How art historians constructed "Swiss art"

"Swiss art" has always been a risky concept; however there is virtually no other country on earth with as many museums per capita as Switzerland. Even with its numerous galleries and internationally famous fairs, the Swiss maintain their modesty on the subject.

Join Dr. Fayet as he discusses the construction of "Swiss Art" from 1876, when Johann Rudolf Rahn published his History of the Fine Arts in Switzerland, down to the present day.

Roger Fayet was born in Zurich in 1966. From 1994 to 1999 he was Assistant Curator at the Johann Jacobs Museum, Zurich. From 1999 to 2003 he was Head Curator of the Museum Bellerive and the applied arts collection of the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich. In 2003 he was appointed Director of the Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen. Since 2010 he has worked as Director of the Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA), Zurich and Lausanne. Fayet teaches the University of Zurich and at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). From 2009 to 2015 he was President of the Swiss National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM Switzerland), and he is currently Vice President of the International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art (RIHA).

Now that's what I call an impressive CV. This promises to be an extraordinary evening and an opportunity for all art lovers that is not to be missed!

Venue: How art historians construct(ed) "Swiss art"
Where: Franklin University Switzerland, Nielsen Auditorium, Via Ponte Tresa 29, 6924 Sorengo
When: Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Entry is free. The event is in English and open to all.

Old World language families revisited

When linguists talk about the historical relationship between languages, they use a tree metaphor. An ancient source (for example Indo-European) has various branches (e.g., Romance, Germanic), which themselves have branches (West Germanic, North Germanic), which feed into specific languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian).

Lessons on language families are often illustrated with a simple tree diagram that has all the information but lacks imagination. There’s no reason linguistics has to be so visually uninspiring.

Minna Sundberg, creator of the webcomic Stand Still. Stay Silent, a story set in a lushly imagined post-apocalyptic Nordic world, has drawn the antidote to the boring linguistic tree diagram.

Swiss love Christmas crafts

The DIY-happy Swiss like nothing better than to make their own Christmas presents, or to help their children make them. A Migros magazine survey from 2014 found that for 73 percent of Swiss present-making with the kids was a Christmas ritual.

Here are three 5 minute yarn crafts for Christmas that are fun, colourful and hassle-free to make with kids of all ages:

A family day at the EXPO 2015

The Universal Exhibition in Milano was reason enough for me to take the kids out of school for a day and travel to Italy hoping we'd enjoy an unforgettable experience. It sure was memorable but not entirely as expected.

Having bought the tickets online a year ago, reserved a place in the parking garage, even booked entry vouchers for the Swiss stand, I felt I was ready to face the humongous site showcasing more than 140 participating countries. Each pavilion was asked to present - through some mind-googling technology at times - a concrete answer to a vital need: being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the Planet and its equilibrium.

I might be biased but I do feel the Swiss managed to visually and emotional defend their case. They were by the way, the first country to join the Expo Milano 2015.

Its pavilion was made up of four towers, full of local food products which the visitor could take away. But there was a limit to the resources available, to exceed that limit meant depriving other visitors of the same opportunities.

Thanks to the modularity of the structure, the platform on which the towers stand is lowered as they are emptied, allowing everyone to see for themselves their own habits of consumption. The project, which focuses on the availability and distribution of food resources in the world, invites visitors to reflect on their behavior as consumers.

Apart from curing our home-sickness, however, we had to fight the hoards of visitors. It started at the parking house where we queued to find a place, despite the reservation. We were asked to take the shuttle to the main exhibition entrance, walked across some bridges for another 10 minutes, stood patiently though the security check and when the finally the gates opened in front of us (about 50 minutes after having driven onto the site) we felt like we had entered an International Disney Land!

Where to start? Argentina was Expat boys natural answer, he was born there. 50 minutes of queuing for a very disappointing slide show. Spain's slideshow was slightly more entertaining and only 20 minutes of waiting in line. Guess what? Haiti, Venezuela and Kenya had no queues. We skipped Japan's stunning pavilion, apparently 6 hours of patience was required for that visit. No way!

The US contingency which was trying to sell placemats, mugs and t-shirts was very disappointing, especially since their entrance looked to be the grandest one of all. The kids could not even get excited about the food trucks out the back given we were - after all - in Italy!

Qatar's building tempted us with images of 1001 Nights and after standing in line under the pouring rain for 40 minutes the presentation of a typical local feast made out of some sort of plastic did not live up to our expectations.

So, the message about respecting the planet and its food sustainability did get lost in whirlwind of country-hoping. Tourist promotion would be a more adapt term. The crowds were un-imaginable. Picture Heathrow airport at Christmas then imagine it 10 times worse. The day we visited the Expo we were 4 of 178'000 battling our way through the crowds from 12:00 to 21:00! The next day, the event hit a record number of 272'000 visitors!!!!

The best part in the kids opinion was the food! We enjoyed many different regional delicacies and despite the queues for drink and food, once we found a little spot in the sun, we had a smashing time eating our way through the continents!

It's a challenge!

Going with the flow...

Argentina's pavilion looked very promising.

Spanish creativity

Guess what? The auditorium is PiNk!

Casa de Italia: 3 hours of queue. Not happening!

Impressive architecture...

... everywhere you turn.

American Food 2.0 ???

Welcome to Switzerland

It's all about sharing

Quantities are calculated to last for the entire 6 month of the exhibit...

... IF every visitor only helps himself to one portion!?!

The last two cartons of dried apples...

... which are rapidly diminishing!

  

 If I share with my daughter, the portion of apples might last another 52 days. 

Sadly, the apples lasted only additional two days!

Switzerland is rich in natural water thanks to its many mountain springs.

Expat girl was inspired by the Swiss pavillon

 Hitting the crowds AGAIN!!!

A well kept secret: Haiti!

Qatar from the outside looked much more promising than...

... from the inside!

The French pavilion was a nice surprise: creative and welcoming. 

The Dutch had no budget for a pavilion so a backstreet food market was mounted

which totally felt like Little Amsterdam: good job!

The tree of life granted a well deserved break from all the chaos.

 We ended the day with a well deserved Neapolitan dessert: la sfogliatella!

Grand Opening of Lugano's LAC

Finally the time has come after years of construction the LAC is celebrating it opening this week.

LAC (Lugano Arte e Cultura) is the new cultural centre dedicated to the visual arts, music and the performing arts, which promises to become one of Switzerland’s most important cultural institutions, with the aim of promoting a wide range of art and establishing Lugano as a cultural crossroads between northern and southern Europe.

LAC will also be home to the newly-created Museo d'Arte della Svizzera italiana (Art Museum of Italian Switzerland), formed by the amalgamation of the Cantonal Art Museum and the Art Museum of the City of Lugano. Located over three floors, the gallery will hold a permanent exhibition containing the collections of the City of Lugano and of the Canton Ticino, temporary exhibitions and site specific installations. A new 1,000 seat concert and theatre venue, entirely wood-panelled and fitted with a special modular and removable acoustic shell, is ready for a varied programme of performances and concerts.

The center is guaranteed to have an International touch thanks to its Canadian born director Michel Gagnon.

Here is just a sneak preview for the three coming weekends:

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2015
Raise the curtain! A universe of magic, poetry and music for everybody: residents, families and the wider public

Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2015
Two days dedicated to the contemporary with focus on young and local talent

Friday 24 and Saturday 25 September 2015
Music Grand Finale

Click here for the detailed programme: LAC events

International Street Artists Festival in Ascona

Have you ever heard of the International Street Artists Festival? Well, it takes place in the Ticino! It's time to take a trip to Ascona this weekend.

During the four days of the festival, individual artists as well as professional groups from all over the world present their street performances. Set within the picturesque setting of Ascona the artists offer a colourful programme: enjoy pantomimes, stage plays and dance performances. Jugglers, tightrope walkers, fire eaters, musicians and clowns will entertain you and your children. Over a hundred of free entry performances fill the numerous small settings along the lakeside with a joyful atmosphere. At the end of every show the artists go around with a hat and the generous audience can thank them for the entertainment with a voluntary contribution. Let's just hope the weather gives its contribution of sunshine as well!

Venue: International Street Artists Festival
Where: Ascona, Ticino
When: Friday, May 22nd to Monday 25th, 2015
Time: Download the program of the festival
For more info click the following link: http://www.artistidistrada.ch

The Swiss' obsession for order

“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.”
Henry Adams

Only in Switzerland will you bump into an artist like Mr. Wehrli, a Swiss artist who likes to put things in order and is on a crusade to tidy up art. His vision is a cleaner, more organized, tidier form of art. He is the author of Tidying Up Art, a visionary manifesto that yearns toward a more rational, more organized and cleaner form of modern art.

My guess is that it is an intriguing way to produce art and fun to watch as long as Mr. Wehrli does not lose his sense of humour.





Watch Mr.Wehrli presenting his concept  with a good dose of humour: http://www.ted.com/talks/ursus_wehrli_tidies_up_art.html

Open Gallery #5 in Lugano

Following the success of the Open Gallery event held in Lugano during past Longlake Festivals, OPEN GALLERY #5 will be held on Sunday, July 7th, 2013. For the occasion, Lugano's art galleries will be open to the public between 15:00-20:00. Take advantage of the free entrance to museums and galleries and discover the places in town where art is the protagonist.

Click on the following link for detailed info and a list of particpating locations: http://agendalugano.ch/events

Urban Art Lugano

"The term urban means from the city which is derived from the Latin word urbanus. It is associated with art that is created by artist living, depicting, or experiencing city life."

Ever felt like painting those boring gray walls or those dreary looking tunnels? Well, Lugano has given an artist permission to do so and is actually inviting the public to participate by watching him.

Urban Art Lugano is pleased to present the work of Italian artist Agostino Iacurci. Urban Art Lugano strives to unite the synergies between public and private partnerships to foster artistic interventions in urban spaces. In this spirit AUL opens another collaboration with a private citizen and has kindly provided a wall of their building in via Lavizzari 5 in Lugano.

It is on this great wall from Monday, April 2nd to Sunday, April 8th, 2012 that you will be able to see Augustine Iacurci in action.

Everyone in invited to walk through the Via Lavizzari and let themselves be surprised by the artist's work and to admiring his creation which will remain visible for at least 2 years.

Urban Art Lugano is also in the process of deciding on a project for the ugly Besso tunnel which should be completed by the end of June. Inauguration is planned during the Longlake Festival 2012.