Artistic Statement

In her artistic practice, Isa Rosenberger repeatedly focuses on forgotten (or repressed) stories in order to open up a context for them in the present and thus also enable alternative readings of history.

In 1934, a choreographic piece by Gertrud Kraus entitled "The City Waits" was performed in the Vienna Volksheim Ottakring. It is based on the fairy tale "Musik der Großstad" by Maxim Gorky. Kraus' play reflects a boy's journey through a big city and the associated fears and fascination for life. Isa Rosenberger's project sees itself as an attempt to get closer to this gap and this historical discrepancy.

For this work, Isa Rosenberger collaborates with Loulou Omer, whose mother, Zipora Lerman, was a student of Gertrud Kraus in Tel-Aviv. The exhibition is based on the idea of ​​the "stage" as a performative space that can also be seen as a political and social focal point. In May 2019, Isa Rosenberger made a photo series showing Loulou Omer dancing, singing and playing the piano while simultaneously reacting to what she was performing on the theater stage of the Volksheim Ottakring in Vienna, where Kraus once stood and performed her play.

Gertrud Kraus, expressionist dancer and choreographer, also "modern" teacher, was born in Vienna. She ran a company and a school, first in her hometown and later in Tel Aviv after fleeing the Nazi regime in 1935. Between 1950 and 1951 she founded the Israel Ballet Theatre.

In this 'context', Omer's performance is also a challenge – like an ode to Kraus, to the legacy and to telling her personal story; to her own enterprise of reconstructing and reconciling identities on new foundations; and their artistic approach as a form of resistance and a means of expression.

The project uses dance as a specific poetic space in which art forms, temporalities and images intertwine with new and intersecting references. This collaboration resulted in a video and a series of photos that combine all the elements of Rosenberger's research.

Loulou Omer's practice, similar to that of Kraus, encompasses many artistic forms and approaches. However, her migration was from Tel Aviv to Europe; She not only brought memories to Vienna with her, but also knowledge of her mother's diverse artistic approaches. For her performance, Rosenberger chose the Volksheim Ottakring stage as the entry point for Loulou Omer's creative work. It is based on Omer's reflections on choreography, singing, dancing and remembering her mother and the works of Kraus. She describes a strong and deep woman who explores the complexities and contradictions of this artist, her mother and herself. With every action she performs, every word she spells, every note she plays, and every memory she recalls, the world of Omer is represented. By responding to Kraus' legacy with a migratory journey of quest, answer and unfolding, Rosenberger invites the audience on this journey by immersing themselves in Omer's world. Kraus once wrote a line in her sketchbook: "What is the entry point? . . . The point of no return. . .