2014  05. 10 -- 06. 15 

Same but Different  

Franz Bette solo exhibition 

同中有異

Franz Bette 當代首飾創作個展

After the MANO Gallery has completed its one year plan, MANO went on organizing the solo exhibition "Same but Different" of German artist Franz Bette, with the great support of National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. Another serendipity happened when MANO met Prof. Bette 2 years ago in Hong Kong when he was the guest lecturer at HKDI and eventually gets the great pleasure to present Mr. Bette's oeuvre to the public of Taiwan and to receive him in person. Here is the article about the exhibition written by Franz Bette's spouse, Mrs. Pamela Auburn.

慢鏝在結束了一年平台計劃之後，和國立台灣工藝研究所合作，邀請到德籍藝術家Franz Bette來臺北舉行Same but Different的當代首飾個展。
慢鏝在兩年前在香港和當時正在當客座教授的Franz Bette巧遇，他的創作像是揮灑著當下，但又帶著德意志理性的本質，那些在空中流動的線條，都能看出他永遠和環境，時空與時並進，無論他身在德國家鄉，或是在繁忙的香港。非常感謝國立台灣工藝研究所的支持，才讓這個展覽能在台灣發生，以下關於Franz Bette老師此次個展的文字，由妻子Pamela Auburn所撰述。

Franz Bette is a gold and silversmith, product designer and teacher of jewellery design and making.

Inspired by an early fascination for materials, as well as the curiosity to understand their characteristics and how best to apply them, jewellery making has been his life for over 50 years.

According to him, jewellers give materials meaning above and beyond their market value, so "jewellery is culture". The field of jewellery is exceptional, the pieces go where the wearer goes, you don’t have to go to see an exhibition to experience culture, you just put it on and take culture out into daily life. Jewellery is ornament with different functions. It manifests the thoughts, feelings and skills of the maker and in turn is bestowed with the thoughts, feelings and intentions of the purchaser / giver / wearer.

In Franz Bette’s case, sitting down and working with his hands is a way of processing what happens around him. "I observe, I feel and I think about life but as an artist, I respond by expressing myself through the vernacular of concrete art." The core content is orientated on universal phenomena - space, colour, time and movement, they are always with us but are always in a state of flux, there is an authentic, always contemporary, continuity.

“It was not hard to find a title for this exhibition, ' same but different' describes exactly how it is for me to continue doing what I do - making jewellery - under new and very different circumstances - living in Asia without my usual materials and workshop at hand.” Visitors will be able to see how a change of location is reflected through the pieces on display. “Being in Hong Kong for an extended period has given my work more spontaneity and expression. Life there is very fast and intense, you are swept up by the dynamic of it all. As a person accustomed to another society, you constantly have to improvise in order to respond to the moment. This has been most valuable for my work. “

In today’s world of indiscriminate production and consumption, it is essential to cultivate the appreciation of handmade objects and the skills involved in making them. By visiting the exhibition, viewers will be participating from and contributing to the growing contemporary jewellery scene in Taiwan. “I am grateful to the NTCRI for their invitation, it is great to be able to show my work in Taipei I am looking forward to getting to know more about Taiwan and meeting people after the opening”.

reproduced from NTCRI magazine article /

author Pamela Auburn

身兼金工藝術家、產品設計師、首飾設計與創作教師多重角色的Franz Bette早年即受到材質的吸引與啟發，並且對於理解材質的特性及其最佳運用方式一直抱持著好奇的心態，直至今日，首飾創作在他的生命中已經佔了超過半個世紀之久。Franz Bette認為，首飾設計師賦予材質的意義比起市場價格還具有價值，甚至是金錢所無法比擬的。「首飾就是一種文化」，首飾出現的場域非常特殊，它會跟隨著配戴者出場，不需要透過展覽或博物館展示，即可體驗它所代表的文化內涵；而配戴者則透過配戴使用，將品味和文化展現在日常生活之中。首飾除了具裝飾功能，也充分展現創作者的想法、感覺與技巧，而這些想法、感覺與意圖則透過這個美妙的承載物再轉移到購買者、贈與者或配戴者身上。

對於Franz Bette而言，坐下來以雙手創作便是他回應週遭事物的現在進行式，他以藝術家的角度來觀察、感受並思考生命，反應出來的則是以具體的藝術語言來傳遞，其核心內容受到了宇宙現象─空間、色彩、時間與移動的引導，這些現象一直都在我們身邊，但卻總是處於流逝的狀態中；那是一種真切、永遠與時俱進的持續動能。而如同他為此次展出所定的標題「同中有異」(same but different)，這說明了「嶄新」與「迥異」的狀態，也是生活在亞洲的寫照，當慣用的材料與工作室都不在身邊時，Franz Bette要如何持續首飾創作？觀者將可在Franz Bette的作品裡看到地域的轉變是如何真切地反映在創作之中。

 Franz Bette為帶領德國國立哈瑙金工學院 (Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau) 課程的重要靈魂人物，2013年他受香港知專設計學院邀請，任客座指導敎授一年，國立臺灣工藝研究發展中心在他即將返回歐洲之際，特別邀請他至台灣展出並舉辦為期3日的工作營。Franz Bette表示：「我在香港的居留延期了，這讓我的作品更具有自然而然的韻味與張力，這裡的生活步調急促緊湊，當匆忙的動力向你襲來時，身為一個已經適應這個社會的人，就得做出即時的反應以應付當下，這就是我作品最有價值的部份；而身處於這個每日隨意生產與消費的世界中，培養對手製作物件與其製作技法的欣賞力就顯得非常重要，在參觀本展的當下，觀者便是對於成長中的台灣當代首飾景況進行了參與及貢獻，我很榮幸能在台北展出，並期待透過此行能與更多的台灣朋友們相遇。」

Pamela Auburn  撰述

謝靜怡  譯/整理