It is all in the detail
17 Aug - 29 Sep 2013
IT IS ALL IN THE DETAIL
17 August - 29 September 2013
An exhibition by students and alumni of the Master of Fine Arts at ZHdK.
Debates about art are a process, sparked by a wide spectrum of detailed questions, which can merge into one overall view. Both in artistic practice and in the appreciation of art, close observation and the formulation of questions and conclusions make it possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of art. It is all in the detail. challenges us to take a close look and to become involved with art. It is also a declaration and an insight. It is all in the detail. plays with perceptions and casts its gaze from the general to details, from the conception of the works to their realization, and vice versa.
When the idea for an exhibition was developed more than a year ago together with the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), focussing on the alumni and students in the final year of their Masters studies, the project moved forwards quickly. The Kunsthaus Baselland, which had been including the works of significant emerging artists in its programme for years, was now able to throw the spotlight on one of the major Swiss educational establishments for the arts, the ZHdK, in cooperation with the university. The Masters degree course is based on experimental and project-orientated thinking, as well as on transdisciplinary, individual, and collaborative work.
Prof. Ulrich Görlich, the director of the Master of Arts in Fine Arts course, describes the institute’s approach as follows: “In our teaching practice we try to bridge the divide between artists and theorists. The lecturers and assistants understand their work with the students as teamwork, which combines artistic and theoretical work with discursive, critical practice, creating an atmosphere of productive collaboration, to which the students and the lecturers contribute equally. The fact that the students take personal responsibility, not only for their work but also for the syllabus, is important to us. Part of what can perhaps be referred to as the generation of knowledge is the result of the students’ initiative.”
This orientation towards the experimental, the acceptance of the idiosyncratic and the individual, as well as the fostering of transdisciplinary practice, form important bases for the program orientation of the Kunsthaus Baselland.
Therefore I am very much looking forward to this first-time and unusual cooperation. The first stage of the working procedure was an internal application process through the submission of dossiers. The next step involved direct discussions with the participating artists, leading to the selection of the individual works. Discussions about the works and their spatial presentation determined the set-up time. It is all in the detail. was never considered as a rigid topic that was to be “illustrated” by works of art. Nor do I consider my work as a curator as serving illustrative purposes, but rather as providing talking points, realised in cooperation with the artists.
From the very beginning, the title of the exhibition was aimed at provoking reflections, with a focus on the contemplation of art itself and the insights gained in the process. The selected works are individual items. A great deal of thought was put into their presentation and positioning in the exhibition space. This resulting publication, in accordance with the objective of the exhibition, provides a forum for an in-depth consideration of each individual work of art and therefore also of contemporary emerging art.
It is all in the detail. – trust us!
Sabine Schaschl
17 August - 29 September 2013
An exhibition by students and alumni of the Master of Fine Arts at ZHdK.
Debates about art are a process, sparked by a wide spectrum of detailed questions, which can merge into one overall view. Both in artistic practice and in the appreciation of art, close observation and the formulation of questions and conclusions make it possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of art. It is all in the detail. challenges us to take a close look and to become involved with art. It is also a declaration and an insight. It is all in the detail. plays with perceptions and casts its gaze from the general to details, from the conception of the works to their realization, and vice versa.
When the idea for an exhibition was developed more than a year ago together with the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), focussing on the alumni and students in the final year of their Masters studies, the project moved forwards quickly. The Kunsthaus Baselland, which had been including the works of significant emerging artists in its programme for years, was now able to throw the spotlight on one of the major Swiss educational establishments for the arts, the ZHdK, in cooperation with the university. The Masters degree course is based on experimental and project-orientated thinking, as well as on transdisciplinary, individual, and collaborative work.
Prof. Ulrich Görlich, the director of the Master of Arts in Fine Arts course, describes the institute’s approach as follows: “In our teaching practice we try to bridge the divide between artists and theorists. The lecturers and assistants understand their work with the students as teamwork, which combines artistic and theoretical work with discursive, critical practice, creating an atmosphere of productive collaboration, to which the students and the lecturers contribute equally. The fact that the students take personal responsibility, not only for their work but also for the syllabus, is important to us. Part of what can perhaps be referred to as the generation of knowledge is the result of the students’ initiative.”
This orientation towards the experimental, the acceptance of the idiosyncratic and the individual, as well as the fostering of transdisciplinary practice, form important bases for the program orientation of the Kunsthaus Baselland.
Therefore I am very much looking forward to this first-time and unusual cooperation. The first stage of the working procedure was an internal application process through the submission of dossiers. The next step involved direct discussions with the participating artists, leading to the selection of the individual works. Discussions about the works and their spatial presentation determined the set-up time. It is all in the detail. was never considered as a rigid topic that was to be “illustrated” by works of art. Nor do I consider my work as a curator as serving illustrative purposes, but rather as providing talking points, realised in cooperation with the artists.
From the very beginning, the title of the exhibition was aimed at provoking reflections, with a focus on the contemplation of art itself and the insights gained in the process. The selected works are individual items. A great deal of thought was put into their presentation and positioning in the exhibition space. This resulting publication, in accordance with the objective of the exhibition, provides a forum for an in-depth consideration of each individual work of art and therefore also of contemporary emerging art.
It is all in the detail. – trust us!
Sabine Schaschl