Interview with Carolin Herbertz by Bettina Pelz
Published 20 JUN 2025
Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us something about your artistic background?
My name is Caro and I am currently studying Integrated Design at the University of the Arts in Bremen. Before my current studies, I already completed a degree in art history and ethnology at the University of Cologne. My main focus is on 2D animation and the moving image.
My work follows an experimental, process-driven path where ideas often unfold through play and making. I explore the moving image and two-dimensional animation, using humor as a key to make themes accessible and to navigate the shifting space between reality, the bizarre, and the image’s own peculiar logic.
What themes or questions do you generally deal with in your artistic work?
My work follows an experimental, process-driven path where ideas often unfold through play and making. I explore the moving image and two-dimensional animation, using humor as a key to make themes accessible and to navigate the shifting space between reality, the bizarre, and the image’s own peculiar logic. Thematically, I deal a lot with social issues.
How did you get involved in the FOOTNOTES project and what attracted you to take part?
I first encountered the FOOTNOTES project through a seminar at the University of the Arts in Bremen. What immediately appealed to me was the idea of dedicating an entire weekend in Bremen to dialogue around media art. Bremen urgently needs more festivals that showcase this field beyond the university context and bring it into public spaces for everyone to experience. The concept of exploring a city’s “footnotes” particularly excites me, because urban design shapes every living and non living element and can be examined from countless diverse perspectives.
How did you approach the topic of “FOOTNOTES” and how does your work relate to it?
I approach the topic of footnotes – more precisely the hidden, marginalized and sublimated perspectives in urban life – via my video essay “Generating”. The essay combines the subject of the re-planning and revitalization of Überseestadt with a walk from the perspective of a dog. The visual level is accompanied by comments, remarks and quotations on the subject of Überseestadt. The district itself is a footnote to life in Bremen. In addition to district planning, however, the animal perspective is also a part of life in a city, which is the focus of my contribution to the Media Art Lab.