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FINE ARTS

SLAP !

with Geoffrey Cottenceau, Gina Proenza

Whether it’s a parade, a particle accelerator or a dance ball, SLAP invites you to inhabit a space from a gravitational perspective. Positioned on the boundary between two and three dimensions, the works are subject to centrifugal laws and find themselves exchanging with one another to create fortuitous narratives, as if the continuous round of which they were a part of had suddenly come to a halt. The exhibition space becomes the site of a fundamentally social event - in terms of the works it hosts and the exhibition context - and reveals the social perspective that the works hold in rela- tion to each other. Like a boring chat with a friend of a friend, some pieces are overwhelmed by their conversations, while others lend themselves easily to them. You’ll have no hesitation in intercepting some of the phrases exchanged between the works, while having the opportunity to: reply/nego- tiate/argue with the social time-space that SLAP, as a real static meeting point, offers for an evening.

FOUNDATION YEAR

Ecal x Reitzel silo

by Dunand Clea

Reitzel wished to make the surface area of its silo available to young artists for free expression and creativity. To this end, a competition was held and student Cléa Dunand's project was selected, transforming the industrial silo into an artistic canvas. Production of the paintings: Yoanys Andino Diaz and his team

FOUNDATION YEAR

L'Or Bleu

with Nicolas Haeni

Une exposition par les étudiant·e·s en Année Propédeutique – option Photographie de l’ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne Sous la direction du photographe Nicolas Haeni, les étudiant·e·s invitent à se questionner sur la symbolique de l’eau. Depuis la nuit des temps, cet or bleu intrigue et inspire, laissant naître des interprétations qui, encore aujourd’hui, et peut-être même plus que jamais, habitent la littérature, les arts visuels ou encore les arts vivants. Partant de la citation de l’astrophysicien Hubert Reeves « À l’échelle cosmique, l’eau liquide est plus rare que l’or », les jeunes photographes proposent leur vision personnelle et individuelle, en explorant différents domaines de la photographie : nature morte, portrait, architecture ou mise en scène. Photos © ECAL/Marvin Merkel

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Partnerships with Mec-Art

with Nicolas Le Moigne

Within the framework of the partnership between ECAL/University of Art & Design Lausanne and Mec-Art (Pour la Mécanique d'Art), the students of the Master in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship had the opportunity to visit the manufactures and meet the artisans based in the town of Sainte-Croix. This region of the Franco-Swiss Jura arc gathers a great deal of know-how in watchmaking and art mechanics and is now part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage. These visits and encounters should enable the students of the ECAL program to create simple and fun mechanical parts that will illustrate the various skills specific to the region, such as automatons, music boxes or watchmaking.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic installation

with Marco Poloni

The Future, Inverted, or: Avoiding Stupidity Produce a visual and sound image device - moving and still images, objects, sounds and texts - that articulates a future and your model for thinking about it. This future can be possible, probable or preferred, personal or social.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Création photographique

with Natacha Lesueur

The students develop a project over the whole semester, on a freely chosen subject, by submitting it regularly to the critical eye and advice of the professor. Argumentation and analysis are stimulated. The aim is to examine the issues involved in photography as an author and to develop a personal expression, which could potentially lead to the students' diploma work. Particular attention is paid to the argumentation of the work, at the different stages of its development.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographie et Art plastiques

with Milo Keller

The course aims to develop a particular knowledge and sensitivity for all types of light. It invites the students to free creation, to the autonomy of elaboration and realization of a personal project.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Higurashi book launch

with Milo Keller, MAP

In Summer 2019, thirteen students from the ECAL Master’s in Photography programme supervised by Milo Keller travelled to Japan to work on thirteen individual projects in collaboration with Japanese photographer Taisuke Koyama within the framework of the Tokyo Photographic Research project. The students’ artworks range from still and moving images to computer-generated photographic visuals and explore multiple facets of the Japanese megalopolis which is, once again, undergoing major transformation in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Some projects focus on aspects specific to the city, from the destruction of small residential houses to the construction of the gigantic Olympic Village and the conquest of new territories by the sea. Other works investigate distinctive Japanese culture such as home-cooked food, the appetite for designing humanoid robots, the blending of child and adult worlds in manga, pachinko gambling, the reinvention of ikebana and young girls as ‘rising stars.’ Finally, the works seek to visually represent more abstract concepts such as loneliness, emptiness and intimacy in a city that, due to its density, size and power, offers a challenging, fascinating and extremely stimulating complexity to the eyes of the thirteen photographers. Higurashi has been presented at Espace Commines in Paris in November 2021, inside the exhibition Automated Photography during Paris Photo. Head of Photography Milo Keller Invited Teacher Taisuke Koyama Assistants Florian Amoser Calum Douglas Graphic Design Thomas Le Provost Typefaces Craft by ECAL/Benoit Brun & Raphaël De la Morinerie ITC Garamond Std Head of Culture and Communications Embassy of Switzerland in Japan Jonas Pulver DGES/Summer University Maxline Stettler Photography Students Emidio Battipaglia Robin Bervini Jasmine Deporta Anja Karolina Furrer Alessia Gunawan Christian Harker Jung-Ting Hu Johanna Hullár Philipp Klak Doruk Kumkumoglu Igor Pjörrt Jelly Luise Gedvile Tamosiunaite Publisher ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne higurashi.zone Higurashi is available at  ecal-shop.ch .

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Diploma jury 2021

Jury : Nieves Contreras, Creative Director, Lladro, Valencia Alberto Cavalli, Director, Michelangelo Foundation, Geneva Guillaume Delvigne, Designer, Paris Prix De Bethune : Sarah Yao

TYPE DESIGN

Excerpts from Master Type Design theses

with Anniina Koivu, Roland Früh, Wayne Daly

PRODUCT DESIGN

Excerpts from Master Product Design theses

with Anniina Koivu

AUTHOR: Adam Huxley-Khng TITLE: ON in the absence of OFF On and off – at the flick of a switch, or the touch of a button. We are able to switch between the states of being of an object without thought, rarely questioning what makes an object ‘on’. Is it the presence of electric power? A sense of agency, or animism? What if on-ness is a state of being reflected by the cultural, rather than technological, capacity of an object – the embodiment of a moment of possibility? ----- AUTHOR: Alessandro Simone TITLE: What is next? SUBTITLE: The evolution of mountaineering and human limits This research examines the mountain landscape in the context of the evolution of mountaineering. Starting from the activity’s origin, the research investigates the shifts in technology, mindset, and limits that enabled the transformation of a destination for challenging expeditions into a place for second homes and weekend enthusiasts. How were humans able to overcome their limits, and what were the motivations for this drive? Products and objects played an essential role in guiding the story of mountaineering from the old ages to nowadays, making the user and his/her experience safer, but subsequently opening this terrain to mass tourism. This research retraces historical events and technical innovations to better understand mountaineering’s evolution, imagining a possible approach to this form of high-altitude tourism for the future. ----- AUTHOR: Alexander Schul TITLE: Visual language of sustainable design Different “sustainable” design proposals have been made in the past decades: from (literally) green looking objects, to normal looking ones, to objects whose visual language speaks to sustainability in their own individual way. In this research, I analyse a few examples in regards to the way the visual language of sustainable products has been approached in the past, what sustainable design looks like today, as well as what it will look like in the near future. The essay is led by the question “How does a sustainable approach to an object influence its visual language?” ----- AUTHOR: Charlotta Åman TITLE: Waste matters SUBTITLE: Valorising secondary products for a resourceful future Throughout history, humans have been expert in utilising every element of a given re­source. The heritage of husbandry has been car­ried from generation to generation – until today. Now, we are more disconnected than ever from original assets. In present manufacturing processes, secondary matter from production is often considered as waste rather than as a resource – an unfortunate conclusion as we are running out of raw materials and landfills grow. What does it entail to fully utilise a resource by valorising its secondary products, and how does it relate to the practice of a designer? The loose connections in manufacturing chains provide an opportunity to re-think: by considering the source, the scale and the system, design can be used as a tool for transition. ----- AUTHOR: Grace, Ka Yin Cheung TITLE: Japanese miniature culture: netsuke and gachapon SUBTITLE: Why are we so fascinated with small things? Miniatures are smaller than a normal objects, and include small replicas or models. Miniatures are present in different cultures all over the world and throughout time. The miniaturisation of mundane objects is recurrent, and has been an integral part of the memory of a culture. Among the different international miniature cultures, Japan has one of the most distinctive and apparent spirits of miniaturisation. To understand why people are so fascinated with miniatures, this research looks for the answers by delving into the miniature culture of netsuke and gachapon in Japan. ----- AUTHOR: Hsin Hung Chou TITLE: Unpack flat-pack SUBTITLE: The value of ready-to-assemble furniture This research studies flat-packing from its origins in the mid-19th century to its contemporary form as one of the prevailing typologies of the global furniture industry. Guiding questions have been: If the objective is to design and produce products from a logistical and sustainable point of view, is there any other solution to knock-down furniture? Does furniture lose its aesthetic and value in the process of being flat-packed? If the future is flat, could we make it better? ----- AUTHOR: Jimin Jeon TITLE: Soft, small and far, far away SUBTITLE: Our understanding of software Fire is the first profound tool in human history that cannot be grasped with the naked hand. Fire was considered a mysterious or religious thing – a gift from God, or punishment. But it was also an essential tool for human evolution. Today, we have found another tool surrounded by mystery and misunderstandings: software. It doesn’t smell, make noise, or come in any fixed form. It just occasionally flickers through a screen. This new tool takes us to another world, beyond physical limitations, that no caveman could have imagined. But, first, we need to understand the nature of software in relation to hardware – that is, the tools we are already familiar with. ----- AUTHOR: Jisan Chung TITLE: Assemblage in design Assemblage is mainly considered an artistic technique. However, by reviewing works of various designers, we can see that the same technique has been used in the field of design, too. This study aims to examine the characteristics and the meaning of “assemblage design” and its potential. Assemblage can trigger innovate manufacturing processes and create its very own aesthetic. ----- AUTHOR: Jonas Villiger TITLE: About repairability SUBTITLE: Rules, incentives and approaches to keeping things in circulation We want our products to be durable. And, if they break or become outdated, they should be repairable and upgradeable, too. It can be a very satisfying feeling to make something work again, or to make it work even better than it did before. Unfortunately, the industry does not make this easy for consumers. Not being able to intervene when something goes wrong with an object, consumers end up simply buying new things. However, giving a device an extended lifespan keeps us from wasting valuable resources. Starting from recent legislation and public movements that call for the right to repair, this research questions the role of designers within these changing circumstances. ----- AUTHOR: Julian Ribler TITLE: The Factory SUBTITLE: An investigation into modern design principles The Modernist movement promoted the appreciation of the advancements of industry. Modernism went on to integrate industrial advancement as part of the fundamentals of the movement as a whole. The principle of applying an engineer’s perspective was thought to inform the practice of designers and architects. Exploring modern factory environments and investigating the advancements in manufacturing technology today can help us revise these principles and examine the changing factory context. ----- AUTHOR: Kwan Ming Sum TITLE: Stagnation and innovation in the wheelchair industry A wheelchair is an essential tool for people with mobility issues to perform everyday tasks and achieve social participation. Unfortunately, modern manual wheelchairs hardly satisfy the emerging need of a well-resolved wheelchair design. A fundamental shift in understanding of today’s needs and innovation in this field are urgently required. Given the growth of the aging population, a rethink of wheelchair design is critical. Through conducting several interviews with different stakeholders, including wheelchair users, producers, and designers, this research aims to investigate the underlying reasons behind the stagnation in the wheelchair industry, and looks at how that might change. ----- AUTHOR: Maxwell Ashford TITLE: Fractions SUBTITLE: Cost-effective recycling A fraction is the result of any recycling process. It refers to the amount of materials from an object that can be recycled cost effectively, and is used broadly across the recycling industry. Objects are by standard practises designed independently from any end-of-life system and inevitably, the result is that objects cannot be effectively recycled. Historically, there has been little incentive for producers, and thus designers, to deal with the death or disposal of objects. But this is due to change, as incoming legislation from the EU will force producers to use recycled materials and create more recyclable objects. In turn, this demand will affect designers. So how can we work to create more sustainable goods? ----- AUTHOR: Nadav Goldenberg TITLE: Empire State of Play SUBTITLE: Playground design in the urban environment How did the design of playgrounds evolve throughout history? And how does the urban environment play a part in their evolution? To answer these questions, I look at New York City. Here, we see a dense urban space for play development, with a long history of constant shifts in play ideals, safety regulations and the pioneering of playground design. ----- AUTHOR: Oscar Kwong TITLE: Comfort and the curve The curve exists in all ranges of expression, from the flamboyant to the modest. In the past decade there have been multiple studies that have set out to confirm our instinctual desires for the curvaceous shape, proving in every measurable scenario that humans prefer the round compared to the rectilinear. This intuitive response to the curve has been hard-wired as part of our evolutionary bias. The relationship that connects comfort and the curve will be the premise of this essay: from the buildings of Sanaa that employs the familiar curve, as a reminder of our connection with nature; to trace the postures supported by the comfy lounge and its intimate bond with the human body; to the conforming contours of everyday objects. ----- AUTHOR: Silvio Rebholz TITLE: TV studio sets SUBTITLE: A space for reality and fiction TV studio sets are spatial constructions in which TV formats such as news, talk shows or game shows are produced. On these sets, hosts interact with guests, newsreaders broadcast informa­tion and hosts entertain – always with the intention of reproducing the scene on screens. Focusing on the designs of TV studio sets, it is striking how unusually shaped they are. Elaborately sweeping curves of sofas; LEDs highlighting the edges of a desk. Remarkably, these and other exceptional elements aren’t isolated cases, but repeat across shows, broadcast genres and national borders. Their similarities suggest that it’s about more than free formal expression. What are the parameters for consideration in a “good” TV studio set? How did this unique style develop? ----- AUTHOR: Thomas Manil TITLE: The typology of coins This research project explores the history, production and formal language of coins. They are part of our lives and accompany our daily gestures. We give them, we receive them, we pocket them, or we place them carefully in a wallet. We have the impression that we know them very well, and yet, we have a hard time describing them with precision. It is an integral part of the country’s identity and embodies the link between art, design and technology. In a society that is gradually seeking to dematerialise money, the coin deserves special attention. ----- AUTHOR: Till Ronacher TITLE: The robotic arm Industrial robots have been involved in the manufacturing of products since the 1960s. But over the last decades, industrial robots have been moving out of the factories into new contexts such as architecture and design. Now, in some experimental contexts, digital fabrication is explored with the help of industrial robots. In such laboratories, the cooperation between humans and industrial robots is being investigated and applied in a design context, within which new forms and transformative design processes emerge. In this thesis, I examine some of these developments with regards to the possibilities of their integration into the design process. ----- AUTHOR: Trolle Rudebeck TITLE: A writing and drawing instrument In the age of typing, scrolling and audio-recording, cursive writing might seem endangered, particularly among younger generations. As handwriting has become more and more obsolete, it has come to be considered as a poetic or romantic act rather than a fundamental tool. Looking back to ancient civilizations and their instruments for drawing and writing, the pen’s stick-like shape has remained surprisingly constant. By looking to the past, could we predict the future of the pen?

PHOTOGRAPHY

Excerpts from Master Photography theses

with Anniina Koivu

AUTHOR: Sara Bastai TITLE: How to build a collective memory in the digital realm? SUBTITLE: Depicting humankind through methods of preservation It seems, sometimes, like today’s main focus of interest lies in how future societies will perceive us. The traces we might leave behind can significantly impact the history and interpretation of our current present. Can we rely on digital preservation? What should we document for the future? How can we represent and preserve society in the 21st century without being reduced to mere computational information processing? This master thesis is a speculative reflection on our current and past methods of preservation of social history. ------ AUTHOR: Maeva Bosko TITLE: Dream worlds SUBTITLE: What happens when we’re asleep? Since my early childhood, I have dreamt a lot. Sweet, pleasant or strange dreams, nightmares, sometimes even lucid dreams. Night is when I escape to these virtual worlds. But what are these worlds? Why are they so different from my ordinary waking world? I’ve even gotten to the point, on various occasions, when I preferred these dream states to my everyday reality. This is a research project into the world of dreams as an attempt to decode the unconsciousness in relation to the virtual universe and reality we experience at night. ------ AUTHOR: Natalie Maximova TITLE: Walking the landscape, in video games With a focus on landscape representation in video games called “walking simulators”, this thesis attempts to uncover questions related to a complex and ambiguous notion of landscape, from its original conception to today. During my research, I applied the interpretive approach of “reading” and decoding landscapes that have been used by geographers, as well as sociologists, artists and historians. Video game landscapes could be thought of as a system consisting of natural, man-made and cultural forces which can be identified and studied. The landscape in this case plays as a medium that combines, holds and channels these forces. If video game environments exist as part of our culture, what kind of connections do these virtual spaces form? This thesis tries to uncover processes behind the construction of the “natural” in video game environments. ------ AUTHOR: Joanna Wierzbicka TITLE: Why should our bodies end at the skin? SUBTITLE: Rethinking bodily matter beyond a humanist imagination This thesis follows the turn to matter within the fields of body studies, posthuman feminist theory, and new materialism in order to rethink the definition of what a body is and, more importantly, what a body can do. The main research objective is to find out how through questioning the definition of a body and the use of metaphorical thinking in this process, we can establish a more ethical living ground among other bodies. ------ AUTHOR: Olivia Wünsche TITLE: Myths shape reality After having lived a deeply transformative psychedelic experience, all previously held beliefs and perceptions which conditioned my relationship to the surrounding reality, suddenly broke free from the prison of mental programming and limited awareness. Different aspects of this internal change manifested through an almost visceral connection to the Earth. I started to direct my attention towards subjects revolving around environmental and humanitarian crisis, simultaneously wanting to find the cause that has led to our current state of separateness, in which we distance ourselves from others and from nature. I understood quite rapidly that socio-political problem-solving is undoubtedly urgent and indispensable, however it remains shallow and incomplete by treating symptoms without curing the cause. ------ AUTHOR: Zhang Manqin TITLE: A diamond-shaped egg This master thesis is based on different tools that can be used to explore the power of memory. Closely related to the author’s “I’m not a loner” photo installation, this research project combines fictional writing with the documentary approach of a diary.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Pratiques et technologies photographiques

with Jonas Marguet

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Diploma jury 2020

Jury : Franziska Kessler, Founder of Frankiska Kessler Gallery, Zurich Marco Sammicheli, Design Curator, Triennale, Milan Alfredo Haeberli, Designer, Zürich Prix De Bethune : Charlotte Therre

FILM STUDIES

Shooting of the web-series "Bâtards"

On the set of the web-series "Bâtards" directed by Malou Briand and Raphaël Meyer, students of Master Cinéma- major scriptwriting. The project won the 3rd edition of the Fantastic Web Contest at NIFFF 2019. Produced by Box Productions and RTS.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic creation

with Natacha Lesueur

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ciné-photographie

with Marco Poloni

ECAL Research Day 2019: Technology and Research in Art and Design

Technology and Research in Art and Design Friday 8 November, 10.30–19.30 IKEA Auditorium, ECAL, Renens www.researchday.ch Résumé The symposium explored the links between technology and research, with artists, designers and scholars in these fields from all over the world, in discussion with ECAL faculty members. Keynote speeches, conversations, exhibitions and concerts marked the overlapping territory of research and technological innovation. Program Welcome , Alexis Georgacopoulos, director, ECAL Introductory notes , Davide Fornari, head of R&D and professor, ECAL Moderation by Arijana Walcott, emerging technology consultant, co-founder and COO, DART LABS, Zurich Data Materialization Natalie D. Kane, curator of digital design, Victoria and Albert Museum, London in conversation with Patrick Keller, professor, ECAL Keynote: How Can Type Influence How We Design Written Communication? Bianca Berning, font engineer, Dalton Maag, London introduced by Kai Bernau, professor, ECAL, and co-founder, Atelier Carvalho Bernau, The Hague Artists Residencies for Innovation Hugues Vinet, innovation and research director, IRCAM-Centre Pompidou, Paris in conversation with Nicolas Henchoz, director, EPFL+ECAL Lab The Aesthetics of Sustainability Christian Kaegi, founder, Qwstion, Zurich, and Fabrice Aeberhard, founder, Viu, Zurich in conversation with Thilo Alex Brunner, professor, ECAL, and art director, ON shoes, Zurich Keynote: Humanising Machines: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Art and Design Christian Mio Loclair, art director and founder, Waltz Binaire, Berlin introduced by Pauline Saglio, head of BA Media & Interaction Design and professor, ECAL Keynote: Designing Citizenship in Unstable Times Ala Tannir, co-curator of the 22nd Milan Triennale Broken Nature and independent architect, New York introduced by Davide Fornari, head of R&D and professor, ECAL Audio performance curated by Thibault Walter, professor, ECAL The Invisible Other. Chapter 1. Vibrancy. When the Divinity Manifests. For visual obstructions, time-based media, light and signal refractions By Mario de Vega, sound artist, Mexico City/Berlin in partnership with La Becque | Artist Residency, La Tour-de-Peilz Throughout the day, exhibitions in the Kudelski Hall, l’elac Gallery and EPFL+ECAL Lab: • 100 beste Plakate 18 • ECAL Diplômes 2019 • Smartphone Peripheral Companions curated by Alain Bellet • Soft Machines curated by Camille Blin, Christophe Guberan and Skylar Tibbits, in collaboration with the MIT Department of Architecture and its Design Minor/Design Major Program. On the occasion of the symposium, ECAL launched the book Technology and Research in Art and Design edited by Davide Fornari and published by ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne. Technology and Research and Art and Design In collaboration with EPFL+ECAL Lab Supported by HES-SO Media partner: Creative Applications Network

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Diploma jury 2019

Jury : Sabine Marcelis, Designer, Rotterdam Tylor Brûlé, Editor in Chief and Founder of Monocle magazine, Zurich David Sadigh, Founder of Digital Luxury Group, Geneva Prix De Bethune : Clara Martin

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Diploma Jury 2018

Jury : Bethan Laura Wood, Designer, London Fabien Vallerian, International Director of Arts & Culture, Ruinart, Paris Kieron Marchese Executive editorial director, Designboom, Milan

FINE ARTS

Symposium 'Eco-monde: horizons nouveaux'

Can we move from one world to another, from one period of human history to another, and still create forms, produce meaning, sell art, as if nothing had happened? To slip into a new era without taking it into account? Between the countdown of the ecological catastrophe and the new environmental conscience, we are in the process of changing paradigm, and of entering, without always knowing it, often backwards, in an unknown universe, where the political, social, scientific, artistic questions are no longer posed in the same terms. Where was the man ("ecce homo") is imposed today the interdependence of the forms of life ("to like the echo?"). Where Prometheus was unleashed, with his myth of progress and his dogma of development, a new concern arises, still badly understood, that of lasting, of letting live, of abstaining. Where substance reigns, that of products, resources, certainties, a new question now insinuates itself: the atmosphere, a matter of ambiance and resonance, of airy spirits and the bewitchment of things. And where anthropocentrism triumphed for a long time, as an imperial posture, the ground is cracking under the feet of Man, who loses his capital letter, his arrogance, his solitude too. Of this obliged ecological turn of the late modernity, the art and the culture cannot not take account. They must find a new tone, in tune with the perils, the urgencies, but also the humility and the breadth of vision required by these new times. They must explore new themes, which frenetic capitalism and the dramas of history had relegated to the background. Above all, they need to think together things that have been separated for centuries: objects and lives, air and meaning, micro and macro, time and space. It is these vast problems that the symposium will address. It is in this spirit that it will shake up our habits. It is with as much joy as questioning, with freedom as with open dialogue, that it will tackle head on the revolution in progress, and its crucial stakes for the art world - and for the simple fact of creating. We will talk about the Anthropocene, green finance, vital decay, militant slush, the relationship between the environment and the extremities, and many other things. Keeping in mind, in order not to disarm, that it is not a question of defending nature, but rather, today more than ever, of being the nature that defends itself.