Tabea Blumenschein

Tabea Blumenschein (11 August 1952 – 29 February 2020)

Blumenschein was born in Rietheim, West Germany. She studied art at Kunstschule Konstanz (1968–1972) and moved to West Berlin in 1973. She then starred in 5 films by Ulrike Ottinger, and rose to fame in the West Berlin art scene in the 1970s, before retreating from public view in the 1980s.

Blumenschein spent most of her life making art; realising stage and film designs, creating fashion drawings, illustrations and taking photographs. In 1979, She designed the collection "Big Birds" for Berlin Knitweardesigner Claudia Skoda which was presented at Berlin Kongresshalle. She was awarded the Deutscher Filmpreis in Gold 1981 for her set design for the film Looping.

In the 1980s, Blumenschein collaborated with the performance art and music group Die Tödliche Doris and recorded with Gudrun Gut, Bettina Koester, Frieder Butzmann, and with Die Dominas. She additionally did costume design for the groups performance costumes.

Blumenschein was a prominent figure in the West Berlin bar scene, and enjoyed partaking in gender-bending and watching drag king performances.

Filmography Laokoon & Söhne (Ulrike Ottinger and Tabea Blumenschein 1973) (Die Betörung der blauen Matrosen), (Ulrike Ottinger and Tabea Blumenschein 1975) Portrait Marianne Rosenberg, (Rosa von Praunheim 1976) (Madame X – Eine absolute Herrscherin), (Ulrike Ottinger 1977) Uliisses, (Werner Nekes 1982) . (Ulrike Ottinger 1984) Zagarbata, (super-8 film, 16 mm) (director and script: Tabea Blumenschein, 1985)