The Memorial Art Gallery’s media arts commission series
continued last week with the premiere of Javier Téllez’s film installation,
“NOSFERATU (The Undead).” Using clips from F.W. Murnau’s
1922 silent German expressionist film “Nosferatu” as an anchor, Téllez’s
short film connects the history of cinema with themes of mental illness and
alienation. The installation remains on view throughout May (Mental Health
Awareness Month) and into June.
“NOSFERATU (The Undead)” is the first of three
exhibitions planned as part of “Reflections on Place,” a series of media art
commissions inspired by the City of Rochester, curated by moving image
authority John G. Hanhardt, and executed by renowned
filmmakers. During the preview party held on Saturday, April 21, visitors were
given timed tickets to see the short film in shifts. The work was projected
onto a wall in the Grand Gallery, which has been converted into a darkened
cinema space complete with rows of seats.
The child of
two psychiatrists, Téllez
was exposed to concepts of mental health at a young age, and has previously
made movies with patients from psychiatric institutions and other
disenfranchised people around the world. Born in Venezuela, Téllez
is now based in New York City.
In
preparation for this Rochester-based film, he conducted a series of workshops
on the subjects of vampirism and the representation of psychiatric institutions
in film. Téllez
worked in collaboration with people living with mental illness, and shot
“NOSFERATU (The Undead)” in black-and-white 16mm and color digital film on
location at the Eastman Kodak factory, the George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre,
and at the Main Street Armory.
In a
provided statement, Téllez
says that he and his collaborators wanted to “focus on those who are stigmatized
by being different and condemned to invisibility.”
In the film,
a small group of people silently act the part of fictional asylum patients and
staff as they take turns, through voiceover, relating experiences with mental
illness to the concept of the vampire. They coexist together in a room of neat
cots — the arched doorways and peeling paint of the Armory’s upper rooms serve
as an effective stand in for an old-timey institution. In other scenes, Téllez’s
camera steadily captures each of their gazes as they watch the 1922 film on the
Dryden’s screen. And one of the actors, who at times is made up to resemble the
vampire Count Orlok, haunts the Kodak factory,
emerges from a film canister as though it were a coffin, and is subjected to
shock treatment.
The subject
matter of the thoughtful work benefits from the film’s slow pacing and silence
(except for the voiceovers and dramatic piano accompaniment by Philip Carli). And
there’s a meta, film-within-a-film element involved — Téllez’s actor-collaborators
were involved in building their own scenes, but also view the parallel story on
screen at the theater.
Included
in programming associated with the exhibition, Téllez
curated a film series at the Dryden: “After Bedlam: The Mental Institution in
Film.” The final film in this series, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,”
screens Wednesday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. The MAG’s “Reflections on Place”
series continues later this year with film-based work by Dara Birnbaum and
Isaac Julien.
UPCOMING
Discussion: The next event in the “At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and Justice” series takes place Friday, April 27, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at Gallery 74 (215 Tremont Street). Held on South Africa’s Freedom Day, “Winnie: A Long Table Conversation and Installation” will examine the life and pay tribute to the recently deceased Winnie Madikizela Mandela, the mother of post-apartheid South Africa. The event will feature New York City playwright Sarita Covington reading her new play, “Things Went Horribly Wrong,” over Skype, and a following discussion. $15; register online at winnie.brownpapertickets.com.
Screening and talk: On the eve of National Superhero Day, the Rochester Association of Black Journalists will present a special screening of the film “Black Panther.” Following the screening a panel discussion on Afrofuturism will be moderated by Tara Eagan, president of the Black Student Union at the University of Rochester. Panel members include Jeffrey Allen Tucker, UR associate professor of English; Nita Brown, fashion designer and owner of MansaWear boutique, and a native of Ghana; and sci-fi and fantasy author Katrina Thompson. Friday, April 27, 7 p.m., at The Little Theatre (240 East Avenue). Attendees are encouraged to wear African attire. Tickets $6-$9. rabjournalists.org.
Art film: Artist and activist Ai Weiwei is known for tackling a variety of social and political themes in his work. Letting the medium serve the message, he shifts seamlessly from sculpture to installation, film, photography, and architecture. His relentless spotlight on corrupt power structures has earned him trouble — he was held as a political prisoner by Chinese officials in 2011. Ai’s new film, “Human Flow,” focuses on the global refugee crisis, and will be screened Sunday, April 29, at The Cinema Theater (957 South Clinton Avenue) at 1 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for students and seniors.
This article appears in Apr 25 – May 1, 2018.
This exhibition was as beautiful as Rebecca’s writing. The subject of Vampirism has always been fascinating to me. It as enjoyable as a cup of fine Chinese Tea. I enjoy the information that City newspaper supplied with regards to the arts. I enjoy attending the presentations very much. Thank you again.