Shimon Attie (born in Los Angeles in 1957)

Exploring themes of memory, identity, and history, Shimon Attie is a visual artist who primarily works in new media. Born in Los Angeles in 1957, Attie studied at the University of California before doing his Masters Degree at Antioch University in 1982. He has said that although his initial focus in education was on photography, Attie was always interested in the relationship between 2D and 3D work. His work is very site specific.

Attie mainly works using photography and video installations, using personal memories as well as world history as his subject matter. In 1991, he moved to Germany where he created work dealing with the Second World War – focusing on Jewish identity. He continued to work in Germany up until 1997 when he moved to New York City, where he resides to this day.

The slideshow below displays a few of Attie’s projection work I have been inspired by in my project. His use of history placed on modern locations is so simple yet so effective as it gives us a glimpse of the past, encouraging us to remember such an important time in world history. Although we were not there and we may not know those in the photographs, seeing them in life size in this specific location makes it feel more real, creating a sense of empathy and further understanding.

Location is very crucial in Shimon Attie’s work. By using historical photographs relating to the location they were taken in, it creates a juxtaposition of old vs new. We are reminded of the time passed and all that has happened during the time in between. Attie described his works as “a kind of peeling back the wallpaper of today to reveal the histories buried underneath.”. This is clear in his work located in Germany.

The Museum of Contemporary Photography described about Attie’s work, “Concerned with questions of memory, place, and identity, Shimon Attie gives visual form to both personal and collective memories by introducing histories of marginalized and forgotten communities into the physical landscape of the present.”

AWARDS: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2008-2009), Pollack-Krasner Foundation (2006, 1998), a Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award in Visual Arts from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture (2005) and the Prix de Rome (2001-2002). Lee Krasner Lifetime Achievement Award in Art (2013).