I attended Shimon Attie's artist lecture today in the commons. Following some technical difficulties with a ::GASP:: slide projector ( Who uses those? They still exist? I thought those were banned from use some time ago and labeled as historic) I realized I actually am familiar with some of his work already. He is concerned with communal memory, with marginalized groups of society, immigrants especially it would seem. He creates large technically impressive sight specific works historical in nature, that somehow carry on a conversation with the current surroundings. He utilizes new media, film, and photography. "The Writing on the Wall" I had seen before, and I found it his most compelling work. As someone mentioned, it was a work that could have really only existed when it did- It was created in 1991, just after the Berlin Wall had been torn down and a reintegration of East and West was occurring. The pre-war buildings he projected found photographs of former Jewish residents and businesses onto have since been renovated or demolished. I enjoyed the Guerrilla style approach he took to this series, running around Germany with a generator and a bunch of used projectors, setting up these shots in the night. His second series he showed, "Portraits of Exile" was also gorgeous and ethereal. He installed large light boxes underwater in front of the Danish Parliament building with portraits of modern day and historical immigrants collaged with other imagery that provided some context. The rippling water created images that functioned very much as watery memories.
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