Just about a year ago, we were fortunate enough to be following art activist/photographer Suzanne Heintz with our documentary cameras in New York as she set about to create a holiday card like no other. But this was not like any other film shoot we’ve been involved with. Navigating Manhattan rooftops and squeezing inside elevators… Continue Reading
Our Wheels On Fire – an Independence Day salute to creative women
This week we, the film’s producers, have been pondering something that uniquely connects us to our subject – satirical photographer and art activist, Suzanne Heintz. We have all recently hit our 50s, and spent the last two decades funneling our creative energy in to projects using the medium of visual storytelling. From the standpoint of… Continue Reading
Whose Identity Is It Anyway?
Identity, Power, Image : these 3 words came together this week in our filmmaking journey with Heintz. Hard on the heels of a thoughtful news feature about Heintz and her work on Fox 31, Denver, (watch it from the link in our previous blog Riders of the Perfect Storm ), the same story and footage was… Continue Reading
Riders of The Perfect Storm
Any photo shoot with mannequins is challenging…but our undeterred documentary subject, Suzanne Heintz, kicked it up a notch literally, when she added equestrian sports to the backdrop of her depictions of perfect family life with daughter Mary Margaret and husband Chauncey. Heintz’s goal is not to be simply horsing around although it looks very funny.… Continue Reading
Subverting the “Leftovers” or “Sheng Nu”
“SK-II Marriage Market Takeover” advertisement. This week skincare company SK-II surprised us all by releasing a bold new TV advertisement, addressing a single woman’s fate in China. In case anyone is in doubt about the relevance of Suzanne Heinz’s art activism, we suggest you take a few minutes to watch the ad (link above), and transport… Continue Reading
Womanhood, Perfection & Laughter
Recently, the founder of Girls Who Code, gave an inspiring and vital Ted Talk about raising girls to be brave, not perfect. Of course, Reshma Saujan’s commentary taps into the themes behind Suzanne Heintz’s fifteen year courageous photographic crusade with her mannequin props, husband Chauncey and daughter Mary Margaret. It all began over a decade… Continue Reading
Truth, Dare & Mannequins in New York!
New Yorkers will have a chance to get up close and personal with Heintz’s satirical photography series next month – (see post in Daily Photo News Review). It is a remarkable moment in Heintz’s project, after 15 years in evolution from student project to multi-media visual arts fanfare – armed with the support of her familyquins.… Continue Reading
Vacationland with a twist
“The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.” – Susan Sontag Once you have pounded the streets of Paris with 100 pound of mannequins on your shoulders, and set up Kodak picture perfect moments in America’s favorite national parkland – well, anything goes! As summer draws to a… Continue Reading
Sparkle of Independence
Happy 4th of July from the IMITATING LIFE production team and the subject of our documentary, Suzanne Heintz! (No mannequins were harmed in the making of this video, but may have been slightly singed!)
SPINSTER
“Is it I who imitates life in images with a counterfeit family? Or are we all duplicitous in this act of fraud when we live our lives recreating templated scenes not fully our own?” — Suzanne Heintz To Suzanne Heintz – a satirical artist who adopted her fake family 15 years ago – life is an endurance… Continue Reading
