Ursa Schoepper
Ursa Schoepper first completed her studies in Natural Science with state examination. In addition she completed a study in cultural management, state examinaten, with a concentration in fine arts, new media at Prof. Dr. Eckart Pankoke, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Krempel, Prof Dr. Michael Bockemühl. In her Agentur für Virtuelle Denkraeume she was working as a cultural manager. As a cultural manager responsible for the conception and realization of various projects in the field of cultural education systems. In 2001 she was awarded the Media Promotion Prize of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia for „Das Museum der abwesenden Bilder“. Since 2003 Ursa Schöpper has been working primarily as a photographic artist. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally and she is the recipient of notable awards.
You’ve spoken about your early fascination with the cellular structures of leaves and their abstract beauty. How do you think your background in natural science influences your approach to photography and art today?
I was fascinated by the fact that there was something to discover that I couldn't immediately recognize, for example the cell structures of a leaf. Only the dissolution or destruction of a leaf through fine cuts reveals the inside. The image of the single-celled organisms under a microscope also made me think of abstract paintings by Arp or other constructivists. I was absolutely fascinated by these parallels. I asked myself what do I see, what do I recognize. How is the world composed? I also noticed that when a linguistic text is translated, the content can always change slightly. And when I was confronted with algorithms, I noticed that an intervention in the grammar in initially small steps as a transformation achieved similar changes in the view. New order - New seeing, a digital, experimental photography is for me a metaphor for change. You have to differentiate between seeing something new and having the opportunity to see something in a new way, new, exposed structures, a new form, new connections and networks. This visualization does not show a different world, but rather helps to create a different attitude towards the world.
After a successful education in natural sciences, what motivated you to transition into the arts and particularly focus on experimental photography?
My curiosity to investigate the phenomena described above and at the same time my mother's influence. She drew my attention to the aesthetics of, for example, the constructivists' works of art very early on. Very early on, however, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to see the world dissected like the constructivists, but rather saw translation as an opportunity to look at things differently. I also found that I could only recognize the connections through intensive study. Adorno and Flusser influenced me by saying,„What you see out the window is not the world of life,“Vilém Flusser or „ If what is can be changed, what is is not everything“, Adorno. My continuous work of seeing is recorded through a photograph of the intensity of my senses, and transformed through creative work of my mind, my soul. It is the modification of the optical impression of the world of objects through a transcendent mathematics of the soul.
With your extensive experience in cultural management, how has this shaped your art projects and the way you manage your career as an artist?
When digital photography entered the art market, I, as a cultural manager, had already worked with digital images in my projects. My project team included a high school that became an Apple model school due to our project work. I was recognized as a person who likes to convince others of my own ideas and inspire others. My exploratory approach encouraged others to see this journey through photography. It was always an exploratory approach that guided me. To explore what digital photography means. What does it show us and how can I work with it artistically. Can I reveal the inner structures of a photograph. What do they convey to us? During the physical-mathematical analysis of a digital photograph of a white curtain through which I had sent a lot of light, I initially only had the white curtain as an image. However, it is said that digital photography stores every light and color value. I asked myself, where are the color values of the light spectrum? And I started to act algorithmically. I changed contrast values, brightness values, I interpolated to get closer to the inner structures and as a result I achieved the inner stored structures that my white curtain abstractly depicted.
In 2001, you were awarded the Media Promotion Prize of German state North Rhine-Westphalia for "Das Museum der abwesenden Bilder". Can you discuss the concept behind this project and its impact on your career?
As a culture manager, I also tried to convey to young people the so-called new media and the opportunity to work artistically with digital tools. Together as a team, we tried to research how we could develop a completely new type of museum that we could also display digitally, taking new media into account. The experiences by working with my concepts encouraged me to continue applying and developing other perspectives on photography.
Your comparative studies in literature seem to mirror your interest in comparing digital and analog photography. Could you elaborate on what these two forms represent to you and why the distinction is significant in your work?
I knew that the photographic constructivists such as László Moholy-Nagy had experimented, but due to their chemical possibilities they could not take the steps to show how the internal structures of a photograph could be represented, because there were no digital struktures. Important questions that should be asked in the context of photography are not only questions that deal with the message of the image, but also what material are we dealing with? What does it mean when we show photographic images that were created digitally. Can one then understand the picture shown as a model, a preliminary image, a preliminary statement? There is a comprehensive understanding of what photography can be. What Ernst Bloch describes when he describes the process-like processes of matter as a matter of possibility and in possibility.
Could you describe your process when creating a new piece? How do you decide on the themes, and what technical considerations come into play?
First of all, I am fascinated by the beauty of nature. I grew up in a very beautiful landscape, in Westphalia near the Eggegebirge. These hikes there with my parents had a great influence on me. I later asked myself the question, why do we find this nature so soothing and beautiful? Which organizational principles are there that are so good? I am searching for the laws of an aesthetic order, an aesthetic order that is good for us humans. Our souls need to breathe in nature. That's why we have to protect them. We live in this world, there is no other and we must protect it. Therefore, I choose topics that take these issues into account.
You draw an interesting parallel between composing music and creating digital images. How do these two creative processes inform each other in your work?
I am working like a composer, who puts things together in a new way, who is composing with a feeling for rhythm and aesthetic creativity. A comparison with a symphony, another creative system, can illustrate interesting connections. The perceived music corresponds to the image. The score of the symphony can be compared to the digital representation. I can create new perception images using bits and bytes. The notes in the score can be accentuated differently and individual passages for selected instruments can be particularly highlighted. This means that a new piece of music can be created based on the score. Taking into account the existing photographic digital structures, their existing bits and bites, I can compose other images through different settings.
You’ve mentioned your commitment to environmental causes and your involvement with institutions like Orchester des Wandels and Everwave. How do these commitments influence the themes and messages in your art?
I try to draw attention to the beauty of nature, which is so necessary for a healthy human soul. In order to show how necessary the protection of nature is for our human lives.
You have described your art as a "metaphor of change". In what ways do you hope your viewers experience or interpret this change when engaging with your works?
In some works of art I consciously aim to depict processual change. See for example „space formation“ or „freier tanz“.
At first there is surprise that the result is based on a photo. It is experimental photographic art. In the next step, the viewer learns that the artwork was created through a transformation, a change. This experimental digital photography should always be called experimental photography, to know what the tools were and to be able to understand the generative process.
What are your upcoming projects or exhibitions? Are there new themes or techniques you are exploring in your future works?
There are interesting exhibitions. Two exhibions during AROUND ROM, Juli 2024, in Biblioteca Angelica, and in Palazzo Velli with Arte Borgo Gallery Rom. And last but not least a Solo Exhibition in Palazzo Pisani Revedin, Venice during the period in which the Biennale will take place, July, August 2024, also Arte Borgo Gallery Rome.
In terms of content, I would like to cover topics that seem surrealistic in appearance, for example, surrealistic landscapes. Please look „paradise“ and „surreal birds“.
The question of the image carrier in relation to the message of the image is also interesting. Do I choose fine art prints on Hahnemühlen paper or shimmering velvet as a tapestry or do I choose Aludibond to emphasize a panel character. There is still a lot to discover.