https://undinesommer.com Undine Sommer Fri, 02 Jul 2021 12:52:18 +0000 https://undinesommer.com en https://undinesommer.com/Startpage Tue, 15 Jun 2021 09:34:11 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Startpage Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ This Beauty&nbsp;Muted Possibilities Blue Hour To face a window for 6 min and 36 sec Birth II The Day Undine’s Mother’s Water Broke Riding Home Bethlehem Grund und Boden At the Gallery Owner's Writing ︎︎︎Today I Sit at Home Weird, How We Just Trust the Road Bare Fruit Notes on Isolation Info ︎︎︎ Privacy https://undinesommer.com/This-Beauty Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:01:57 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/This-Beauty Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ This Beauty Deserves a More Dramatic Song Like a whiteout, "This Beauty Deserves a More Dramatic Song" brings in and out of focus the director's near-fatal car accident during a snowstorm in Canada and seemingly disjunct events in Hokkaido's Daisetzuzan Mountain Range: The construction of the Sounkyo Hydroelectric Power Plant in 1952 and the Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road from 1954 until its halt by the Hokkaido Nature Conservation Society in 1967, the devastation of Daisetzuzan’s primeval forest in 1954 by Typhoon 15, and Seiji Hisamatsu’s 1957 screen adaptation of poet Ujō Noguchi getting lost in Daisetzuzan's dramatic landscape during his search for his love. As an uninvited guest, the director traverses through remembrances, archives and landscapes deeply affected by settler-colonial actions in Canada and Hokkaido. Ultimately, what does it mean to have sight taken by nature and to take sight of nature? And how does fueling the desire to see a landscape differ from constructing a road right through it? <img width="1920" height="1280" width_o="1920" height_o="1280" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6d59d50c8ef722e164ff3e54ea0d820681364a23a9f610412084b43ac4fd59eb/undine_sommer_Beauty_01.jpg" data-mid="112860333" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6d59d50c8ef722e164ff3e54ea0d820681364a23a9f610412084b43ac4fd59eb/undine_sommer_Beauty_01.jpg" /> <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83119ae8102c1d8b54b698794d355458a0ebfaf319c5574782993b98bcfd21c5/undine_sommer_Beauty_02.jpg" data-mid="112860334" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83119ae8102c1d8b54b698794d355458a0ebfaf319c5574782993b98bcfd21c5/undine_sommer_Beauty_02.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1280" width_o="1920" height_o="1280" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f90ab2b71978d6c2153325cd261479804fada95c63c87c069bb88547771f4e1d/undine_sommer_Beauty_03.jpg" data-mid="112860335" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f90ab2b71978d6c2153325cd261479804fada95c63c87c069bb88547771f4e1d/undine_sommer_Beauty_03.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/12010aab83b55cb8c2c4d305748b6d240b54f890b892acf687a7cb3e2663ca6c/undine_sommer_Beauty_04.jpg" data-mid="112860336" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/12010aab83b55cb8c2c4d305748b6d240b54f890b892acf687a7cb3e2663ca6c/undine_sommer_Beauty_04.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2014e4869267e14fb476e417a5909c70960b412ae3dfbef79fff5e00e4278c7f/undine_sommer_Beauty_05.jpg" data-mid="112860337" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2014e4869267e14fb476e417a5909c70960b412ae3dfbef79fff5e00e4278c7f/undine_sommer_Beauty_05.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b49a2b1ec0633953a512596586d48ace996a6ebff9f681b63311ab2c35f5b6f5/undine_sommer_Beauty_06.jpg" data-mid="112860338" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b49a2b1ec0633953a512596586d48ace996a6ebff9f681b63311ab2c35f5b6f5/undine_sommer_Beauty_06.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c83d715eb9f53e134e7b2fa9383c924c07adba91a3c587ba8d4b78cdf9da2895/undine_sommer_Beauty_07.jpg" data-mid="112860339" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c83d715eb9f53e134e7b2fa9383c924c07adba91a3c587ba8d4b78cdf9da2895/undine_sommer_Beauty_07.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4d62eb9c10bb5952a31081c6f8a926605780b3c828e02600fc3a5947271c7c94/undine_sommer_Beauty_08.jpg" data-mid="112860340" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4d62eb9c10bb5952a31081c6f8a926605780b3c828e02600fc3a5947271c7c94/undine_sommer_Beauty_08.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/239838ca7dbd24909842d197ba2f9cb21791f97bbdd7d2b37a515276abbc02f8/undine_sommer_Beauty_11.jpg" data-mid="112860343" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/239838ca7dbd24909842d197ba2f9cb21791f97bbdd7d2b37a515276abbc02f8/undine_sommer_Beauty_11.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/52930963d34264454c402c61b46b8506a69074653207ac67e56bc75524191f0c/undine_sommer_Beauty_09.jpg" data-mid="112860341" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/52930963d34264454c402c61b46b8506a69074653207ac67e56bc75524191f0c/undine_sommer_Beauty_09.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d40af420075f7a8639d987ccefd3c51847ebd9d80e09482d2f94523685b8afdd/undine_sommer_Beauty_10.jpg" data-mid="112860342" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d40af420075f7a8639d987ccefd3c51847ebd9d80e09482d2f94523685b8afdd/undine_sommer_Beauty_10.jpg" /> In the winter I travel with three strangers in a rideshare from Montreal to New York City. 冬のある日、私は３人の見 知らぬ人と車を相乗りして モントリオールからニュー ヨークへ向かう。 Just before the US border we get in a snow storm. 米国との国境間近で吹雪が 私たちを襲う。 Snow is falling from the sky as well as blowing from the neighbouring fields onto the highway. 降雪と平原から吹く風で 高速道路に雪が舞い上がる。 The view is milky and powdered sugary and the sounds are all muffled. 視界は真白く粉砂糖のよう すべての音は籠もっている。 It’s a dreamy feeling and I think about filming it with my phone. 夢見心地の私はその情景を 自分の携帯で撮影しようと 思う。Weird, how we just trust the road. なぜかみんな道路を信頼している。 … … The driver is a sound designer for film. We both squint our eyes and try to see any other cars. 運転手は映画の音響技術 者。私たちは目を細めて周 囲の車を見ようとする。 Thirty seconds later, non-moving objects appear on the road. 30秒後、全く動かない何か が路上にあらわれる。 A mattress, マットレス、 sheets, シーツ、 pieces of wood, 木の破片、 pieces of plastic, プラスチックの破片、 something red, 赤い何か、 something black, 黒い何か、 a truck. １台のトラック。 Later, I am told, I woke up my fellow passengers on the
 back seats with my scream. あとで後部座席の客が、私 の叫び声でとび起きたと言 う。 I don’t remember screaming. 私は叫んだことを覚えてい ない。 I only remember that in these couple of seconds, I was acutely aware that this is how I might die: smashed into a shattered camping van that had smashed into a truck. その数秒間、私はトラック にぶつかり、潰れたキャン ピングカーの中に閉じ込め られて死ぬと思っていた。 それ以外のことは覚えてい ない。 The view all milky and powdered sugary. The sounds all muffled. 視界は真白で粉砂糖のよう すべての音は籠もってい る。 Nomadic poet Ujō Noguchi travels to Hokkaido in search of his girlfriend Kayo. Heading to Sōunkyō he gets in a blizzard. 放退の詩人、野口雨情は遠く 北海道に渡ったと聞く恋人加 代の姿を求めて散策の旅に出 る。そして吹雪の中を層雲峡 に向うのである。 Director Seiji Hisamatsu turns the camera to Happodai and Obako-Kobako capturing the beauty of Sōunkyō and the Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road. 久松静児監督の手により、詩 を愛し、庶民を愛した野口雨 情の旅情の様子を、八方台そ して、大画小画へとキヤメラ を廻し、雪に閉された層雲峡 と、この大雪山観光道路の美 しさを余すとこなく捉えてい る。 Morishige, who plays Ujō Noguchi speaks about the breathtaking beauty of Sōunkyō and the majesty of Happodai: 雨情を演ずる森繁久弥はこの 言語に絶する層雲峡渓谷美と 八方台の雄大さに対し、次の ように語っていた。 町長さん、何とかしてこの美しさに俗人の手を入れないでほしい。 Mayor, I want you to somehow keep this beauty out of the hands of ordinary people. The construction of the Sōunkyō Power Plant has been completed. 層雲峡発電所の建設は施工 された。 Compensation for the lost stratus clouds, the primal landscape and the mysterious gorge is absolutely imperative. 原生そのまま神秘をたたえ た、失われる層雲峡の景観 の補償は絶対にして貰う。 A terrible atmosphere surrounds this place like a scar of war. There are only a few dead ezo and todo trees still standing within one square kilometer of the plateau. Facing the sky as if they were white bones. 大戦争の跡のような凄惨な 空気が漂い、一キロ四方に もわたるであろう台地のと ころどころにエゾ、トドの 枯木が白骨のように天をつ いている。 There are, however, rootstocks and dead branches with a diameter of four or five meters that have been turned upside down, scattered every- where, conveying the violent pattern at the time. 根こそぎひっくり返った直 径四、五メートルもある根 株や枯枝はいたるところに 散在して、荒々しい当時の 模様を伝えている。 The peaks of Mt. Kurodake, Mt. Eboshidake, and Mt. Akadake are calm due to the remaining snow. But how sorrowful is the song of the birds here! 黑岳、鳥帽子岳、赤岳の 峰々が静かに残雪を戴いて おだやかである。しかし、 なんとここの山鳥の鳴声は 悲痛に聞えることであろう か！ I wrote earlier that I would definitely recommend to include this place on a sightseeing road. 私はさきに、観光ルートに ぜひこの場所を予定してほ しいと書いた。 I can imagine people experiencing deep emotions from this intense contrast between life and death. この生と死のはげしい対照 の中から、人々がそれぞれ の感慨をつかみとるであろ うことを想像するからであ る。 Surely, such a place along a beautiful sightseeing route would make the itinerary more meaningful. 美しい観光ルートの中に、 このようなところが一カ所 ぐらいあっても、いやあっ た方が、より旅程を有意義 なものにすることを確信し たい。 Five hours later in a community center, I feel a bond with my fellow passengers. 5時間後、公民館にいる私 は同乗者との絆を感じてい る。 “It’s crazy how the only reference point to a situation like this are movies,” says the film studies PhD candidate. 「こんな状況を映画でしか 例えられないなんておかし い」と、映画研究する博士 課程の学生が言う。 I think back to the business student, who filmed the scene with his phone, who captured the PhD student searching for his shoes in the snow, me screaming every time a new car rushed into the pile-up, first hugging myself against the blustering wind, then hugging a crying stranger, and an American teenage couple with too much black eyeliner repeatedly saying: 私は思いだす、雪の中で靴を 探す博士課程の学生、それを 携帯で撮影する経営学部の学 生、車が次々と追突する度に 叫び声をあげる私、激しく吹 き荒れる風、まず自分を両手 で抱きしめて、泣いている誰 かを抱きしめる、黒のアイラ インが濃過ぎる十代のアメリ カ人カップルが、くり返し言 う： “We don’t know where we are. We are not from here.” 「どこにいるのかわからな い。 私たちこの辺の人間じゃな い。」 Maybe for some people this recording will be a reference point. 一部の人々にとっては、こ のビデオが一つの例えにな るでしょう。 Walking home 家へ帰る途中 when the fields were all white 平原はどこまでも白い and the sky all blue, 空はどこまでも青い I used to fall to the ground. そんな日はよく転んだ。 What’s up and what's down どっちが上か下か became unclear. わからなくなって。 Was this a dream? それは夢の話？ I ask my friend. 私は友人に聞く。 No, she says. いいえ、と彼女は言う。 installation. video (hd 16:9, stereo sound, color, one-channel, 19:45 min) bench, wooden beam, cotton fabric. sapporo/hokkaido. 2020.Concept, Directing: Undine Sommer Camera: Shusuke Nishimatsu, Undine Sommer Sound Recording: Undine Sommer Production Assistant: Shusuke Nishimatsu Driver: Isozaki Michiyoshi Editing, Sound Design: Undine Sommer Translation: Chiaki Sakaguchi, Shusuke Nishimatsu Installation: Hiroki Yamada, Shusuke Nishimatsu, Mami Odai, Yuki Hanada, Ryotalo Kobayashi Production Coordinator: Chiaki Sakaguchi Special Thanks: Kamikawa Heritage Museum, Tengshing Kazama &amp; Family (Thosenji Temple), Fumiko Kikuchi, Mami Odai, Dr. Ken Sato (Hokkaido Nature Conservation Society), Shimabuku, Sōunkyō Visitor Center, Takahiro Urushi, The Museum of Ujō Noguchi Very Special Thanks: Daisetzuzan Nationalpark Developed on invitation by and with great support of Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio Installation documentation © Yoshisato Komaki Archival images © Kamikawa Heritage Museum Video stills other than archival images&nbsp;© Undine Sommer References: Text 1 Sommer, Undine. Weird, How We Just Trust the Road. Montreal, 2019. Text 2 Kamikawa Town. Sōunkyō to Happōdai de Morishige Hisaya Shuen Ujō Monogatari Roke. (At Sōunkyō and Happōdai Film Location Ujō Monogatari Staring Morishige). “Daisetzuzan Kanko Doro” (Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road). Kamikawa Town, 1959. Text 3 Noda, Haruo (Mayor of Kamikawa). Daisetzuzan Kanko Doro ni Basu ga Kaitsu Suruhi wo Mukaete. (Opening Remarks for the Bus Route of the Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road). “Daisetzuzan Kanko Doro” (Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road). Kamikawa Town, 1959. Text 4 Kuahara, Hiroshi. Kigi No Hakaba (The Graveyard of Trees).&nbsp; “Daisetzuzan Kanko Doro” (Daisetzuzan Sightseeing Road). Kamikawa Town, 1959. Text 5 Sommer, Undine. Weird, How We Just Trust the Road. Montreal, 2019. Text 6 Sommer, Undine. Based on a Conversation with Fumiko Kikuchi. Sapporo, 2020. ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Muted-Possibilities Thu, 01 Jul 2021 10:45:07 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Muted-Possibilities Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ Muted PossibilitiesI invite the viewer to my relocated kitchen table to read a collection of diaristic narratives, drink sparkling water, eat sourdough bread and butter, or black forest cake in case it’s my birthday. By telling moments of everyday life without projected images or sound, these short narratives elevate my perception of reality and film, which are irreversibly intertwined. I make sense of my life by seeing it as an infinite possibility of reshuffling and re-montaging its porous remembrances. Writing down some of these possibilities helps me explore how narratives shape in my mind and how to “heal”, as author Shari Goldberg says, “the persistent gap between experience and [...] language.” I Today I sit at home and skim through Kozloff’s Invisible Storytellers: Voice-Over Narration in American Fiction Film. I leave the house for fresh air and cake from Cheskie’s. I don’t want to spend this sunny afternoon alone. I text my roommate, asking if she wants to go for a walk and eat cheesecake. She can’t go for a walk, she has to write a film script, but she can pause for cheesecake. Knowing that I will arrive soon with the crumbly mass motivates her to write the first three sentences of her very first feature fiction film. While we are eating the cake on a concrete block in the industrial zone of Avenue De Gaspé I tell her about Toshiya Tsunoda, a sound artist, referred to as “the master of field recordings.” I tell her I spent the morning listening to one of his recordings called Little Sand Streams on the Beach. She mishears this as Little Sand Dreams on the Beach. We lie on our backs on the concrete mass, listen to the industrial ambience, and stare into the blue February sky. Together we picture a tiny grain of sand lying in the sun on a beach dreaming and thinking to itself: Today I am on top. […] XVI I dream I receive a love letter, which is also a political collage, made out of photographs, text fragments and fabric. The Canadian state censors the letter and replaces each piece of the collage with a stock photo image. Along the glossy surfaces I search for the original fragments of text over and over again.[…] installation. sixteen short stories printed on loose sheets of paper, undine’s kitchen furniture (table, bench, chairs, pillows), glasses, black forest cake or sourdough bread and butter, sparkling water. tiohtià:ke/montreal. 2019. Images © Tianhui Li ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Blue-Hour Fri, 02 Jul 2021 12:52:18 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Blue-Hour Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ Blue HourCan we see the sky as a screen? Ehm, hm, I see the noise in the sky. I think I just saw a firefly. えー空がすごく綺麗。 I feel sleep watching blue sky in sunset. I see a white line that looks like a thin cloud but also looks like a feezor or cut in the sky. I see what she saw. Hehe. I saw the caramel light bouncing off Matt’s wedding ring. Ehmmm. …. …. I ssss ehm I’m seeing the orange color in the sky. I hear moskitos in my ear. There is one white line in the sky but seems like disappeared. I smell something but I don’t know what it is. I feel comforted by gravity. I see Undine and the tree and the blue sky. Ehm, when I’m looking up the sky and I keep trying to see the airplane above of the cloud. I see the sky. Is it mine? Is it mine? It’s slowly getting darker. I see the trees and I see I am aware of my inability to perceive the depth of the sky. I see a white light, I think it's a UFO. Do you see it also? I see it also. I see the light glinting off my glasses creating strange events in my peripheral vision. I heard Eric talking to an old man. And then for a moment I saw this old man in brown clothing holding a bike and slowly moving away. And I saw Cha's hands recording a video of the sky. And making music on his cell phone. Is this my voice? I see... nothing. I see this funny creature of a microphone and the limbs of other people. I see Ivetta taking a selfie. I hear a dog barking in the distance. I hear a flight flying. I hear so many different sounds. Now I can see the star. I see hair. And bodies at different levels. I see a&nbsp; little tiny yellow dot. And I really don’t know if it's a star or an airplane. I’m staring at the sky to see something but to me it’s really like nostalgic when I’m looking up the sky. I don’t know what I’m seeing but I’m trying to see something else than what I actually see with my eyes. hmm hm hmmmmmmmmm Hahaha. Don’t burn down the mic! I’m so shy! I’m wondering where all the stars are. And I miss lying on my back and seeing the stars. The light is absolutely perfect right now; It's so peachy on one side of my hand and so shadowed on the other. This is the perfect sunlight. The moment that I really love when I’m starting to losing my visabilities. I see this piece of technical equipment close to my head. And I see the circle disassembling. I see a very beautiful young woman smoking a cigarette. Hahahah. And the orange glow is the same color as her skin in this light. I see the end of this film. Right now I’m not laying low anymore. And ehm ya it’s, eh, really blue.&nbsp; Blue Hour I During blue hour (the time shortly after sunset) I invite the viewers to lie down on a blanket and to look at the sky together. By experiencing time and space in community the basis of cinema is created. A microphone is passed around through which the viewers can say out loud what they see or hear. performance. wool blanket. microphone. sky. 30 min. jarry park, tiohtià:ke/montreal. 2019. Performed at Sky Exhibition 2019 in collaboration with Quite Ourselves. Blue Hour IIIn a gallery, I invite the viewer to sit down on the floor facing the street-level gallery window and listen to the recorded voices of Blue Hour I. Rather than feeling exposed to the world, the recording enables the listener to enter a cinema-like state of reality and watch the world of downtown Montreal with a distance. sound Installation. sound recording (13min 28 sec, stereo), iphone, headphones, white pillows. mfa gallery, tiohtià:ke/montreal. 2019. Images Blue Hour I © Quite Ourselves Images Blue Hour II&nbsp;© Tianhui Li ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/To-face-a-window-for-6-minutes-and-36-seconds Thu, 01 Jul 2021 09:58:51 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/To-face-a-window-for-6-minutes-and-36-seconds Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ To face a window for 6 minutes and 36 seconds. Or not to step on the water damaged floor by the right pillar. Exhibiting in a former junior high school in rural Japan, I invite the viewer to spend 6 minutes and 36 seconds in front of a window facing the former schoolyard. On a chair lies a one-page short story about my memories of the former schoolyard and my encounter with the villagers’ memories of it. By playing with past and present tense suddenly a long past Bon Odori (a dance in honor of the ancestors) from the memories of four elderly women slips into the present. And as the viewer gazes upon the ground of the schoolyard the folk song of that very Bon Odori starts playing through the school announcement speaker. <img width="3093" height="2112" width_o="3093" height_o="2112" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9f9b5d8bf1bba2323d0baa066fed3d6bcf43d9b56b6fef78294288ecc791b456/undine-sommer-window-05-copyright_tadasu_yamamoto.jpg" data-mid="112791057" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9f9b5d8bf1bba2323d0baa066fed3d6bcf43d9b56b6fef78294288ecc791b456/undine-sommer-window-05-copyright_tadasu_yamamoto.jpg" /> © Tadasu Yamamoto A few days ago, I went to the little store in the center of Naiin to buy pickled plums, which I like so much. The couple, who owns the shop, had a grey paper box with color photographs from the 70ies and 80ies prepared to show to me. Until then, I had thought that the many little patches of grass on the schoolyard once all connected to a dense green field. Now, I look at the moss-covered soil between the patches of grass and—through the photographs—try to imagine a field of sand somewhere between yellow and beige. As a filmmaker, I’ve been invited to work in this former school building for three weeks this year and five weeks last year. When I look at this rather green ground, I see the actions of other artists: Otsukakun shifting an orange traffic cone in front of the entrance a few centimeters up and down for weeks. Hansan lying on the ground pretending to be a bird or a black flexible container bag blown by the wind and a drone flying twenty meters above him. Bo freeing herself from purple tape, embodying laughter and lightness. I also see a priest dressed in white loose fabric disappearing into the forest behind this building. And I see five women walking exactly five circles counterclockwise around the schoolyard at 8.50 am. Against insects and the humid morning summer heat, they are dressed in off-white colors, wearing pants tucked into their rainboots, long sleeve shirts, gloves, and well-protecting sun hats. Three of them also carry a walking stick. Sometimes I see them sitting on the three black tires on the right side, drinking tea from plastic cups and Shusuke walking toward them, crossing the field in a diagonal line from the primary school entrance on the left. If I have seen this schoolyard maybe 318 times, they’ve seen it at least 1272 times more than me; as students, as mothers, as women who walk in the mornings. What do they see when they look at the schoolyard? With the help of Shusuke’s interpretation, they told me how the women of the community danced the Bon Odori on the first Sunday in October during the school sports festival. This was unusual for both the time of the year, as well as the occasion. In Naiin the Bon Odori—a dance to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors—was usually performed during the Obon festival in August next to the temple. They told me they wore their indigo blue Kasuri Kimonos gathered up and tucked under their waist sashes. This exposed their susoyoke—wraparound underskirts—from below their knees downward. Since the early morning, families from the village gathered on rice straw mats alongside two edges of the field. They looked at the women in anticipation. Then, to the sound of the folk song “Tsushima’s Daughter,” they begin dancing forward and backward in circles. And in the mild autumn wind, I begin to see the red fabric of their susoyoke floating around their ankles—contrasting with the greens of the ground. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f990ea2537dff8d677532814a985477836efda300c6ede0bd407b8657966bb38/undine-sommer-window-outside-10.jpg" data-mid="112792205" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f990ea2537dff8d677532814a985477836efda300c6ede0bd407b8657966bb38/undine-sommer-window-outside-10.jpg" />窓に向き合う6分36秒。あるいは、右の柱のそばの雨漏りで傷んだ床を踏んではならない。 何日か前、私は内院の街中にある小さな商店へお気に入りの梅の駄菓子を買いに行った。その店の店主である夫婦は灰色の箱の中にしまってあった &nbsp; ０年代か８０年代に撮影されたカラー写真を出して私に見せてくれた。その写真を見るまで私は、校庭につぎはぎの様に生えている草は、もともと全面に芝生だった頃の名残だと思っていた。私はつぎはぎの草の間の苔に覆われている土に目を向ける。そしてカラー写真に映っていた黄色とベージュ色の中間のような色をしたグラウンドの砂を想像してみる。 映像作家として私はこの廃校になったこの学校で制作をする為に今年は三週間、去年は週間滞在した。この緑に覆われたグラウンドに目をやると、他のアーティストの行動が垣間見える。大塚君は何週間もオレンジ色の三角コーンを玄関前で数センチずつ動かし続けている。潘さんはグラウンドに横になって鳥の真似をしていたり、黒い土のう袋になりきって風に吹き飛ばされている。そして上空２０の所でドローンが飛んでいる。ボーは紫色に巻かれたテープの中を振りほどきながら、喜びや軽快さを体現している。 私もまた白くゆったりとした服を身にまとった宮司がこの建物の裏にある森へ消えていったのが目に入る。午前８時５０分に５人の女の人が時計回りに校庭をきっかり５周歩いているのを見る。彼女達は虫や夏の朝の蒸し暑さを避けるオフホワイトの服に身を包み、ズボンの裾は長靴の中に入れ、長袖のシャツ、手袋と日差しよけの帽子をかぶっている。５人のうちの３人はウォーキング用の杖を使っている。時々、彼女達が右側にある黒いタイヤの上に座ってプラスチックのコップからお茶を飲んだりする。西松さんは左側にある学校の校門から斜めに芝生を突っ切って彼女達に向かって歩いていく。もしも私がこの校庭を１８回程みたとしたら、少なくとも彼女達は私よりも１倍くらいは多くみたと思う。生徒として、母として、毎朝ウォーキングする一人の女性として。 彼女達が校庭を見るとき、何を見ているのだろう。 西松さんの通訳を通して彼女達は私に、１０月の最初の日曜日に行なわれた学校の運動会で婦人会が踊った盆踊りについて話をしてくれた。その盆踊りは、時期そして場所ともに普段とは少し違っていた。通常であるならば内院の盆踊りは８月のお盆の時期に近くのお寺で行われるものだった。 紺色の絣の着物をたくし上げて着るので下に着ていた裾除けが膝下から露わになった。と話してくれた。村の人達は家族ごとに、朝早くから校庭の隅にゴザを敷き、彼女達の出番を待っていた。 そして「対馬の娘」が流れ出すと彼女達は前に進んだり、後ろに下がったりしながら円を描いて踊っている。緩やかな秋風の中、赤色の裾除けが彼女達の足元でヒラヒラ揺れるのが見え始める。グラウンドの緑とは対照的に。 <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d7e24bd2d4957fd8502214cbe7ad8019c3dab7304917fa165cb31441195d84c/undine-sommer-window-hands-japanese-11.jpg" data-mid="112791804" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d7e24bd2d4957fd8502214cbe7ad8019c3dab7304917fa165cb31441195d84c/undine-sommer-window-hands-japanese-11.jpg" />6분 36초동안 창문과 마주하기.혹은 오른쪽 기둥근처의 빗물로 상한 마루바닥 밟지 않기. 며칠 전 나는 내원에 있는 작은 상점에 맘에 드는 매실 과자를 사러 갔다. 그 가게 주인인 부부는 회색 상자 안에 넣어 둔 70, 80년대 즈음 촬영한 컬러 사진을 내어 나에게 펼쳐 보였다. 그 사진을 보기 전까지, 나는 교정에 드문드문 난 풀이 원래는 운동장 전체를 빽빽이 뒤덮고 있었을 거로 생각했었다. 지금 나는 그 드문드문 난 풀들 사이에 이끼로 뒤덮인 흙바닥을 바라본다. 그리고 사진 속에서 본 노란색과 베이지색의 중간 정도의 색을 띤 운동장의 모래를 상상해 본다.　 나는 영상 작가로서 폐교가 된 이 학교에서 작품을 제작하기 위해 올해는 3주, 작년에는 5주간 머물렀다. 풀로 뒤덮인 운동장을 바라보고 있으면 다른 작가들의 움직임이 눈에 띈다. 오오츠카씨는 몇 주 동안이나 오렌지색의 컬러 콘을 현관 앞에서 수 센티미터씩 움직이고 있다. 한씨는 운동장 바닥에 누워서, 새를 흉내 내거나 검은색 프레콘 백이 되어 바람에 흩날리고 있다. 그리고 그의 머리 20m 위에는 드론이 날고 있다. 보경씨는 자신을 휘감은 자주색 테이프에서 벗어나오며 기쁨과 경쾌함을 드러내고 있다. 나는 하얀 가운을 입은 신관(神官)이 학교 건물 뒤편의 숲으로 사라지는 것을 바라본다. 그리고 오전 8시 50분, 5명의 여자가 운동장 주변을 시계 방향으로 5바퀴 맴도는 것을 바라본다. 그들은 여름 아침의 무더위와 벌레를 피하고자 바지 자락은 장화 안에 넣고, 긴 팔 셔츠와 장갑, 햇빛 가리개 모자를 쓴 밝은색 옷차림을 하고 있다. 다섯 명 중 세 명은 워킹용 지팡이를 짚고 있다. 그들은 어떨 땐 운동장 우측의 검은색 타이어 위에 앉아 플라스틱 컵으로 차를 마시기도 한다. 니시마츠씨는 왼쪽에 있는 학교의 교문에서 사선으로 잔디밭을 가로질러 그들을 향해 걸어간다. 만약 내가 이 교정을 318번 정도 봤다면 적어도 그녀들은 나보다 1,272배는 더 봤을 것이다. 학생으로서, 어머니로서, 매일 아침 걷기 운동을 하는 여성으로서. 그녀들은 운동장을 볼 때 어떤 것을 보고 있는 것일까? 그녀들은 니시마츠씨의 통역을 통해 나에게 10월 첫 일요일에 열렸던 학교의 운동회에서 부녀회가 춘 봉오도리 춤(조상의 혼을 기리는 일본의 전통 축제 춤)에 관해 이야기해주었다. 그 봉오도리 춤은 시기와 장소 모두가 평소와는 조금 달랐다. 내원의 봉오도리는 보통 8월의 오봉(일본의 전통 명절) 기간에 가까운 절에서 열린다. 그녀들은 감색의 비백 기모노의 끝자락을 걷어 올려 허리춤의 오비에 꽂아 입었노라고 이야기했다. 그렇게 하면 기모노 안에 입고 있던 속치마가 무릎 밑으로 드러난다고 한다. 마을 사람들은 아침 일찍부터 가족 단위로 나와 운동장의 양 구석에 돗자리를 깔고 그녀들이 나오기만을 기다리고 있었다. 그리고 여인들은 민요인 ‘대마도의 딸’이 흘러나오자 음악에 맞추어 앞으로 나아가거나 뒤로 물러나며 원을 그리면서 춤을 추기 시작한다. 온화한 가을바람 속에 빨간 속치마 자락이 그녀들의 발목 위로 하늘거리는 것이 보이기 시작한다. 운동장의 녹색과 대조를 이루며. <img width="1921" height="1080" width_o="1921" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5216df8f94a5e8a6e44488d99b80b1362ac6d4f7e4033f6f87361cbc933149a8/undine-sommer-window-03.jpg" data-mid="112790168" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5216df8f94a5e8a6e44488d99b80b1362ac6d4f7e4033f6f87361cbc933149a8/undine-sommer-window-03.jpg" />installation. window/text/school announcement speaker. mono sound. 6:36 min. naiin/tsushima. 2019. Developed for Tsushima Art Fantasia If we think of cinema as image, sound, and language can the experience in this room be cinema?Images © Shusuke Nishimatsu unless differently stated ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Birth-II Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:29:17 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Birth-II Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ Birth II At the former border between East- and West Berlin soil and voices are falling incessantly from the sky. At the Lake of Constance an embryonic sac bursts to the announcement of the fall of the Wall. Between all the noise of the patriarchal world, a granddaughter just wants to put her ear on her grandmother’s rug and listen to her dream about her dead father. EXT. SOIL IS FALLING FROM THE SKY - DAY In the evening of the fall of the Berlin wall, my mother and father and sister were watching the news. My mother got up to go to the bathroom. When she returned, my father said: The wall fell. My mother said: My water broke. CUT TO: EXT. PURPLE FLOWERS SWAYING IN THE WIND - DAY CUT TO: EXT. FALLEN SPARROW WITH SPREAD OUT WING LYING ON PAVEMENT - DAY CUT TO: INT. GRANDMA’S BEDROOM - DAY GRANDMA’S BED My grandmother dreamt about her dead father. WINDOW He stood by the window and looked out. GRANDMA’S BED My grandmother lay awake in her bed and stared at the back of her freshly resurrected father. WINDOW He wore a black suit. I think he always wore a black suit and never paid his daughter for decades of labour in the family’s butcher shop. GRANDMA’S BED Ja bist du zurück? Well, are you back? WINDOW Er schwieg. He did not answer. GRANDMA’S BED Ja, wie war’s? Well, how was it? WINDOW Frag lieber nicht. Better not to ask. BARE LEGS ON THE CARPET UNDERNEATH GRANDMA’S BED Yesterday, after six months of being unable to move, my grandma ripped out her catheter, got up by herself and left the bedroom.video. hd video 16:9. colour &amp; sound. one channel. 7:08 min. haibach/berlin. 2018. Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Undine Sommer "Falling Voices" composed and mixed by Hyemin Jung (Joreng) World Premiere: 2019 Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival,Hawick, UK German Premiere: 2019Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel, DEImages © Tianhui Li◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Riding-Home Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:40:39 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Riding-Home Undine SommerVisual Art ︎︎︎ Riding HomeWhat you see in the image is an uneventful ride through a forest at dusk, but what you see through the text is the remembrance of a lecture by theorist of photography Ariella Azoulay, the mass rape of German women after WWII, an encounter with a psychotherapist, a woman locking the doors of her home. Searching for ploughed soil at sunset for my film shoot the next day. Enjoying the ride along the muddy fields, greeting horses along the way. I see a stranger with a wheelbarrow in the distance walking towards me. Magically, he turns away. I pass under the bridge. I don’t take a right along the autobahn ramp. The lecture of theorist of photographyAriella Azoulay comes to my mind. She could not find any photographic evidence from the mass rape of German women after WWII. I think of my grandmother. Magically, the camera helps me get through the woods at night I think of the brief encounter with my therapist, how she asks me about my chances of being raped. Even though I am creeped out by my neighbor when I walk up the stairs—100 % of the time— even though I lock myself at home and am never fully at ease after sunset—100% of the time— even though I close every single roller shutter at my parent’s home when I am alone, lock every door, close the lights and hide under the covers—100% of the time— I say 5%. She calls my estimate unrealistically high. Magically, I meet a fearless woman at the end,recording with her phone. video. hd video 16:9. Colour &amp; sound. One channel. 3:44 min. braunschweig. 2018. Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Design: Undine Sommer Exhibitions:2018Leonard &amp; Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal, Canada ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Bethlehem Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:05:57 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Bethlehem Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ Bethlehemvideo. hd video 16:9. colour &amp; sound. one channel. 2:10 min. the wall guesthouse bethlehem. 2013. Living in Bethlehem for six months, I figured, there are two kinds of tourists that come here – those who come for Jesus and those who come for the eight-meter-high Israeli separation wall. In this video, I portray a tourist of the latter kind. He sits on a hotel room bed and—to the soundtrack of potato chip crunch—keeps his gaze on one single point. Slowly it is revealed that it is the wall that he is looking at. He is a guest in “The Wall Guesthouse“, which in fact is surrounded by the wall from three sides. Performer: Heiki Eero RiipinenWriter &amp; Director: Undine Sommer Cinematography and Sound Recording: Darja Lewin &amp; Undine Sommer Editor &amp; Sound Design: Undine Sommer Costume Designer: Noam Alon Exhibitions: 2015 The Way To Walk On Earth Exhibition, Nagoya University of Arts (JP) ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/Grund-und-Boden Tue, 15 Jun 2021 14:32:13 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/Grund-und-Boden Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎Grund und Boden Ground and Body The principles of regional development planning in the Town and Country Planning Act say that the use of open space for the purpose of settlement and transportation is to be reduced. In terms of urban development, it means internal development has priority over external development. In the meadows of a suburban area, a person finds it hard to accept that it will inevitably be turned into yet another housing project. She starts practicing acceptance by walk-meditating on the concrete paved road. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/572a741d858c1974a4d9769ee3573efad8580c03858ffbf751777d489ac4578b/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-01-1.jpg" data-mid="112118620" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/572a741d858c1974a4d9769ee3573efad8580c03858ffbf751777d489ac4578b/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-01-1.jpg" /> Das uns vorliegende Bauareal „Zeuthener Winkel Süd“ ist ein suburbanes Wohnbaugebiet am südöstlichen Stadtrand Berlins. An das Gebiet grenzt nördlich die bereits erschlossene Siedlung „Zeuthener Winkel Nord“ an, im Osten verläuft die S-Bahn Trasse der S 46 von Nord nach Süd, westlich grenzt an das zu bebauende Gebiet ein Forst an und im Süden befinden sich die nördlichen Ausläufer des jahrhundertalten Zeuthener Siedlungsbereichs. Durch die Wiesenfläche verläuft ein betonbefestigter Kanal. Der vorliegende Bebauungsplan schreibt für dieses Wohngebiet eine freistehende Wohnbebauung mit geringen Geschosshöhen vor. Er gibt allerdings keine Vorgaben bezüglich der zu verwendenden Baustoffe oder der Art der Bebauung vor, so dass für den Zeitpunkt der Bebauung der einzelnen Baufelder von einem sehr heterogenen Erscheinungsbild ausgegangen werden kann. Die Erschließung der Baufelder erfolgt über eine Ringstraße, von der aus die verschiedenen Baufelder erschlossen werden. Separate Fuß- und Radwege scheinen erst zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt erstellt zu werden. “Zeuthener Winkel Süd” bietet 38 Baugrundstücke, auf denen zukünftig 38 Familien ihr neues Einfamilienhaus mit Gartenfläche und PKW-Stellplatz bauen werden können. Durch die Ringstraße entsteht eine Innen- und eine Außenlage, die für die zukünftigen Bewohner unterschiedliche Qualitäten bereithalten werden. So werden im Innenbereich durch die entstehende Bebauung enge Nachbarschaften mit aneinander stoßenden Gärten entstehen, während in den Außenlagen — vorbehaltlich es folgt keine weitere Ausdehnung des Baugebietes — der Blick in die freie Umgebung hinausgehen wird. Die Nutzung des Gebiets beschränkt sich auf Wohnen und Erholung, bereits jetzt nutzen Familien vereinzelt die Straße zum Spazieren gehen. Bisher wurde im ersten Bauabschnitt die Erschliessung für Verkehr, Strom, Gas und Wasser fertiggestellt. Die Anschlüsse für Wasser und Gas zeigen aus der Erde, Parktaschen sind bereits gesetzt vor den Erdflächen, die einmal Vorgärten werden. Die Häuser werden gebaut; Der Rohbau zweier Einfamilienhäuser, die Mauern eines dritten und das gegossene Fundament eines vierten Hauses stehen am Rand der neuen Straße, die eine Wendeschleife im Grasland ist. Straßenschilder geben die Fahrtrichtungen an: Jeder Bauabschnitt ist ein Schritt vor dem nächsten, der kommen wird. [...] Ich habe im Internet recherchiert und mich einen ganzen Sonntag lang in Achtsamkeit und Meditation geübt. [...] Abrollen. Heben. Führen. Senken. [...]︎ The available building plot “Zeuthener Winkel Süd“ is a suburban residential building area on the South Eastern outskirts of Berlin. To the North, the area is adjoined by an already developed housing estate “Zeuthener Winkel Nord”; to the East runs the railway line of the S-Bahn S46—from North to South—, to the West, the area to be built on is adjoined by a forest and in the South are the northern fringes of the century-old housing estate of Zeuthen. A concrete paved canal runs through the meadow plain. For the residential area, the available development plan stipulates a free-standing lowrise housing development. However, it does not state the building material or the type of building development, so that at the time of construction of the individual plots we can assume a very heterogeneous appearance. The various plots are getting developed over a ring road. It seems that separate pedestrian and cycle lanes will only be built at a later point in time. “Zeuthener Winkel Süd” offers 38 plots of land, where in the future 38 families will be able to build their new single-family house with a garden and parking space. The ring road creates an inner and outer sector, which will offer different qualities to the future inhabitants. In the inner area, close neighborhoods will be developed with gardens directly bordering one another, whereas the outer area—supposing no further expansion of the development area—offers a view of the open landscape. The use of the area is limited to residence and leisure. Some families already use the road to go for a walk. So far the development of transportation, electricity, and gas has been completed in the first stage of construction. The connections for water and gas stick out of the ground, parking bays are already seeded in front of the pieces of land which once will turn into front gardens. The houses are getting built; the building shell of two single-family houses, the walls of a third one, and the cast foundation of a fourth house stand at the edge of the new street, which is a turning loop in the grassland. Street signs direct the direction of travel: each stage of construction is a step to be followed by the next. [...] I googled on the internet and practiced mindfulness and meditation for a full Sunday. [...] Roll. Lift. Lead. Sink. [...] <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a45286e41ceea251af210ad6f8efd0ebc8d252665ffd3805d07810490ab86bf7/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-02-1.jpg" data-mid="112118621" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a45286e41ceea251af210ad6f8efd0ebc8d252665ffd3805d07810490ab86bf7/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-02-1.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/94e582b2f111fa8a14fdd75fa993fc79b498cf5774ba0115ba8f82991bfeb293/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-03-1.jpg" data-mid="112118622" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/94e582b2f111fa8a14fdd75fa993fc79b498cf5774ba0115ba8f82991bfeb293/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-03-1.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b0a8c522e4102a2f3eef7198c15c4068b3eee49987064711517a4a3a4bc214d6/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-04.jpg" data-mid="112118623" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b0a8c522e4102a2f3eef7198c15c4068b3eee49987064711517a4a3a4bc214d6/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-04.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/431eee6cc8854e7591b31e7c5158756d4ee590246778804040adf09c7777b0b0/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-05.jpg" data-mid="112118624" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/431eee6cc8854e7591b31e7c5158756d4ee590246778804040adf09c7777b0b0/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-05.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1f9f2a832f35517305553135ca331dd2db1fa5c2e5fd7d614acbfd926a6c6245/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-06.jpg" data-mid="112118625" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1f9f2a832f35517305553135ca331dd2db1fa5c2e5fd7d614acbfd926a6c6245/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-06.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/92c865e71ff75e8eb541f0ead149ac0ff7c44539a31c4a2b29e45f7c5fb647cf/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-07.jpg" data-mid="112118626" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/92c865e71ff75e8eb541f0ead149ac0ff7c44539a31c4a2b29e45f7c5fb647cf/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-07.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a4917e5fa044d0a94e7aeb1350011bd740984527f69c6b5d9ce562acff0af9a1/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-08.jpg" data-mid="112118627" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a4917e5fa044d0a94e7aeb1350011bd740984527f69c6b5d9ce562acff0af9a1/undine-sommer-grund-und-boden-08.jpg" /> video. hd video 16:9. colour &amp; sound. one channel. german language. 7:11 min. Zeuthener winkel. 2012. Writer, Director, Editor, Sound Design: Undine Sommer Cinematography: Antonia Jonas Text: Paula Voigt, Oliver Hasemann (Autonomes Architektur Atelier) &amp; Undine Sommer Text Editor: Undine Sommer Voice: Julia Jarque Y Jörg &amp; Undine Sommer Sound Recordist: Clara Jonas Voice Recordist: Ingo Schulz Translation Assistance: Saar Yachin Screenings: 2014 LOCALIZE Hier entsteht, Screening Festival für Kunst, Kultur und Stadt, Potsdam, Germany 2013 MUBI, Streaming Video (WWW) 2013 26th Images Festival, Screening Toronto, Canada Exhibitions: 2012 Artist As Traveller, Exhibition California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, USA ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎ https://undinesommer.com/At-the-Gallery-Owner-s Tue, 15 Jun 2021 09:38:03 +0000 Undine Sommer https://undinesommer.com/At-the-Gallery-Owner-s Undine Sommer Visual Art ︎︎︎ At the Gallery Owner’sAt the Gallery Owner’s revolves around a dinner following an exhibition opening at an Amsterdam art gallery. Against her will, two influential, drunk middle-aged men take photographs of one of the young women art students at the table. By using the stop trick technique and ‘freezing’ individual poses, I aim to bring to light the difficulty of shutting down an act of sexualized violence in an environment of unequal power relations. We were invited for a dinner party in the gallery owner’s apartment, just above the gallery, after the opening of the gallery’s exhibition, just above in the gallery owner’s apartment, by the gallery owner. In Amsterdam. On a Saturday. We sat down at a long table. Six or seven of my classmates and me sat down at the table on one end of the room, the rest of the class at the other end, and in between sat our professor with the gallery owner and maybe ten more formally dressed people from the art world.Two young chefs, a woman and a man, served four dishes of Japanese cuisine: Miso soup, sushi, something with either tuna fish or tofu, and a sweet dessert I can’t recall. Two elderly men from the formally dressed art world part of the table sat just next to my end of the table. We were only girls there. Throughout the evening, the two men took pictures here and there until they focused so much on one of my classmates that it couldn’t be considered decent behavior anymore. It was easy to tell she felt obviously awkward having become their subject for the evening, as she turned to the side trying to cover her face with her hand. By then she was already a little drunk from the expensive white wine served with the meal. Most of us were drunk.Ten or fifteen minutes had passed. They were still taking pictures when I decided to stop them. I told them to stop it. They didn’t even look up from the camera screen and continued. I got mad and stood up and raised my voice and again told them to stop. It was only then that they noticed me and stopped taking pictures of my friend, but instead they started photographing me as I stood there, my head all red from blood pressure. One of my classmates told me to calm down and let go. The others went silent. The men continued taking my photos. Then, one understood, and told his friend to stop. He said he was sorry and I accepted. He asked me to take a photo of the two of them together. I accepted. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b41391cfeb003d58fb20307fa1e455702335f34643d9862b21008f869299f8f0/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owner-02.jpg" data-mid="112117927" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b41391cfeb003d58fb20307fa1e455702335f34643d9862b21008f869299f8f0/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owner-02.jpg" />video. hd video 16:9. Colour &amp; sound. one channel. english language. 3:26 min. logotorium. headquarters braunschweig. 2012. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2722fd0097e3c8ad647c87020cbd52a9c6f080c3f751fe23a2320c83545b2def/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-05.jpg" data-mid="112117930" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2722fd0097e3c8ad647c87020cbd52a9c6f080c3f751fe23a2320c83545b2def/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-05.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7f9b358e5479b9b38c7a7b975b6c10bf3a79d13a64c0cfc34350db49cd02af02/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-04.jpg" data-mid="112117929" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7f9b358e5479b9b38c7a7b975b6c10bf3a79d13a64c0cfc34350db49cd02af02/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-04.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2dbfdbb60b69f1a4cf820d8f8c5ac4008ab2e88b99e5ab716c02b98731fb5703/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-06.jpg" data-mid="112117931" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2dbfdbb60b69f1a4cf820d8f8c5ac4008ab2e88b99e5ab716c02b98731fb5703/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-06.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e231b180fe477f3b35b71c51de50cd512c8be4cb4ef919e458b5ac538ea3f7fe/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-07.jpg" data-mid="112117932" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e231b180fe477f3b35b71c51de50cd512c8be4cb4ef919e458b5ac538ea3f7fe/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-07.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d1660bf5b1241ecf82a368e0d291f48c4d287604986a5240c1ecc60276ca8999/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-09.jpg" data-mid="112117933" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d1660bf5b1241ecf82a368e0d291f48c4d287604986a5240c1ecc60276ca8999/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-09.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c6612229f704df6885d6ac1bf3bbedc131beed3334f33df53ebb5665ddb3ebf/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-10.jpg" data-mid="112117934" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3c6612229f704df6885d6ac1bf3bbedc131beed3334f33df53ebb5665ddb3ebf/undine-sommer-at-the-gallery-owners-10.jpg" /> Performer &amp; Voice:&nbsp; Undine Sommer Director: Undine Sommer Cinematography: Undine Sommer Voice Recordist: Ingo SchulzEditor &amp; Sound Designer: Undine Sommer Screenings: 2016Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Screening, German Culture Center, Temeswar (RO) 2016Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Screening, German Culture Center , Hermannstadt (RO) 2015/si:n/ Festival für Videokunst und Performance, French German Culture Center, Ramallah (PO) 2015Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Screening, Goethe Institut, San Francisco (USA) 2015 Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Screening, Goethe Institut, Chicago (USA) 2014Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Screening, Goethe Institut, Shanghai (CN)&nbsp; Exhibitions: 2015Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Exhibition, Goethe Institut, Bukarest (RO) 2015Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Exhibition, Goethe Institut, Washington (USA) 2015 The Way To Walk On Earth, Exhibition Nagoya University of Arts (JP) 2015Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Exhibition, Goethe Institut, Johannesburg (ZA) 2015Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Exhibition, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei (TW) 2015New German Video Art, Exhibition, Alternative Space LOOP, Seoul (KR) Other: 2014Your Skin Makes Me Cry, Traveling Exhibition and DVD of the Goethe Institut (DE) ◀︎ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;▶︎