Exhibition text
Pro Helvetia, the Swiss foundation for culture, presents Swiss Design in Hollywood through 35 displays, five audio-visual presentations and online documentation. It is a travelling exhibition stored digitally and conceived by the Maison d’Ailleurs (Yverdon-les-Bains). Swiss Design in Hollywood retraces the work and impact of Swiss artists in the areas of design and digital imagery in international film production as well as in video games.
The cinema industry is one of the most important cultural contributors of the modern era. Contrary to popular belief, a number of artists with strong links to Switzerland have worked successfully over the years in the conception of films or games, creating characters, fantastic creatures and scenery. Today, many of these artists are working on some of the most publicly-recognised projects (including animated films) and are leaving an enduring mark on popular culture, although their contribution is largely unknown.
Swiss Design in Hollywood gives an historical perspective on little known or underrated artistic techniques and practices. The exhibition also aims to emphasise the personal influence of particular Swiss designers and illustrators – whether they work independently or for the big special effects studios – on the aesthetics of film and video game production, without overlooking their personal creations.
More than just a gallery of images, Swiss Design in Hollywood also attempts to give an historic overview of little known or underrated artistic techniques and practices which originated mainly from applied art. It also provides a critical overview of artists who were often omitted from official Art History, even though academic know-how is at the heart of their work.
Twenty displays form the main element of the exhibition, presenting the following artists and their work in the areas of cinema and video game production: H. R. Giger, John Howe, Christian Scheurer, Deak Ferrand, Natasha Devaud, Nicolas Imhof, Brigitte Wuest, Silvio Aebischer, Simon Christen, Nadja Bonacina, Simon Otto and Alex Ongaro.
One section (seven displays) covers the historical context in relation to Switzerland (painting, illustration, fantastic films, animation, video games, links between cinema and games), while four displays present the techniques associated with cinematographic design (matte painting, concept design, special effects, other techniques).
Finally, a section of three displays presents the current situation in Switzerland (the films Max & Co and Cargo), as well as the training involved in digital imagery.
In view of the exhibition’s theme, no less than five audiovisual presentations are available for viewing separately or together: an interview with H. R. Giger, a documentary on John Howe, a glimpse of Christian Scheurer’s techniques, promotional trailers by Deak Ferrand and a montage of interviews of four other designers and extracts from their work.
Further information. Internet Site
The Pro Helvetia website has a number of pages dedicated to the exhibition (http://www.pro-helvetia.ch/expo). These pages form a complete multimedia catalogue and aim to completely replace the traditional exhibition catalogue. The site contains all the texts included in the exhibition and offers a representative selection of the exhibition’s displays.
The site has links to audio-visual extracts from the exhibition.
The information on the site is completed with a bibliography as well as page links for the artists presented and their areas of activity. This allows people to further their knowledge of the subjects.
Credits
– Production:
Pro Helvetia, Swiss foundation for culture, Zürich
www.prohelvetia.ch
– Conception:
Maison d'Ailleurs, Yverdon-les-Bains
www.ailleurs.ch
– Project leader:
Pierre Schaer (Pro Helvetia)
– Curator:
Patrick J. Gyger (Maison d'Ailleurs)
– Texts:
Frédéric Jaccaud, Patrick J. Gyger
– Coordination assistant:
Cristina Bond
– Graphic production:
at-elier.net
– Audio-visuals:
François Boetschi (Le Flair)
– Internet/Programming:
Sébastien Cevey
– Translation:
Gabriele Corson, Valerio Ferloni, Beatriz Lienhard-Fernandez, Lucas Moreno, Christoph Neuenschwander, Katherine Quinn
– Correction:
Marc Tiefenauer
– Thanks to:
Cuno Affolter, Nicolas Akladios, Carlos Arenas, Raphaël Arrigoni, Cheryl Bainum, Matthias Belz, Alain Bielik, Jennifer Bochud, Michel Buhler, DreamWorks, Pascal Fillat, Charlotte Jourdain, Petra Giezendanner, Urs Hangartner, HarperCollins, Bernard Huber, Pierre-Emmanuel Jaques, Laurent-Xavier Lamory, Kunstmuseum Basel, Peter Mosimann, New Line, Philippe Ney, Julian Oliver, Marcus Osterwalder, Magnus Paulsson, Samuel Rossetti, Carmen Scheifele, Simon Spiegel, Michel Vust, Marianne Wagner and the artists.
The exhibition is included in Pro Helvetia’s collection of CD-ROM exhibitions, available at http://www.pro-helvetia.ch/expo where you will also find information on all other CD-ROM exhibitions.