A community seen through biographies

The exhibition "Baar and I" (Baar und ich) presents influential personalities from the history of the municipality. Some people are irritated by the gender ratio, however.

Eleven life stories from four centuries that have one thing in common: all the personalities currently being presented in the "Baar und Ich" exhibition in the Schwesternhaus in Baar have shaped or been shaped by the municipality. "They have all affected their surroundings in some way," explains Adrian Scherrer, the curator of the exhibition, which was due to open in March of this year, but, due to the corona pandemic, has now only opened in September.

This confrontation with the various personalities takes place in very different ways. The Baar councillor and estate manager Jakob Andermatt (1602-1680), for example, recorded his everyday life in a diary, which is the oldest exhibit and includes a rather bloody visit to the dentist in Zug. Barbara Henggeler-Schmid (1822-1897) was active socially. She was married to the industrial pioneer Wolfgang Henggeler, the founder of the spinning mills in Neuägeri and Baar, and campaigned for the education of working-class children, as well as co-financing the construction of the Reformed Church in Baar – the first reformed church in the Catholic canton of Zug.

Some discussions about one-sidedness
The fact that she is the only woman in the exhibition has caused some discussion. The question of gender relations is a legitimate and important question, finds curator Adrian Scherrer. But: "We started out from the work itself and its connection with the municipality. Gender was not a criterion." Fabienne Mathis, the cultural officer of the municipality of Baar, emphasizes that feedback on this topic has been received. "This has provoked some thought."

The creators of the exhibition (from left): Fabienne Mathis (cultural officer), Adrian Scherrer (curator), Beni Sutter (graphics and spatial concept), Philippe Bart (community archivist).

The two Catholic conservatives Oswald Dossenbach (1824-1883) and Kaspar Moritz Widmer (1835-1906) form a counterpoint to the more liberal attitude of the Henggelers. Dossenbach was politically active, while Father Widmer founded the Konkordia youth association, among other things. The aim of this was to "protect young people from capitalism and socialism" and to educate them to be "loyal Catholics and honest citizens".

As time moved on, the more often the biographies lead to distant locations. The Inwil mechanic Franz Hotz (1860-1925), for example, worked for a while in what was then the Russian Empire. Plagued by homesickness, he returned to Switzerland in 1900 and wrote idyllic poems about his homeland – but there was nothing about the illnesses and depressions of the last phase of his life.

Hotz's biography isn't the only one with breaks. The architect and artist Gebhard Utinger (1879-1960) was torn between Germany and Switzerland. He considered his roots from a distance, and was forced to return to Switzerland twice due to external circumstances, but failed to re-establish himself here again.

The biography of Max Schumacher (1920-1951) is also not without tragedy. Despite his literary talents, he failed to make a breakthrough during his life, and died of appendicitis at the age of 31. Michael Stecher (1902-1982), originally from Engadine, was also gifted, but his humble origins stood in the way of his career as a painter. Instead, he distributed the post in Baar from 1930 onwards – and recorded his new homeland artistically at the same time.

Three contemporaries also appear
Three artists from the present day in Baar can also bee seen in the exhibition. Like Michael Stecher, the best-known of these also originated from Graubünden - Guido Baselgia (born 1953), a photographer, who worked in Baar from 1983 to 2010. He not only found inspiration on his travels, but also in the spinning mill in Baar. Urs J. Knobel (1956) also divided his time near and far. As an illustrator and cartoonist, he is active internationally, and, to compensate for this, he paints abstract watercolours, for example of Lake Zug. And Markus Uhr (1974) takes everyday objects out of their familiar surroundings in his art and makes them appear in new contexts.

The eleven biographies on display in the Schwesternhaus thereby offer a new approach to the history of the municipality
 

Note:
The exhibition at the Schwesternhaus in Baar (at Leihgasse 9a) is open as follows:
Saturday, 17^th and 24th October from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon
Sunday, 18^th and 25^th October from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm,
Monday, 20th October from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. Admission free of charge.

There will also be a guided tour (in German) on Sunday 18^th and 25^th October from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon, and a Family workshop on Sunday 25^th October at 16.00 (children from 6 years of age)
Registration for the workshop to fabienne.mathis@baar.ch up to 22 October.