Birgit Rathsmann

2002 Kamiyama Artist in Residence Participant
In Kamiyama from October 1 to November 12, 2002
Born in Erlangen, Germany. Grew up in Germany, Iran, and Indonesia. After a one-year foundation course at St. Alban's College of Art in the UK, she completed a BA in art history at St. Andrews University, with a one-year diversion to the University of California at Berkeley. She currently works as a freelance computer animator in Chicago and New York. At KAIR she produced a video entitled "onsen".　（→ Birgit Rathsmann website）

The local people she used in her video appeared like mountain people, mountain gods – like mythical river sprites.
Schoolgirls of the river valley. A mysterious collection of short stories on film, created by Kamiyama's water, sound, the colour of the light, the smell of the hot spring water. Making a film is not a technical skill. It is about getting closer, coming into contact with things. The world is touch and warmth. A film is like a box of delights, telling you about your future self, who does not yet exist. Just what is an image? What is beauty? And what is seeing?
Think with your heart – it's a game.
(Musashino Art University, Department of Art Culture Professor: Ryu Niimi)