Alma Teer, Second year at the Jewellery Linking- Bodies department, during the Jan Hanlo Essay prize ceremony The selected trophy design by Alma Teer
The 2021 trophy of the Jan Hanlo Essay Prize was designed by second-year student Alma Teer of the Jewellery-Linking Bodies department. Her initial inspiration derived form a paper plane that in its innocence and fragility contrasts sharply with the noisy airplanes described by Jan Hanlo in his poem ‘Never Quiet Again’. To transform this concept into a trophy, Alma recalled her first memory of a ceremony, namely the awarding of her swimming diploma. The trophy is a hand-calligraphed certificate that was first signed by the jury’s chair and the prize winner, then folded into a paper plane and handed over to the prize winner by air. The awarding explored both the trophy as an object and the moment when someone is honored as a winner. The assignment was supervised by guest lecturer Liesbet Bussche.
In Material culture studies, objects are considered markers for culturally defined differences, identity markers and strongly culture-bearing. Through the three days workshop ‘All you need is…’ students will use objects as inspiration and as questions, to sharpen their awareness towards the network of material things, which we use to shape our world and which in turn shape us as humans.
As an attempt to uncover essential meaning in existing small matter. The students at the workshop were asked: What are objects capable of? What is the most important role of the objects you are making? What values do you cherish? What values would you like to implement into your own work? What story is worth telling?
Gitte Nygaard, artist and maker: I work across disciplines to expand conversations and inspire awareness of the relationship between ourselves and the objects we live with. My work moves beyond the gallery, connects the seemingly unexpected and explores the often overlooked. I create artworks, functional objects, collections, commissioned pieces and project based collaborations.
The work of Barbara Graf is tightly involved with the body. The intense relationship to the body is explored through Anatomical Garments, body objects and enveloping bandages. In Anatomical Garments, anatomical structures are sewn into fabrics, these surround the body, and the physical space is turned upside down, expanded or rearranged. While many of the works ‘dress‘ the body, they are rather to be understood as body extensions: Shells that completely wrap the body, transform the artist into a sculptural figure and as a second skin determine the body’s position. These sculptural constructions can be disassembled into its individual parts, and come with a manual that resembles technical instructions. All of the elements together while operating as textile body-shells, are at the same time a conceptual art work, as well as a made-to-measure bag which transforms the sculpture into a travel kit.
Barbara Graf is an artist and lecturer at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in the Textile Department. In her work she investigates body representations and develops flexible sculptures as a second skin. Her main media include drawing, sculpture, photography and film. Since 2004 she has been working in artistic research projects dealing with medical issues. She is currently developing her artistic doctoral thesis Stitches and Sutures on the visualisation of body perception at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. http://www.barbara-graf.at/
