Archive for the ‘On Point’Category

On Point: Wangechi Mutu This You Call Civilization

AGO 2010 Exhibit Wangechi Mutu

Wangechi Mutu at work in her Brooklyn Studio in conversation with art curator David Moos from AGO Gallery in Ontario, Canada.

Mutu’s work tackles hard topic of  hyper-sexualized Black females in her work, and at the same time she challenges the viewer to rethink their concept of the black female body.  She composes  intricate collages assembled from scraps of visual images from fashion magazines or medical journal then she overlays broad strokes of watercolor to give a sensibility of transparency ambiance. At times the viewer might find her work disturbing because of the vial content the position of the female bodies or the politics of violence.  She also shows her women as empowered figures.

Wangechi Mutu’s work boldly explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity, drawing the viewer into conversations about beauty, consumerism, colonialism, race, and gender. Her representation of the human forms are disturbing and transfixing, at once utterly complex and strikingly direct.

12

04 2010

On Point: What’s Hot in International Films and more

Spring is in the air  along with a slew of international film festivals. Check out EL-Play about an Afro-Colombian female soccer player film showing at El Museo del Barrio is part of the Havana Film Festival New York. TEZA, by filmmaker Haile Gerima is showing at Lincoln Center and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. TEZA is set in Germany and Ethiopia, and examines the displacement of African Intellectuals, both at home and abroad.

If you truly want to know more about the practice make sure to view, “The Buddha, A film by David Grubin which airs on PBS and is narrated by Richard Gere who tells the story of the complex and beautiful life of Prince Siddhartha of India, what we today call the Buddha.

Asia Society features a China Past, Present, Future on Film. This collection of films provides a glimpse into reemergence of work by independent filmmakers in China.
Gai Shanxi and Her Sisters a documentary by Ban Zhongyi, in Mandarin with english subtitles. Watch excerpts online.

03

04 2010

On Point: Shirin Neschat feature-film debuts

Shirin Neshat

Known for her hauntingly beautiful explorations of Islamic and gender relations, Iranian-born visual artist Shirin Neshat is perhaps the most famous contemporary artist to emerge from the country of Iran. Women Without Men is Shirin’s feature-film debut, this film was the winner of the Silver Lion for the best director at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. As a devotee of her work, she exquisitely frames women in a world where they are normally shielded from public view. For more on her work check out, Gladstone Gallery .

29

03 2010

On Point: Art Against the Empire

Art Against Empire, is a collection of over 100 political posters shown in the LACE galleries spanning 60 years of opposition to U.S. Intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations. The show is curated by Carol. A Wells features posters from the archives of the Center for Study of Political Graphics. Featuring works by Josh MacPhee, Corita Kent, Jay Belloli, Cedomic Kostivic, Stephen Kroniger and more.
Check out a video of Adolfo Mexiac talking, in Spanish, about his “Freedom of Expression” poster.


28

03 2010

On Point: 2010 is 4707 in the Chinese Calendar

The Year of Tiger which is also known by its
formal name of Geng Yin

Chinese New Year Film Series
MOCA
presents a series of Lunar New Year Films from Hong Kong and mainland China that celebrate the New Year. New Year Films originated in Hong Kong in the early 1980s with the success of Security Limited (1981) directed by Michael Hui. The movie became exemplary in the genre called “he sui pian,” or New Year celebration movies, which typically have two main features: the stories have something to do with the Chinese New Year and the films are crowd pleasers with comic entertainment.

Renowned Chinese actors and directors such as Maggie Cheung, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Stephen Chow, Chow Yun Fat, and Won Kar Wai have all participated in “he sui pian” in their early careers. With their slapstick quality and specificity to the New Year, these films are often overlooked by the mainstream. MOCA invites the community to revisit some of the iconic films of this genre.

08

02 2010