18 June – 1 October 2016
Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 6 pm
19 June to 28 August also on Sundays
An exhibition of the Werkraum Bregenzerwald.
Curated by Peter Zumthor,
with films by Matthias Günter.
Trailer HANDGEMACHT from Werkraum Bregenzerwald on Vimeo.
conversations
28 | 29 | 30 September
“We do many things with our hands, touch people, play the piano, sewing clothes, lay rebar in formwork, grind flooring, clean ditches. Sometimes the prestige of´handmade objects is great. Sometimes the result of work performed with the hands is hardly worth mentioning or is not even visible. Artists, who paint, draw and give shape to things speak of the intuition of the hand, while manual labourers on the production line tell other stories.
In the exhibition titled “handmade” we want to use cinematic means to display an inventory of things that were made by hand. Without judging. In accompanying interviews craftsmen are invited to report
about their work.”
Haldenstein in January 2016, Peter Zumthor
The hand and the handicraft are closely linked. The hand grips, holds, weigh, feel, time, supports, controls. With the fingers, the fingertips, the senses. Both in its physical structure, its dialogue with the brain as well as in their forming function, the hand is subject to constant change. There is hardly a scientific discipline, that does not concern itself with questions about the hand, especially at a time when manual labour may soon disappear, with robots taking its place. In addition to scenarios of an evolutionary stunting there are new gestures of swiping and striking, rapidly spreading touch technologies, the impact of which on the brain and hand we do not yet know. A book table with relevant literature will be available for viewing at the exhibition.
The exhibition includes 61 short films. The format of the films is square, black and white, filmed using a single setting. Unfamiliar, neglected actions are brought together with relevant topics into a sequence of scenes. You can see hands during labelling, tapping, felting surfaces, applying highlights, weeding, pruning, deboning meat, upgrading paper, jaw surgery, laying tiles, playing the violin, buffing dovetail joints, shaving beards, sawing firewood, laying channel beds, knitting caps, washing hands. The focus is on the manual process and not the product. It was filmed in the Bregenzerwald and in Switzerland, in shops, on the street, in churches, offices, stables and gardens.
Framework programme
Conversations
To accompany the exhibition, actors from the areas of crafts, art, leisure and do-it-yourself
have been invited to report on the work that they do with their hands and to provide information.
The questions will be asked by Renate Breuss and Peter Zumthor. The discussions will be held on 28, 29 and 30 September 2016 in the Werkraum House in Andelsbuch.
The event invites you commune at long tables for discussion and cheerful exchange, along with food and drink. The special manual skill in playing a musical instrument is brought to life by the pianist Vera Kappeler and drummer Alfred Vogel in a concert on 29 September 2016.
Children’s workshops
In the summer program, the materials clay, paper and felt are the focus of the children’s workshops.
A playful guide to the “handmade” exhibition accompanies the experimental program.
For children aged 5 to 11 years
every Wednesday, 13 July, 20 July, 3 August,
10 August, 17 August and 7 September 2016
10 am to 12 pm
Registration: info@werkraum.at
Led by Verena Dünser, Werkraum educator
Cost: 5.00 EUR
Specialised tours
Guided tours
Project team
Exhibition concept: Peter Zumthor, architect, Haldenstein
Production of the films: Matthias Günter, filmmaker, Bern
Project management: Renate Breuss, art historian, Rankweil
Layout: Super BfG
Media Technology: Martin Beck
Admission fees
Adults EUR 7.50, discounted tickets EUR 5.00
Free admission for children and adolescents up to 16 years
Groups of 15 persons EUR 5.00 per person
Guided tours for groups of 15 persons 7.00 EUR per person
Workshop contribution for children’s workshop EUR 5.00
The Werkraum’s commercial enterprise is open during operating hours. It offers lunch daily, and meals for seminars and groups upon request.
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