Kurt Aepli - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kurt Aepli

Encyclopedia

Kurt Aepli in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, died December 22, 2002 in Uznach

Uznach

Uznach is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Uznach is first mentioned in 741 as Uzinaa in a grant from a noble lady at Benken Abbey to the Abbey of Saint Gall...

, SG, Switzerland) was a Swiss silversmith

Silversmith

A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...

, a designer

Jewelry designer

A jewellery designer or jewelry designer is a person who renders original jewellery creations and usually constructs them as well...

of fine jewelry and implements, as well as a professional educator.

Life

Kurt Aepli completed his education as a silversmith

Silversmith

at the School of Applied Arts (today, the Berufschule für Gestaltung) in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

between 1934 and 1939. Due to the mobilization

Mobilization

Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...

of the Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

military during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he went straight on to four years of active duty. In 1942 he took the position of head designer

Jewelry designer

A jewellery designer or jewelry designer is a person who renders original jewellery creations and usually constructs them as well...

in the studio

Studio

A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...

of Meinrad Burch-Korrodi., and before long he developed the signature style by which both the jewelry and particularly the ecclesiastical

Ecclesiology

Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...

implements he designed can be recognized. He left his mark as a trailblazer of Christian sacral

Sacred

Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...

art in Switzerland during the second half of the 20th century, about the same time as the church builder and designer Fritz Metzger

Fritz Metzger

Fritz Metzger was a Swiss church architect.-External links:* *...

and the painter Ferdinand Gehr

Ferdinand Gehr

Ferdinand Gehr was a Swiss painter.-References:*This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia....

, both of whom he held in high esteem. It is hardly coincidental that Kurt Aepli’s creative output peaked during the period of expectation that was associated with the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

1962 through 1965. There is little doubt that the economic boom following WWII had been good for the jewelry trade, because when Christoph Trudel took over the business from Meinrad Burch in 1967, Kurt Aepli was so soundly established that the creative freedom granted by Trudel Juwelier was practically without limit.
Between 1946 and 1980, Kurt Aepli was a member of the Swiss Work Federation (Schweizerischer Werkbund, or SWB), an association dedicated to the debate of creative issues and the development of design. Like for so many successful creative minds of the thirties, the Zurich School of Concrete

Concrete art

Concrete art and design or concretism is an abstractionist movement that evolved in the 1930s out of the work of De Stijl, the futurists and Kandinsky around the Swiss painter Max Bill. The term "concrete art" was first introduced by Theo van Doesburg in his "Manifesto of Concrete Art"...

and Constructive

Constructivism (art)

Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...

Art made a profound impression. Artists like Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school...

, Max Bill

Max Bill

Max Bill was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.Bill was born in Winterthur...

and Richard P. Lohse, but also the Bauhaus

Bauhaus

', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...

were each of most apparent influence throughout Kurt Aepli’s entire career.

Creative output

The success of the companies Burch-Korrodi and Trudel Juwelier was due in large part to the professional-technical know-how and the creative contribution of Kurt Aepli. In the studio of Meinrad Burch the almost legendary „Goldsmith

Goldsmith

A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...

-triumvirate

Triumvirate

A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...

“, as it was referred to locally in the trade, would eventually develop. It consisted of Kurt Aepli (Chief Designer), Martin Bucher (Chef d’atelier) and Berger Bergersen (Master Enameler

Vitreous enamel

Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...

), all three of whom were professionally and technically equally adept, complimented one anothers respective fields of expertise and got along famously as a team.

Aepli’s style might best be described as the evolution of Modernism

Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...

, the Bauhaus

Bauhaus

and Art Déco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

. Using a scientific approach, compositions would methodically evolve from the basic geometric

Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

shapes, using nothing but flat, square or round stock. Yet a close observation of nature and its creations led him to conclude that there were no incorrect forms, colors or sounds in nature, which is recognizable throughout his decade-long creative activity.

This dynamic was maximized by the inclusive application of high-value materials. Lines, forms and shapes were pared down to their essence

Essence

In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the object or substance has contingently, without...

in a sure-footed manner that was as consistent as it was calculating. As a consequence, these pieces required the most exacting standards of execution.
Jewelry, frequently using unusual gemstone

Gemstone

A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...

s, and ecclesiastical

Ecclesiology

implements were created by him, both at Burch-Korrodi, as well as later at Trudel Juwelier. Besides designing, Kurt Aepli frequently carried out the silversmith

Silversmith

ing jobs himself.

Although the clientele consisted mainly of aficionados

Fan (person)

A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

and collectors

Collecting

The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...

, the name of Kurt Aepli was little known to the general public. For decades, his oeuvre

Work of art

A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...

was shrouded under the studio of Burch-Korrodi. Although this manner of prescribed anonymity

Anonymity

Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...

bothered him, his unmistakable style left its mark on goldsmiths and silversmiths, reaching far beyond the German-speaking part of Switzerland

Switzerland

, particularly north of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

. He set new standards for the creation of jewelry and implements.

Educational career

1945 Kurt Aepli was elected specialist subject teacher to the School of Arts in Zurich, which would remain under the direction of Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school...

until 1954. He the taught goldsmith

Goldsmith

s, silversmiths, chasers

Repoussé and chasing

Repoussé or repoussage is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. There are few techniques that offer such diversity of expression while still being relatively economical...

, engravers

Engraving

Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...

, metal spinners

Metal spinning

Metal spinning, also known as spin forming or spinning, is a metalworking process by which a disc or tube of metal is rotated at high speed and formed into an axially symmetric part. Spinning can be performed by hand or by a CNC lathe....

, gemstone setters

Stonesetter

A stone setter is a specialist within the jewellery arts field who is trained in the art of setting of gemstones into jewellery. Historically, stone-setting was a specialized skill, taught for example, in European trade schools...

, designers

Jewelry designer

A jewellery designer or jewelry designer is a person who renders original jewellery creations and usually constructs them as well...

and metal polishers. All student apprentices

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

in the school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

of Zurich from these professions learned their respective trade theory

Theory

The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...

, gemology

Gemology

Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gems and gemstones. It is considered a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy...

and rendering

Artistic rendering

Rendering in visual art and technical drawing means the process of creating, shading, and texturing of an image, especially a photorealistic one. It can also be used to describe the quality of execution of that process...

from him. Besides teaching compulsory trade curricula

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

, Aepli also taught continuing education

Continuing education

Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...

night classes at the School of Arts in Zurich, providing tradespersons with an opportunity to further their skills in silversmith techniques. Here too, the creative abilities of Kurt Aepli were greatly appreciated by students, leaving their mark on many of them. He retired from his thirty-five year career as an educator at the School of Arts in Zurich in April 1980.

Exhibitions

Swiss National Museum, Zürich: Swiss Jewelry in the 20th Century (Schweizerschmuck im 20. Jahrhundert)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Life

Creative output

Educational career

Exhibitions

Further reading

External links