Stefanie Schneider (born 1968) is a German photographer living in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Schneider's photographs exhibit the appearance of expired Polaroid

instant film Instant film is a type of photographic film that was introduced by Polaroid Corporation to produce a visible image within minutes or seconds of the photograph's exposure. The film contains the chemicals needed for developing and fixing the photog ...

, with its chemical mutations. It has been released in books and exhibition catalogs, and in her feature film ''29 Palms, CA'' (2014). Her work has also been used as the cover art for music by

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, and in the film ''

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

'' (2005).

Life and work

Schneider's preferred choice of location is the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

(especially

Twentynine Palms, California Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Twentynine Palms serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park. History Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees found there in ...

, which served as location and title to one of her books), and the mounting of sequential images in a

panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts *Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art, ...

, the photographs evoke the impression of faded dreamy

film still A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a Film, movie or television program during Film production, production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings ...

s. She holds an MFA in photography from the

Folkwang Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in E ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...

, Germany. Schneider completed ''29 Palms, CA'' in 2014. A feature film, art piece that explores the dreams and fantasies of a group of people who live in a trailer community in the Californian desert. The project includes six films: "Hitchhiker", "Rene's dream", "Sidewinder", "Till death do us part", "Heather's dream" and the feature film "The Girl Behind the White Picket Fence". A defining feature is the use of still

Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...

images in succession and voice over. Characters talk to themselves about their ambitions, memories, hopes and dreams. The latest of these short film is "Heather's dream", starring Heather Megan Christie and

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

. In a review of her book ''Stranger Than Paradise'', Daniel Kothenschulte writes in the German magazine '' Literaturen'' that Schneider ". . . takes analog photographs and makes experimental movies with them. . . Even if most images remain connected to the genre of road movies—in one case one seems to get a glimpse of Ridley Scott's tragic runaways Thelma and Louise."Daniel Kothenschulte: "Fehlfarbige Filmhelden regieren diese Welt: Stefanie Schneiders Foto-Band "Stranger than Paradise'", ''Literaturen'', April 2006, p. 4
Online version
retrieved 14 January 2010. Schneider has made covers for the

single "

Desecration Smile "Desecration Smile" is a song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and was on their 2006 double album, ''Stadium Arcadium''. The song was the fourth single released from the album. The song was first heard by fans when it was played at the Bridge Schoo ...

" (2006) and

's '' Bring Ya to the Brink'' album (2008). She produced all the artwork in the 2005 film ''

'' directed by

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', '' Finding Neverland'', '' Stranger than Fiction'', ''The Kite Runner'', ''Quantum of Solace'', ''World War Z'', and ' ...

, for the character played by

Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has receive ...

. The film's end credits were also made using expired Polaroid film. Schneider plays the artist in the 2017 documentary film '' Instant Dreams'' by

Willem Baptist Willem Baptist (1979) is a Dutch filmmaker and documentary-director. His documentary '' I’m Never Afraid!'' (2010) won a Golden Gate Award at San Francisco International Film Festival, Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize at Atlanta Film Festival ...

Publications

*''Wastelands.'' Edition Braus, 2006. Edited by Thomas Schirmböck. . With essays by James Scarborough, Megan Mullally, Mark Gisbourne, and Renée Chabria. Edition of 50 copies *''29 Palms, CA.'' 2004. . With an essay by Stefan Gronert, "The Greater The Emptiness The Grander The Art". Edition of 350 copies. Edited by Galerie Kämpf, Basel *''Stranger Than Paradise.'' Hatje Cantz, 2006. Edited by Dominique A. Faix, Noëlle Stahel, and Daniela Bosshardt. . In German and English. *''29 Palms, CA.'' Pocket Polaroid Series #004. Berlin: Schwarzer Freitag. . *''Instantdreams.'' Pocket Polaroid Series #004. Avenso, 2014. .In German, English and French.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Stefanie 1968 births Living people People from Cuxhaven German contemporary artists German women photographers German artists