Moving images
| 
Monica Bonvicini
Destroy She Said (detail) 1998
Courtesy the artist and Castello di Rivoli
Museo d'Arte Contempranea, Rivoli-Torino |
The relationship between art and film has always
been something of a love-hate affair. Artists have been attracted
by the versatility of film as a medium for conveying meaning;
while not necessarily embracing the more populist elements of
film culture. Similarly, some of the more remarkable filmmakers
have often striven for an “artistic” quality to their
work; without necessarily embracing the full discipline of the
visual artist.
But ultimately, art reflects society, and the culture
of the cinema has been so deeply ingrained in our society that
it’s only reasonable to expect art to embrace its influence.
I mean, who can hear Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra”
without thinking of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Opening this month at the Australian Centre for
Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Melbourne is Cinema Paradiso, an exhibition
that explores the intersection between cinema and art.
The exhibition brings together work from leading
contemporary artists to delve into the impact of cinema on our
lives. Among the works on show will be Japanese artist Hiroshi
Sugimoto’s luminous images of picture house interiors; Janet
Cardiff and George Bures Miller from Canada presenting a miniaturised
private cinema; and Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s rear windows.
Another Canadian in John Massey takes on the classic road movie,
while Italian artist Monica Bonvicini presents images of fractured
femme fatales.
Cinema Paradiso is intended to celebrate the magic
of celluloid – how artists have represented film in their
work and, on the flip side, the myriad ways they themselves have
been portrayed on film.
A highlight promises to be the inclusion of Andy
Warhol’s 1964 film Empire, an epic homage to New York’s
Empire State Building; as well as seven of Cindy Sherman’s
legendary Untitled Film Stills, featuring the artist in a number
of classic cinematic portraits.
“Art has inspired cinema and cinema has inspired
art,” said ACCA Artistic Director Juliana Engberg. “Since
Warhol established a kind of minimal cinematic gaze, artists have
recognized the frisson between these two compatible mediums while
they have also been aware of the potential deconstructions that
can be created by cross pollinating the unique artistic paradigms
operating in art and film.”
“In Cinema Paradiso we see fractured narratives
made into action art; minimal visions made into epic stories;
the screen as zen canvas and the femme fatale made fantastic and
hysterical ... and more. This is above all a celluloid segue of
visual delights,” she said.
The exhibition also features works by Edward Ruscha
(U.S.), João Penalva (Portugal), Callum Morton (Australia)
and Nicolas Jasmin (France).
David Edwards
