Since the 18th century, there has been a distinction made, in encyclopaedias between tools (French “outils”, German “Werkzeuge”) and instruments. While instruments were usually defined as a means to perform intellectual work, tools are described as their counterpoint – as a means to perform physical labour. As such, they serve as the “the intermediary between the worker’s hand and the material used”, as a French dictionary from the late 19th century put it. The distinction between tool and instrument originated in the same strain of classical Western thought that prioritised idea over matter, theory over practice and art over craft – oppositions that were not only reflected in academic art theory from the Renaissance, but have also influenced the study of the history of art for a long time. Although art historical studies have dealt with the optical instruments which artists made use of, relatively little attention has been paid to the tools that painters, sculptors and other artists or craftsmen employed for the material production of works of art – with some notable recent exceptions.

The point of departure for this session is the observation that the use of a tool in the visual arts is usually not only based on practical, but also on programmatic, if not ideological reasons, and that toolmarks are charged with diverse economic, political, social, gender-specific, philosophical, or media-theoretical implications. First and foremost, however, the deployment of tools and techniques reveals specific attitudes to art and art making, but also to work and labour – implications that are, of course, subject to historical change.

The industrial revolution provided a range of new materials, which in turn required new working techniques and new tools – developments that also affected the artists’ toolboxes. At the same time the transition from hand production methods to machines led to devaluation of manual skills in the economic sector. Many artists and artisans, however, continued to work materials manually into the 20th century, when artists were often regarded as the “last craftsmen” and works of art as the “last handmade objects”. The session will analyse these developments – focussing on the period from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century. As the process of industrialisation took place on a global scale, as was demonstrated in the world fairs, the session invites papers dealing with the use of tools in different geographical and cultural settings. All kind of tools will be considered, whether new inventions, technical revivals, or eclectic creations. The session is based on the conviction that in order to study different historical and cultural notions of matter and materiality, attention must be paid to the tools. This may also include the conscious neglect of tools in favour of direct physical contact with materials, or the shift from tools to experimental systems - where matter interacts with matter.

Talks :

• Oriane PORET - Du poil au pinceau : quels outils pour les peintres animaliers ?
• Sarah GOULD - The collapsible paint tube, thermodynamics and entropy
• Amélie MÉTHIVIER, Jennifer VATELOT - Observer les traces de mise en oeuvre sur les sculptures en plâtre : la place du conservateur-restaurateur dans la recherche