Caught in Action: A Study of Christiane Baumgartner's Treatment of Technique, Movement, and Self-reflection

Abstract

In my master's thesis, I examine Baumgartner's work in regards to her treatment of technique, movement, and self-reflection. This research demonstrates how she has mastered early, traditional German woodcuts and introduced them into a new, contemporary context by combining them with video and photography. I begin with a discussion of Baumgartner's use of materials and techniques. I focus especially on her emulation of Albrecht Dürer and adherence to many early fifteenth-century rules and standards for creating prints, while also exploring the print history of Leipzig where Baumgartner received her foundational training. Through a study of works such as Dürer's large-scale woodcut titled Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I (1515) and Baumgartner's Transall (2002-04), I examine how her methods also differ from traditional approaches and the ways in which she places particular value on how the labor of producing the print fits into its creation. I then focus on how Baumgartner unites the slow process of woodcut with the fast paced mediums of video and photography in order to produce distinctive physical and visual encapsulations of movement. This includes an exploration of French author Paul Virilio's influence and the ways in which she captures motion through images of transportation, cutting techniques, and optical illusions. I also consider the role that her personal history plays in her works, as well as her Russian influences such as the writings of the Russian-American poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky. This is displayed by an examination of how Baumgartner's prints illustrate the significance of introspection by demonstrating its relation to one's background, physical surroundings, and connection to the past and memory, as well as the significance of reassessing one's perspective of the modern experience.