Projects of co-workers
Snow Drawings 2013 by Sonia Hinrichsen

Invitation to support the project until 26th September 2012

We would like to inform you about the project of Sonia Hinrichsen, USA based artist and a correspondent of Artservis.

Snow Drawings 2013", a series of exciting community arts events

Sonia Hienrichsen, Snow Drawings at Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado, 2012

What exactly are "Snow Drawings"?
"Snow Drawings" are large designs that I "draw" in the environment by walking lines into fresh snow surfaces with snowshoes. Ideal "canvases" are deforested areas, as well as frozen lakes and rivers. The finished pieces are ephemeral, and while they can take many hours to create, their duration is entirely unpredictable. In some occasions they have been coated over by snowdrift or new snowfall shortly after completion. This requires that I photograph them immediately. In one instance I had a total of 20 minutes before nightfall to photograph a piece that had taken me 12 hours to create. The next morning there was nothing there at all.

Where did this idea come from?
I began this project in winter 2009 during an artist residency in the Rocky Mountains. Inspired by the lay of the landscape, I designed patterns in my mind, which I then walked into the snow. My drawings have since become more complex, and I have created "Snow Drawings" in diverse landscapes, including Northern New Mexico, the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe, on a frozen pond north of New York City, and various locations in Northwestern Colorado.

Artwork that disappears - what is left after the events?
As an artist and environmentalist I hope to inspire dialogue about issues connected to the natural world. Instead of creating lasting art pieces I rather like to unfold my work into large immersive experiences that live on in their documentation only (photo and video), and - more importantly - in the memories of my audiences.

During their short existence "Snow Drawings" correspond with the landscape - and so do those who help me create them. To make the work accessible to a larger audience, however, it is essential that photos be taken immediately after each event. The scale of the work requires aerial photography. In 2013 I will also put special emphasis on video, particularly to capture the process of creating these works in a group effort. I will arrange for photo-flights after each event, and videographers working with remote-controlled helicopters. The video will be edited for installations.

It is my goal to perform this work in as many different kinds of environments as possible. I hope that these pieces emphasize the beauty and uniqueness of each landscape, and thus inspire appreciation for nature - especially as modern society becomes increasingly disconnected from the natural world.

How can you help?
Your donation will help pay for travel expenses, photo-flights at each location, hiring videographers, who will shoot process video with remote controlled helicopters, and snowshoes for volunteers who cannot provide their own. Your donation will also help pay for the production of large-scale photo-prints and video pieces that will then be shown in exhibitions worldwide.

Thank you for considering a donation to this unique arts project.

Sincerely,

Sonja Hinrichsen

MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT AND DONATION: www.indiegogo.com/SnowDrawings-2013

Sonja Hinrichsen
I am a visual artist based in San Francisco. I completed my undergraduate art education in Germany and then came to the US for graduate school. In 2001 I graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with an MFA in New Genres.
Within the past few years I have been traveling extensively to explore my topics of art and research. Urban and natural environments arouse my attention; I am particularly interested in the intersection between place and human perception thereof, throughout history. My work manifests in immersive video installations as well as interventions in nature. As an artist I feel the responsibility to address subject matters society tends to neglect, including adverse impacts to the natural environment.
While I want to provoke thought and engage my audiences intellectually, I am less interested in creating lasting artworks, as I believe that our world is over-saturated with man-made products. I like to unfold my work into exciting experiences, which live on in people’s memories as well as in photo- and video pieces. With modern society becoming increasingly disconnected from nature, I believe it is essential that we re-gain greater awareness of our natural environments, its wonders and limitations.
I have shown my work nationally and internationally and have received numerous artist residency awards, where I have been given time and space to create new artwork.

[Published September 14, 2012]