Meet Miriam Kuhlmann | Filmmaker and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miriam Kuhlmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miriam, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up in Germany, in what I would say was a very sheltered environment. German society overall is rather risk-averse and safety-first. Engineering technology and the automotive industry are dominating, which still results in a very male-oriented, structured and rule-based lifestyle. In retrospect, I guess I was unconsciously trying to break outside that box by being constantly drawn to the arts, and trying to find what my palette was. I started out interning with a goldsmith, then worked in a metal workshop, and also with a stone mason in Portugal for a couple of months. He created these organic, seemingly flowing and light sculptures out of huge, heavy blocks of marble and I just had to go and meet him. I remember arriving late at night by taxi at a gas station after my flight, and he was this huge guy, built like a tank, one eye blindfolded, and with a stubble, but he actually turned out to be one of the kindest people you could imagine. Together we went to a quarry in the midst of Portugal and chose some good pieces for the next sculptures. He showed me how he designed his sculptures in software, starting out with 3D-printed models. I learned how to use a handhold buzz-saw to cut out the real sculptures from the stone. At the end of my 3 month stay we celebrated our adventure together with a wonderful exhibition in a gallery in Monchique with his live band, beautiful art by one of his artist friends, and the sculptures sitting in the center of the room. Coming back I was definitely struggling to match my fantastical, complicated, and gravity-defying ideas with work reality after joining an Interior Design school, where I did my BA, and I continuously kept looking for a space to call home. After a couple of years working on and off in architecture and design studios I found a wonderful art school in Frankfurt called Staedelschule, where a small, magical architectural program existed and I found mentors, who taught me, which personal and software tools I should pursue to fulfill my fantasies. I found that there are really no limitations to what is possible in a purely digital realm, the only limitations really are to what people are able and willing to perceive. Ignoring even that limitation, my travels to India, Japan and Kenya inspired me to broaden my own horizon and grow as a person. Somehow I landed in Los Angeles mid 2019 based on a scholarship for SciArc’s Fiction and Entertainment program with Liam Young. Then the pandemic hit and I started my first film project Mercury XX which took almost 2 years to complete due to post-production. I believe my German background has both advantages and disadvantages. Coming from a small town, I didn’t have many opportunities to engage with people about my true passions and talents. However, I never felt forgotten, and there were a few magical moments in my life that I seized upon. I could feel the exhilaration coursing through my veins, and I realized that this feeling can be experienced anywhere. It has the power to awaken others when they witness it. Sometimes it seems like many people in Germany are in a state of slumber, content or resigned to their roles in society. I’m not sure if this is related to our history, but it often feels repressive. While it can be suffocating, it also has the potential to unleash true magic when individuals break free. In Europe, storytelling tends to be less overt, with a greater emphasis on abstraction and veiling the narratives.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a filmmaker, performer, director, and media artist. My work incorporates new technologies, such as AI, VR, NFTs, and game engines, and was featured in several films and exhibitions, including at the AplusD Museum and the Helms Design Center in LA. The trailer for my sci-fi short film Mercury XX was presented at the LA Fashion Film Festival in 2020 and the film itself won the “Best AI” award at the New Media Festival in 2022. In general, I am interested in new forms of experiencing the world- seeing it differently, connecting the dots in new ways that I haven’t experienced before, understanding and collecting stories from the past, and setting them up in a new light. I am curious about and very aware of media culture and aim to process some of the overwhelming emotions through my work. Through my background in design, filmmaking, and acting, I’ve learned how to direct multi-layered, complicated structures and combine the threads, simplify them and string them together into a cohesive story. It is very rewarding and fulfilling to me to be inspired by other artist who do that, and I aspire to inspire people who think they are too weird, don’t fit anywhere, or just don’t know about their own voice. I wish for other people to learn how to use their gifts and how powerful and exciting this freedom of expression can be. I try to use many different kinds of media, I have an intense obsessions with all things theater, masquerade, costume, hair, makeup, performance, dance, storytelling, set design, all mixed in with new and cutting-edge technologies. I think I am mostly known for my costume design work, which is quite funny because I don’t have a specific education in that. I can construct things digitally and my grandma once showed me how to use a sewing machine once, but that was mostly it. The years of model making, conceptualizing, planning, and visualization beforehand gave me the freedom to jump right into that area, and that’s what I love about LA- even if you don’t have a classical education or professional certificate in something people are willing to work with you, if they like your work and you put your heart, talent, effort, and focus to the task.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to the fashion district to collect weird pieces and inspiring accessories, and we would definitely go to a flea or antique market, to thrift stores and discover some new areas, and hang around in Chinatown or Little Tokyo (because it has amazing food and karaoke bars). We would stop by the most quaint galleries (I love Vellum LA and Honor Fraser at the moment) and museums, theaters and maybe even go to a festival. We would dance on the streets in bright daylight, even without music. We would create weird costumes and masks, and in the evenings, we style each other, to go out, talk to random, great or extravagant people and ask them for the most insane and weird places to go to dance or perform. We would go with the flow of energy, until we would wake up somewhere in Joshua tree to take a rest, to a Spa in Orange, stay up all night to look at the stars on a hilltop or at the beach, with lots of glitter on our faces. And some blankets, because LA nights have been cold this year.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a heartfelt shoutout to all the amazing individuals I had the privilege of connecting with during my time at SCI-Arc. that I built a relationship with at SCI-Arc. Seeing the dedication, constant effort and resilience that they have, is immensely inspiring. I cannot count the amount of magic, I experienced there, but internally i changed on a molecular level, which makes me very proud- finally I have the tools and mindset to keep digging and build something for myself, and hopefully others. Without my previous education in Frankfurt, this would not have happened. At Städelschule Architecture class, I met truly golden people- and i am grateful for the the advice and inspiration that I received – personal, professional, spiritual advice – and to see them taking steps to come closer to their dreams. I was not raised to make conscious decisions, be very outspoken nor did I think that I could have a unique or important voice- now i feel more aware and empowered to use my own voice. Seeing their strengths and weaknesses during these unprecedented times empowered me to continue to start believing in my own voice more. So I would say, that they are all my mentors in different kind of areas and now I am paving my own way through this- and I the path itself is what we all go through, and what is truly exciting in the long run. I am incredibly grateful for my supporters in Germany, including my family and my close friends.

Website: mimaverse.art

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miriam__kuhlmann/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-kuhlmann-77aa66151/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW2uyBRrX2vKz_cuPmclA-A

Image Credits
Apoorva Prinz photographed the last two pictures Nathan Cuboi photographed 4-6