Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 7:30pm
no comedy — no tragedy
no encore — no applause
Curated by Bob Nickas
Ronnie Bass
Tamy Ben-Tor
Richard Hoeck and John Miller
Mark Leckey
Mike Leigh
Claude Lelouch
no tears — no heartbreak
no remorse
Tamy Ben-Tor, Women Talk About Adolf Hitler, video, 2004, 8 mins
Mike Leigh, A Sense of History, 35mm-to-video, 1992, 25 mins
Ronnie Bass, Soundtrack, video, 2007, 4 mins
Ronnie Bass and Tommy Hartung, Terry Avery, Debris, video, 2005, 5 mins
Mark Leckey, March of the Big White Barbarians, video, 2005, 5 mins
Richard Hoeck and John Miller, Something For Everyone, video, 2004, 29 mins
Claude Lelouch, C'etait un rendez-vous, 16mm, 1978, 11 mins
What do we expect to find at the juncture of comedy and tragedy? Do we come upon the realization that only one of them is actually real, while the other is purely invented? A fiction with a laugh track, which makes it a double fiction. There may be no such thing as a joke. Jokes were invented so that we can say what we want about something or someone — so that we can tell the truth — without being beaten to a pulp. Jokes were also invented for ridicule, so that we can feel superior to others. (laughter) But they also exist as a means to access, if only briefly, euphoria. The films and videos in this program are some of my favorites from recent years, situated at the juncture of comedy and tragedy. The encore — as is the case for most encores — is entirely gratuitous.
- BN
Followed by a conversation between Nickas, Bass, and Miller.
Tickets - $7, available at door.
no cellphones - no outside beverages - no smoking - no unattended children - no pets