Sisters and artists Anna and Maria Ritsch made their frequent collaboration official with their most recent project “The Act of Sitting.” The meditative videos and photographic works were exhibited in “Together Apart” at the Flatz Museum(curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert) in 2021, and a group exhibition at the Künstlerhaus Bregenz that same year. The digital works are accompanied by an intimate book, published by Pool Publishing, designed by Maximilian Mauracher.
Created during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, the show comprised a series of very personal portraits of individuals in their residences in New York, Vienna, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Dakar, and additional international locations. The imagery was uniquely shot through a digital video conference system. When citizens of the world were asked to isolate and “sit through” this challenging time, the Ritsch sisters explored the profound changes that transpired within human beings as they were pulled away from their day-to-day physical and social surroundings, submerged into a new reality altogether.
“The Act of Sitting,” Anna and Maria Ritsch, 2021, courtesy of the artists.
During this historical, cross-cultural context, the artists created a project focused on observing the physical act sitting through a series of digital portraits, videos, and text. Each individual was asked to manifest their personal interpretation of sitting for their shoot, and to author a passage of text to accompany it. The hope was to examine how language linked with a posture of idleness can alternately become a social, political, and performative action of collective connection and self-expression.
“The Act of Sitting,” Anna and Maria Ritsch, 2021, courtesy of the artists.
“The Act of Sitting,” Anna and Maria Ritsch, 2021, courtesy of the artists.
“The Act of Sitting,” Anna and Maria Ritsch, 2021, courtesy of the artists.
