Historically, the range of materials available for the construction of buildings, the furnishing of interiors, for instruments and household goods, clothing, adornment etc. was limited – metal, wood, textile fibres, stone and clay came in common-place or in luxury varieties, each with specific qualities and weaknesses, but none of them could be produced artificially. Nevertheless, human ingenuity and skilled craftsmanship created an impressive range of objects perfectly suited – in form and functionality – to their respective purposes. This was possible, because craftspersons and their customers shared an in-depth understanding of the material options and the techniques required to use them to their best advantage. Processes involved assessing the specific characteristics of a given material, considering the intended result, developing and honing tools, refining skills, exploiting particular strengths – and sometimes going “against the grain”. Of course, economic aspects also were at play in these situations: they could inform the preference for a certain material over another, inspire particularly time-consuming work processes or short-cuts, suggest using expensive or rare materials sparingly – or be over-ruled by the desire for luxury and a display of ostentatious wealth.

In this course, we will pick up on and explore in greater depth the discussions started during the last semester: we will study and discuss materials and techniques used in historic objects with a view to understanding what craftspersons of previous periods achieved and how they did it. This will help us to understand why specific materials – and the objects fashioned from them – were considered as particularly valuable, why some could substitute others (but only just!), and how craftspersons occasionally went to extraordinary lengths in order to achieve certain effects. We will also see which considerations guided knowledgeable customers’ choices, up to the point where they preferred some materials/objects for their functionality and others for the prestige they added to their owners’ status.

Die Veranstaltung findet jeweils am Mittwoch von 14 – 17 Uhr (mit einer Pause) statt, und zwar an den folgenden Tagen: 

15. und 29. April, 

13. und 27. Mai, 

10. und 24. Juni sowie 

1. Juli 2026.

Nach Absprache mit den TeilnehmerInnen werden Sitzungen im Seminarraum durch Museumsbesuche ergänzt.

Ort: Mart Stam-Raum