Watch Design and Japanese Art: Preparing an Art Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan with Ecole d’arts appliqués, La Chaux-de-Fonds

Prof. Hans B. Thomsen

This project will center on preparing an upcoming art exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. It will involve the preparation for the exhibit, including the selection of objects, fundraising, writing descriptions, and so forth. This will be an exhibition that focuses on the Ecole d’arts appliqués, La Chaux-de-Fonds and will be based on its collection of art objects, both those created by its students and the Japanese art that was actively studied in the classrooms. We are limiting the objects to those created around the year 1900. Another focus of the exhibition is on Le Corbusier, as this was his school and these were the Japanese art objects that he saw on a daily basis during his education in design.

The time schedule is rather tight: our goal is to finish all the preparations, including the writing of texts by the end of December 2015. The participation in the project will include one or two trips to La Chaux-de-Fonds as well as time in Villa Schönberg with the various reference books. The dates of the trips have not yet been set – this will be done in consultation with the participants. In the art school, we will be working with various specialists, of which some speak English, and others only French. Knowledge of French is therefore a decided plus. A lack of French needs not, however, disqualify participation in the project.

The project would be useful for learning how to prepare an art exhibition, from beginning to end. Participants would learn how to work with objects and how to describe them. They would also be involved in the nuts and bolts of actual planning an art exhibit and exhibition catalogue. This experience would be of great importance in preparing for a career in academia or in the museum world – or a career in art galleries or auctions. Successful participation in the project would lead its acknowledgement in the published catalogue.

All KGOA students are encouraged to take part. There is a restriction in the number of participants, since space is limited in the storage areas. If a restriction of number is necessary, the reduction will be made on the basis of seniority in the KGOA program. Needless to say, knowledge of French would be an important factor in the selection of participants. A preliminary explanative session is set for 10:00 AM on September 9, 2015 in the Seminarraum of Villa Schönberg. Interested students, please contact KGOA Assistant Natasha Fischer-Vaidya (natasha.fischer@khist.uzh.ch). As with all Internal Praktika, ETCS points will be given at the completion of the project – and upon the receipt of a letter addressed to Prof. Thomsen, accompanied by a short report of 3-5 pages in German or English, outlining what the participants have learned in the project. As written in the KGOA Studienordnung, MA students would receive 3 ETCS points and BA students would receive 2 ECTS for successful participation in the project.