Rist is in love with color, in both her work and her daily life. She frequently appears in bright plaid pants or suits, or alternately jewel-toned saris, whether attending an opening, meeting with a curator, or getting down on hands and knees to examine and approve the carpet for her latest installation.
We also see her making her feature film Pepperminta, which she worked on from 2005-09. She directs an amusing scene which features of a bunch of businessmen and women tangled together by their ties over a table at an office meeting.
Rist works with a variety of people who keep her schedule, build her installations, handle her press. We see her pop in and out of meetings, always funny, always colorful, frequently insightful, as she leaves her staff to do the work they do best. She is a truly contemporary artist, as much a business woman as a creator of objects and experiences. No artist toiling solo in a studio here.
Right before the opening of "Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters)" Rist is asked by a group of museum guards at MoMA what to say to visitors who might not want to remove their shoes before entering the installation space. She proposes they approach the situation with humor, rather than tell them authoritatively, "No shoes!" She suggests they ask people to show them "the color of their socks." Like her art, Pipilotti Rist is unique and positive and colorful. She's one of the most interesting artists working today.
Images from top: "Homo sapiens sapiens" (2005), "A Liberty Statue for Löndön" (2005), "Pour Your Body Out [7354 Cubic Meters]" (2008). Images courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.
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