Barbara Hammer KAMEL, Holzschnitt/wood cut 2024
On 15 March, the entry of traditional printing techniques in the Federal Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the German UNESCO Commission will be celebrated as Printmaking Day.
kunstGarten is taking part in the programme with an exhibition and workshops.
The exhibition features woodcuts by Barbara Hammer (A), colour etchings/collages by Vida Hackman (US) an a short movie by Maria Schneider.
According to Unesco, 2024 will be dedicated to camels and their fellows. “Recognising the vital role that camelids play in the livelihoods of millions of families”. This is how the United Nations declaration begins. The aim is to raise awareness of how important camelids are for the livelihoods of many people – and will become even more important in the future in view of the rapid progression of climate change.
For millions of years, the two Old World camels Рthe one-humped dromedary and the two-humped Bactrian camel, which are so closely related that they can even breed with each other and are then called tulus or bukhts, and the New World camels in South America such as llamas, guanacos, alpacas and vicu̱as Рhave provided food, especially dairy products, wool and compost, served as a means of transport and haulage, as luxury racing animals, etc., and are particularly important for the poorest people. They are of immense importance, especially for the poorest sections of the population in times of climate change.
People and animals seek out oases for recreation.
However, camels – also known as desert ships – carry water for people on long journeys without an oasis.
The oasis also symbolises rest, relaxation and regeneration.
Strength, survival power and resilience can also be drawn from knowledge and art: We want to illustrate this approach with this exhibition.
The students of the Ortweinschule (1YHKU class of Agnes Katschner) for Art & Design will experience a workshop on  Wednesday 20th of March from 14.30 to 18.00.
The Camel Habitat: economic and cultural structures
The project refers to the “Year of Camels” 2024 declared by the UN (International Year of Camelids 2024)
Camels and the 6 species of camels (dromedaries, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos) are herbivorous mammals that are essential for the survival of people in many poverty-stricken countries and areas of the world. It is therefore about the weakest population groups in rural societies, whereby camels can survive in the most hostile ecosystems on earth and contribute to the fight against hunger and the eradication of extreme poverty.
At the beginning of the project, the geographical, economic and cultural environment of the camel’s habitat (especially in Southwest and Central Asia, North Africa and South America) is analysed. The differences between the camel species (anatomy / way of life / cultural and economic significance) are discussed and analysed. Aspects such as sustainability, the empowerment of women, as well as changes due to climate change and globalisation are also part of the project.
The students are involved in the planning and initially research these topics. They will visit the Weltmuseum in Vienna (if possible) and can thus analyse certain areas, such as objects from non-European cultures, in more detail. The practical part initially consists of making drawings (sketches and studies) of different aspects of the animal-human relationship, particularly in relation to camel species and their respective habitats. Image clippings from magazines or reference photos can also be used. The artist Irmi Horn will guide them in a workshop on site at kunstGarten Graz.
These individual drawings will then be transferred to transparencies and altered to create new image ideas. The combinations will then serve as templates for a woodcut.
The artist Barbara Hammer will print the motifs together with the pupils. HDF boards and appropriate tools for the woodcut as well as special letterpress inks will be used. Working on the plates encourages the pupils to work independently – image sequences (multi-colour printing with a lost plate) are also possible. Finally, the pupils will present the results of the project to the public at kunstGarten Graz.
Activities of the pupils:
1. discussion: the relationship between humans and animals (types of camels and their cultural and economic significance), the importance of ecosystems and sustainability/ cultures and living conditions in Southwest and Central Asia, North Africa and South America
2. research: films about camels and their habitat, studies online, in libraries, in the World Museum Vienna, research on artists who have dealt with the life of camels – short presentations
3. drawings (sketches and studies) with pencil and watercolours
4. development of compositions (combination of different drawings) as a reflection on the subject matter; exploration of composition types
4. printing the motifs (letterpress process: woodcut)
5. documentation of the development of the project (photos and videos)
7. presentation of the results
Activities of the artists:
Management of the workshops and practical assistance, support with research and technical realisation
technical realisation, documentation of the development of the project, public relations work,
Organisation and presentation of the results in public spaces
The completed works of the 1YHKU class will then be exhibited in the kunstGarten from 1 – 8 May.
Vida Ratzlaff Hackman, 64, an artist in a variety of media who exhibited extensively in the Los Angeles area for nearly 20 years and was one of the founders of Triad Graphic Workshop. Born in Bakersfield, Hackman received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UC Santa Barbara and a second master’s at Cal State Northridge. She began an on-and-off teaching career at several institutions, including West Los Angeles College, in 1969. Her art making was a succession of meditations upon ideas. Etymological analysis coupled with humor and a profound sense of the ironic were among her tools. She had at least seven solo exhibitions at the Orlando Gallery in Sherman Oaks. Of her last show at the Orlando in 1998, a Times critic said, “The conceptual art spirit is alive and well in her.” But as with many artists, Hackman’s success in her field did not always yield financial rewards. “The better she got, the less money she made as an artist,” her friend and printmaking colleague Henry F. Klein said. Her final show, “The Bridge and the Boat,” is on display at the the Todd Madigan Art Gallery at Cal State Bakersfield through May 6. Of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on April 15.
Barbara Hammer was born in Graz, where she still lives and works as an artist.
She has been intensively involved in painting and printmaking since 1986 and has constantly sought further training, for example in Berlin and Dresden in the context of summer academies as well as in the Dresden Graphic Workshop (Technical Collection).
In her art, Barbara Hammer deals intensively with contemporary events and takes a stand on threats and injustice. The deficits in dealing with human rights are currently the focus of her works. Her most recent etchings are contemporary socio-political statements.
She has already presented her works in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad.
She is a member of the Professional Association of Fine Artists of Austria and the International Association of Woodcutters XYLON, Section Austria.
United Nations
General Assembly
Seventy-second session
Agenda item 19
A/RES/72/210 23 January 2018
Distr.: General
72/210.
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2017
[on the report of the Second Committee (A/72/420)] International Year of Camelids, 2024
The General Assembly,
Noting that camelids are strictly herbivorous, even-toed ungulate mammals that
first appeared in America 45 million years ago,
Noting also that there are six living species of camelids, namely, dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos, in North Africa, South-West and Central Asia, Oceania and South America,
Noting further that camelids constitute the main means of subsistence for millions of poor families that live in the most hostile ecosystems on the planet, and that they contribute to the fight against hunger, the eradication of extreme poverty, the empowerment of women and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
Recognizing that comprehensive management of the products derived from camelids would promote the inclusion of the most vulnerable populations of rural societies, leading to the creation of sustainable jobs and promoting equality, and further recognizing that these species are an important element of the cultural and spiritual identity of ancestral indigenous peoples, constituting an important social basis of the traditional and contemporary knowledge of these peoples who have maintained, preserved and protected genetic biodiversity,
Noting that camelids are a main source of protein, fibre for clothes and fertilizer for agricultural production, and that they serve as pack animals, transporting people and products in indigenous communities throughout South America’s extensive Andean highlands, as well as in deserts in Africa and Asia,
Noting also that camelids can play a key role in addressing the effects of climate change, in particular in arid and semi-arid lands, and that recognition, advocacy and support for the promotion of the products and services that they provide is of paramount importance for the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them,
17-23277 (E) *1723277*
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A/RES/72/210
International Year of Camelids, 2024
Recalling the urgent need to raise public awareness of the importance of camelids for food security and ecosystem functions, and to promote actions that improve the management of camelids in order to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals,
Taking note of resolution 7/2017 of 7 July 2017 on the International Year of the Camelids, adopted at the fortieth session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, held in Rome from 3 to 8 July 2017,1
Reaffirming its resolutions 53/199 of 15 December 1998 and 61/185 of 20 December 2006 on the proclamation of international years, and Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980 on international years and anniversaries, in particular paragraphs 1 to 10 of the annex thereto on the agreed criteria for the proclamation of international years, as well as paragraphs 13 and 14 of the annex, stating that an international year should not be proclaimed before the basic arrangements necessary for its organization and financing have been made,
- Decides to declare 2024 the International Year of Camelids;
- Encourages all Member States, the United Nations system and all other
actors to take advantage of the International Year to promote awareness among the public of the economic and cultural importance of camelids and to foster the consumption of the goods produced from these mammals, including edible goods, in order to contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition;
3. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, mindful of provisions contained in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67, to facilitate the organization and implementation of the International Year, in collaboration with Governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations and all other relevant stakeholders;
4. Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, mindful of the provisions of paragraphs 23 to 27 of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67, to inform the General Assembly at its eightieth session regarding the implementation of the present resolution, including an evaluation of the International Year;
5. Stresses that the costs of all the activities that may arise from the implementation of the present resolution and that are above and beyond those currently within the mandate of the lead agency should be met through voluntary contributions, including from the private sector;
6. Invites all relevant stakeholders to make voluntary contributions and to provide other forms of support for the International Year.
74th plenary meeting 20 December 2017
2/2
17-23277
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1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Report of the Conference of FAO, Fortieth Session, Rome, 3–8 July 2017 (C 2017/REP), appendix H.