Ira Schneider

The black and white photo shows Ira Schneider in the 1970s.
Year of birth, place
1939, New York, United States
Year of death, place
2022, New York, United States
Role at the ZKM
in the collection, in the archives
Biography

Ira Schneider studied experimental psychology at Brown University (BA in 1960) and the University of Wisconsin, Madison (MA in 1964). During his studies, Schneider produced several award winning short films before turning to video and joining Raindance. As the collective’s president from 1972–1993, Schneider restored many videos which are now archived at ZKM. His video installations »Manhattan is an Island« (1974) and »Time Zones« (1980) were shown internationally at the Whitney Museum and the Museo Reina Sofia among others. Since moving to Berlin in 1993, Schneider has continued to produce video documentary, art and installation works as well as information collages. In 2021 he returned to the United States and lived in New York. He passed away there on August 17, 2022.

Schneider was the co-editor of »Radical Software« and »Video Art. An Anthology« (1976). He recently published several books including »Enjoying Depression« in 2016. He has been awarded several grants and prizes, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1977), Fulbright Grant (1993) and the Hannah Höch Award (2006).

After the Future, Everything Will Be Brilliant. An Obituary for the Video Artist Ira Schneider (1939-2022)