How Are You

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Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are a Danish-Norwegian couple, both artists, who have been working together since 1995 and have had a joint studio in Berlin since 1997. Michael Elmgreen was born in Copenhagen in 1961 and Ingar Dragset was born in Trondheimin Norway in 1968. The couple’s work is shown internationally; in Germany they gained a name for themselves for the memorial in memory of homosexual victims of the Nazi regime that was unveiled on 27 May, 2008 at the edge of Berlin’s Tiergarten Park.
This film does not only present a selection of their work and their genesis; it also shows the couple’s own unusual trajectory which reached a highpoint in 2009 with their design of Danish and Nordic Countries pavilions at the Venice Biennale. The pair first met in the mid-nineties and fell in love at once. At the time, Michael Elmgreen was working on installations and Ingar Dragset was a talented clown – and enthusiastic knitter. They presented their first joint work – programmatically titled ‘Instant Baby’ – at Malmö Konsthall museum in Sweden.
Their output has often provoked controversy, as in the case of the large mirror which they set up in front of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen in order to broach the egocentricity of their fellow Danes, or the video of the kissing homosexual couple inside the cube of their Berlin memorial, which has often been the target of homophobic attacks.

details

  • Runtime

    70 min
  • Country

    Denmark
  • Year of Presentation

    2011
  • Year of Production

    2011
  • Director

    Jannik Splidsboel
  • Cast

    Michael Elmgreen, Ingar Dragset, Morten Olafsson
  • Production Company

    Radiator Film
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Documentary Film

Biography Jannik Splidsboel

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1964, he studied art and film in Rome where he now lives. He worked on numerous international projects as assistant director and production manager before he began focussing on documentaries in 1999. Alongside his film work he also teaches at international film schools. HOW ARE YOU, his portrait of the Danish-Norwegian artist couple Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, screened in the Berlinale Panorama in 2011.

Filmography Jannik Splidsboel

2000 The Specialists | 2002 Codes – Makers and Breakers | 2004 Louise & Papaya | 2005 Homies | 2005 The Monster | 2008 Together | 2013 Days in Maremma;