Eva Schmidt Books

Set in a joyful Mennonite household, the story follows Mary, a middle child who navigates friendships and academic success while developing feelings for her brother's best friend. The narrative explores the dynamics of family life, the challenges of adolescence, and the complexities of young love within a close-knit community.

Key Works / Key Texts Interdisciplinary approach and theoretical foundation in artistic practice have always been part of the work by Swiss artist Rémy Zaugg (1943–2005), yet for him, painting had always remained essential. His artistic ­position therefore still remains quite unique not least ­because he, first of all, posed the existential question of perception. Without the artist’s, as well as the viewers’ perception, and the constant confrontation with ever-changing conditions, there would be no work of art. This can only be process-oriented and subject to various phenomena, and therefore cannot be reduced to just the object. Thus Rémy Zaugg always considered painting (since the 1960s) a kind of basic research for any applied projects, be it in architecture or urbanism. His ­writing on museum and exhibition architecture (from the 1980s and 1990s) may be regarded as key works on artistic examination, where amazingly simple realisations are formulated using rather suggestive rhetoric. This ­retrospective volume appears on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of the artist; there is ­currently no publication on his artwork available on the ­market. In addition, this book contains a small cross section of the unusual essay work by the artist. Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, 1/11/2015–6/3/2016Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Madrid, 7/4–28/8/2016

Eva Schmidt analyses how power relations, ideas, and institutions in Tunisian gender politics changed during the democratisation process 2011–2014. Her analysis of gender politics offers a productive lens to understand the course of the Tunisian transition. As gender policies are integral to Tunisian national identity, they became a major battlefield in the fight for political inclusion and exclusion. In this context, liberal and leftist feminists accessed the decision-making institutions and enhanced the existing women’s rights legislation. Yet the intertwinement of modernist nationalism with women’s rights also limited the scope for feminist demands. This book contributes a unique case study to political transitology and advances an original theoretical approach based on Bourdieu’s theory of the political field. 

Stephen Willats schafft seit den 1960er-Jahren kommunikative Projekte, in denen er Menschen direkt zu Wort kommen lässt: Die Arbeit Fifteen Feet by Eight Feet, And There are Two of Us in Here widmet sich dem Berufsalltag eines Redakteurs. Unter Berücksichtigung von Archivmaterialien und ausführlichen Gesprächen des Künstlers mit dem Redakteur sowie weiteren Berufsinhabern, nimmt Eva Schmidt eine wichtige Werkgruppe Willats‘ erstmals in den Blick.

Stephen Willats schafft seit den 1960er-Jahren kommunikative Projekte, in denen er Menschen direkt zu Wort kommen lässt: Die Arbeit Fifteen Feet by Eight Feet, And There are Two of Us in Here widmet sich dem Berufsalltag eines Redakteurs. Unter Berücksichtigung von Archivmaterialien und ausführlichen Gesprächen des Künstlers mit dem Redakteur sowie weiteren Berufsinhabern, nimmt Eva Schmidt eine wichtige Werkgruppe Willats‘ erstmals in den Blick.

The author defends nonconceptualism, asserting that perceptual experience is nonconceptual and possesses nonconceptual content. Engaging with the ongoing debate from the past two decades, she presents a novel version known as Modest Nonconceptualism, offering a systematic overview of key controversies. The discussion begins with an explanation of nonconceptual content and a distinction among various nonconceptualist views. The author counters claims that the failure to differentiate between state and content views poses significant issues for these perspectives. She refines central arguments supporting nonconceptualism, including those related to fineness of grain, contradictory contents, and perceptions in animals and infants, as well as concept acquisition. Additionally, she addresses two major objections: the epistemological objection and the objection from objectivity, providing novel rebuttals. Modest Nonconceptualism permits some conceptual elements in perceptual experiences, highlighting the importance of concept employment in understanding both conceptual and nonconceptual mental states. It aligns with the Autonomy Thesis by asserting that genuine content-bearing perceptual experiences can occur without concept possession. The work concludes with an account of perceptual justification that relies on the external contents of experience and belief while remaining compatible with epistemological internalism.

Major drawings from his early work are devoted to illustrations or the study of horses#x92; bodies, and in his first painting of an animal, #x93;Portrait with Horses#x94;, painted in 1939, a person is depicted - supposedly Freud himself - together with four horses. The exhibition #x93;Lucian Freud and Animals#x94; in the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen begins with these early pieces. Here, for the very first time ever, an exhibition is focusing on Lucian Freud#x92;s animal representations as a stand-alone exhibition theme. 00As Lucian Freud himself stated, he #x93;portrayed#x94; dogs and birds. Their body structure, their facial expression, the look in their eyes, and especially the quality of their fur and feathers are observed, drawn, and painted with vigorous attention to detail. Both animal species, particularly dogs, accompanied Freud throughout his life and were present in his studio on a daily basis. Freud also painted deceased animals, such as a lifeless chicken in the painting 'Chicken on a bamboo table', and later also dead bats. Another early piece with a surrealistic picture composition, 'Quince on a blue table#x94;, depicts the stuffed head of a zebra that the artist kept in his studio

Ausgehend von der anhaltenden Faszination für den Mnemosyne – Bilderatlas von Aby Warburg (1866 – 1929) ist diese Referenz im Titel eine Hommage an den 'künstlerischen' Kunsthistoriker. Dem kulturellen Gedächtnis der Bilder auf der Spur, kombinierte Warburg in den 1920er Jahren Bildquellen unterschiedlicher Herkunft. Inzwischen ist sein Bilderatlas selbst Teil des kollektiven Gedächtnisses geworden und wird von zeitgenössischen Künstlern gerade wegen seines provisorischen Charakters geschätzt. Der Ausstellungskatalog spürt anhand von 22 aktuellen Positionen, einer spezifischen künstlerischen Praxis im Umgang mit fotografischem Material nach. Als Reaktion auf die Allgegenwärtigkeit von reproduzierten Bildern agieren Künstler häufig in den Rollen von Sammlern und Archivaren. Sie kombinieren fotografisches Material mit anderen künstlerischen Medien und erzeugen so eine fotografische Diskursivität jenseits der üblichen Konstellation von Einzelbild und Serie. Der Katalog verdeutlicht in Wort- und Bildbeiträgen, dass die Bedeutung eines fotografischen Bildes eben nicht im Bild selbst liegt, sondern dass der Kontext und die Aktualisierung entscheidend sind.

Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (in Emmen, Netherlands) is the only earthwork produced by Smithson still in existence outside the United States. As an integral part of these works, Smithson made films that reveal the spatial and environmental context of the work. Aerial shots in a symmetrical pattern were combined with close-ups, documentary footage of the construction of the work and views of the surrounding landscape. In this way, visitors to galleries and museums were introduced to the earthworks produced by Smithson in barely accessible, remote locations. As a result of a tragic aircraft accident during a reconnaissance flight in 1973, Smithson's life and work came to a premature end. Smithson was never able to finish the film about Broken Circle/Spiral Hill. Forty years later, a video incorporating the original film footage is now to be completed on behalf of the Land Art Contemporary program in a collaboration between artist Nancy Holt and curator Theo Tegelaers of SKOR Foundation for Art and Public Domain. Holt currently works with a Dutch team in editing the video Breaking Ground: Broken Circle/Spiral Hill, including the original film footage she shot in 1971, and video recently shot recently in Emmen by a Dutch crew.