Items Similar to Tropics Motor Motel II (Memories of Green)
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5
Stefanie SchneiderTropics Motor Motel II (Memories of Green)1999
1999
$1,800
£1,335.67
€1,555.87
CA$2,505.61
A$2,790.23
CHF 1,452.16
MX$34,403.15
NOK 18,494.35
SEK 17,382.90
DKK 11,608.74
Shipping
Retrieving quote...The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation
About the Item
Tropics Motor Motel II (Memories of Green) – 1999
Edition 1/10
58x56 cm
Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, based on the Polaroid
Artist inventory number: 337.01
Unmounted
Stefanie Schneider: A German View of the American West
Stefanie Schneider’s photography evokes the iconic American landscape through the eyes of a German-born artist, drawing from the profound cultural explorations of Ed Ruscha, the vivid desert landscapes of Georgia O’Keeffe, and the profound solitude found in Edward Hopper's paintings. How, then, did this German photographer come to be one of the most significant figures in the American visual narrative of the late 20th and 21st centuries?
Born in Cuxhaven, Germany, in 1968, Schneider divides her time between Berlin and Los Angeles, but her creative heart beats strongest in the American West. The arid deserts and open plains of Southern California provide the backdrop for her evocative photographs. It is here that Schneider captures her subjects on expired Polaroid film, later developing and enlarging the images by hand in her Berlin studio.
The most striking feature of Schneider’s work is the haunting color palette created by the expired Polaroids, which imbue her images with an ethereal, almost surreal quality. As Polaroid film faded into obsolescence, Schneider’s commitment to this medium earned her both respect and admiration from critics and contemporaries. Her preservation of a medium in decline has become a signature aspect of her artistry, breathing new life into a photographic tradition tied to American iconography.
At the heart of Schneider’s work is a theme of preservation and decay—both visual and emotional. In a 2014 interview with Artnet, she shared, “My work resembles my life: Love, lost and unrequited, leaves its mark in our lives as a senseless pain that has no place in the present.” Schneider’s photographs often feature solitary figures in desolate, apocalyptic settings: sun-bleached trailer parks, barren oilfields, empty motels, and uninhabited beaches. These backdrops convey a powerful sense of “absence”—a theme that permeates her work and which she describes as the driving force behind her art.
Schneider’s American journey unfolds through the lens of the Polaroid, with each image acting as a piece of an ongoing narrative about love, communication, sexuality, and relationships. Her use of expired Polaroid film introduces a kind of chemical unpredictability, where vibrant, surreal bursts of color splatter across the surface, upending the photo’s claim to objective reality. These chemical "explosions" induce her characters into a kind of dreamlike trance, blurring the line between the tangible and the intangible.
Her work calls to mind the flickering sequences of road movies, where the image evaporates before a clear conclusion can be reached. The ephemerality of her photographs captures the uncertainty of modern existence, refusing to settle into fixed definitions of reality, desire, or truth. Through this lens, Schneider explores the fragmented relationship between medium, viewer, and the stories told—where each viewer is invited to participate in the creation of meaning.
The notion of wabi-sabi, the Japanese appreciation of beauty in imperfection, runs through Schneider’s body of work. She embraces the “flaws,” the gaps, and the distortions—intentionally using expired film to expose the unknown. These missing fragments of the image ask the viewer to engage actively with the photograph, filling in the blanks with their own memories, desires, or interpretations. The act of filling in the gaps is personal and subjective, transforming the viewer and artist into a shared experience, bound by limitless potential. The absence becomes an invitation for introspection, where the boundaries between artist, image, and observer dissolve.
Schneider's work doesn’t simply capture moments—it invites us into a space of uncertainty, a realm of continuous transformation where the story remains unfinished and open to endless interpretations. It is within this fluidity, this ever-present sense of absence, that the true power of her art lies.
- Creator:Stefanie Schneider (1968, German)
- Creation Year:1999
- Dimensions:Height: 22.84 in (58 cm)Width: 22.05 in (56 cm)Depth: 0.04 in (1 mm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Morongo Valley, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU652315949502
Stefanie Schneider
Stefanie Schneider received her MFA in Communication Design at the Folkwang Schule Essen, Germany. Her work has been shown at the Museum for Photography, Braunschweig, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, the Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt, the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Kunstverein Bielefeld, Museum für Moderne Kunst Passau, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Foto -Triennale Esslingen., Bombay Beach Biennale 2018, 2019.
About the Seller
4.9
Platinum Seller
Premium sellers with a 4.7+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 1996
1stDibs seller since 2017
1,027 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Morongo Valley, CA
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllTropics Motor Motel I (Memories of Green)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Tropics Motor Motel I (Memories of Green) - 1999
58x56cm,
Edition 1/10,
analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper,
based on a Polaroid, Artist inven...
Category
1990s Contemporary Nude Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Another Day in Paradise (The Last Picture Show)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Another Day in Paradise (The Last Picture Show) - 1999,
20x20cm,
Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs.
Archival C-Print, based on the original Polaroid. Certificate and Signature...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Nude Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Doll (Memories of Green)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Doll (Memories of Green) - 2003
Edition of 5,
58x56cm,
analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper,
based on the Polaroid, Artist inventory Number 1149...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Everything put Together (Suburbia) - Contemporary, Polaroid, Analog, Portrait
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Everything put Together (Suburbia) - 2004
50x50cm,
Edition of 10,
Archival C-Print based on the Polaroid.
Signature label with Certificate.
Artist inventory #19313.
Not mounte...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Bates Motel IV (The Last Picture Show) - Contemporary, Figurative, Polaroid
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Bates Motel IV (The Last Picture Show) - 2005,
38x36cm,
Edition 2/5.
Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, matte finish, based on the origina...
Category
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
I will be just fine (Memories of Green)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
I will be just fine (Memories of Green) - 2003
Edition of 5,
58x56cm,
analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper,
based on a Polaroid, Artist inventor...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
You May Also Like
Motel, Virginia
By Lissa Rivera
Located in New York, NY
Archival pigment print
Signed and numbered, verso
12 x 18 inches, image
(Edition of 8 + 1 AP)
20 x 30 inches, image
(Edition of 5 + 2 APs)
This photograph is offered by ClampArt, ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Untitled, from the series 'Coexistence' – Stephen Gill, Colour, Woman, Summer
By Stephen Gill
Located in Zurich, CH
Stephen GILL (*1971, Great Britain)
Untitled, from the series 'Coexistence‘, 2012
Canson Platine Fibre Rag 310 gsm
Image 54.6 x 36.5 cm (21 1/2 x 14 3/8 in.)
Sheet 60.9 x 45.4 cm (24...
Category
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Self Portrait
By Farah Marie Velten
Located in Hudson, NY
CURRENT EXHIBITION - runs through September 10th, 2017. Any framed photographs purchased during the show will be available then. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer order...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Secret Exhbitionist
By Sarah Elise Abramson
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Photography, edition 1/12.
Category
2010s Contemporary Nude Photography
Materials
Color
Long exposure figurative Photography: 'Illuminations No. #42'
By Florence Montmare
Located in New York, NY
'Illuminations started in 2002 when a relationship was slowly falling apart. While trying to save it, we rented a large stylish apartment in Stockholm, and then later one in Arles, France, hoping that a change of scene would have a posi-tive effect. The new spaces made the distance between us more acute, and the inevitable break even more obvious. The ritual of making one photograph each night became crucial to me. I left the camera shutter open for 3 to 8 hours in a darkened bedroom, and as the morning light arrived I interrupted the exposure. It is a private journal, documenting time and memory, where present meets past.'
Born in Vienna to Swedish and Greek parents and raised in Stockholm, Florence Montmare has an MBA in Design Management from Linnaeus University, Sweden and studied at the School of Visual Arts. A graduate of International Center of Photography, New York, she collaborated with artist Sam Samore...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Color Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Verde, Nude. Color Limited Edition Photograph
By Ricky Cohete
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Verde
Color Archival Pigment print
Large 60" x 40"
Ed of 6 + 2AP
Unframed
Exploring color in the darkness, inspired by the Italian and Dutch renaissance. He brings hints of the faun...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
