Notion into Motion
Andrew Dunn
Bernadette Schroeger realizes complex ideas of time and space in her work. While combining acute observation with an exacting technique, Schroeger approaches her abstractions with the eye of a scientist.
Her numerous abstract painting series–which include "Nacchalläruame (Echo Rooms)," "Vestigium (Trace)," and "Signaturen der Kraft (Signatures of Power)"–follow a direct plan of action. She begins the "Nacchalläruame" series by dancing a colored stone across a canvas. Schroeger describes the traces created by the impact as a break in time between the purity of the unmarked canvas and the scar created by the action. Thus, the moment of the impact is preserved. "Vestigium" attracts the viewer with its archaic patterns and the shapes of decomposition. The perception of the abstract gesture enables the discovery of immediacy. At the same time, she looks for traces and signs of decomposition to create a visualization or impression of the past.
Schroeger’s approach to her art is rich and vibrant. While creating her series "Signaturen der Kraft," she applied liquid oil paint along the upper rim of the canvas, then shapes and designs the flow of paint during the short moment in which the paint runs downward, working directly with the element of chance. At other times, Schroeger uses human interaction and interviews to catalyze her art. This research brings her abstractions into new concrete meanings and associations. Often, her documentation of one phase of a project leads directly into the next evolutionary stage of a piece.
For her "Crossroads" series, Schroeger gathered used coffee filters from neighbors. These coffee filters measured out the afternoons of their daily existence. She combines the filters with industrial packaging material and molds them into rugged, mechanical forms. While presenting the sculptures, she asked visitors to write down terms that came to their mind during the exhibition. Schroeder then free-associated these terms back into the exhibit via voiceover on her website.
Schroeger has been also working on installations and multi-media projects oriented around the concept of measurement and time. Her current project, "Timelines" deals with the life spans of the elderly, some of whom have been given extra years which have they have made no plans for. This extra time buffers against their biological instincts related to work, leisure time, and family planning. During her interviews many of her subjects begin considering these issues for the first time. To Schroeger, this is subjective time, a time between the current and planned future state.
To distill the essence of the interview, the interviewees write a summary sentence in black paint on a canvas, which Schroeger photo-documents. Using fixed-point photography, Schroeger captures the calligraphic dynamics of the writers. A selection of the series of photos will be placed together in a timeline. In this timeline, the overlapping aesthetics of different contributions will be accentuated.
The project will run one year, after which Schroeger will produce a film based on her photo-documentation of the project. As life brings changes, many interviewees will have different ideas concerning their life plans after their first interview. Schroeger plans to re-interview all subjects after a three to five year timeframe. This second interactive project is in the planning phase. Her website www.b-schroeger.de provides additional information.
Throughout all of her work, Schroeger is able to distill complex concepts of time, change and reflection by definitive techniques. While executing these simple but nuanced motions, Schroeger shapes singular, palpable images.
