20 rue Jacob
HD Video, color, sound, 8min, 2019
An address in St. Germain Paris, whose backyard locates a small, Doric temple, is the focus of the animation 20 rue Jacob. Named after the lettering above the front door - A l´Amitié - the Temple of Friendship is inextricably connected to the life and work of Natalie Clifford Barney, who lived from 1909 onwards at 20 rue Jacob and hosted a salon in her private facilities for decades. The temple still exists, but is entirely shielded from the public. After several failed attempts of visiting and filming the structure, Katharina Aigner digitally recreated the facade, interior of the temple itself and segments of the property, based on texts and photographs. Through the rendering, for a short moment, the impossibility of entering becomes possible. Recently uploaded photographs on Google show massive restorations and apparently the temple is used as some kind of garden shed. 20 rue Jacob imagines another presence - inside the temple one can spot a film script, Amants féminins ou la troisième, written around 1926 by Natalie Clifford Barney but not made into a film yet. Thereby not just the temples relevance for lesbian (her)stories is underlined but also future storytelling announced.
Concept/Edit: Katharina Aigner
Animation: Manuel Maxl
Sound design: Lenja Gathmann
Technical advice: Christina Jauernik
French translation: Maria Szakats
With friendly support by Otto Mauer Fonds
An address in St. Germain Paris, whose backyard locates a small, Doric temple, is the focus of the animation 20 rue Jacob. Named after the lettering above the front door - A l´Amitié - the Temple of Friendship is inextricably connected to the life and work of Natalie Clifford Barney, who lived from 1909 onwards at 20 rue Jacob and hosted a salon in her private facilities for decades. The temple still exists, but is entirely shielded from the public. After several failed attempts of visiting and filming the structure, Katharina Aigner digitally recreated the facade, interior of the temple itself and segments of the property, based on texts and photographs. Through the rendering, for a short moment, the impossibility of entering becomes possible. Recently uploaded photographs on Google show massive restorations and apparently the temple is used as some kind of garden shed. 20 rue Jacob imagines another presence - inside the temple one can spot a film script, Amants féminins ou la troisième, written around 1926 by Natalie Clifford Barney but not made into a film yet. Thereby not just the temples relevance for lesbian (her)stories is underlined but also future storytelling announced.
Concept/Edit: Katharina Aigner
Animation: Manuel Maxl
Sound design: Lenja Gathmann
Technical advice: Christina Jauernik
French translation: Maria Szakats
With friendly support by Otto Mauer Fonds
