“I was not looking for my dreams to interpret my life, but rather for my life to interpret my dreams.” (susan sontag)

Last night I was invited to the premiere screening in Los Angeles of Our City Dreams

an incredible documentary on five female artists who have chosen to create artwork in NYC.  Below is a summary:

Chiara Clemente, daughter of painter Francesco Clemente, follows five New York-based female artists for her documentary Our City Dreams. Swoon, Nancy Spero, Kiki Smith, Ghada Amer, and Maria Abramovich (all heavy hitters in the art world) were filmed over the course of two years as they lived and worked in New York City. Highlights of the film include:

Swoon’s first solo exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York, Ghada Amer’s return to her Egyptian homeland, Kiki Smith’s traveling retrospective, Marina Abramovic’s weeklong series of performances at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and Nancy Spero’s preparations of a new piece for the 2007 Venice Biennale.

  My friend Tanya Selvaratnam produced the film.  This is a must see for artists who want to be inspired ( much like the film the Beautiful Losers).  I wanted to skip the after party and rush home and clear a space to create things.  The audience was filled with creative women artists, designers and performers.

Something sweetly nostalgic from my college painting years came flooding back while watching.  That feminist instinct that permeated all of my school projects in the 90's awakened.  Many of the women in the film have inspired my work, some of their books still on my shelves.

One of the artists featured in the film, Kiki Smith was a huge influence in my college work.  I was fascinated by her mastery of so many mediums.  Her wax body figures, sculptures, etched drawings and installations appear like stolen precious artifacts from a magical period of time.  Watching her in this new film riding her bike in the city with her long wavy grey hair made me envious.  I thought, "I hope to live like that someday".  Stopping along the way to remove some lovely drawer handles for future projects.  

below some of Kiki's work

The film reminded me of that documentary film on artist Alice Neal.  You may recall I posted the trailer to that film because it touched me.  The notion that as a women artist you are faced with the challenge of raising a family or creating art.  That theme is presented a few times in Our City Dreams as well.  Young artist Swoon is shown working away in her studio.  Sawdust flying around, hanging her silkscreened pieces floating from threads.  The energy is contagious.  Her desire to create til the sun comes up.  Swoon is later quoted as saying she's  “too consumed by art to start a family”—

above is Swoon's collaboration raft project

“I did art because I didn’t want to die,” says the restless painter Ghada Amer

Ghada Amer embroidered large canvas panels

You can check out her show from the Deitch gallery here!

Marina Abramovic  is the only performance artist in the film.  She has been called the Grandmother of the art form.  

Nancy Spero also featured in this film is the oldest of the women artists.  Her dedication and passionate love affair with her art and her husband (deceased artist Leon Golub)

YOU SHOULD go and see this film!! Check for listings

it's only playing til the 14th I think...

Laemmle's Music Hall 3
Beverly Hills, CA, 90211
(310) 274-6869
(12:20 PM), 2:40 PM, 5:00 PM, 7:20 PM, 9:40 PM

and check out more about the director here

Comments

[ex libris]

I don't know if you've heard of that PBS series Art: 21 but its focused on artists in the 21st century and covers every facet of art (photog, painting, performance, sculpture) in the series ( I think theres a season 1 and 2...) In each episode they have a theme like 'place' and then show interviews and work by artists who's art is focused on that theme. Kiki Smith was on the episode themed "stories" : http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/smith/index.html

If you check out the series, also look for the one on Sally Mann. I always thought her photography was so magical, but I really got into her photos after seeing the backstory about them, her process. She's really intense, and it was interesting hearing how her (now grown) kids talk about her as an artist-collaberator-mom-not mom role: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/mann/index.html

[themoldydoily]

I did see that Sally Mann one! I loved her photographs so much when I was a student, bought her book and then later saw that. I loved when she talked about how later in life her son decided he didn't want to be photographed in them. I had a lot of rad photography T.A. friends in college who always showed me cool shutterbugs. My fav back then was Francesca woodman. xo Thanks for the comment...I'm gonna check out the kiki one!

[ex libris]

Thanks for the Francesca Woodman tip, Kime! ...Where has she been all my life?? Its exactly what I need.

[themoldydoily]

YAY, so glad you love her too, I was obsessed in the mid 90's with her so much that I did two school papers on her. I found out later that my art prof went to RISD with her and his wife was her art school chum. It breaks my heart she ended her life so young. Such a prodigy.
xo