Pipilotti Rist
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Pipilotti Elisabeth Rist (born 21 June 1962) is a Swiss visual artist best known for creating experimental
video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...
and
installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
. Her work is often described as
surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...
, intimate,
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...
, having a preoccupation with the female body. Her artwork is often categorized as
feminist art Feminist art is a category of art associated with the late 1960s and 1970s feminist movement. Feminist art highlights the societal and political differences women experience within their lives. The hopeful gain from this form of art is to bri ...
. Rist's work is known for its multi-sensory qualities, with overlapping projected imagery that is highly saturated with color, paired with sound components that are part of a larger environment with spaces for viewers to rest or lounge. Rist's work often transforms the architecture or environment of a
white cube gallery A white cube gallery is a gallery style that is square or rectangular shape, has unadorned white walls and a light source usually in the ceiling. It typically has hardwood or polished concrete floors. In the early twentieth century art became m ...
into a more tactile, auditory and visual experience.


Personal life

Pipilotti Rist was born Elisabeth Charlotte Rist in Grabs in the
Rhine Valley ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
. Her father is a doctor and her mother is a teacher. She started going by "Pipilotti", a combination her childhood nickname "Lotti" with her childhood hero,
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
’s character
Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story wh ...
, in 1982. Prior to studying art and film, Rist studied theoretical physics in Vienna for one semester. From 1982 to 1986 Rist studied commercial art, illustration, and photography at the
University of Applied Arts Vienna The University of Applied Arts Vienna (german: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, or informally just ''Die Angewandte'') is an arts university and institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university sta ...
in Vienna. She later studied video at the Basel School of Design, Switzerland. From 1988 through 1994, she was member of the music
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
and
performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...
group '' Les Reines prochaines.'' In 1997, her work was first featured in the
Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
, where she was awarded the Premio 2000 Prize. From 2002 to 2003, she was invited by Professor
Paul McCarthy Paul McCarthy (born August 4, 1945) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Life McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1945. He studied art at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and later continued ...
to teach at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
as a visiting faculty member. From summer 2012 through to summer 2013, Rist spent a sabbatical in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
. Rist lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland with her partner Balz Roth, an entrepreneur. She and Roth have a son, Himalaya.


Career

During her studies, Pipilotti Rist began making super 8 films. Her works generally last only a few minutes, borrowing from mass-media formats such as
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
and advertising, with alterations in their colors, speed, and sound. Her works generally treat issues related to
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
,
sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
, and the
human body The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...
. Her colorful and musical works transmit a sense of
happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
and
simplicity Simplicity is the state or quality of being simple. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as Herbert A. Simon suggests, something is simple or complex depending on the way we ch ...
. Rist's work is regarded as
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
by some
art critics An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogu ...
. Her works are held by many important
art collection A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, ...
s worldwide. In ''I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much'' (1986) Rist dances before a camera in a black dress with uncovered breasts. The images are often
monochromatic A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or color scheme, palette is composed of one color (or lightness, values of one color). Images using only Tint, shade and tone, shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or Black and wh ...
and
fuzzy Fuzzy or Fuzzies may refer to: Music * Fuzzy (band), a 1990s Boston indie pop band * Fuzzy (composer) (born 1939), Danish composer Jens Vilhelm Pedersen * ''Fuzzy'' (album), 1993 debut album by the Los Angeles rock group Grant Lee Buffalo * "Fuz ...
. Rists repeatedly sings "I'm not the girl who misses much," a reference to the first line of the
song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
"
Happiness Is a Warm Gun "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was co ...
" by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. As the video approaches its end, the image becomes increasingly blue and fuzzy and the sound stops. Rist achieved notoriety with ''Pickelporno'' (''Pimple porno'') (1992), a work about the female body and sexual excitation. The fisheye camera moves over the bodies of a couple. The images are charged by intense colors, and are simultaneously strange, sensual, and ambiguous. ''Sip my Ocean'' (1996) is an audio-video installation projected as a mirrored reflection on two adjoining walls, duplicating the video as sort of
Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...
inkblots. Besides a television and tea-cups other domestic items can be seen sinking slowly under the ocean surface. The video is intercut with dreamlike frames of bodies swimming underwater and other melancholic images such as colourful overlays of roses across the heavens. Slightly abstract and layered the visuals invite the viewer to reveal its depth beneath the surface. Accompanying the video is Rist singing
Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...
's "
Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...
". Her voice is starting of sweetly but becomes gradually out of synchronicity with the song, ending in the shrieking chorus of “No, I don’t wanna fall in love”. Rist breaks the illusion of synchronicity in the video with the asynchrony of the audio and captures the human longing for and impossibility of being totally in tune with somebody else. ''Ever is Over All'' (1997) shows in
slow-motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...
a young woman walking along a city street, smashing the windows of parked cars with a large hammer in the shape of a tropical flower. At one point a police officer greets her. The audio video installation has been purchased by the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Rist's nine video segments titled ''Open My Glade'' were played once every hour on a screen at
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
in New York City, a project of the ''Messages to the Public'' program, which was founded in 1980. “I want to see how you see – a portrait of Cornelia Providori” (2003) is an audio-visual work spanning 5:16. The sound was created in collaboration with Andreas Guggisberg, with whom Rist often works with. The main subject is the
dialectic Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing ...
al tension between macro and micro and how the continents are mirrored on the human body. The technical components are two to four layers of edited images, intricately cut and stacked on top of each other. ''Pour Your Body Out'' was a commissioned multimedia installation organized by
Klaus Biesenbach Klaus Biesenbach (born 1966)Erica Orden (December 26, 2009)Herr Zeitgeist''New York Magazine''. is a European American curator and the museum director. He is the Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, with Berggruen Museum and Scharf-Gerstenberg Co ...
and installed in the atrium of the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in early 2009. In an interview with
Phong Bui Phong H. Bui (born September 17, 1964, in Huế, Vietnam) is an artist, writer, independent curator, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of ''The Brooklyn Rail,'' a free monthly arts, culture, and politics journal. Bui was named one of the "100 ...
published in
The Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is a publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics. The ''Rail'' is based out of Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, criti ...
, Rist said she chose the atrium for the installation "because it reminds me of a church's interior where you’re constantly reminded that the spirit is good and the body is bad. This spirit goes up in space but the body remains on the ground. This piece is really about bringing those two differences together." Her first
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
, ''Pepperminta,'' had its world premiere at the
66th Venice International Film Festival The 66th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was held from 2 to 12 September 2009, with Maria Grazia Cucinotta serving as the festival's hostess. The opening film of the festival was '' Baarìa'' by Giuseppe Torn ...
in 2009. She summarized the plot as "a young woman and her friends on a quest to find the right color combinations and with these colors they can free other people from fear and make life better.” In a 2011
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
exhibition review article, Rist describes her feminism: "Politically," she says, "I am a feminist, but personally, I am not. For me, the image of a woman in my art does not stand just for women: she stands for all humans. I hope a young guy can take just as much from my art as any woman." She likened her videos to that of women's handbags, hoping that it'd have “room in them for everything: painting, technology, language, music, lousy flowing pictures, poetry, commotion, premonitions of death, sex, and friendliness." Rist's work is held in the permanent collections of museums and galleries including the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
, the San Francisco MoMA, and the Utrecht Centraal Museum.


Exhibitions


'Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor', The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, California - September 12, 2021 – June 6, 2022

'Robes politiques – Women Power Fashion', Textilmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland - March 19, 2021 – February 6, 2022


*' ttps://www.cafka.org/cafka09/pipilotti-rist Open My Glade (Flatten)', Contemporary Art in the Public Sphere, Zurich, Switzerland - March 1 – September 22, 2019br>'Sip My Ocean', The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, Australia, November 1, 2017 – February 18, 2018

Open My Glade (Flatten)', Times Square Arts Midnight Moment, New York, New York - January 2017'Pixel Forest', The New Museum, New York, New York - October 26, 2016 - January 15, 2017'Worry Will Vanish', The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas - June 11, 2017 - September 17, 2017‘Behind Your Eyelid’, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong SAR - August 3, 2022- November 27, 2022'Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You, National Museum of Qatar, 21 March 2022 – 15 July 2023


Influence

''Ever is Over All'' was referenced in 2016 by
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
in the film accompanying her album ''
Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...
'' in which the singer is seen walking down a city street smashing windows of parked cars with a baseball bat.


Recognition

* 1997 – Renta Preis of the
Kunsthalle Nürnberg The Kunsthalle Nürnberg is an art centre founded in 1967, near the city centre. It organizes exhibitions by contemporary international artists in its galleries in Nuremberg. The Kunsthalle commissions new work by a majority of the artists it wo ...
* 1998 – Nomination for the
Hugo Boss Prize The Hugo Boss Prize was an award given every other year to an artist (or group of artists) working in any medium, anywhere in the world. Upon its establishment in 1996, it distinguished itself from other art awards because it has no restrictions on ...
* 1999 – Wolfgang Hahn Prize * 2003 – Honorary Professorship from
Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...
* 2006 – Guggenheim Museums Young Collector's Council Annual Artist's Ball honouring Pipilotti Rist * 2007 – St. Galler Kulturpreis der St. Gallischen Kulturstiftung * 2009 – Special Award,
Seville European Film Festival The Seville European Film Festival (SEFF; es, Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla, links=no) is an annual film festival dedicated to European cinema held in November in Seville, Spain, since 2004. The festival is an initiative of the Instituto ...
* 2009 –
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
Prize,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
* 2009 – Best Exhibition Of Digital, Video, or Film: "Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters)" at
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York. 26th annual awards, The International Association of Art Critics (AICA) * 2010 – Cutting the Edge Award,
Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...
* 2011 – Best Architects '11 Award * 2012 – Bazaar Art, International Artist of the Year, Hong Kong, China * 2013 – Zurich Festival Prize, Zürcher Festpiele * 2014 – Baukoma Awards for Marketing and Architecture, Best Site Development


References


Further reading

Phelan, Peggy,
Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and historian of art. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...
, and
Elisabeth Bronfen Elisabeth Bronfen (born 23 April 1958 in Munich) is a Swiss/German/American literary and cultural critic and academic. She is a professor and chairholder for English literature at the University of Zurich as well as a global distinguished profess ...
. ''Pipilotti Rist''. London, New York: Phaidon, 2001. Ravenal, John B. ''Outer & Inner Space: Pipilotti Rist, Shirin Neshat, Jane & Louise Wilson, and the History of Video Art.'' Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2002. Söll, Änne. ''Pipilotti Rist''. Cologne: DuMont, 2005.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rist, Pipilotti Swiss contemporary artists Swiss video artists 1962 births Living people Swiss women artists People from St. Gallen (city) University of Applied Arts Vienna alumni 20th-century Swiss artists 21st-century Swiss artists Swiss installation artists Public art