Monika Bauert

Monika Bauert made a gift of her holdings in 1999. This archive has been augmented through further donations and purchases in the interim. It demonstrates Bauert’s remarkable versatility and creativity across diverse professional fields. Bauert’s meticulous planning of the complex historical costume design for Wolfgang Petersen’s ‘Das Boot’ (FRG, 1981) can be studied in five Leitz binders. One of the challenges she faced in this work was to realistically produce and document a chronological ageing process of all the garments throughout the storyline. Polaroid photos and charts describe the varying phases of wear and tear of set accoutrements made of oilskins, canvas and leather. For special effects using a model submarine, Monika Bauert also dressed true-to-scale miniature naval dolls, one of which is on view in the permanent exhibition alongside Jürgen Prochnow’s and Herbert Grönemeyer’s original film costumes. Another focal point comprises more than 300 colour and black-and-white photos, 43 colour slides, contact sheets and negatives, press clippings, 35 costume designs, and the work script for Petersen’s American science fiction film ‘Enemy Mine’ (1985). Using these materials, it is also possible to trace the design process of two costumes preserved in the collection ‒ a spacesuit and a reptilian alien costume. (Text: Vera Thomas)