to 85 years old, today's 'second league' will also be in its
seventies. So, I think we have to look at the younger age group of carvers like
Cornelius Mänz or Kent Rasmussen. But the more I have learned about
Teddy´s shapes, the more I have some doubt that Kent will be able to
introduce new shapes in the future.
I
don't know how old Tony Rodriguez is, but he also seems highly talented. We
should also take Nanna Ivarsson into account. These are the four carvers I have
in mind, who may have the potential to become grand masters. That said, I am
also very sure that there are others, still relatively unknown.
Erwin Van Hove:
Jörg, I don't think you're doing
justice to Kent when you express your doubts about his creative potential,
simply because he has gotten some guidance from Teddy. Even at this early stage
in his career, it is evident he isn't a Teddy epigone. I see Kent experimenting
not only with shapes, but also with finishes, and doing a very interesting job
at that. And talking of shapes, it seems to me he is both able to come up with
a couple of beautiful new ones and to produce great interpretations of existing
shapes. Peter Klein made a Ramses interpretation. It looks pathetic. The one
Kent came up with shows his obvious sense of equilibrium and harmony. He
understands how a shape works. This is quite rare. I think you're underrating
his potential.
Greg Pease:
It's hard to predict what will become
tomorrow's neoclassical shape, but I'm inclined to think that Kent will
continue to coax the briar into ever more challenging forms, rather than create
a few trademark shapes. Bo Nordh's corpus is small, as his output has always
been quite limited. I think the reason he is best known for a few shapes is a
result of this. With Kent's higher output, it's hard to see his recognition
limited to a few shapes. I wonder if anyone will ever really take Bo's place in
this regard.
Jörg Lehmann:
It is really very hard to look in the future.
Three years ago, Cornelius was still completely unknown, and Kent was also a
name for a few experts. Of course, whether another person will arrive on the
scene must remain open. It is a pity that nobody apart from myself has spoken
of Tony Rodriguez. But it's also thrilling to know that Greg has a hot tip -
though, understandably, he doesn't want to mention him in public yet.
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