Schweiger, Michaela.
*1966 in Heidenheim/Brenz, D
lives and works in Berlin and in Halle an der Saale
studied arts at Kunsthochschule Kassel, UdK Berlin
and at Kunsthochschule für Medien in Cologne.
2011 Ruf an die Burg Giebichstein, Kunsthochschule Halle
Exhibitions [Selection]:
2011 Glaskasten, Marl , Single Exhibition, 2010 „14. Marler Video-Kunst_Preis“,
Skulpturenmuseum, Marl
2010 „Begleiter“, Galerie Waldbröl, Single Exhibition,“Gemeinsam in die Zukunft“, Frankfurter Kunstverein
2008 „La vie moderne“, Centre d'art Passerelle, Brest
2006 „Zurück in die Stadt von morgen“, plattform, Berlin, Single Exhibition, „urban creatures“, Pori ART Museum
2005 „13. Videokunst Förderpreis Bremen“, Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Single Exhibition
2004 „Tätig sein“, NGBK Berlin
Begleiter
Date: 2010
Length: 10:00 min.
Format: 16:9
Specification: Colour, Sound
In her films and drawings Michaela Schweiger takes on the subject of the utopias of the post-war age and their disintegration through political and social developments. Using the example of Le Corbusiers’ “Unité d’Habitation”,built in 1958 in Berlin, the video “Begleiter” (companion) focuses on social processes that can be easily observed in the model-like residential architecture. Architecture is not just the exterior skin, but the life that goes on inside it. The camera circles around installations reminiscent of a backdrop, showing a clichéd setting. It’s floating through time and space accompanied by an off-screen voice. Sometimes, within the installations, assistants drift into view, giving us a documentary insight into the production of the images. They stand in stark contrast to the artificiality of the staged scenes. Partial sequences of the play, which are based on interviews, re-tell the memories and show the way in which female role models of various generations have regarded themselves. In a central scene we witness a heated discussion about production arrangements between two men and a woman; in a clichéd, arbitrary manner the woman is dismissed. By the use of gestures or small actions, throughout the film women are continually casting off their assigned roles, each time with a knowing wink to the viewer.
GE
