Regina Frank is a German artist mainly working with text and textile installation and performance. Since 1989, she has been one of the pioneersNetzkunst "Ein anderer Körper an einem anderen Ort" Tilman Baumgärtel Der Spiegel 18 June 1999 of combining performance art with technology, integrating the Internet and interactive social software installations. Her performances and installations deal with social and political-social issues and link digital media with traditional text transformed into textiles.
Early life and education Frank was born in 1965, the daughter of Elisabeth Frank and Franz Josef Frank. She grew up in Meßkirch, Germany, where she kept a home until the death of her mother 2016. Due to the families’ and her home-towns close connection to Martin Heidegger, she devoted much of her youth to art and philosophy, later venturing into Zen Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. She studied Sinology and Sanskrit, Old Oriental Studies at Freie Universität BerlinArnd Weseman, Deutschland, 17. Februar S.41 Screen Multimedia, "Datenfaden im Seidenkleid", Arnd Weseman, Deutschland, February 1996, pp. 131–133 until she got accepted at the costume design department and later at the Visual Arts Department at Universität der Künste Berlin.
Here she did her Masters with Katharina Sieverding. As a tutor she taught photography and printing and organized many artist talks between 1990 and 1992, among others with John Cage, Joan Jonas, Marina Abramović, Alfredo Jaar, Antoni Muntadas, Joseph Kosuth, Dara Birnbaum, Christina Kubisch, Hans Haacke, Guerilla Girls, Stephen Willats and Nan Goldin. She was a founding member of the student organization Interflugs, which represented the students interests to the administration and to professors, and gave access to at the time advanced technological equipment, such as computers, video projectors, editing equipment and video cameras. Together with her fellow students, she advocated equal rights and demanded a higher share of women as female professorsTip, "Frauen ohne Grenzen", Hanna Lenz, Berlin, Deutschland, September 1992 at the still predominantly male college of arts. Consequently, she was very active in the student strike.
In addition to a number of subtle performances and photographic works dealing with political themes, such as golf war, AIDS,Get Better Soon, Frank Wagner, Aids Project, NGBK (New Society for Fine Arts), Berlin, 1993 she held her studio first in a squat and later above a homeless asylum in Berlin. She supported various forms of demonstrations in public space for equality, integration of foreigners and acceptance of homosexuals and collected funds for various social purposes. (ShoeshineWoman, Condom and Toy- vending machines in Clubs, See you do not look, The Artist Is Present).Erst Mal was auf's Maul, Katalog, Deutschland, Hochschule der Künste, Berlin, Deutschland, pp. 4, 1992 "The Artist Is Present" was seen in the political-social sense as presence and response-ability of the artist.
For more than a decade she was accompanied by Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of Disquiet", introducing him as her soulmate, many times reserving a space next to her for him.Observador: Rita Cipriano on Regina Frank: “Ser artista é ter um lado político” (To be an artist is in itself political) 18 December 2016 Together with a group of friends she was crashing opening parties in painters protection suits and masks made from photocopies of self-portraits of famous painters such as Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh demonstrating for artists rights.Avant Art Magazine: Interview Regina Frank (part one): The Artist is Present Within All of Us, June 2013 She lived various times as Frank going out with a mustache and side-burns. She actively danced Tango from 1986 onwards and did many public performances with one female or one male partner, on a private occasion she danced with/for Astor Piazzolla, while he was improvising on his Bandoneon.
Most times when asked for her contact she gave her card which was deprived of all information except "The Artist is Present" or Regina Frank "The Artist is Present" in the early 90s. As this was long before search engines the card was useless to get in touch with her. Though her whole appearance delivered material for performances, it was not until she personally met John Cage in 1990 and organized a workshop for him at the University of Art that she discovered the power and potential of performance to integrate in her own artwork. She played chess with him and documented the game as a "photographic artpiece". Shortly after she organized another workshop for Marina Abramović and later an exhibition with her classmates during Marina's guest professorship at the University of Art, Berlin. Consequently, she was invited to participate in many museum exhibitions with her performance installations, which kept her collages, drawings and paintings largely unknown.
Career Frank has been exhibiting her installations under the title "The Artist is Present" internationally in windows, museums and public spaces. Her first book "The Artist is Present"Regina Frank: The Artist is Present (English and German Edition) Hardcover – January 1999 by Cathy Byrd (Author), Richard Vine (Author, Editor) was published in 1999. Inspired by the adaptation of Regina Frank's title at Marina Abramović's MOMA exhibition The Artist Is PresentMOMA by Marina Abramović after 21 yearsMarina Abramović: Student Body : Workshops, 1979–2003 : Performances, 1993–2003 pp. 204,501,502 in 2010, Frank changed to "The Art is Present"The Art Is Present Regina Frank On Paper in 2015, introducing the focus on the Art: going deeper into the present and the artist's gift. Later 2017 she advanced to the motto and overall title “The HeArT is Present”.The HeArt Is Present Regina Frank – In Space Using the dress to address, her work is a creative information processing, data visualization, bridging handiwork and technology, tangible and virtual, creating incentives for communication, discussion and dialogues.
Frank has lectured at M.I.T. Boston, Saint Martin's School of Art London, New York University, the MET, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She was artist in resident at Wacoal Art Center, in Tokamachi and S-AIR Sapporo in Japan, Kio-A-Thau Residency Taiwan, Guangzhou-Live-4 China, Montalvo Arts Center, USA, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain and Chienkuo Technology University Taiwan. Her works have been displayed at the New Museum of Contemporary ArtCover of Newsletter The New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1992–1994, New York, USA, pp. 9 in New York, Serpentine Gallery1998 Loose Threads, "The Glass Bead Game", Serpentine Gallery, London (Catalog) in London, the Bronx Museum in New York,Divisions of Labor, curated by Lydia Yee, Katalogue, Bronx Museum of the Arts Kunsthalle in Berlin, Reina Sofia in Madrid, MOCADivisions of Labor, "Hermes’ Mistress", MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), Los Angeles, CA, Catalog in Los Angeles, Spiral Wacoal Art CenterJoin Me curated by Yuko Hasegawa, "GlassBeadGame", Spiral, Wacoal Art Center, Tokio, (with Edward Stein)Hermes’ Mistress, Solo Performance Spiral Gallery 1996 in Tokyo and at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, ARCO in Madrid, 2001 Expo HannoverEXPO 2000, "Performance & Performance", IFU - Pavillon, Hannover (Catalog) and 2003 San Diego Museum of Art.San Diego Museum of Art "Tracking and Tracing: Contemporary New Acquisitions” San Diego, USA, Catalog iLAND launched in 2011 and in 2013 during the Venice Biennale (Infr’action) and 2017 at London Artfair. Since 2013 iLAND was shown in the US, Portugal, Finland, France, Holland and China and 2018 at the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) in Lisbon.
Frank's work has been featured in many publications including: Sculpture Magazine,Sculpture Magazine “Art and Life, Sculpture and Process”, Cathy Byrd USA, Vol.20, No.2, March, pp.16–23, 2001 Studio Art Magazine,Studio Art Magazine, Israel, Nr. 79, August, pp. 53–57, 1997Studio Art Magazine, “Let the Artist Live at Exit Art”, Tami Katz-Freiman, Israel, No. 59, December, pp. 61–62, 1994 Asahi Evening News,Asahi Evening News, “Art Is Who You Are”, Suzannah Tartan, Japan, 9. Dezember 1996 Studio Voice,Studio Voice, “Regina Frank – Hermes’ Mistress”, Interview with Yuko Hasegawa, Japan, Juli, S. 62–67 Screen Multimedia,Screen Multimedia, “Datenfaden im Seidenkleid”, Arnd Weseman, Germany, February, pp. 131–133, 1996 Parade Magazine,Parade Magazine, Jane Ciabattari, “Intelligence Report”, USA, 7 November 1993 Harper's,Harper’s, Sean McLaughlin, USA, January 1994 The New York Times,New York Times, “Spoken Word”, Sasskia Sassen, USA, 26. September 1993 in Time OutTime Out, Sarah Kent, London, 14.-21.December 1994 Rethinking Marxism,Rethinking Marxism, “Pearls before Gods”, Laura Trippi, April, pp. 81–84 1994 Vogue,Vogue, “Untragbar”, Claudia Steinberg, Deutschland, February 1995 Cosmopolitan,Cosmopolitan, "Berlin + Kunst", Thea Herold, Germany, April, pp. 134–135 Frankfurter Rundschau,Frankfurter Rundschau, “Wenn der Fallschirm im Garten zum Kleid wird“, 08.09.2003Frankfurter Rundschau, “Nomadin auf elektronischen Traumpfaden”, Arnd Weseman, Deutschland, 17. February 1996, pp.41 FAZ,FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), “Eine Kunstreise durch liebliches Wohngebiet“, September 8, 2003FAZ, Jens Jessen, Deutschland, December 7, 1994FAZ, “Adventgedanken” Jens Jessen, Deutschland, 2. May 1994FAZ, Kunstbiennale "Vogelfrei" Jäger und Sammler im alten Park Die Kunstbiennale „Vogelfrei“, Rainer Hein, Darmstadt 19.06.2011 Japan Times,Japan Times, “Knotting Threads of Friendship”, Miki Miyatake, Japan, 29 June 1996 Contemporary Art,Contemporary Art,“Artful Fashion”, Sarah Bayliss, USA, Issue 13, pp. 72–73, 1997 Art Papers,Art Papers @ 20, “Art at the Centennial Olympic Games”, Cathy Bird, Issue 6, Nov./Dec., pp. 26–27, 1996 Art Examiner,New Art Examiner, “Unruly Publics”, M. Sherbeck, USA, Dezember/Januar, pp. 17–18, 1996 The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionThe Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Technology as a Canvas”, Catherine Fox, USA, 26. July 1996, pp. 53The Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Castle Will Spark Conversations with Art over Your Head”, Jerry Cullum, USA, 12.July 1996 Art Press,Art Press, Dorothea Malpass, France, June 1994Art Press, Robert Morgan, USA, January 1994 Being on Line,Being On Line, Lusitania Press, Regina Frank, , USA, Cover, Text: pp. 150–152, pp.153–156, 1996 Arte y Parte,Arte y Parte, “De Arte y Moda”, Regina Frank, Spain, Nr.14, April/May, pp. 18–23 Public Art and EcologyPublic Art and Ecology, Ute Ritschel, December 2011, pp.166–176 On the Issues MagazineLinda Stein, the Art Editor of on the Issues Magazine presents Regina Frank and Allgemeine Zeitung.Internationales Waldkunstzentrum zeigt Retrospektive der Performerin Regina Frank
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