Cat’s Cradle
Stan Brakhage, USA, 1959, 6 min, Silent
Sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a ‘medium’ cat – Stan Brakhage
Curator of medieval art Melanie Holcomb and curator of drawings and prints George Goldner discuss the Museum’s responsibilities when showing religious art …
‘It is our job to present works of art with fidelity to the purpose and historical context and aesthetic context in which they were made.’
Watch & listen here.
The Heart of the World
Guy Maddin, Canada, 2000, 6 min
Two brothers, mortician Nikolai and actor Osip (playing Christ in a Passion play), love the same woman—scientist Anna, who studies the Earth’s core, or the « heart of the world. » Anna discovers that the world is in danger. In order to save it, she must choose between the brothers, and finally decides on a rich industrialist, Akmatov. As a result, the very heart of the world has a heart attack. Realizing what she has done, she strangles Akmatov and enters the Earth’s core, replacing the failed heart with her own. The world is then saved by the new message, Kino.
‘The projected images within these photographs are images found on the internet of people who have died; some are news photos, some are Facebook photos, and some are from other sources. These images were downloaded and projected into a space that was either important to that person in life or was the site of their death. The images are then reintroduced to the internet in their newly contextualized form. I do not have a personal relationship with any of the subjects’ …
… ‘These images were a copy of a copy but by reintegrating them into the physical world and treating them as spiritual fragments I hope to instill them with new life. Western culture, unlike many other cultures, resists the idea of ghostly presence. The work suggests that if we cannot as a culture see these symbols, perhaps we must create them in order to tap into their emotive power. I am also fascinated by the digital thumbprints that are left behind and exporting this data into the real world for a fleeting moment.’
Torin Stephens, photographer and painter living in Portland, OR.
torinstephens.tumblr.com
Possessed ‘The Exorcist’ de l’album Seven Churches (1985)
‘Possessed performs ‘The Exorcist’ in Baltimore, 1987.’
