Artist Lecture - Beatrix Reinhardt

     

Tourist India Image, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture

       University Galleries recently hosted a visiting artist lecture featuring Beatrix Reinhardt. She is a photographer who grew up in Germany and has her M.A. in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research in New York, and her Master of Fine Arts Degree from Illinois State University. Going into the lecture I had no idea who Beatrix was, and I also had never been to an artist lecture, so I was really anxious to learn more about her and her artwork.

Hellenic Club, Conberra, Australia, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture

       She started off by stating that every time she lives in India her work changes dramatically. One of the main elements that she has been exploring in her photos is space. She talked about both interior and exterior spaces and how she first explored one and then realized she needed the other in her work.

Tantra Club, London, England, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture

       While focusing on interior space, she talked about how it was interesting to see the way people interact with spaces, whether it be the way they decorate, build or design, or even take care of the area. She also very much enjoyed photographing spaces that tried to create a certain time or feeling to bring back memories. All of the images that she showed were very beautiful and it actually made me want to explore the space and actually experience it myself. I believe that this makes her series of photos that deal with space very successful. It engages the viewer because even though they have never been to an area, they are able to imagine themselves sitting or moving throughout the room.

The 550km - Druschba - a friendship pipeline/ C-print, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture

       After experimenting with interior space, she went to Greenland to photograph the mountains in hopes that it would give her the same satisfaction that the interior space did. Unfortunately it did not and she stated that she was a little disappointed. The first satisfying exterior space that she photographed was of a pipeline that transports gas from the Siberian area, to areas around East Germany, which is where she was from. She was interested in the specific part that East Germany built, mainly because she was from the area, but also because it was something man made that was out in nature. The pip apparently is underground most of the time, but comes to the surface every so many miles at stations where it could be worked on or fixed. Those were the areas that she mainly took photographs of. She met with former workers and received many old photos that they had taken from when they were helping build it.

Title Unknown, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture Display

       The exterior spaces that interested her the most were those that were charged. She wanted it to have a history, past, present, future, and memory, all at once. If you try to think of an area with all of those qualities that have significant meaning, it can be sort of difficult. I am not particularly great with photography, but what makes her images unique is that they are different in the sense that she isn't always photographing something because it is interesting, but because of it's meaning.

Display of Images in Shadow Boxes, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture

       Some of her exterior pieces have reference to archives and scientific record keeping. That is why she displays them in shadow boxes, almost as if you were keeping butterflies or insects. This is another aspect that is added to her photography that makes her stand out from most, especially because her images look so clean and smooth, almost as if they were painted.

Embossed Image, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture Display

Embossed Image, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture Display

       The next project that she explored was an artist expedition. She basically got to travel to Siberia where all she had to do was make work! They gave the artists a studio and said to come up with ideas, and so she did that for a period of time after exploring the exterior spaces. The landscape made her study embossing more, and she found that it was the perfect medium to attempt to express Siberia. She talked about the duality there was to embossments, and why she liked it so much. She likes that you have to make the image visible by moving closer to the piece or changing the lighting. There are so many variables that go into viewing the image.

Scroll, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture Display

Scroll, Beatrix Reinhardt, University Galleries Lecture Display

       Later she started to photograph people and the way the reacted and lived everyday lives. She wanted to make a series that was more lighthearted, but kept photographic curiosity alive. She often photographed religious celebrations like mud wrestling in other countries. It was a religious festival where boys would wrestle, along with following strict rules of not eating meat, being a virgin, and many more. She said that it allowed her to stick her nose in something that wasn't her concern, but was still interested in. With many of the photos that involved people, she printed on a scroll. This allowed the viewer to interact with the photograph as opposed to just looking on the wall. Often times she said people would get angry because they would scroll through so many feet worth of one photo, to realize it was just people walking throughout the image the whole time. Whether that means it is a successful piece or not, it shows that people will continue to look through the image even if they are bored with it to get an end result, although it isn't there.
       I very much enjoyed this artist lecture, and loved listening to her experiences. It was crazy to listen to her and fathom all of the places she has been and all of the things she has seen. She is very knowledgable and puts so much thought into her photographs and the way she displays them. My favorite part about the whole lecture would have to be the end when we got to look at her artwork and actually interact with it. That just shows that she has so much passion for her work that she wants us to hold it and exam it, and not just stare at it from a wall.