Pictures From The Pandemic: Artist Bastienne Schmidt Documents What's Important In A New American Reality

When she was growing up on the Greek island of Samos, artist Bastienne Schmidt found American products to be a source of endless fascination and a welcome novelty. Difficult to find and prized like gold, she recalls that for her as a young European, these distinctly American consumer goods also represented the dichotomy that many foreigners recognize in all things emanating from the U.S.A. — on the one hand, its products and culture were worshipped, but on the other, its policies and tendencies toward overreach and international interference were not.

“As a teen in Athens, America and Americans symbolized something to look up to — college shirts, Levi’s, sneakers and music in second-hand stores was coveted,” said Schmidt, a New Yorker for more than two decades now. “But politically speaking, there was also a slight looking down on America because they meddled in Greece’s politics. … It was two sides of the same equation.”

Schmidt, who lives in Bridgehampton with her husband, artist Philippe Cheng, was actually born in Germany. Her father, Gerhard Schmidt, was a U.S. citizen who served as a translator for the U. S. Army, but it was his work as an archaeologist that took the family to Samos when Schmidt was 9 years old, and the landscape and culture of that country has remained a strong influence for her ever since.

And so has her fascination with American products, which is why when the pandemic struck in the spring, Schmidt turned many of those everyday household objects into works of art as they increasingly became valued commodities, just as they had been during her childhood in Samos.

“These iconic things stayed with you because they were coveted products,” Schmidt explained. “Now, 30 years later, living here, I feel the packaging is so enticing and nostalgic.”

Many of those nostalgic items are the subjects of Schmidt’s “Everyday Objects in the Time of a Pandemic,” a series of watercolor paintings that document the goods and ideals that have become important symbols of life and survival during the time of COVID-19. From Scott toilet paper and Purell hand sanitizer to protest flyers, a gas mask and even the cover of a U.S. passport, the imagery offers a timeline of sorts, charting not just the course of the virus, but also the temperature and temperament of this nation as a whole.

Several of Schmidt’s pandemic paintings are on view now at the Southampton Arts Center (SAC) in “2020 Vision,” an exhibition organized by the New York Academy of Art that takes as its subject the lived experience of the present time of social upheaval, representing both tragic loss but also moments of hopeful change. Co-curated by academy president David Kratz and Stephanie Roach of the FLAG Art Foundation and edited by Emma Gilbey Keller, over 60 participating artists and writers, including Schmidt, are represented in the exhibition, which features work by current art students and emerging artists as well as stars of the field such as Eric Fischl and Rashid Johnson.

When asked how the pandemic series came about, Schmidt explained that it really grew out of an initial sense of anxiety and desperation.

“In the beginning, everyone thought we felt like we were falling off a cliff,” Schmidt said. “As artists, we’re used to being out and about to make our living, whether it’s through commissions or exhibitions.”

But COVID-19 changed all that overnight. The inability to see people in person or conduct business in the usual way impacted everything that Schmidt had come to understand about how to live and survive as an artist in today’s society

“I thought, to soothe my nerves, let me use what’s around me — Lysol, Purell, Clorox, toilet paper,” she added. “So it became a Rorschach test of American society, but also an evolving statement of where we stand as time passes.”

In the days, weeks and months since the pandemic began, Schmidt has created several new paintings for the series each week. She explains that during this time, her chosen imagery has evolved, like the hierarchy of needs, from basics such as cleaning products and comfort food to reading material fit for a plague — Albert Camus, “War and Peace,” and Kafka — then on to reflections of societal change in the wake of George Floyd’s death through objects related to protest marches and the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The more I did, the more ideas I got and it propelled me forward,” said Schmidt, who, to date, has created about 200 watercolors for the series, which is still ongoing. “Now, it’s like the project itself has taken on a life of its own.”

And in some cases, the meaning of the most simple of subjects has shifted with time. For example, take the case of Schmidt’s painting of a can of Goya black beans, which are among the works on view now at SAC. Initially, the beans were a reflection of a staple food item for surviving quarantine, but more recently, the can took on new significance after Robert Unanue, the CEO of Goya Foods, said the United States was “truly blessed” to have a leader like President Donald Trump.

“I think they’re really metaphors for our time,” Schmidt said of the works.

But like everything in life, the series is evolving, and as fears of finding things like toilet paper and bleach fade into memory and worries over social unrest and fair fall elections emerge, Schmidt finds she is searching a bit further to find objects to paint for the series.

“On a good day, I do maybe two or three, but now it’s getting harder, kind of because we have a new normal,” she said. “Funny, but I’ve never been busier. My old life — preparing for a show, or meeting art consultants outside of house — is coming back, but I want to continue the series.”

And based on what’s happening throughout the United States as the spread of COVID-19 ebbs and flows, increasing in some places, even as in others, like New York, it’s beaten back, for now anyway, Schmidt sees the opportunity for the country and its citizenry to consider the hard questions about who they want to be going forward.

“I think it’s a reminder for America, in general, that though it has a lot of promise, it cannot rely on its own myth,” she said. “You have to evolve and adapt, not just in terms of heath, but also societally, politically and sociologically.

“I think America needs to take a good look at itself and figure out where it wants to go,” she added.

Works from Bastienne Schmidt’s “Everyday Objects in the Time of a Pandemic” are on view through December 27 in “2020 Vision” at the Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton. The exhibition of work by 60 artists and writers is curated by the New York Academy of Art. Social distancing rules and mask wearing applies for those visiting the show in person. The SAC’s website also features a virtual 3-D tour of the exhibition. Visit southamptonartscenter.org for details.