Soul Sisters Hilde [Films in Progress]

Hilde is a filmic portrait of the austrian artist and weaver Hildegard Absalon, who lived in Vienna and taught at the University of Applied Arts. One of Lassnig’s closest friends, Absalon met her in the early 1950s through the Viennese Art Club, an artists' association that emerged during the postwar era. Seated at her loom, reminiscent of the ancient greek figure of the three Fates, Absalon weaves depictions of elements of nature that come together in a tapestry illustrating her vision of life. (Jocelyn Miller)

Rough cut by Maria Lassnig. Color correction and final cut completed posthumously by Mara Mattuschka and Hans Werner Poschauko in accordance with Lassnig’s notes from her notebook on film, “Optical Printer.” Soundtrack: Anton Webern’s Slow Movement for String Quartet

Digitization by the Austrian Film Museum. This film was preserved and restored by the Maria Lassnig Foundation in collaboration with the Austrian Film Museum.

In her notes, Maria Lassnig referred to her filmic portraits of women as “Soul Sisters.” These subjects are women she considers soulmates, and with whom she shared core affinities and character traits: a passion for art and nature, an absence of pretension, unvarnished directness in communication, and a stoic attitude towards life. Many "Soul Sisters" also appear in the artist’s drawings and paintings. Whether moving or still, these images are declarations of love, articulating treasured secrets shared between a sisterhood of like-minded women.