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The art of being in between

Updated: 15/Dec/2005 18:09

Michal Rovner, "The well", 2004

Photo: Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York © Michal Rovner, ADAGP, Paris 2005

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A new exhibition in Paris is dedicated to the work of the Israeli-American photographer and video artist, Michal Rovner. In partnership with Festival d’Automne, the annual citywide arts festival, “Fields” features an overview of Rovner’s work since 1993.

“Fields” is based on the idea of being in between. The artist, who works at the crossroads of several cultures, designs images and installations that operate on real or symbolic frontiers between reality and fiction, but also between the still and the moving image, or between photography, calligraphy and painting.

It consists of 18 works created over the past 15 years, beginning with Rovner’s earliest use of moving images that will be projected in the museum’s auditorium. Among these will be the 1993 film, “Border”, which she describes as a fictional documentary that was shot along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Fields of creativity

Born in Tel Aviv in 1957 in a family of Russian and German origin, Rovner spent much of her childhood in the fields surrounding the house where she lived with her parents. “A field for me is always a very creative zone,” she comments.

She studied photography, video and cinema at Tel-Aviv University and received a BFA in photography and art from the Bezalel Academy.

In 1987, Rovner moved to New York. Since then, her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions.

Abstracting reality

Like many foreign-born artists who have come to America, Rovner makes art that reflects her roots while at the same time evoking universal concerns.

“My work is not directly about the Israeli-Palestinian question. I show situations of conflict, of tension and vulnerability. My starting point is always reality. I record it and then, little by little, I draw the image out from reality. The image becomes more blurred, loses definition, and comes to relate to something else,” Rovner explains.
The artist always refers to history to bring up universal themes like war, time and memory, identity and liberty.

Based on Rovner’s trip to Kazakhstan’s oil fields, the video and sound installation “Fields of Fire” marks a turning point in her work. The display is exhibited in a separate room on the on the first floor of the museum. It is accompanied by music of the German composer Heiner Goebbels which adds to the power of this menacing abstract work.

Michal Rovner’s “Fields” is show at the Jeu de Paume in Paris until 31 December. For more information phone 01 47 03 12 50. Closed Monday.

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