Reiner Leist

Last updated

Reiner Leist (born 1964 in West Germany), is a German-born photographer, who emigrated to the United States and lives in New York City. Leist is currently a professor in studio art at Hunter College, The City University of New York. [1]

Contents

Reiner Leist
Born1964
West Germany
OccupationStudio art professor

Biography

Early life

Born in West Germany in 1964, Reiner Leist emigrated to South Africa in 1988 and then from South Africa to the United States in 1994. [1]

He studied Visual Arts and Photography in Munich, Cape Town and New York City.

Career

His works are ongoing, often participatory projects, which examine the relationship between individual lives and societies, history, landscape and architecture. For instance, Leist submitted an entry to the World Trade Center site Memorial Competition in which he proposed erecting 2,792 memorial telephone booths around the "footprints" of the former WTC site, around New York City or in any of the 92 counties where victims were from. The phones would be arbitrarily connected to another memorial phone and would let callers talk with each other or hear a pre-recorded message about a victim of the WTC disaster. His entry did not win. [2]

Since 1994, Leist has worked on "American Portraits" and since 2001 on several projects in Asia.

Leist stated in an interview for CUNY TV "I just work very slowly. I can't work fast. I can't do projects in a short period." [3] From 1995 to 2005, Leist took photographs of metropolitan life through the window of his 26th floor New York apartment on 8th Avenue, using a 19th-century full plate camera. [4] He took pictures each day he was in New York, whenever he found the time, at every time of day, in all kinds of weather and every position of the sun. The resulting bulk of around 4,500 photographs documents both the every-day life and change of Manhattan, including the historic event of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Parts of the collection have been published in book form under the title Eleven Septembers: Photographs by REINER LEIST.

He has had numerous exhibitions in Germany, USA and Japan.

Leist taught in the Visual Arts Program at MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. from 2000 until 2003 and is currently a professor in studio art at Hunter College, The City University of New York. [5]

Works

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Reiner Leist". Department of Art and Art History. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  2. World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition
  3. "Twilight Talks - Archiving Trauma: Reiner Leist & Leo Rubinfien". CUNY TV. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  4. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "The evolution of Manhattan through Reiner Leist's window | DW | 11.09.2017". DW.COM. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  5. "Reiner Leist". Department of Art and Art History. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2022-04-06.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks</span>

The first memorials to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001 began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies, photos, and eyewitness accounts. Numerous online September 11 memorials began appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of these memorials were only temporary. Around the world, U.S. embassies and consulates became makeshift memorials as people came out to pay their respects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center site</span> Grounds of the World Trade Center in New York City

The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, the West Side Highway to the west, Liberty Street to the south, and Church Street to the east. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) owns the site's land. The original World Trade Center complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of the September 11 attacks</span> Effects and subsequent events of the September 11 attacks

The September 11 attacks transformed the first term of President George W. Bush and led to what he referred to as the war on terror. The accuracy of describing it as a "war" and its political motivations and consequences are the topic of strenuous debate. The U.S. government increased military operations, economic measures, and political pressure on groups that it accused of being terrorists, as well as increasing pressure on the governments and countries which were accused of sheltering them. October 2001 saw the first military action initiated by the US. Under this policy, NATO invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban regime and capture al-Qaeda forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7 World Trade Center</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

7 World Trade Center is an office building constructed as part of the new World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The tower is located on a city block bounded by Greenwich, Vesey, Washington, and Barclay Streets on the east, south, west, and north, respectively. 7 World Trade Center was developed by Larry Silverstein, who holds a ground lease for the site from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York is a public research institution and postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Division of Graduate Studies at City University of New York, it was renamed to Graduate School and University Center in 1969. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, CUNY Graduate Center is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".

The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, business, health, science, engineering and continuing education fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Silverstein</span> American businessman

Larry A. Silverstein is an American businessman. Among his real estate projects, he is the developer of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, as well as one of New York's tallest residential towers at 30 Park Place, where he owns a home.

<i>The Sphere</i> Sculpture in New York City

The Sphere is a monumental cast bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig (1924–2017).

The International Freedom Center (IFC) was a proposed museum to be located adjacent to the site of Ground Zero at the former World Trade Center in New York City, USA. It was selected in 2004 to comprise a "cultural space" near to the memorial for victims of the September 11 attacks, called Reflecting Absence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center cross</span> Two steel beams found in the debris

The World Trade Center cross, also known as the Ground Zero cross, is a formation of steel beams found among the debris of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City, following the September 11 attacks in 2001. This set of beams is so named because it resembles the proportions of a Christian cross. The beams have been part of an exhibit at the September 11 Museum since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5 World Trade Center</span> Proposed skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

5 World Trade Center is a planned skyscraper at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The site is across Liberty Street, to the south of the main 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site. In February 2021, it was announced the new 5 World Trade Center will be developed in a joint venture between Silverstein Properties and Brookfield Properties. The proposed building shares its name with the original 5 World Trade Center, which was heavily damaged as a result of the collapse of the North Tower during the September 11 attacks and was later demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4 World Trade Center</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

4 World Trade Center is a skyscraper constructed as part of the new World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The tower is located on Greenwich Street at the southeastern corner of the World Trade Center site. Fumihiko Maki designed the 978 ft-tall (298 m) building. It houses the headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Biggart</span> American photojournalist

William G. Biggart was an American freelance photojournalist and a victim of the September 11 attacks, notable for his street-view photographs of the event before being killed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's North Tower. He was the only professional photographer to be killed while covering the attacks.

WTC 9/11 is a composition by Steve Reich for string quartet written in 2009–2010 which premiered on March 19, 2011 at Duke University. The piece was written for the Kronos Quartet, who performed the premiere, and was co-commissioned by Barbican Centre, Carnegie Hall, Duke University, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Chamber Music America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The piece is approximately fifteen minutes long, and draws inspiration from the events of September 11, 2001. In 2019, writers of The Guardian ranked it the 17th greatest work of art music since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 World Trade Center</span> Unfinished skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

2 World Trade Center is a skyscraper being developed as part of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It will replace the original 2 World Trade Center, which was completed as part of the first World Trade Center in 1973 and subsequently destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001, and it will occupy the position of the original 5 World Trade Center. The foundation work was completed in 2013, though no construction has taken place since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicular Security Center</span> Parking lot and security checkpoint in Manhattan, New York

The World Trade Center Vehicle Security Center and Tour Bus Parking Facility, or simply the Vehicular Security Center (VSC), is a secure complex for truck delivery and underground parking at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City. The entrance to the VSC is located at street-level along the southern edge of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Liberty Street. The VSC is connected via tunnels that feed the entire 16-acre (65,000 m2) WTC complex, linking the security checkpoint at its entrance with the buildings and services at the complex requiring vehicular services. Underground garages provide parking for tenants, visitors, and tour buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (1973–2001)</span> Former development in Manhattan, New York

The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built primarily between 1966 and 1975, it was dedicated on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the time of their completion, the 110-story-tall Twin Towers, including the original 1 World Trade Center at 1,368 feet (417 m), and 2 World Trade Center at 1,362 feet (415.1 m), were the tallest buildings in the world; they were also the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world until 1996, when the Petronas Towers opened. Other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center, 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. The complex contained 13,400,000 square feet (1,240,000 m2) of office space and, prior to its completion, was projected to accommodate an estimated 130,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (2001–present)</span> Skyscraper complex in Manhattan, New York

The new World Trade Center (WTC) is a complex of buildings in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood area of New York City, replacing the original seven buildings on the same site that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks of 2001. hence the name. The buildings are currently being rebuilt with up to six brand new skyscrapers, four of which have been finished; a memorial and museum to those killed of the attacks; the elevated Liberty Park adjacent to the site, containing the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the Vehicular Security Center; the Perelman Performing Arts Center; and a transportation hub. The 104-story One World Trade Center, being the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, is the lead building for the new complex.

During the September 11 attacks of 2001, a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda, killed 2,977 people, injured over 6,000, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. Multiple others have died due to 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the months and years following the attacks, leading the numbers impacted to continually shift to reflect the new numbers.