Anna Alexandra "Minnie" Weisz (born December 1972) is an English

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. She specialises in the

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...

and adapts the technique to turn entire rooms into cameras.

Early life and family

Weisz was born in London. Her father, George Weisz (1929–2020), was a

Hungarian Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...

mechanical engineer. Her mother, Edith Ruth (''née'' Teich; 1932–2016), was a teacher-turned-psychotherapist from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. Her parents left for the United Kingdom around 1938, before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, to escape the Nazis. Scholar Rev. James Parkes helped her mother and her mother's family leave Austria for England. Her mother's ancestry is Austrian-Jewish, Catholic Viennese and Italian; Weisz's mother formally

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...

upon marrying Weisz's father. Weisz's maternal grandfather was Alexander Teich, a Jewish activist who had been a secretary of the World Union of Jewish Students. Her older sister,

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...

, is an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning actress.

Career

Weisz received an MA in Communication Art and Design at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

and a BA in Graphic and Media Design at

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

. She specialises in the

and adapts the technique to turn entire rooms into cameras, across Europe. She has described herself (with respect to her artistic activity) as an architectural detective.Dominic Bradbury,
One last look
, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 3 November 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2021

Exhibitions

*''King's Cross Stories,'' exhibition and film, Great Northern Hotel, part of the Arrivals season, King's Cross, London, 14–17 November 2007. *''The Diary of a derelict Dairy,'' The Express Dairy Depot, Bloomsbury (prior to re-development), 20 June – 20 July 2008, part of the London Festival of Architecture.ifa2008 (Design b
Manha
Retrieved 4 September 2011 Weisz curated the exhibition of works upon the subject of buildings and their stories of Bloomsbury. Retrieved 4 September 2011 *'' Ubi sunt,'' 2011.Last Night: Rituals, Screaming And Lucky Charms
camera obscuras at home, Think Work Play – Retrieved 6 September 2011

Publications

Editor with Rizzoli International Publications: *''A Picture History of the Grenvilles of Rosedale House by Mary Yelloly.'' Lyndsey Stainton. Preface by Simon Finch, Helena Bonham-Carter. Designed and edited by Weisz, 2007. *''Narciso Rodriguez'' by Betsy Berne. Co-edited by Weisz, 2008. *''Norman Parkinson A Very British Glamour'' by Louise Baring. Designed by Lee Swillingham/Suburbia. Edited by Weisz, 2009. *''Matthew Williamson'' by Colin McDowell. Edited by Weisz, 2010. *''WKW The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai'' by John Powers. Co-edited by Weisz, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisz, Minnie 1972 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Photographers from London People educated at North London Collegiate School English women photographers English women artists English people of Austrian descent English people of Italian descent British Jews