Project Presentation
In his own way, Jens Lüstraeten re-interprets Andy Warhol’s quote of the “fifteen minutes of fame”. Instead of granting a human being fifteen minutes of fame, the work turns to the world of plants. Fifteen plants that are not native to Nevada were each filmed at night in an urban context one minute long, using artificial, almost theatrical light.
Looking at the background of a city that can only maintain its status quo in the desert through a gigantic energy effort while not working with but against nature, one would think that every tree, each bush was appraised like a shrine, but this is not the case.
Completely taken for granted they seam streets, are found on parking lots or go unnoticed in front of shopping malls.
The profane and the secondary poetically take center stage in the video. The plants are given their moment in the “limelight”, occasionally swaying softly in the wind.
Jens Lüstraeten, born 1973 in Krefeld, Germany. 1996-1999 – Studies of Photography and Film design, University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld. 1999-2004 – Studies of Photography and video art, masterclass of Prof. Joachim Brohm, Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig. 2004 – Master of fine arts (Photography), Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig. Lives and works in Berlin.
