One of the best artists from Switzerland has to be Markus Raetz (Bern Switzerland 1941-2020). Language is one of three parameters in the art in his repertoir. In Geneva, the sculpture OUI NON amazes passers by if they dare to look up at the Place du Rhône! Read our article from 2020 at this link. Markus Raetz works on the real and unreal of the negative/positive and the perception and the deformation on shapes in a mirror or facing each other. He invites the viewer to interact, because many works by the artist reveal themselves only by the movement of the viewer in front of the sculpture.
As the Fondation Jan Michalski in Vaud is hosting a wonderful exhibition around Markus Raetz through 10 July this year, this is the time to visit this wonderful museum/library/architecture. A pair of entrance tickets is up for grabs in our competition (below).
Markus Raetz's works with sizing up words and letters, pushing them further, exploring their interconnections within several languages, and embodying them in eloquent visual forms – eloquent, too, in the etymological sense of “speaking out.” In this brilliant artist’s output, language is a singular source of inspiration as well as matter for an inventiveness that is bound up with both its translation into images and Raetz’s craftsmanship, the other two elements are at the core of his body of work.
Raetz’s reflection on words and language generally is both playful and systematic, deep and done with a twinkle in the artist’s eye, personal and implying the participation of others. As the viewer looks on, one and the same stationary object embodies a no and a yes; seen from the left and the right (see poster below), a little brass object collectively exclaims AHA; the ich (I) at the head of a body floating in space is transformed into a wir (we) at the other end. This message counts in the artist’s thinking. He emphasizes exchange and sharing. Time to fire up our imagination! “One’s own movement is important. I give the viewer responsibility – or free play, room to manoeuver. I want to give them certainty, like a fine instrument,” the artist once declared.
Press release 25.03.2022
More than CHF 10,000 raised for the response of MSF in Ukraine by walkers on the Sentier des Toblerones
Over the weekend 19-20 March 2022, 73 local residents (and 4 dogs) joined in a collaborative fundraising walk along the symbolic Sentier des Toblerones, raising more than CHF 16,500 (as of 25 March) so far for Médecins Sans Frontières’ unrestricted fund. This money is being used to support their emergency work in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
Why Médecins Sans Frontières?
From the MSF website: https://www.msf.org/war-ukraine
In late February 2022, attacks by Russian forces on multiple cities in Ukraine have since led over 3 million people to become refugees. As war spreads throughout Ukraine, people are fleeing the country. They are exhausted, scared and many are suffering from dehydration or hypothermia. Our teams in Ukraine have had to suspend our usual medical activities. We are now scaling up our emergency response in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. In addition to Ukraine, we have teams responding in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Russia and Belarus.
More on the MSF response in each country: https://www.msf.org/msf-response-war-ukraine
Who participated?
Participants were a truly international mix of 73 Swiss residents, originally from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, France, UK, Ireland, South Africa, USA, Argentina, Colombia, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
After a 2-year hiatus, The Canettes Blues Band (above) has returned with a new vigor. We caught up with Steve Goldfarb to find out more about this local group.
Steve commented, "The Canettes Blues Band has been entertaining enthusiastic fans in the Geneva area over two Millenia and are still optimistic to make it to a 3rd. The group was founded around 1996. There were no written records, back then, but some ancient carvings found in the CERN Music Club Locale seem to indicate they were already entertaining local parties and festivals back then."
The band members, listed below, all have day jobs (teachers, programmers, bankers, artists, scientists and retirees) and are just as enthusiastic for their alter ego positions in the band. What better way to let off steam and socialize till the cows come home! And that is true for the band members too.
The Canettes honed their talents performing their own special style of “Versoix Delta” blues, with members hailing from Seyssel, Bern and the Pays de Gex. Their repertoire covers a wide variety of blues and R&B favourites, from Muddy Waters to Buddy Guy, Sam & Dave to Mick & Keith, as well as a few of their own unique creations, including the Fuzzy Wuzzy Blues and Sweet Little Barmaid.
The Canettes presented their own ATLAS Boogie to an enthusiastic crowd at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2013, and have graced (or snuck into) such diverse venues as the slopes of Villars, the Swiss Chalet, the CERN Hardronic Festival, Paddy’s Pub (RIP), Seven Arts, the Mr. Pickwick Pub, The Scene, Auberges des Vergers, and many other venues.
Read down to enter our competition for a pair of tickets for opening night!
The third show of the Confiture Theater Group season, Le Cabaret Médical, is a humorous and musical epic about medicine in French. You will meet caregivers, patients, bacteria, molecules, viruses, bureaucrats and ethicists who will confide to the audience all their secrets and wildest dreams.
Between sketches, songs, choreographies and current events, many themes will be addressed:
Applause from the Balconies
Tribute to the teams applauded during the pandemic.
Contamination
Ballet and song: the virus explains its strategy in a choreography of convolutions based on Tango.
Crisis Management
Administrative and bureaucratic acceleration, emergencies and counter-information have generated a multiplication of zooming sequences, re-focusing and emergency meetings. To the point of absurdity.
Burn Out
The blues of the saturated worker.
Give me a HUG
Distance, greetings, contacts, paranoia, behaviors in complete mutation allow a new way of education and civility.
The Back Office
The classic sequence of criticism of the bureaucratic monster that invades our institutions and our daily life; computers, reception, secretariat, applications and online archiving.
Excerpt from Know-it-all passport® 11th edition
Most ski resorts have developed free Apps to download on smartphones, with interactive ski maps, weather, prices, opening times and webcams, restaurants, shops, etc.
Skiing and snow activities
Listed here are some of the popular resorts in Switzerland and France for families living in this area. For more information contact the Tourist Office or the appropriate web site (there are last-minute special offers for families available at times).
Of particular interest to families with toddlers are the contact numbers for daycare, reservations are recommended. Only the ages are listed, as prices and hours may vary during the season. Starting from age 3-4, children can take skiing lessons either at the jardin de neige or on the slopes with qualified teachers. Each resort usually has a number of ski schools, but listed are only the phone numbers and websites for the official Ecole Suisse de Ski (ESS), the Ecole du Ski Français (ESF), the Ecole de Ski Internationale (esi), Evolution 2, or recommended private schools. The schools accept only children who are potty-trained.
All resorts include facilities for skiers and snowboarders, and most have reserved sledding areas for young children.
Equipment for winter activities is available for rent at resorts, but be sure to produce an ID to secure rental contract. Most resorts have artificial snow-making facilities. Resorts which have exciting sledding runs are listed separately. NOTE: See Sports chapter for a list of sports equipment stores where you can buy or rent skis and snowboards in the area.
