30 LittleRubrik gems

Overcoming anxieties with Art every day for young and old sober-mindedness­ There is an art book that contains an Immigration is currently a highly exercise, story or puzzle for every day emotive issue. The debate is domi- of the year. Who can find the prov- nated by fears rather than facts and erbs in Pieter Brueghel? How many stoked by dramatic images of refugees colours are there in a rainbow? Who in the Mediterranean Sea and illegal was The Blue Rider? And who was immigrants in the southern USA. In August Macke? Did he paint in a rep- his book “Exodus”, the British devel- resentational or abstract style? And opment economist Paul Collier tack- what is abstract art exactly? Is still les the issue from various perspec- life really still? These are just a few of tives. He firstly outlines the story of the many questions asked. Readers his grandfather Karl Hellenschmidt, will discover famous works of art on who left Germany to escape poverty their journey through the year, in- and moved to Bradford in the UK. This cluding by Gauguin, Sisley, Rousseau, is a clever introduction because it is Klimt, Turner, Picasso, Kahlo, Botti- touching on a human level and illus- celli and many others. The book en- trates that immigration is not a new titled “365 Tage Kunst entdecken – problem. The book covers many as- sehen, rätseln, spielen, malen” has pects, including integration as well as been produced for children (aged six Alfred Escher – digital Hardly anyone has shaped the development of modern Swit- zerland as much as Alfred Es- cher, the business leader and politician from (1819- 1882). He created synergies be- the deficiencies and gaps created in tween politics, the railway poor countries as a result of emigra- network, the financial sector tion, known as the brain drain. Col- and the education system, and lier is no ideologist but an academic helped the emergent federal able to observe and analyse problems state to achieve a significant upturn. An outstanding edi- objectively. His analysis suggests that torial project concerning Escher is set to be completed mass migration is a temporary phe- mid-way through the year: All of his 5,000 or so letters are nomenon and will end once prosper- being digitised, transcribed and made available online. ity is better distributed. The book, Lots of manuscripts and libraries are being digitised to- and over) but is also a fascinating and which came out in English in 2013 but day but not always to this high quality standard. The dig- informative read for many older peo- is now also available in translation, is ital edition of the Escher letters provides easy access to the ple. BE an absolute gem. BE documents via various paths. This is not just of great value to research but also of benefit to the general public with ■■ Paul Collier: “Exodus”; Siedler-Verlag, an interest in the subject. The navigation is clearly laid out, ■■ Doris Kutschbach, Christiane Weidemann: 2014. 320 pages; CHF 32.90, EUR 23. and contexts and historical comments can be displayed. “365 Tage Kunst entdecken”; Verlag Prestel Junior, ■■ Paul Collier: The Alfred Escher Foundation is Munich; 376 pages; CHF 28.50, EUR 20. “Exodus. Immigration behind the project, and the histo- and Multiculturalism rian Prof. Dr. Joseph Jung, who in the 21st Century” was chief historian at Credit Su- Allen Lane 2013; isse for many years and Escher’s EUR 19. biographer, is the publisher and research director. JM ■■ www.briefedition.alfred-escher.ch

Swiss Review / April 2015 / No. 2 / Photos: donated Echo Quotes 31

A third from immigrant backgrounds “Safeguarding the bilateral agreements Of the 6.8 million people living in aged 15 and is the key element of a pact with the SVP.” over, 2.4 million come from an immigrant background. This Christoph Darbellay, President of the CVP, on a possible alliance with the SVP is indicated by an analysis carried out by the Federal Sta- if a second SVP Federal Councillor is elected in December. tistical Office in 2013. Four fifths of people from an -immi grant background were born abroad, while one fifth were born in Switzerland but have parents born abroad. Well “Woe, that too late repents.” over a third (35 %) hold a Swiss passport. The population William Shakespeare (1564 to 1616), from an immigrant background is younger than the English playwright and poet in “King Lear”. long-established Swiss population and is therefore slowing down the ageing of the permanent resident population. “The bilateral agreements must be secured.” More asylum applications FDP National Councillor Ruedi Noser, also on an alliance with the SVP 23,765 people made an asylum application in Switzerland if a second SVP Federal Councillor is elected in December. in 2014. That is 2,300 or 11 % more than in 2013. In Europe, the number of asylum applications recorded rose by 35 % David Larible from around 444,000 to roughly 600,000. Switzerland’s The Italian David share of the number of asylum applications made in Europe Larible, who featured “Egalitarianism to such an extent inevitably as a whole fell from 4.8 % to 4 %. This development is influ- in the cover photo of spoils the broth.” enced by the various crisis and conflict situations around “Swiss Review” in FDP President Philipp Müller, on the same day but not on an alliance ­December, made a the Mediterranean Sea and in Africa, as indicated by the with the SVP, instead in an open letter to the members of the SP. State Secretariat for Migration. This is leading to high num- guest appearance bers of migrants arriving in irregularly by sea. Eritrean at Amsterdam’s Carré citizens constituted the largest group of asylum seekers in circus theatre over Switzerland in 2014, followed by those from Syria and Sri the holiday period. The “Those who are liberal believe they and the world Lanka. Swiss representation there sent him a copy are capable of doing good (…), whereas conservatism Film about nostalgic natives of Central Switzerland of “Swiss Review”, is based on diffidence and narrow-mindedness.” The Lucerne filmmaker Romana Lanfranconi is making and the clown was so Gottfried Keller (1819 to 1890), Swiss author and politician a documentary entitled “Sehnsucht Innerschweiz” (Long- thrilled by the cover in “Die Leute von Seldwyla”. ing for Central Switzerland). For this project she is look- photo that he took a ing for people living outside Switzerland but in whose photo of “Larible with lives Central Switzerland still plays an important part. Larible” and sent it “Mediocre minds usually condemn everything Lanfranconi is interested in the family-related and per- to us. that extends beyond their horizons.” sonal stories of homesick Swiss or those François de La Rochefoucauld (1613 to 1680), who have returned. More on this film French military officer, diplomat and author. project about people from Central ­Switzerland feeling a sense of nostalgia for their homeland can be found at “We are quick to talk of shocks or www.morbushelveticus.com crises. Unjustly so. This is not a time of crisis but one of uncertainty.” Correction Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter In the article “A second lease of life for at the World Economic Forum. Swiss alpine fortresses” in the February 2015 issue of “Swiss Review”, two images were incorrectly attributed to the ­company Swiss Data Safe. The images show the bunker and storage facilities of the company Mount10 in Baar, the ­largest Swiss company in this field. https://www.mount10.ch

Swiss Review / April 2015 / No. 2 /Photo: donated