Lydia Hirte

Texts

Frank van der Ploeg for the Holland Paper Biennale 2010

"Frozen movements

The pendants of German artist Lydia Hirte ... look misleadingly simple." 

Kirsten Jäschke (Kunsthandwerk & Design, 5/2010, pp.20-27, translated):

Dynamic Flowing. Paper Jewellery by Lydia Hirte

"...The `charisma´ of the paper pendants arises from an antagonism taking shape: though the jewels appear airy and flowing on first inspection, once touched – initially almost coyly – they turn out to be a hardly manipulable bundle full of physical strain powerfully resisting the pressure imposed upon it by the fingers. ..."

Interview with VISION MAGZINE:

"VisMag: ...How will you consider the position of “handicraft” in your art work?

LH: It is handicraft in the pure meaning that I use my hands directly as tool, namely as tool that senses. My hands sense the tension in the paper and decide on the movement to be made."

"VisMag: Have you ever feel tired of the hand work? Will you try some other ways of creation in the future, like 3D printing?

LH: No, I never thought about using other techniques since I have been using my hands. I love to work with the hands because I can directly sense the outcome of my doing. Using hands is essential since I directly feel how the material responses, when it is approximating its limit of stability.""

On my Technique

By applying various methods and techniques, I can generate strong tension within the cardboard. These I use to create self-supporting structures. The resulting objects are stable and resilient. This is the reason why I need not apply standard paper handling techniques - glueing, folding, nesting - and why I need not use additional reinforcements such as metal, bars, other rivets, or other support within the spatial structure. My technique allows both to overcome the well-known restrictions of working with paper and make use of the advantages of this material. To the best of my knowledge, I generally extend the possibilities of working with paper in the arts. So far, I have neither come across works in jewellery made of paper nor in paper arts in which tension is used in such an intensive and essential way.

In 2010, I performed an experiment to further develop my technique.  I called it  “One week in May – or seven possibilities to move my hands”.  On each day of the week, I made one object from an identical bundle of shapes, each with a different movement of my hands. In this experiment, I have enriched my knowledge of and possibilities of using my hands to generate tension and indirectly form the material. This provided me with a wider scope for using my hands in subsequent works. It enabled me to use the material in a less restrictive way and extend the spatiality in my works.