Artists & Icons looks at the relationship between cinema and iconic personalities.
The critical acclaim of recent films ranging from Zidane: A 21st Century, Bobby and The U.S vs. John Lennon testifies to cinema’s unique capacity to encapsulate and explore key figures of the 20th century.
Artists & Icons is a unique programme looking at artists’ relationship with figures in the public eye, from actors to musicians, from artists to sporting heroes.
Artists & Icons brings together an eclectic mix of personalities and icons from Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich (Meeting of Two Queens) to Joan of Arc and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (Mirror), from American sporting heroes (Soft Ticket) to an enchanted silent film actress (Rose Hobart), as well as a whole host of cultural icons swirling around Andy Warhol from Allan Ginsberg to Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Yoko Ono to Lou Reed from The Velvet Underground (Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol).
This exciting range of titles illuminates the intimate relationship between the artists and icons who lit up a century of cinema. As Andy Warhol said: “My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person.”
In this collection
Rose Hobart
Dir: Joseph Cornell | US | 1936 | 19 mins
“Joseph Cornell’s filmic masterpiece” (P. Adams Sitney) Rose Hobart is a dreamlike tribute to a now forgotten silent film actress. Cornell created one of the first found footage films by isolating scenes of Hobart in ‘East of Borneo’ and reworking them against the grain of the films original narrative.
Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Technology Transformation: Wonder Woman
Dir: Dara Birnbaum | US | 1978-79 | 7 mins
The moment when an ‘ordinary’ woman transforms into the sexualized superhero is isolated and replayed in this subversive and playful video.
Soft Ticket
Dir: Lewis Klahr | US | 2004 | 9 mins
Luminous images of legendary baseball players loom out of the screen in this nostalgic evocation of the childhood admiration for sporting heroes.
Mirror
Dir: Keith Sanborn | US | 1999 | 6 mins
This video mixes two cinematic icons, Maria Falconetti in her famous performance as Joan of Arc with Judy Garland as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. An examination of cinema as religion, mixing the popular with the sacred.
Meeting Of Two Queens
Dir: Cecilia Barriga | Spain | 1991 | 14 mins
Queen Christina meets the Scarlet Empress in this witty, luminous tape. Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich star in the roles of their lives — cast as lovers by video artist Cecilia Barriga. The queens of the silver screen are brought together by reworking their signature scenes in a tale of desire and destiny.
Scenes From The Life of Andy Warhol: "Friendships and Intersections"
Dir: Jonas Mekas | US | 1963-1990 | 35 mins
This intimate portrait of Andy Warhol pulls together a unique library of material shot by New York film legend Jonas Mekas. Spanning 1963–1990, the film features a cast of counter culture icons including Alain Ginsberg, George Maciunas, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Caroline Kennedy as well as footage from the Velvet Undergrounds first ever public performance. A portrait of the remarkable life of arguable the 20th Century’s most famous artist and leading iconographer.
Courtesy of Maya Stendhal Gallery, New York and Jonas Mekas