Heintz uses her sunflower field backdrop for a new tableau featuring her mannequin props, as part of her launch on the new social media platform The8App…here she shares the results with 8 founder Sue Fennessy.
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Everything is connected…whether our gadget of choice is a phone/ipad/laptop computer, we are embedded with networking platforms that enable us to transmit, ‘share’ and ‘curate’ our experiences. What has become increasingly fascinating about our journey as documentary filmmakers with satirical artist Suzanne Heintz, is observing the role, relationship and impact the internet has played in the evolution of her iconic Life Once Removed‘ photography series and Playing House film shorts. It is more than 15 years since Heintz first set up photo shoots using mannequins as her fake family, placing herself at the centre of intricately crafted scenes, depicting traditional mid 20th century idles of the perfect ‘Wife and Mother’. The Internet was barely invented and Heintz did not see herself as an artist. More than a decade later, Heintz’s work has a global viral following and her photography series has led to solo exhibits in Denver and New York . During our recent New York filming, Heintz’s experience as “an artist under viral influence” (Heintz’s own candid observation), was evident in a fascinating discussion with cultural commentators and visitors to her first New York gallery show. You can read more about it here, in the blog post by Michael Stewart – who unwittingly, found himself at the center of our documentary filming with Heintz as well as becoming an additional mannequin wrangler on Heintz’s New York holiday card photo shoot!
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IMITATING LIFE 