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Uli Aigner: One Million Item 3501 and 3502

Uli Aigner, One Million – ITEMS 3501 / 3502, 2019; Courtesy: Uli Aigner; Photo: Ernesto Uhlmann

Born in Austria in 1965 and based in Berlin, artist Uli Aigner's life project One Million, which she has been developing since 2014, is created with her hands and by rotating the turntable. In cooperation and communication with others, the artist, who studied product design and digital image design after completing a pottery apprenticeship, creates a wide variety of porcelain vessels, from tiny to superhumanly large. Aigner carves a consecutive number into the moist clay on each of the 8,000 or so items she has created so far, fires the porcelain with transparent glaze and places it within a larger whole. On a world map, which can be seen on the artist's website, their locations and changing provenances are recorded in a global archive.

The two monumental pieces in the series, numbered 3501 and 3502, were created in 2019 in collaboration with the potters in Jingdezhen, China, the world capital of porcelain and former imperial production site of the legendary Ming dynasty. Weighing around 800 kilograms, item 3502 could not withstand the forces of nature and collapsed during the manufacturing process. The supposedly broken item was included by Aigner alongside the equally supposedly intact one in the series of One Million as possible forms of existence in the porcelain code.

In spatial terms, Lößnitz follows the mining towns of Schneeberg and Aue-Bad Schlema. While cobalt was mined by the Schneeberg entrepreneurial family Schnorr as early as the 17th century, the "St. Andreas Zeche Weisse Erde" (White Earth Mine), which they operated, followed from 1708 as a mine for kaolin (jump mark: cluster 3), the raw material for the "white gold" porcelain. Until then, fine Chinese porcelain had been imported for the ruling houses of Europe, but in 1710 the first Meissen porcelain factory was established. The Erzgebirge provided the hardware for the blue-decorated Meissen porcelain that followed Chinese fashions.

Aigner chose Lößnitz as the location for the monumental items 3051 and 3502, which were moulded in China, thus completing a circle. In future, all 38 municipalities along the Purple Path will receive a ceramic vessel from Uli Aigner.

Uli Aigner
One Million Item 3501 and 3502

In Lößnitz, Niedergraben
opened on 19 August 2023

Address:
Old Schwartz Steam Brewery
Niedergraben 11
08294 Lößnitz

to the location on Google Maps

White gold.

Lößnitz: mining town since 1382

Due to increasing ore discoveries in the 14th century, Lößnitz was declared a mining town in 1382. One historical site that can still be visited today is the Reichenbachstolln visitor mine in Kuttengrund. From 1500, miners extracted silver, copper, galena and arsenopyrite here.

The ore raw materials were processed in the nearby smelting works. Arsenopyrite, for example, was needed for the processing of nickel and was produced in the neighbouring Niederpfannenstiel blue paint works from 1720 to 1927. This belonged to the entrepreneurial Schnorr family from Schneeberg. Lößnitz was thus firmly integrated into the supply chains of the Schnorr empire in the Westerzgebirge.

Veit Hans Schnorr the Younger was a major entrepreneur of his time. As the owner of numerous mines, hammers, smelters and blue paint works, he acquired the rights to the "Weiße Erden Zeche St. Andreas" in Aue, a neighbouring town of Lößnitz. From 1700 onwards, kaolin had been discovered there while searching for ore. A lucrative coup, as it soon turned out. The mineral became the basic material for Meissen porcelain.

Lößnitz' stone with tradition: black slate

In the middle of the 19th century, slate mining was an important industry in Lößnitz, Affalter, Dittersdorf and the surrounding area. The leading company was the "Sächsische Schieferbruch-Compagnie". It built "Spellhütten" (splitting huts) in which the slate was split and processed. One such hut was once located where the nature hostel with room for 30 guests stands today. Slate can still be seen on many buildings today, including the Lößnitz art church of St George and the cemetery.

Kaolin: from Schnorr's clay to Meissen porcelain

The Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong was fascinated by the idea of being able to produce his own porcelain. Chinese porcelain was all the rage and, as a luxury item, brought not only artistic enjoyment but also high profits in trade. It was also an attractive source of income for the state, which Augustus wanted to see in Saxony.

The fathers of Meissen porcelain: Tschirnhaus, Böttger and Schnorr

The Elector commissioned Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and Johann Friedrich Böttger to research the recipe and process of porcelain production. Originally, Böttger, an alchemist, was to attempt to convert other ores and metals into gold. After many trials and errors, the first European porcelain was successfully produced in 1709. the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory was founded in 1710.

The question now arose as to which raw material would be best suited to the recipe found. Augustus the Strong ordered kaolin samples to be taken from all over Saxony and the Ore Mountains and brought to the Meissen manufactory. The tests revealed that the kaolin from the "Weiße Erden Zeche St. Andreas" mine in Aue was of the best quality. As a result, mine owner Veit Hans Schnorr the Younger was granted the kaolin monopoly for the "Schnorrsche Tonerde" by the Elector in 1711.

St George's Hospital Church in Lößnitz becomes an art church

The first documented mention of a hospital chapel in Lößnitz dates back to 1283. Over the centuries, several fires destroyed it in the town. The people of Lößnitz rebuilt their hospital church again and again. Most recently, again after a fire, the church was rebuilt in 1858-61 in the neo-Gothic style. The church's roof, covered in black Lößnitz slate, is striking. This traditional building material can be found on many buildings in the region.

A dedicated group of parishioners and creative minds led by cemetery manager Ralf Günther now want to transform the church into an art church. Cemetery, town and cultural history as well as art exhibitions form the beginning. The many culturally and historically significant gravestones made of Lößnitz slate are remarkable. A material that still symbolises the identity of the town today.

Makerhub Lößnitz: a new think tank

The former dairy farm (Marktplatz 14, 08294 Lößnitz) has been extensively renovated and is now a Makerhub. As a project of the Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, it is one of eight Makerhubs being built around Chemnitz. The thematic focus of the Makerhub Lößnitz is future technologies and media expertise. The vision of the dedicated people around the Makerhub is to create a place in Lößnitz where innovative products are developed from ideas and where digital technologies are tested and learnt. The centre offers a platform for communication and exchange as well as networking between schools, art, companies and creative people.

City of apple trees: new project launched

Lößnitz has a long tradition of orchards and avenues. With the apple project, the organisers around initiator Anja Markert want to plant new apple trees in all districts of Lößnitz and preserve existing fruit trees. Tree sponsorships from private individuals, children's facilities or companies are intended to promote this. In October 2023, the 1st Lößnitz Apple Market was held to raise awareness of the project, among other things.

Max Jankowsky: Press tool construction for world-class cars

The Lößnitz foundry is a company that could not be more typical of the Ore Mountains: Tradition since 1849 in the foundry trade, developed as a downstream industry of mining, family business in its 3rd generation. Anyone who thinks that this is a "dirty industry" is very much mistaken. The foundry is located in the centre of the town, surrounded by greenery, and is highly accepted by the people of Lößnitz thanks to its very high environmental standards.

The customer list reads like a who's who of the automotive industry: Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Daimler, Lamborghini, Porsche. "World-class cars are born here in the Ore Mountains," says Jankowsky proudly. Each car requires thousands of tonnes of castings for press tools, which are used to shape all the body parts. These castings are produced in Lößnitz and then finalised in toolmaking companies such as Porsche Werkzeugbau, Pockauer Werkzeugbau Oertel and AWEBA Werkzeugbau in Aue.

 

European Capital of Culture The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Free State of Saxony European Capital of Culture

This project is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the parliamentary budget of the state of Saxony and by federal funds from the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media).