In die Erde gebaut
2008 42min 16mm stummVerleih: Arsenal Distribution; Light Cone, Paris
Building Under Ground
2008 42min 16mm silent
Distribution: Arsenal Distribution; Light Cone, Paris
2 / 9
Vom Spatenstich im Mai 2004 bis zur Eröffnung im Februar 2007 verfolgt der Film den Erweiterungsbau des Museums Rietberg, einer Sammlung außereuropäischer Kunst in Zürich. Im Laufe der Bauarbeiten verändert sich die Art der Arbeit von der schweren körperlichen Arbeit wie Erde ausheben, Beton gießen, Stahlverbindungen verlegen, über Wände glätten und Fußboden verlegen, bis zum Aufstellen der Exponate in den neuen Räumen. Die unterschiedlichen Tätigkeiten der Arbeiter bestimmen den Rhythmus des Films.
Architekten: Grazioli/Krischanitz Premiere: Forum Expanded, Berlinale 2009 Grand Prize, Media City Film Festival 2009
The film follows the construction of the new expansion of Zurich's Museum Rietberg, from the groundbreaking in May 2004 through to the opening in February 2007.
"Aurand's unparalleled access to the construction site provides an attentive eye towards the meticulous labour involved. Remarkably, her staccato style creates a formal echo with the construction we see taking place. Her quick shots refer back to the basic construction of filmmaking—that of single frames placed on the screen in quick succession. Therefore her image bursts, much like bricks and mortar, construct moving pictures out of fragments much like the labourers build up the museum wing from under the ground. Aurand shares her process of discovery: as the building unfolds before her, the film is constantly re-energized by new explorations of the architectural space. The museum alone is a stunning example of design, but Aurand’s ability to find new visual surprises in the myriad details of the building—using holes in the walls as frames, considering the shadows of a slatted stairwell, compressing the perspective on a series of latticed walls—moves this well beyond a document of a building into a passionate call to look. (...) Often highlighted in these moments is a formal precision, where Aurand finds an echo in nature, or in stone, to the action of the labourers she is following . What it also does is link the past to the present, by connecting the art and artifacts that the museum holds (Museum Reitberg is Switzerland’s only museum devoted to the arts from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania) to the present tense of the space they will inhabit, providing a sense of continuity that mirrors the architect’s desire to merge the new wing with the rest of the museum. (...) The last sequence, where a group of clay musicians dance, reanimates the joy in the act of creation. In case the significance of the entire architectural undertaking is overlooked, Aurand finds it again in the gestures of tiny ancient dolls." Chris Kennedy, In Present Tense: Films of Ute Aurand
Premiere: Forum Expanded, Berlinale 2009 Grand Prize, Media City Film Festival 2009