1985 - 1987 Berkeley, California
Eric and Heather ChanSchatz (Eric Chan and Heather Schatz) met at the University of California Berkeley in 1985 as Undergraduate students in the College of Environmental Design.
They started collaborating during a drawing class (Visual Studies 187) they took in the Fall of 1986. During one of the drawing exercises they switched seats midway through the class and finished each other’s drawings. They sketched and wrote notes about the experience which they titled “Seeing with Your Mouth, Speaking with Your Eyes”. They asked Professor Joe Slusky if they could complete the work together, and he agreed if they accepted the same grade. They received an A- in the class.
ChanSchatz 1985-2015
Eric and Heather ChanSchatz (Eric Chan and Heather Schatz) integrated traditional approaches to artmaking, such as painting and sculpture, with socially engaged and event-based practices. The artists collaborated to create works of art based on their interaction with the public and invited participants through a process they explored and developed over their 30 year career.
ChanSchatz’s distinct visual language was exclusive to their working practice, and served as the foundation for each of their works. At the beginning of the process, participants were invited to select from a series of drawings, texts, and color combinations composed by the artists. Project guests included American soldiers in Iraq, coal miners in Pennsylvania, Cairo citizens in the Egyptian revolution, and stateless children in Thailand.
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