The ‘Mobile Klafter’

The 'Klafter' – an old Liechtenstein unit of area measuring 189 x 189 cm – serves as a plinth, stage and platform for art. It conveys both monetary and emotional value, which can vary greatly depending on where the art is presented – be it in a country or an institution.

Artists produce art in the exact format of a Klafters or present their art on a Klafter, photograph and document it and then send it with a text (maximum 700 characters) and three representative photos to mail@klafter.li, where it is then curated and, if necessary, published.

Together, we want to strengthen the value and appreciation of art with this art campaign.

In this project, I am looking at the difference between lakefront properties and properties that are located a little further away from the lake.

At Lake Wörthersee, one of Austria's most popular lakes, there has been strong criticism for years against the "concrete jungle," especially when it comes to exorbitantly expensive lakefront properties, and rigorous measures are being called for.

I am therefore presenting my mobile Klafter on the lawn as a symbol of a lakeside property as it should be, and on concrete as a sign of development that must be restricted not only directly on the lake.

The building blocks and barrier tape measure exactly the size of a Klafter. Inside them live my BODIES, "people" made of canvas with frottages that I have taken from monuments and other set pieces during my travels.

Click here to visit Renate Polzer's website.

A patch of grass marked out with burning sticks. On it lies the carpet 'Find Peace.'
The world needs peace. Without peace between individuals, there can be no peace worldwide, and without peace we cannot solve wars, climate change, nature and all other pressing issues and problems of the future.
I find peace in nature. There I recharge my batteries and recharge my energy. This allows me to interact peacefully with my fellow human beings and thus spread peace in my environment.
Lying in the grass in the shade of an old walnut tree brings me peace. But the effect is noticeably stronger when I sit on my 'Find Peace' rug and let the symbols of the equal-armed cross unfold their effect within me.
'Find Peace' rug, Tibetan knot, size: 100x100 cm, material: wool and silk. Laid out under walnut trees in the hilly garden of an old farmhouse in the Weinviertel region of Austria.

Click here to visit Linda Gaenszle's website.

Elements of the River's Flow

Medium: Land art, performance art
Date: 22 April 2025
Duration: 3 hours
Materials: stones, driftwood, dandelion flowers
Photographer: Roberto Conciatori

This work symbolises being in respectful harmony with the elements of nature and creation. It embodies the knowledge that everything is precious and yet transient and therefore requires careful, respectful interaction so that life can continue.

In the encounter with a work of art, we can experience individual and collective experiences anew. This can be life-changing and inspire us to reflect and actively engage, so that new positive cultural developments in society can be initiated and driven forward. Art in any form can contribute significantly in this context and is more important than ever in the current complex and challenging geopolitical situation.
 

Here you can watch the video for 'Elements of the Rivers Flow' by Stella Pfeiffer.
Click here to visit Stella Pfeiffer's website.

Demet Akbay and Andreas Oesch presented their 'Mobile Klafter' behind the San Geremia Cathedral on the Canale de Cannaregio.

In the heart of Venice, on a cloth the size of a Klafter, art and love came together in an unforgettable symbiosis. As we settled on the cloth to celebrate our engagement, the city seemed like a living canvas on which our love was painted. The shimmering canal and the soft light of the sun created a work of art that only Venice could offer. Love, in harmony with the breathtaking beauty of the city, became a living sculpture of emotions and promises, captured on a simple but meaningful cloth the size of a Klafter. Art and love, united in the magic of a single moment.

The artist showed her 'Mobile Klafter' in the Calle Stretta de Morosini.

A Klafter as a human measure

The Roman architect Vitruvius was already dealing with the proportions of the human body 25 years before Christ, a concept that was implemented in drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. Plato, finally, recognised a divine order in it. Ernst Neufert finally explained in 1926 that the metre has overcome this classical approach.

To get a better understanding of the dimensions of a Klafter, which measures six feet (one foot = 29.6 cm), I stood in Calle Stretta de Morosini with four metre sticks. The perception of space also involves the emotional side of a person.

Narrow passageways, such as the Bridge of Sighs, are symbolic of human destinies. The pursuit of a human value is contrasted with the geometrically combined basic architectural forms of the circle and the square. The sentence of Protagoras in the 5th century BC, 'Man is the measure of all things', applied to the supra-individual human being. The Renaissance, on the other hand,

The question remains: how do we measure up today, based on the buildings and works of art of that time?

The artist and curator presented her mobile fathom in Guidecca at a boarding and alighting point of the vaporetti. 

Thinking about happiness here. But what does happiness mean? 
According to Artistotle, the ultimate goal of human life is to be happy. 
There are many approaches to happiness; discovering or tackling new and unusual things, pushing yourself to your limits, growing in the face of resistance, remaining open to change. Take time for relationships and for yourself and seek a new perspective on life. Satisfaction. Doing nothing from time to time, enjoying the 'dolce far niente'. Find happiness in small things. 
How marvellous to drink a glass of water when you're thirsty! 
Based on the biennial title 'Foreigners Everywhere' and the direct location here on the Mediterranean with the passing ships, the thought comes to mind that it takes great luck for refugees to reach the shore and come ashore. 
'Molto felice e grato', said a passer-by looking at the spray campaign, that he had been allowed to live here on this island from birth. 

The artist YOLY presents her Mobile Klafter (Fathom) in a variety of locations in Venice.

What appreciation is given to a work of art when it is shown on the surface of a Liechtenstein Klafter (fathom) in Vaduz? Will the appreciation be different when it is presented on a fathom in Venice?

Advertising posters from past exhibitions become a «Mobile Klafter» for YOLY's works on Venice soil.

The journey leads from Dorsoduro, the starting point of the Liechtenstein appearance during the Biennale, to the Palazzo Cavalli-Francchetti and further into the Biennale Gardini to the Austrian Pavilion and the Swiss Pavilion. The leper island of Lazzaretto Vecchio leaves a special impression. In Murano, in the glassblowing workshop of Adriano Berengo and his exhibition «Glasstress 8 ½», the art of great international artists lives on. And on Burano, between the colorful houses, the silence allows creativity to shine. YOLY's «Mobile Klafter» was allowed to linger in all of these places for a moment of appreciation and to question the value of art.

Does the appreciation and value of the work increase if it keeps changing the location of the exhibition fathom: from dreary areas to trendy cities, from unknown places to important museums or world exhibitions?

How much appreciation does the work receive from the viewer? And does the artist himself also receive appreciation from the location of the fathom on which his works are shown? YOLY's «Mobile Klafter» opens up an interested discussion at all presentation locations.

Click here to go to Yoly Maurer's «Klafter Website».

Dagmar Frick-Islitzer showed her 'Mobile Klafter' at Campo Santa Maria Formosa. 

Klafters are mainly paid with money. Dagmar Frick-Islitzer shows the money in the form of a collage with 240 different coins from all over the world, which spirals outwards from the centre with the oldest coin from 650 BC and ends with the most recent coins from our time. The coins are framed by black silhouettes of many people whose heads, upper bodies and legs can be recognised. 
The spiral shape can also be seen on the black fathom on the floor, spread out on the second floor of Palazzo Vitturi on Campo Santa Maria Formosa in Venice. It is a painting on plastic film by Dagmar Frick-Islitzer. At the far end is a bust wearing a floor-length dress made of dark red velvet. The artist stands precisely behind it, wearing a matching fabric wreath with a veil and a Venetian mask and holding the collage with the coins in her hands. This makes her difficult to recognise. She represents the many landowners in Liechtenstein and elsewhere. Who owns how much remains a secret for many - except for the land registry and the tax authorities.

Click here to visit Dagmar Frick-Islitzer's website.

The Liechtenstein artist Hanni Schierscher installed her Klafter at "Corte delle case Nove" on the island of Sant' Elena.

In Liechtenstein, Klafter is actually an area measurement of approx. 1.9 x 1.9 metres. In rural usage in German-speaking countries, however, it is more of a spatial measurement. One Klafter of wood is 3 Ster, or approx. 6.86 cubic metres. This is more useful to me because I have laid out an old, hand-woven and mended bedsheet from my family in a square in Venice to the size of a Liechtenstein fathom, i.e. approx. 1.9 x 1.9 square metres, and the people who slept on it are included in the spatial dimensions. The photo also shows the laundry of the residents of the square, hung out to dry. And I am, or rather we are, guests like migrants who might want to spend the night there. Guests and hosts in one place, the piazza, the meeting point and centre of the local community. In the background is a wall: it too has seen a lot, is closed where there used to be a passageway, perhaps for a hundred years or more. It is an intimate moment to see a bedsheet of my family (in one of our scales) lying there. So many people are on the way...

Click here to visit Hanni Schierscher's website.

The artist Ursula Wolf gave a silent dance performance on the Klafter in Dorsoduro.

Click here to visit Ursula Wolf's website.

The Liechtenstein artist Hansjörg Quaderer showed up with his manifesto and installed his fathom at Santa Maria Formosa.

Liechtenstein - a deposit
Soil is a fundamental word in Liechtenstein. The land register contains the fundamental... What do we conjure up with the ground? What does it mean to say that a fortune has grown on a piece of land? What do we mean when we invoke a certain groundedness? What does it mean to be grounded? The pain threshold has been reached for land prices. How do Liechtenstein's absurd land prices come about? Where there is little, it must be worth a lot, as is the case with wine, land and art. Where there is a lot going on, art is morally overloaded. Do land prices correlate with art prices?

Click here to visit Hansjörg Quaderer's website.