Hirshhorn Film Program Highlights Surrealism
Ulu Braun, “Atlantic Garden,” 2010. Courtesy of the artist
October 14, 2015
Fall 2015 Slate Includes Works by Man Ray and Jan Švankmajer
In conjunction with the Oct. 29 openings of the exhibitions “Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York” and “Shana Lutker: Le ‘NEW’ Monocle, Chapters 1–3,” surrealism will be the focus of the fall film season at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which begins Oct. 15. Screenings will be held at the museum’s Ring Auditorium. All are free of charge. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Olaf Stüber and Ulu Braun: Meet the Artist
Thursday, Oct. 15; 6:30 p.m.
Olaf Stüber, a leading proponent of moving-image art in Germany, is co-founder of Videoart at Midnight, a cult event among Berlin art enthusiasts. He will be joined by Ulu Braun, an artist who has been featured in Stüber’s monthly showcase. Samples from Braun’s extravagantly animated oeuvre will include digital versions of exquisite corpses, in which he and other artists create collaborative works by building sequentially on each other’s contributions. This program is presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Washington.
Jan Švankmajer’s Alice [Něco z Alenky], 1988
Thursday, Dec. 3; 7 p.m.
Mixing stop-motion animation with live action, the Czech filmmaker’s first feature, a dark fantasy that takes “something from Alice,” is very different in spirit from both Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale and the popular Disney adaptation. The heroine of Švankmajer’s masterwork is little but also a little vicious. A quasi-Freudian overtone prevails, and, in the end, it is unclear if Alice is back in the real world or trapped in an eerie Wonderland.
Pure Man Ray
Sunday, Jan. 31; 3 p.m.
Among the godfathers of experimental film, Man Ray described his vanguard shorts as Cinéma Pur [Pure Cinema], as they resisted conventional notions of internal logic, dramatic arc and narrative content. Chronological screenings of Le Retour à la Raison (1923), Emak-Bakia (1926), L’Étoile de Mer [The Starfish] (1928) and Les Mystères du Château du Dé (1929) will be interspersed with discussions led by artist and scholar Karen Yasinsky, who will unpack the novel, sensational and surrealistic elements of these iconic shorts.
About the Hirshhorn
Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of international modern and contemporary art. With nearly 12,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, mixed-media installations, works on paper and new media works, its holdings encompass one of the leading collections of postwar American and European art. The Hirshhorn presents diverse exhibitions and offers an array of public programs that explore modern and contemporary art. Located at Independence Avenue and Seventh Street S.W., the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission to the galleries and special programs is free. For more information about exhibitions and events, visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Follow the Hirshhorn on Facebook at facebook.com/hirshhorn, on Twitter at twitter.com/hirshhorn, on Tumblr at hirshhorn.tumblr.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/hirshhorn. Or sign up for the museum’s eBlasts at hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/social-media. To request accessibility services, contact Amy Bower at bowera@si.edu or (202) 633-0828, preferably two weeks in advance.
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