Pipilotti Rist facts for kids

Monochrome Rose, Pink tramway in Geneva, public art by Pipilotti Rist

Line 71-17 detail of interior

Pipilotti Elisabeth Rist (born on June 21, 1962) is a Swiss artist. She is famous for making experimental video art and installation art. Her art often feels dreamlike and personal. It explores the human body and is sometimes called feminist art.

Pipilotti Rist's art uses many senses. She often projects colorful images that overlap. These images come with sounds, creating a big environment. Viewers can relax or lie down in these spaces. Her art changes normal art galleries into places that feel more real and exciting.

Early Life and Schooling

Pipilotti Rist was born Elisabeth Charlotte Rist in Grabs, Switzerland. Her dad was a doctor, and her mom was a teacher. In 1982, she started using the name "Pipilotti." This name combines her childhood nickname "Lotti" with her favorite childhood hero, Astrid Lindgren's character Pippi Longstocking.

Before studying art, Rist studied physics for a short time. From 1982 to 1986, she studied commercial art, illustration, and photography. She went to the University of Applied Arts Vienna in Austria. Later, she studied video at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland.

From 1988 to 1994, she was part of a music and performance group. The group was called Les Reines prochaines. In 1997, her work was shown at the Venice Biennial for the first time. She won the Premio 2000 Prize there.

Amazing Artworks

While she was studying, Rist started making films using Super 8 cameras. Her artworks are usually only a few minutes long. She often uses ideas from TV shows like MTV and advertisements. But she changes the colors, speed, and sounds. Her art often talks about people and the human body.

Her artworks are very colorful and musical. They often make people feel happy and simple. Many art experts see Rist's work as feminist art. Her art is kept in many important art collections around the world.

Sip My Ocean: An Underwater Dream

Sip my Ocean (1996) is an art piece with video and sound. It is projected onto two walls that meet, like a mirror. This makes the video look like a Rorschach inkblot. In the video, you can see things like a TV and teacups slowly sinking underwater.

The video also shows dreamlike scenes of bodies swimming. There are sad images, too, like colorful roses over the sky. The pictures are a bit abstract and layered. They invite you to look deeper. With the video, Rist sings a song called "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak. Her voice starts sweet but then gets out of sync with the music. It ends with a loud chorus. Rist uses this to show how people want to connect deeply but sometimes can't.

Ever Is Over All: A Flower Hammer

Ever Is Over All (1997) shows a young woman walking slowly down a city street. She uses a big hammer shaped like a tropical flower to break car windows. At one point, a police officer even greets her. This video art piece was bought by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Rist also had nine video clips called Open My Glade. These were played once every hour on a screen in Times Square in New York City. This was part of a special art program.

Pour Your Body Out: Art in a Church-like Space

Pour Your Body Out was a big art installation in 2009. It was set up in the main hall of the Museum of Modern Art. Rist chose this space because it reminded her of a church. She said her art piece was about bringing together the spirit and the body.

Pepperminta: A Colorful Movie

Her first full-length movie, Pepperminta, came out in 2009. Rist said the movie is about a young woman and her friends. They search for the right color mixes. With these colors, they can help people feel less afraid and make life better.

Rist has talked about her art and feminism. She says that in her art, the image of a woman stands for all people. She hopes that young guys can get as much from her art as any woman. She also compared her videos to women's handbags. She said they have "room in them for everything: painting, technology, language, music, and friendliness."

Public and Architectural Art

Pipilotti Rist's art can be found in many public places and buildings.

• since 1995: Flying Room. Video projected on the ceiling of the UBS building in Buchs, St. Gallen.
• 2000 and 2017: Open my Glade. Video art shown in Times Square, New York.
• since 2001: Ein Blatt im Wind (A Leaf in the Wind). At the Swiss Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
• since 2005: Stadtlounge (City lounge). A square and street design in St. Gallen, made with Carlos Martinez.
• since 2010: Ceiling art in the restaurant Le Loft on the 18th floor of the Sofitel Hotel in Vienna.
• since 2014: Münsteranerin. Video art in the entrance of the Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster, Germany.
• since 2016: Monochrome Rose. A pink streetcar train in Geneva.
• since 2020: Tastende Lichter (Inching lights). Video art on the outside of Kunsthaus Zürich.

Audio and Video Artworks

• 1986: I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much
• 1988: Das Zimmer (1994/2000)(Entlastungen) Pipilottis Fehler
• 1992/1999: Eine Spitze in den Westen – ein Blick in den Osten (bzw. N-S) (A Peek Into The West – A Look Into The East)
• 1992: Pickelporno
• 1993: Blutraum (Blood room)
• 1993: Eindrücke verdauen (Digesting Impressions)
• 1993: Schminktischlein mit Feedback (Little Make-Up Table With Feedback)
• 1993: TV-Lüster
• 1994/99: Cintia
• 1994/2000/2007: Das Zimmer (The Room)
• 1994: Selbstlos im Lavabad
• 1994: Yoghurt On Skin – Velvet On TV
• 1995: Search Wolken / Suche Clouds (elektronischer Heiratsantrag) (Search Wolken / Such Clouds (Electronic Marriage Proposal))
• 1996: Sip My Ocean (Schlürfe meinen Ozean)
• 1997: Ever Is Over All
• 1998: Blauer Leibesbrief (Blue Bodily Lettre)
• 1999/2001, 2007, 2009: Kleines Vorstadthirn (Small Suburb Brain)
• 1999: Himalaya Goldsteins Stube (Himalaya Goldstein’s Living Room)
• 2000: Öffne meine Lichtung (Open my Glade (Flatten))
• 2000: Himalaya’s Sister’s Living Room
• 2000: Peeping Freedom Shutters for Olga Shapir
• 2000/2001: Supersubjektiv (Super Subjective)
• 2001/2005: Wach auf (Despierta)
• 2001: Expecting
• 2002: Der Kuchen steht in Flammen (The Cake is in Flames)
• 2003: Apfelbaum unschuldig auf dem Diamantenhügel (Apple Tree Innocent On Diamond Hill) (Manzano inocente en la colina de diamantes)
• 2004: Herz aufwühlen Herz ausspülen (Stir Heart Rinse Heart)
• 2005: Eine Freiheitsstatue für Löndön (A Liberty Statue for Löndön)
• 2005: Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• 2006: Celle selbst zu zweit, by Gutararist aka Gudrun Gut & Pipilotti Rist
• 2007: Ginas Mobile (Gina’s Mobile)
• 2008: Erleuchte (und kläre) meinen Raum (Enlight My Space )
• 2011: Cape Cod Chandelier
• 2014: Worry Will Vanish Horizon
• 2015: Wir verwurzeln (Seelenfarben)
• 2016: Pixelwald
• 2016: 4th Floor To Mildness
• 2017: Caressing Dinner Circle (Tender Roundelay Family) 5er table
• 2018: Sparkling Pond, Bold-Coloured Groove & Tender Fire (Please Walk In And Let The Colors Caress You)
• 2020: Fritzflasche (The Bottle of Fritz)
• 2023: Hand Me Your Trust

Feature Film

• 2009: Pepperminta

Where to See Her Art

Pipilotti Rist's art is kept in the permanent collections of many museums and galleries. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the San Francisco MoMA. Her art piece, TV-Lüster, is always on display at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen.

Her Influence on Others

In 2016, the famous singer Beyoncé used an idea from Rist's Ever Is Over All in her film for the album Lemonade. In Beyoncé's film, she is seen walking down a city street and breaking car windows with a baseball bat.

Awards and Recognition

Pipilotti Rist has received many awards for her art:

• 1997 – Renta Preis of the Kunsthalle Nürnberg
• 1998 – Nominated for the Hugo Boss Prize
• 1999 – Wolfgang Hahn Prize
• 2003 – Became an Honorary Professor at Berlin University of the Arts
• 2006 – Honored by the Guggenheim Museums Young Collector's Council
• 2007 – St. Galler Kulturpreis
• 2009 – Special Award, Seville European Film Festival
• 2009 – Joan Miró Prize, Barcelona
• 2009 – Best Exhibition Of Digital, Video, or Film for "Pour Your Body Out" at Museum of Modern Art, New York.
• 2010 – Cutting the Edge Award, Miami International Film Festival
• 2011 – Best Architects '11 Award
• 2012 – Bazaar Art, International Artist of the Year, Hong Kong
• 2013 – Zurich Festival Prize
• 2014 – Baukoma Awards for Marketing and Architecture
• 2021 – Elected Honorary Royal Academician (HonRA)
• 2024 – Culture Prize of the Canton of Zürich

Personal Life

Pipilotti Rist lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. She lives with her partner, Balz Roth, who is an entrepreneur. They have a son named Himalaya.

See also

In Spanish: Pipilotti Rist para niños