Swiss sculptor Giacometti goes digital

Fans of one of Switzerland’s most famous artists, Alberto Giacometti, can now discover the places he knew and loved, with the help of their smartphones. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Giacometti was born in Bregaglia in southern Switzerland, and frequently returned home. The “Giacometti Art Walk” application for smartphones leads the user to key places in the artist’s life, in nearby Sils in the Engadine valley and Chiavenna just across the border in Italy, and explains their significance.

Based on stories gathered from people living in the region, the app features episodes in the life of the artist, re-enacted in a kind of docudrama. The tool was produced to mark the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. The Italian version will be officially launched on May 14, in Stampa, home of the Giacometti Centre Foundation that developed it.

The sculptor, painter, draughtsman and printmaker is the most commercially successful Swiss artist of all time. His eccentric and unmistakable statues fetch over CHF100 million ($102 million) at auction. His figurative work helped to make the motif of the suffering human figure a popular symbol of post-war trauma.