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Stefanie Schneider
Solitaire - Heavenly Falls

2016

About the Item

'Solitaire' (Heavenly Falls) 2016, 50x50cm, Edition 3/10, Lambda Print based on a Polaroid Certificate and signature label artist inventory number: 19594.03 unmounted The second image shows the Instant Dreams movie poster. The poster is not part of the auction. Stefanie Schneider interviewed for Instant Dreams Documentary coming out Dec 14th 2017 in Europe and Jan 8th 2018 in USA When did you first decide to work with Polaroids? Why do Polaroids seem to be so well tuned to our (artistic) senses, perception and minds? I started using expired Polaroid film in 1996. It has the most beautiful quality and encapsulates my vision perfectly. The colors on one hand, but then the magic moment of witnessing the image appear. Time seems to stand still, and the act of watching the image develop can be shared with the people around you. It captures a moment, which becomes the past so instantly that the decay of time is even more apparent; – it gives the image a certain sentimentality. The Polaroid moment is an original every time. Why use a medium from the past? For me, analog has always been there in the present. For the new generation, analog is interesting because it's new to them. I understand that people growing up in a digital age will wonder about its usefulness, but it's theirs to recover if they want to. When I first started working with Polaroid, it wasn't the past. It was a partially forgotten medium, but it existed nonetheless. It is mine by choice. There is no substitute for tangible beauty. Is it imperfect? The imperfect perfection in a “wabi-sabi” kind of way. Wabi-sabi (侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. 'If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi'. 'Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.' Is the Polaroid photograph recognizable or even sometimes cliché? Absolutely! There's something cliché about the way I'm showing the American Dream. I live it myself, trying to find perfection in an imperfect world. Reaching for the horizon. The dream is broken; the cliché tumbles. There are different ways to involve an audience. You could make movies like Harmony Korine's 'Gummo' a masterpiece in my view, which would estrange a large part of the audience. A certain film education is a prerequisite. Or you can start with clichés, the audience then feels safe, which lures them into the depth of your world without them even knowing it or understanding where exactly they are being led to. Appealing to emotions and the sub-conscious. Normal, Change, New Normal. You continually revisit the landscape of the American West in your work. What draws you back to this scene? Southern California represents a dream to me. The contrast of Northern Germany, where I grew up, to the endless sunshine of Los Angeles was what first attracted me. The American West is my dream of choice. Wide, open spaces give perspectives that articulate emotions and desires. Isolation feeds feelings of freedom or sometimes the pondering of your past. The High Desert of 29 Palms has very clear and vivid light, which is vital. Expired Polaroid film produces 'imperfections' that I would argue mirrors the decline of the American dream. These so called 'imperfections' illustrate the reality of that dream turning into a nightmare. The disintegration of Western society. Are you playing with the temporality of the material and the value of the moment itself? The value of the moment is paramount, for it is that moment that you're trying to transform. All material is temporary, it's relative, and time is forever. Why does analog film feel more pure and intuitive? It's tangible and bright and represents a single moment. The digital moment may stay in the box (the hard drive / camera / computer etc.) forever, never to be touched, put into a photo album, sent in a letter, or hung on a wall. Printing makes it an accomplishment. The analog world is more selective, creating images of our collective memory. The digital worldwide clicking destroys this moment. The generation without memories due to information overload and hard drive failures. Photo albums are a thing of the past. Why does it feel this way? That's how the human instinct works. When I was a child, every picture been taken was a special moment. Analog photographic film as well as Super-8 material were expensive treasures. My family's memories were created by choosing certain moments in time. There was an effort behind the picture. The roll of film might wait months inside the camera before it was all used. From there, the film required developing, which took more time, and finally, when the photos were picked up from the shop, the memories were visited again together as a family. Who knew then, how fleeting these times were. Shared memories was a ritual. What's your philosophy behind the art of Polaroid pictures? The 'obsolete' is anything but obsolete. Things are not always as they appear, and there are hidden messages. Our memories and our dreams are under-valued. It is there that real learning and understanding begins by opening yourself to different perspectives. What inspired you to use stop motion cinematography? My work has always resembled movie stills. I remember the first time I brought a box of Polaroids and slid them onto Susanne Vielmetter's desk (my first gallery). Instantly, it became apparent that there was a story to tell. The stories grew. It was undeniable to me, that the emerging story was where I was destined to go. I've made four short films before my latest feature film, "The Girl behind the White Picket Fence". This film is 60 minutes long with over 4000 edited Polaroids. It's important to remember that our sub-conscious fills in the blanks, the parts missing from the story allow a deeper and more personal experience for the viewer. That is, if you surrender yourself and trust me as the director to lead you somewhere you might not have been before. Why do you think it is important to own art? 'We have art in order not to die of the truth' Nietzsche
  • Creator:
    Stefanie Schneider (1968, German)
  • Creation Year:
    2016
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.69 in (50 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 0.01 in (0.1 mm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    20x20cmPrice: $200
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    new.
  • Gallery Location:
    Morongo Valley, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU652310259932
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It is quite evident through time that women's labor is needlework, and that their labor is frequently undervalued as craft both when dissimilar and alike to men's work. In a time period where men overshadowed women in the traditional art, such as painting and sculpture, women oftentimes reverted to other mediums like textiles. It has been suggested that women's work, especially in embroidery, is of little value in the art field since it is considered a craft. Since "arts and crafts" are more often than not paired together, it is obvious they are in the same category; however, there is a clear distinction. For 300 years, women have been taught needlework through practice and tradition, and in inadvertently, promoted obedience and household effeminate behavior. As a result, instead of regarding stitching as an art, many viewed it as a thoughtless skill, lacking originality. 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Hahn's art has been exhibited throughout the country and worldwide featured in museums highlighting historical processes in Baltimore, Maryland (1972) and nature photography exhibitions in Osaka, Japan (1990). Her work has been displayed at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and Art History (2017), Phoenix Art Museum (2015), and the George Eastman House (2012, 2016). Hahn's work is held in private collectors, galleries, and in permanent museum collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Center for Creative Photography and the Museum of Modern Art. Exhibitions 1996 – George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and film, Rochester, New York 1997 – A History of Women Photographers, Akron Art Museum 1997 – Eye of the Beholder, Photographs of the Avon Collection, International Center of Photography, Midtown, New York City 1998 – Passing Shots: A Travel Series, University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1998 – The City Series, Taos, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA 1999 – Photography Or Maybe Not, a Betty Hahn traveling retrospective, Mikhailovsky Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia 2000 – 20/20 Twentieth Century Photographic Acquisitions by 20 leading patrons, Museum of New Mexico, Museum of Fine Arts 2000 – Photography Or Maybe Not, a Betty Hahn traveling retrospective, Santa Fe de Granada, Spain 2001 – In the Eyes of the Beholder: Ten Photographers View Albuquerque, The University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque, NM 2002 – Sun Works Contemporary Alternative Photography, The Art Institute of Boston 2002 – Flowers from the Permanent Collection, The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico 2004 – 30th Anniversary Permanent Collection Exhibition, New Mexico State, University Art Gallery, Las Cruces, New Mexico 2005 – New Mexico State University Art Gallery, Las Cruces, New Mexico 2005 – Ace in the Hole, the legacy of Peter Walch, University Art Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 2006 – The collectible moment, Norton Simon museum, Pasadena, California 2006 – The Social Lens, University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia 2007 – Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography, A Traveling 2007 – Exhibition, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York 2008 – Flower Power: a Subversive Botanical, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM 2008 – Bernalillo County Arts Board Gallery, One Civic Plaza NW, Albuquerque, NM 2008 – Giving Shelter 516 Arts Albuquerque, NM (A Sister Exhibition to the Cradle Project) 2008 – Betty Hahn, Joyce Neimanas, and Judith Golden, Harwood Art Center Albuquerque, NM 2009 – Through the Lens: Creating Santa Fe, Palace of the Governors, The New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, 2009 – Altered Land: Photography in the 1970s, Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 2010 – Sole Mates Cowboy Boots & Art, New Mexico Museum of Art 2010 – Rock Scissors Paper, Anderson Contemporary Arts, Albuquerque, NM 2010 – Recollection 2010, Works from the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, The Central Library, Vida Ellison Gallery, 2012 – 60 From the 60's (an exhibit of influential photos from the 1960s) George Eastman House, Rochester, New York 2012 – Albuquerque Now-Fall and Albuquerque Now-Winter, The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, 2013 – It's About Time: 14,000 Years of Art in New Mexico, The New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM 2014 – Alternative Lineage – Honoring Betty Hahn; 5 Decades of Mentoring 2014 – Alternative Photographic Processes, Center for Photographic Art Carmel, California 2014 – Alternative Lineage, Northlight Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 2014 – Transformational Imagemaking, Handmade Photography Since 1960 2014 – An Exhibition Curated by Robert Hirsch, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2014 – Museum Project, dnj Gallery, Santa Monica, California 2014 – American Heritage Center and Art Museum, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 2014 – Hubbard Museum of the American West, Ruidoso, New Mexico 2015 - One-Of-A-Kind, unique photographic objects from the Center of Creative Photography, University of Arizona, 2015 – Unconfined – Empowering Women Through Art, African American Performing Arts Center, New Mexico Expo, 2015 – Visualizing Albuquerque: Art of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM 2015 – Healing ... For the Time Being, A mixed media exhibition in conjunction with On the Map: Albuquerque Art and Design, Jonathan Abrams MD 2015 – The AIPAD Photography Show, Represented by Joseph Bellows Gallery, New York, New York 2016 – Transformational Imagemaking, traveling exhibition March-16- April 16; Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. 2016 – Fall-Rochester Institute of Technology, Bevier Gallery, Rochester, NY 2016 – 60 from the 60's: Selections from the George Eastman Museum, At the Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York (The featured artists included were Harry Callahan, Benedict J. Fernandez, Hollis Frampton...
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