Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2010

The Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2010 exhibition is the third and final in a curated series intended to give voice and profile to some of the applied arts world's most playful, thoughtful and skilled artists, at a valuable point in their development. The selectors and curators of 2010's show, Hans Stofer (chair), Richard Slee and Freddy Robins have negotiated their carefully made curatorial decisions not based on the use or function of the objects seen in the show, but on their inherent value as things

The Nature of Things

Stofer created an installation for ‘The Nature of Things’, a joint exhibition curated by Sarah Griffin at the Artists’ House, New Art Centre, Wiltshire (2012). The Artists’ House is a contemporary cottage in the grounds of the New Art Centre (http://sculpture.uk.com/about/). Originally built as a residence for artists working in the sculpture park, it is now used to display exhibitions of domestic-scale works of art. ‘The Nature of Things’ presented a juxtaposition of domestic household items with larger-than-life creations inspired by the ambiguous nature of the displays at the Centre itself, where perception oscillates between display, art, nature, accident and intent. Stofer’s installation took over the bedroom on the house’s ground floor, where he unpacked a personal miscellany, turning the room into a sort of confessional. He filled the room with personal items and collected ephemera – tenderly remaking the most (seemingly) inconsequential materials into jewellery and autobiography: a mixture of found objects made meaningful through artistry and intention. Stofer thus handed over and exposed what appears to be a very private space to the viewer, inviting intimate scrutiny of an interior world and evoking the feeling that the viewer is somehow intruding into a personal space. ‘The Nature of Things’ was reviewed by Sara Roberts in Crafts (2012): Roberts described Stofer’s installation as ‘insistent, edgy and energetic. Found objects are deployed in new object narratives, cut and graffitied, bundled and bound…objects are collected and amassed, not to be revered, but to be altered and “improved” and introduced to other objects, brought together in dissonance. Process is evident; material is delivered with a wry twist.’ It was also reviewed in Wallpaper (2012: http://www.wallpaper.com/art/the-nature-of-things-at-artists-house-uk/5633)

Thing, Tang, Trash

Stofer produced a series of seven new pieces of work for the international ceramic exhibition ‘Thing, Tang, Trash’ at the Permanenten, The West Norway Museum of Decorative Art, Bergen (2011–-12). The exhibition was initiated by curator and ceramic artist Heidi Bjørgan in a collaboration between Bergen National Academy of the Arts and the Art Museums of Bergen. It was part of ‘Creating Art Value: A Research Project on Rubbish and Readymades, Art and Ceramics’ (www.k-verdi.no), which received support from the Research Council of Norway and was part of the Research Programme on Assigning Cultural Values (KULVER). The frequent closure or relocation of European porcelain factories has created a new situation for everyone who works in the field of ceramics. While studio ceramics used to be the antithesis of industrial production, a new kind of art and design have emerged in which the old oppositions between machine-made/handmade, mass production/singular objects and industry/craft/art no longer apply. Stofer’s works used broken ceramics as a readily available raw material, treating the debris left over in abandoned factories as the raw material for new artistic narratives. The works created expressed his interest in the act of repair and the symbolism associated with broken objects and object re-birth: not so much ‘upcycling’, but seeing the ‘stuff’ we are surrounded with as raw material to build from, intellectually and physically. Stofer presented a paper entitled ‘Biting into a cherry does not prepare you for the stone’ at ‘Making or Unmaking? The Contexts of Contemporary Ceramics’ (Terminus Hall, Bergen, Norway, 2011), a conference organised to coincide with ‘Thing, Tang, Trash’. The exhibition attracted a total of 7,160 visitors. It was reviewed in the Norwegian Art Yearbook 2012 and in Bergens Tidende (2011), and featured in Bergensavisen and Brostein

Neuland Magazin

Stofer is a regular contributor to Neuland Magazin, contributing 13 articles since its inception in 2010. His essays have explored diverse topics including ‘Thames or not Thames’ – the impact of the temporary removal of the Thames from the tube map in 2009; ‘Chewing gum’ – gum as a permanent keeper of our DNA and its potential for cloning; ‘It doesn’t rain money in London’ – the invention of the umbrella and James Smith & Sons; ‘Kunst ist Herrlich (Art Is almighty)’ – a review of the first solo show of the Swiss-born artist Urs Lüthi at Gallery S O in London. Neuland is an online journal published every two months. It acts as a new and independent platform for discussion and exploration of new territories of thinking. It aims to promote different ways of sharing knowledge through a condensed and interdisciplinary format. Neuland has gained a reputation as an innovative online platform for new ideas and as a new model of online journalism. Stofer’s articles are written in a distinctive narrative format, with the intention of offering a close-grained observation of aspects of life in contemporary London. Their innovation lies in the concise format and juxtaposition of image and text, using words as image/pattern, a strategy which invites the reader to reflect further and ‘read between the lines’. A recent innovation has been the adoption of alternative presentation conventions, such as postcard and text messaging formats, in order to create ever more concise ways of conveying meaning. As a direct outcome of the publication of the Neuland series, Stofer was invited to give a lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (2013). The lecture, ‘To make a mark’, further explored the theme of the need to make our presence visible (a subject addressed in several of Stofer’s Neuland articles)

Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2010

Jerwood Contemporary Makers showcases work by the new generation of UK makers. Selected by Hans Stofer (chair), Richard Slee and myself, the exhibition investigates the notion of making by bringing together a broad range of work from across craft and the visual arts. Twenty-nine makers took part, each exhibiting one work and receiving an equal share of the £30,000 prize fund. Supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. A catalogue in the form a newspaper broadsheet was produced with an essay, ‘The Making Game’ commissioned from Jeanette Winterson. A series of Monday evening events accompanied the exhibition. These included Emmanuel Cooper (ceramicist and craft writer) in conversation with Hans Stofer, Richard Slee and myself also a panel discussion exploring the notion of amateur making, chaired by Stephen Knott, (PhD student, School of Applied Art, RCA) with the research student that I supervise Emma Shercliff, (PhD student, School of Fashion & Textiles, RCA). At the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland I conducted a gallery tour and delivered a lecture and workshop on Curating Contemporary Craft alongside curator David Littler. The exhibition received considerable press including Crafts, July/August 2010 (Dr.Jessica Hemmings), Design Week, 27 May 2010 and The Independent, 29 June 2010 (Michael Glover)

Causing Chaos

Causing Chaos was curated by the sculptor Claire Barclay. In her introduction in the catalog she says;' as a sculptor who makes objects from a varied range of processes and materials, I have for a long time been interested in the relationship between thinking and making, which underlies the creation of three-dimensional work'. she continues to say that ' this is something that becomes more elusive to explain the more she delves into this subject in an attempt to make sense she does'. she endeavors to understand how meaning comes about through sculpture, form and their materiality. How these work both physically and psychologically affects the viewer is central to her practice. She says that, 'It is for this reason that I have brought together the work of a number of makers from different artistic backgrounds whose work seems to share something of the same enquiry, and to make visible some crossovers and common concerns which inspire our work. The resulting exhibition aims to provide an opportunity for dialogue about artistic practices which focus on hand making, while avoiding the use of unhelpful categorisation or hirarchies. The selcted artists work across a number of disciplines...,yet approach their work with similar attention to detail and a subversive attitude towards materials

Desirable Objects for Undesirable Subjects

Indian Rat Traps is a book of images exploring the innovative rat traps created from scavenged materials by metalworkers in India, accompanied by an essay which was written by Stofer in collaboration with the collector, artist and publisher Tony Hayward. Stofer’s essay drew on collections and library research on the contexts and perceptions that lay behind the rat traps’ formal properties. In the West, rats are considered vermin to be killed, but in parts of India rats are believed to be temporary keepers of the soul and a symbol of luck. Therefore Indian rat traps are not generally designed to kill, but to trap the rat so that it can be moved elsewhere. The book explores how Indian traps respond to these demands, including the public relocation of rats, in contrast to the unsightly traps more familiar in the West. Stofer’s essay, ‘Desirable objects for undesirable subjects’, explains the cultural and economic context in which these handmade devices have been made and exist as desirable, creative objects. Through a discussion of the Indian approach to the potential of scavenged materials and the highly sophisticated industry that has been built around an ingenuity of resourceful making, Stofer considers the local specificity of the practices that surround the making of these traps and the concept of ‘visual logic’ as something transcultural. The idea that everything in life is connected and cyclical underpins the approach taken by these metalworkers. This approach is based on respect for things and the belief that everything has its time, place and use. This ‘content driven’ approach, with economy of means in production, a democratic attitude towards materials and alternative schemes of standardisation based on environment and local resources have deeply influenced Stofer’s own creative practice, research, making and teaching

Etat de la biodiversité en Suisse en 2014 - Une analyse scientifique

Der Bericht gibt einen Überblick über den Zustand der Biodiversität in der Schweiz im Jahr 2014. Wichtige Institute und wissenschaftsnahe Einrichtungen in der Schweiz, die zum Thema Biodiversität forschen, haben ihre Daten und ihr Wissen zusammengetragen und ziehen daraus mehrere Schlussfolgerungen: Die Schweiz ist aufgrund ihrer Topographie, der grossen Höhenunterschiede und der Lage im Herzen Europas ein Land mit einer reichen biologischen Vielfalt. In den letzten 100 Jahren haben wir allerdings massive Verluste an Biodiversität erlitten. Der Anteil intakter, naturnaher Flächen ist im Schweizer Mittelland und in den Tallagen der Berggebiete auf einem bedenklich tiefen Niveau angelangt. Die Bestände vieler Arten sind auf ein tiefes Niveau zurückgegangen; das langfristige Überleben dieser Arten ist nicht gesichert. Die bisher ergriffenen Massnahmen zur Erhaltung und Förderung der Biodiversität in der Schweiz haben dazu beigetragen, dass die Lage der biologischen Vielfalt in der Schweiz nicht noch viel schlechter ist; sie reichen aber bei weitem nicht aus. Ohne massive zusätzliche Anstrengungen werden die Verluste (ausgehend vom bereits äusserst tiefen Niveau) landesweit weiter fortschreiten. Starke Verluste gibt es heute insbesondere in den tieferen und gut erreichbaren Lagen der Berggebiete. Die Entwicklung dort erinnert an die Verluste im Mittelland seit Mitte des letzten Jahrhunderts. Ökosysteme liefern – effizient und kostengünstig – Produkte und Dienstleistungen, von denen die ganze Gesellschaft profitiert. Doch viele Ökosysteme sind bereits dermassen geschädigt, dass ihre Fähigkeit, wertvolle und lebenswichtige Leistungen für die Menschen bereitzustellen, drastisch eingeschränkt ist (z.B. Kohlenstoffspeicherung oder Erholungsfunktion). Dies ist umso bedenklicher, als mit den zu erwartenden klimatischen Veränderungen vermehrt auch Extremereignisse abgepuffert werden müssen. Sachverständige schätzen, dass in der Schweiz eine Verdoppelung der aktuellen Fläche wichtiger Lebensräume notwendig ist, um die Biodiversität und die Ökosystemleistungen langfristig zu erhalten. Benötigt wird nicht nur eine funktionsfähige ökologische Infrastruktur aus Schutz- und Vernetzungsgebieten, entscheidend ist auch eine «biodiversitätsfreundliche» Flächennutzung in allen relevanten Sektoren sowie eine spezifische Artenförderung für jene prioritären Arten, die auf zusätzliche Massnahmen angewiesen sind. Nur mit ausreichenden, stufengerechten Massnahmen lässt sich die ökologische Qualität aller Lebensräume erhöhen und damit auch deren Ökosystemleistungen fördern. Die Erhaltung und Förderung der Biodiversität ist eine gesamtgesellschaftliche Aufgabe. Konsum, Land-, Wald- und Energiewirtschaft, Verkehr, Raumplanung, Jagd und Fischerei, Wasser- und Siedlungsbau, Tourismus, Forschung und Bildung sowie die Privatwirtschaft spielen eine wesentliche Rolle. Dabei kann die Erhaltung und Förderung der Biodiversität in vielen Fällen sehr gut in bestehende Programme integriert werden. Der Handlungsbedarf ist ausgewiesen, die wirkungsvollen Massnahmen sind bekannt. Politik und Gesellschaft haben es nun in der Hand, die richtigen Entscheidungen zu treffen und damit das Wohlergehen auch für die nächsten Generationen zu sichernLe présent rapport donne une vue d’ensemble de l’état de la biodiversité en Suisse en 2014. Les principaux instituts et organismes scientifiques de Suisse qui explorent le thème de la biodiversité ont fait part de leurs données et de leur savoir, qui aboutissent aux conclusions suivantes: En raison de sa topographie, de ses gradients altitudinaux élevés et de sa situation au cœur de l’Europe, la Suisse offre une grande richesse en biodiversité. Au cours des cent dernières années, elle a toutefois subi un appauvrissement massif de sa biodiversité. La part de surfaces intactes et proches de la nature a atteint un niveau inquiétant sur le Plateau et dans les vallées de montagne. Les populations de nombreuses espèces ont atteint un très bas niveau, de sorte que leur survie à long terme n’est pas assurée. Les mesures adoptées jusqu’à présent pour sauvegarder et promouvoir la biodiversité en Suisse ont enregistré quelques succès, toutefois encore nettement insuffisants. Faute d’efforts supplémentaires massifs, les pertes continueront à l’échelle nationale. Elles affectent aujourd’hui en particulier les régions de basse altitude facilement accessibles. L’évolution dans ces régions rappelle les pertes subies sur le Plateau depuis le milieu du XXe siècle. Les écosystèmes assurent la fourniture (efficiente et peu coûteuse) de produits et de services dont profite l’ensemble de la société. Pourtant, de nombreux milieux sont déjà dégradés dans une telle mesure que leur aptitude à fournir des services utiles est gravement compromise (stockage du carbone ou fonction récréative, p. ex.). C’est d’autant plus inquiétant que les changements prévisibles du climat nécessiteront de faire face à davantage d’épisodes extrêmes. Les experts estiment qu’un doublement de la surface actuelle de nombreux milieux serait nécessaire en Suisse pour préserver à long terme la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques. Non seulement une infrastructure écologique en bon état de fonctionnement et composée de zones de protection et de connexion s’avère nécessaire; une utilisation des surfaces «compatible» avec la biodiversité dans tous les secteurs concernés ainsi qu’une promotion des espèces prioritaires, tributaires de mesures supplémentaires, se révèlent également déterminantes. Seules des mesures suffisantes et adéquates permettent d’accroître la qualité écologique de tous les milieux et de favoriser ainsi leurs services écosystémiques. La sauvegarde et la promotion de la biodiversité impliquent l’ensemble de la société. Agriculture, sylviculture, énergie, transports, aménagement du territoire, chasse et pêche, construction hydraulique, urbanisme, tourisme, recherche et formation de même que le secteur privé jouent tous un rôle déterminant. A cet égard, la sauvegarde et la promotion de la biodiversité peuvent parfaitement s’intégrer, dans bien des cas, dans des utilisations existantes. La nécessité d’agir est reconnue et les mesures efficaces sont identifiées. La balle est maintenant dans le camp de la classe politique et de la société. Ils sont tenus de prendre les bonnes décisions et d’assurer ainsi aussi le bien-être des générations futures