Giving toDepth of Field 2011-2012 Series: Art and Culture in Transit(ion)
As the process of globalization marches into the 21st century with ever-increasing speed, different cultures and populations continue to come into contact and occasional conflict in unimaginable and unexpected ways, often producing novel forms of artistic output in the process. The 2011-2012 Depth of Field series, “Art and Culture in Transit(ion),” explores the connective threads that simultaneously unite and transform past and present, urban and rural, and high and low culture throughout our interconnected world. Drawing on the Humanities’ foundation in the human experience, the fall semester presented three films that look at inter- and intra-national migration by groups of people seeking prosperity in the fraught landscape of the global economy. In the spring semester, the series turns its attention to the migration of the arts into, out of and beyond their traditional confines with three films that follow the struggle of artists working at the boundaries of literature and painting.
Spring 2012 Program
Louder than a Bomb (2010)
Directed by Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel
Monday, February 13, 2012
7 p.m. | Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall
The oldest of literary forms gets an energetic update in Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel’s inspiring depiction of Chicago’s annual high school poetry contest. Louder Than a Bomb brings the familiar competition format to the world of slam poetry, achieving a blend of suspense and artistic expression in the process. Following four teams from across the city as they struggle to adapt their unique experiences and individual voices to this highly stylized mode of expression, the film also stops to explore the backgrounds of several of the contestants and offers a glimpse of the lives that are eventually woven into their verse. The soundtrack is a blend of hip-hop, jazz, and indie rock that works in sync with the teen’s performances.
Waste Land (2010)
Directed by Lucy Walker
Monday, March 12, 2012
7 p.m. | Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall
The space that separates the title of this film from simply “wasteland” seems trivial, but the distinction it points to is nothing short of essential. The world the film explores is indeed a land of waste, but it is also a world of vibrant optimism, endless creativity, and touching generosity on the part of the people who occupy it. Director Lucy Walker follows artist Vik Muniz as he visits the world’s largest garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro, discovering the human treasure it contains in the remarkable population that works recycling and reusing the salvageable materials they find. In spite of the unimaginable conditions, the film’s subjects bring an enthusiasm to their lives that most people would find enviable. As Muniz constructs one of his famous portraits alongside the dump’s inhabitants, the film leaves us wondering who the true artists are.
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
Directed by Banksy
Monday, April 16, 2012
7 p.m. | Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall
The attempts by the art establishment to draw the elusive but undeniably talented artist Banksy into its exclusive confines have predictably caused a reassessment of definitions and genres. It’s only fitting, then, that a documentary about the artist would generate similar confusion. Exit Through the Gift Shop focuses on Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant and aspiring filmmaker in Los Angeles who eventually infiltrates the underground street art community and befriends Banksy. As Guetta documents Banksy’s exploits, he slowly establishes an artistic profile of his own as “Mr. Brainwash,” leaving the audience to wonder who is subject and who is filmmaker. Although unable to decide if it should be labeled a documentary or “prankumentary,” critics and audiences universally praise the film for its engaging portrait of both men and their art.
Depth of Field Series