Uta Eisenreich, Network (Teamwork), 2002
Kyle’s post at Arkitip about Maurice Scheltens triggered a happy memory of seeing photographer Uta Eisenreich’s work for the first time. Since the last time I checked she’s apparently designed a sweet website that’s structured like a pin-up board. Uta sets up conceptual situations often based on meticulously contrived (though loosely executed) human interaction, and then photographs the results. Her projects include kidnapping a group of foreign business travelers in a small bus with darkened windows, creating a spatial representation of a computer desktop, directing incoming cars to park chromatically, and participating in breakdancing duels where instead of breakdancing, she and her opponent get in the circle and create towering arrangements of ordinary objects, trying to outdo each other in height and beauty. That performance is called Close to the Edge.
Some of my favorite photographs of hers are from a series called Network (Teamwork) in which she creates physical sociograms by asking kids questions about each other and mapping the connections. Which 3 kids would you invite to your birthday? Who do you know least well in your class? These and other “schoolyard mandalas” the kids created are an interesting take on the visual language of education and schools. I imagine Steven Willats would enjoy them too.
Emmet, have you seen her work in person?
This is one of my favorite photos--I showed this image and spoke about it during my MCAD job interview!
--I loooove her projects…
k
Comment by kindra murphy — 11/19/2007 @ 10:38 pm
No I’ve never seen her work in person but she sent me several videos of her performances a while back. Also, she sells huge prints of this photo if you’re looking for a Christmas present. ALSO, Scott Ponik invited her to do a workshop at Werkplaats . . . maybe he’ll tell us how that went.
Comment by Emmet Byrne — 11/20/2007 @ 1:04 pm
she rocked the party. she was trying out a new format of presentation when she visited here. she asked me to be her assistant, a VJ she called me, she likes the involvement of people in her work of course. she categorized the contents she brought in six groups and would just freestyle the lecture based on lineages, associations, feelings, whatever. her belongings included: books, videos, family photos, her photos, found things, lists, texts, etc. and she/we would switch back and forth between a live video feed (projected) where she might be drawing a diagram or flipping through books to screenings of some final projects from her hard drive to then maybe reading a text, aka me butchering a text reading in a nervous way. she is fresh, and very kind.
Comment by Scott Ponik — 11/26/2007 @ 7:35 am