Ulrike Rosenbach, The Lonely Walker, 1979

As part of the exhibition 'Ulrike Rosenbach. today is tomorrow', Rosenbach's video live-action 'The Lonely Walker' was re-staged under the artist's direction at the ZKM.

In this reenactment of the action, first performed by Rosenbach in 1979 at the Folkwang Museum in Essen and subsequently in 1980 in a somewhat simpler staging at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, a young woman dressed in white (in the original video the artist) walks up and down on a reproduction of the painting »Mountain Landscape with Rainbow« (1809/1810) by Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) that is lying on the floor.

During the approximately one-hour performance, the performer holds an iron rod in her hand which she uses to move a video camera that is standing on a tripod at the edge of the painting. In a closed circuit images of the performer’s hands are shown on two monitors — what is recorded is played back immediately. During the performance, the piercing sound of a bullroarer, a ritual instrument of the Australian Aborigines, is heard.

Performer
Smila Vita Hoppe

Video documentary

ZKM | Videostudio
Max Clausen (Camera, Editing)
Andy Koch (Camera, Editing)