Maria Nordman is a

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sculptor and conceptual artist. She is known for creating the contexts of FILM ROOMS starting in 1967: ''FILM ROOM EAT 1967-PRESENT'' and ''FILM ROOM EXHALE 1967- PRESENT''. These two works are the fulcrum of other works that follow, of other works that follow, enabling new considerations of rooms as sculpture. Her works in film, still photography, and sculpture variously connect to writing, musical projects, architecture, public space, and performance.

Life and work

Maria Nordman studied at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(1961–67), where she received her MA. There she met

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

who at the time was teaching Film Directing at UCLA. She also studied Cinematography with

Jean-Claude Lubtchansky Jean-Claude Lubtchansky (2 December 1930 – 14 October 2020) was a French film editor, documentary and television director. Career Best known as a documentary filmmaker, Jean-Claude Lubtchansky was the assistant director of two 1958 document ...

who at the time worked with

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

. The production of new ways of working with film, with the actors, the viewers and the proscenium itself is seen from Nordman’s earliest works. They further connect with her architectural projects, the musical composition and performances directly on city streets and neighbourhoods with the chance encounters with passers-by. Parks built by Nordman could function as living places; on the other hand they may have to do only with the direct passage of the sun. Experienced in city streets and parks, her work process includes three realizations at the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

and as well three works in Kassel, part of Documenta.

Exhibitions

From 1967 to 1969 Nordman created film environments and laser projections. Since 1970 she has been designing places that achieve complex aesthetic effects with minimal means (such as sunlight, colour, air, water and sound). Man becomes part of these spaces. Nordman has exhibited at

Documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...

in Germany in 1977, 1982 and 1987. She has exhibited in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and held her first

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

solo show in 2013. Her work has been shown internationally at such institutions as the Stedelijk Museum,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(2013), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(2011), the Museu Serralves,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(2007), the Museum Folkwang,

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

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(1997), and

Dia Art Foundation Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Ménil, Dominique de Menil and an h ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(1991). Her work has been included in group shows at the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

(2011), the Centre Pompidou,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(2006), and MoMA PS1, New York (1999).

Collections

Nordman's work is in the collections of the

Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...

and the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

in the United States, and several Fracs in France.

Literature

*Corinna Ferrari, Maria Nordman Progetti per Uno Spazio Aperto in Un Contesto Urbano, Lux Lucus, April, 1979 *Germano Celant, Translated by Howard Rodger Maclean, Urban Nature: The Work of Maria Nordman, Artforum, March, 1980 *Bruno Cora, III De Civitate, Maria Nordman, 1987 *Germano Celant, Translated by Marguerite Shore, Maria Nordman Conjunct City of Light, Artforum, 1990 *Michael Brenson, Reviews/Art; Maria Nordman’s Exhibition of Permanent Transience, The New York Times, November 30, 1990 *Erich Franz, Maria Nordman – De Civitate, Munster 1991, Skulptur Projekte, 1991 *Adachiara Zevi, Maria Nordman proposals for the conjunct city, L/Architettura Cronache e Storta, Volume 426, March, 1991 *Interview by Theodora Vischer, MOVEABLE STRUCTURE / HOUSE IN AN OPEN PLACE, Maria Nordman & Theodora Vischer in Conversation, Parkett No 29, June, 1991 *Patricia C. Phillips, Maria Nordman, Marian Goodman Gallery, Artforum, February, 1993 *Sharon Mizota, PST, A to Z: Maria Nordman, ‘Film Room: Smoke’ at LACMA, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 2011 *Scott Tennent, Conversation with Maria Nordman, LACMA Blog, April 3, 2012 *Yanyan Huang, Happening now: Art 43 Basel, Haute Living, June 10, 2012 *James Merle Thomas, Maria Nordman: Geo-Aesthetics, Artforum, May, 2013 *Agnieszka Gratza E, Event Sculpture 5: Maria Nordman, 'FluienS Circulus,' Henry Moore Foundation, January 7, 2015 *Gabriela Vainsencher, Hidden Artworks That Come with Instructions, HyperAllergic, July 17, 2015 *Lauren O'Neill-Butler, Maria Nordman, Marian Goodman Gallery, Artforum, October, 2015 *Laura Richard, In Situ and On Location: The Early Works of Maria Nordman, University of California, Berkley, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordman, Maria 1943 births Living people People from Görlitz People from the Province of Lower Silesia American women sculptors American conceptual artists Women conceptual artists German conceptual artists 20th-century American sculptors Light artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American sculptors