MUSE Film and Television

THE NEW FIRE

Award winning filmmaker Dave Schumacher's new film The New Fire is an independent documentary about next-generation nuclear technology and the role it could play in fighting climate change. It’s a grassroots effort that’s been funded entirely through the generosity of visionary individuals and family foundations.

On Kickstarter now!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142897175/the-new-fire

THE NEW FIRE Could the next climate heroes be nuclear engineers? The New Fire explores the potential for advanced reactors to help save the planet.

Re-posting..there was a glitch. MUSE founder Karl Katz has written his memoir THE EXHIBITIONIST: Living Museums, Loving Museums. Recently released, the book is both a field guide on how to appreciate museums - and the art within - and a witty, erudite, and entertaining book! It can be found on Amazon, at the Strand, Rizzoli's and other favorite bookstores. The perfect holiday gift!

MUSE founder Karl Katz has written his memoir THE EXHIBITIONIST: Living Museums, Loving Museums. Recently released, the book is both a field guide on how to appreciate museums - and the art within - and a witty, erudite, and entertaining book! It can be found on Amazon, at the Strand, Rizzoli's and other favorite bookstores. The perfect holiday gift!

Ai Weiwei Films in Israel and Gaza - artnet News

https://news.artnet.com/people/ai-weiwei-denied-entry-to-gaza-493307 #

Ai Weiwei Films in Israel and Gaza - artnet News Ai Weiwei is visiting Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza in order to conduct interview for his upcoming film on the refugee crisis in the Middle East.

2016 FIFA - Festival of Films on Art

Don't miss this month's Festival of Films on Art at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts. Films are free and run February 2 through March 1. See attached schedule.

http://www.musefilm.org/events/2015/12/9/2016-fifa-festival-of-films-on-art

2016 FIFA - Festival of Films on Art MUSE's 10th Annual Presentation of the FIFA Festival of Films on Art.

Immigration Battle – FRONTLINE

The amazing Camerini-Robertson filmmaking team has done it again! Their newest film IMMIGRATION BATTLE will air on PBS's Frontline/Independent Lens tomorrow night (Tuesday October 20th) at 9pm.

In this two-hour special, acclaimed independent filmmakers Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini take viewers behind closed doors in Washington's corridors of power to explore the political realities surrounding one of the country's most pressing and divisive issues. The film is a personal, profane, rollicking saga that is very current - with Congressmen Mick Mulvaney, Paul Ryan and Luis Gutierrez in starring roles.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/immigration-battle/

Immigration Battle – FRONTLINE Why has it been so hard for Washington to fix the country’s broken immigration system?

Roy Lichtenstein - September 10 - October 17, 2015 - Images - Gagosian Gallery

Only three days left to see Roy Lichtenstein’s "Greene Street Mural" - don't miss this show!

In December 1983, Roy Lichtenstein created Greene Street Mural, an unprecedented, site-specific, and temporary wall painting measuring 18' × 96-1/2' at the Castelli Gallery at 142 Greene Street. In accordance with Lichtenstein's intention, the work was destroyed after the six-week show. More than thirty years later, Gagosian presents to a new generation of viewers a full-scale painted replica of the original work, based on documentation from Lichtenstein's studio and produced under the supervision of his former studio assistant. In keeping with the momentous spirit of the original project, the replica will be destroyed at the close of the exhibition.

On view through Oct 17 at Gagosian Gallery, West 24th Street.
http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/roy-lichtenstein--september-10-2015/exhibition-images

Roy Lichtenstein - September 10 - October 17, 2015 - Images - Gagosian Gallery

Edward Thorp Gallery | NY

Don't miss this extraordinary show of pre-World War II Japanese Propaganda Kimonos. And be sure to read the story about each kimona (included with the gallery price lists). The exhibition is on view at the Edward Thorp Gallery in Chelsea and has been extended to Oct 24.

http://edwardthorpgallery.com/

Edward Thorp Gallery | NY

Ai Weiwei to Publish a Memoir in 2017

Ai Weiwei just signed a book deal to write his first memoir! Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, will publish the book in the US in spring 2017 with simultaneous release in the UK and Canada by sister companies.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/ai-weiwei-to-publish-a-memoir-in-2017/?emc=edit_tnt_20151014&nlid=16657911&tntemail0=y

Ai Weiwei to Publish a Memoir in 2017 The book will cover the artist’s life as well as China’s cultural history.

Who Gets to Call It Art?

"Frank Stella: A Retrospective" opens at the Whitney Museum of American Art! This is the most comprehensive survey of Stella's work to date and includes paintings, reliefs, maquettes, sculptures, and drawings. http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/FrankStella

Watch exclusive interviews with Frank Stella in the MUSE film "Who Gets to Call it Art?" The film takes the viewer on a wild ride through New York's 1960's art world, seen through the eyes of Henry Geldzahler, the first “contemporary art” curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For the DVD: http://www.musefilm.org/who-gets-to-call-it-art

Who Gets to Call It Art? This film is a romp through the art scene of the ’60s when acclaimed artists such as James Rosenquist and Frank Stella were puttering around downtown Manhattan, scraping together loose change for canvas, paint and beer. Centered on the life of Henry Geldzahler, the adventurous Metropolitan Museum cu…

Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress

Don't miss Chuck Close’s recent work "Red Yellow Blue" at Pace Gallery. Using the grid, these full-color paintings are made of only cyan, magenta, and yellow pigments, layering the colors in singular brushstrokes. http://www.pacegallery.com/newyork/exhibitions/12759/chuck-close-recent-work

For more on Chuck Close, check out the DVD Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress. http://www.musefilm.org/store/chuck-close-portrait-in-progress

Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress Since 1969, when Chuck Close first exhibited his series of black-and-white portrait heads, his paintings have fascinated the public. Working mostly from instant photographs, Close paints in a style that vacillates between representation and abstraction. His colossal heads, at first severe and confro…

Make an Ai Weiwei sock puppet

Make an Ai Weiwei sock puppet!

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/do-something-blog/2015/sep/25/make-an-ai-weiwei-sock-puppet

Make an Ai Weiwei sock puppet The artist’s handmade ‘caonimas’ or grass mud horses are a symbol of defiance against censorship in China – show solidarity by sewing your own

Opening today! Singapore: Inside Out at Madison Square Park. Runs through Sunday.
Originating in Beijing and traveling to London, Singapore: Inside Out is making its third stop in NYC.
This international creative showcase features a collection of multi-sensorial experiences designed by the country’s creative talents.
We are invited to step into this interactive experiential space that brings together a spectrum of disciplines, including architecture, design, fashion, film, food, music and the literary, performing and visual arts.
https://singaporeinsideout.com

Picasso Sculpture at MoMA (Sept 14, 2015 - Feb 7, 2016).

Picasso Sculpture offers a broad survey of the artist’s sculpture from 1902-1964. The show focuses on the artist’s lifelong work with sculpture, with a particular focus on his use of materials and processes. The exhibition, which features more than 100 sculptures, is organized in chronological chapters, starting with "Early Works and the First Cubist Sculptures, 1902-1909" and concluding with "Sheet Metal Sculptures, 1954-1964."
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1559

To learn more about Picasso, watch The Unity of Picasso's Art, a DVD comprised of two lectures given by Professor Meyer Schapiro, the distinguished Columbia University Professor of Art History. The lectures have been converted into a video format in order to preserve the lectures and to share Professor Schapiro's unique insights into Picasso and his art. The program contains 75 paintings, drawings and sculptures by Picasso, along with photographs of the artist in his studio.
The DVD can be found on MUSE's website
http://www.musefilm.org/store/unity-picasso-art

Beatus: the Spanish Apocalypse

MUSE's recently completed film Beatus: The Spanish Apocalypse explores the art, history and cultural ramifications of one of Spain’s greatest national treasures, the illuminated and illustrated medieval manuscripts based on the 8th century apocalyptic commentary by the monk, Saint Beatus of Liébana. Professor John Williams, who devoted over three decades to the study of the Beatus manuscripts, acts as the documentary’s guide and historian. Filmed on location in Spain, the documentary journeys through the towns, villages, routes, churches and monasteries behind the making of the 27 currently surviving manuscripts.
The DVD is available for purchase on MUSE's website https://musefilm.squarespace.com/store/beatus-the-spanish-apocalypse

Beatus: the Spanish Apocalypse BEATUS - THE SPANISH APOCALYPSE depicts in startling imagery the cosmic battle between the heavenly angels and the demons of hell, as foretold in the Book of Revelation. John Williams, the author of the five volume Illustrated Beatus, takes us on a journey back in time through Spain to link these su…

Ai Weiwei, Chinese Artist and Provocateur, Is Given Back His Passport

Ai Weiwei's passport returned today! Unable to leave China since 2011, Ai Weiwei will soon travel to Germany to see his son.
http://nyti.ms/1MHU7OM

Ai Weiwei, Chinese Artist and Provocateur, Is Given Back His Passport Alternately lauded or judged an irritant by Beijing, Mr. Ai had been barred from travel since 2011, when he was detained on suspicion of tax evasion.

Interviews

Now live on our website is a short video of MUSE's Executive Director Karl Katz talking about illustrated and illuminated manuscripts and how filmmakers have overlooked them as a subject.

http://www.musefilm.org/interviews/

Interviews MUSE Film and Television is a non-profit executive production company that uses film and digital media to create quality films on visual art and culture.

Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei come together in Melbourne – with cats

The National Gallery of Victory in Melbourne, Australia brings together Andy Warhol, epitome of 20th Century Pop Art, with Ai Weiwei, artist of Instagram generation and activism of the 21st in an exhibition of more than 300 works.

This exhibition will also show at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh in June 2016.

http://bit.ly/1NzyTDq

Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei come together in Melbourne – with cats National Gallery of Victoria will bring together 300 works by the poster boys of the American and Chinese centuries, plus a kids’ show about cats

Interviews

Now live on our website is a short and sweet video of MUSE's Executive Director Karl Katz talking about our award-winning 2008 documentary Herb and Dorothy and building an art collection of your own.

"Go find works of art that you love and don't cost a lot of money, and collect it. And love it! And be part of what the world of creativity is all about."

Image: "Herb and Dorothy" director Megumi Sasaki with the eponymous couple, Herb and Dorothy, at the 2008 MUSE Gala.

http://www.musefilm.org/interviews/

Interviews MUSE Film and Television is a non-profit executive production company that uses film and digital media to create quality films on visual art and culture.

[Exclusive] Ai Weiwei says Twitter is Art | The Creators Project

https://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/ai-weiwei-says-twitter-is-art

The Creators Project interviewed Ai Weiwei on his newest project "An Archive," a special commission that is part of the current exhibition Go East: The Gene and Brian Sherman Contemporary Asian Art Collection, at Sydney’s Art Gallery of NSW.

For "An Archive," Ai Weiwei turned eight years of tweets and blog posts (all in Chinese) into a 9,000 page artwork.

From the interview: "My focus is always on freedom of expression. It is an essential quality of a free and civilised society. So while my focus has not changed, the form it manifests in can change." - Ai Weiwei

[Exclusive] Ai Weiwei says Twitter is Art | The Creators Project The Chinese artist has turned eight years of tweets and blog posts into a beautiful 9000-page artwork.

Five Artists, Five Book Reviews

Five Artists, 5 Book Reviews

This week's The New York Times Sunday Book Review debuts its first eve art-themed issue with five groundbreaking contemporary artists creating art and image-based literary criticism, paying homage to inspiration they have found in fiction, philosophy and poetry.

Wangechi Mutu, Wangechi Mutu Studio, reviews "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/25/books/review/five-artists-five-book-reviews.html?_r=0

Five Artists, Five Book Reviews Must a book review take the form of prose — or can it be pure image? For this first art-themed issue of the Book Review, five pathbreaking contemporary artists create visual works of literary criticism, paying homage to the inspiration they’ve found in fiction, philosophy and poetry.

Mariko Mori on Botticelli's The Annunciation | The Artist Project Season 1 | The Metropolitan...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2nd season of The Artist Project "What artists see when they look at The Met" is now online for binging! All are roughly 3 minutes long.

http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/2/

We recommend you check out Mariko Mori on Boticelli's "The Anunciation."

http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/2/mariko-mori/

Mariko Mori on Botticelli's The Annunciation | The Artist Project Season 1 | The Metropolitan... 'When someone bows to you, that reminds you of your highness, the high quality of your being.'

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei to have major London show

Ai Weiwei's first major retrospective in Britain will be launched in September at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The exhibition will include selections that reflect his practice from recent years, as well as new works created specifically for the show.

A new artwork, "Remains," is a porcelain work that replicates a group of bones excavated at a 1950s Labor Camp under Communist Leader Mao Zedong.

http://www.todayszaman.com/arts-culture_chinese-dissident-artist-ai-weiwei-to-have-major-london-show_390410.html

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei to have major London show The Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei will have what is being billed as the biggest »»

The Larger-Than-Life Highlights of Art Basel's Unlimited Sector

Highlights of : Ai Weiwei's "Stacked," "an incomprehensible tower of bicycles, all the spokes and wheels linked up in metal towers."

See more photos and highlights of Art Basel 2015: http://nyti.ms/1dOmOxB

The Larger-Than-Life Highlights of Art Basel's Unlimited Sector Ryan McGinley, Leigh Ledare and Ai Weiwei contributed standout works to the fair’s scaled-up segment.

The Artist Project | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

We're excited for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2015 season of The Artist Project, coming June 22!

http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/

"See what artists see when they look at The Met."

Season 1 is available here: http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/

The Artist Project | The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Artist Project is an online series in which The Metropolitan Museum of Art gives artists an opportunity to respond to its encyclopedic collection.

BAMcinemaFest 2015

June 17-28 BAMcinématek presents the BAMcinemaFest 2015, a showcase of 35 daring and innovative independent films as they make their New York premieres.

On closing night, June 28, is the NY premiere of Tangerine, shot entirely on iPhone in Los Angeles.

The 6:30pm screening will feature a Q&A with director Sean Baker, co-writer Chris Bergoch, and actors Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karen Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, and James Ransone.


http://www.bam.org/programs/2015/bamcinemafest

BAMcinemaFest 2015 “The city’s best independent film showcase” (The New Yorker) returns for its seventh year.

Famous Dissidents Ai Weiwei and Jacob Applebaum Stuff Panda Bears With N.S.A. Documents - artnet...

https://news.artnet.com/in-brief/famous-dissidents-ai-weiwei-jacob-applebaum-stuff-panda-bears-n-s-documents-306300

Artnet News write-up on Ai Weiwei and Jacob Appelbaum's artistic collaboration: 20 plush panda bears stuffed with shredded sensitive documents and sewed in microchips.

The 9-minute documentary by Laura Poitras can also be seen through a link on this article to the New York Times.

Famous Dissidents Ai Weiwei and Jacob Applebaum Stuff Panda Bears With N.S.A. Documents - artnet... Filmmaker Laura Poitras captures Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei and technologist Jacob Applebaum working on their new art project.

Artist Wangechi Mutu Celebrates 'Africa’s Out!' Campaign, with a Little Help from Solange

Artist Wangechi Mutu Celebrates 'Africa’s Out!' Campaign, with a Little Help from Solange Artist and activist Wangechi Mutu is rallying the art world in an effort to change our perceptions of Africa.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2015 | Trailer

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival is coming to NYC June 11 - June 21, 2015! Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry made its premier in 2012 at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival!

Human Rights Watch Film Festival Trailer: https://youtu.be/J3vBhFZwzN8

Venues include IFC Center (See schedule here: http://www.ifccenter.com/series/human-rights-watch-film-festival-2015/) and Film Society of Lincoln Center (Schedule: http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/human-rights-watch-film-festival-2015)

Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2015 | Trailer June 12 - 20: http://filmlinc.com/HRWFF The Human Rights Watch Film Festival brings human rights issues to life through storytelling in a way that challenges...

Ai Weiwei Trades Politics for Subtlety in First Solo Exhibition in China

"Barred since 2011 from traveling outside his home country, the artist Ai Weiwei has become a master of what might be called “remote exhibition-making” — using 3-D computer models, Skype, and a team of curators and assistants to create large-scale installations around the world from his studio in Beijing. But no virtual simulation was needed for the artist’s newest exhibition, which opened last weekend at the Galleria Continua and at the Tang Contemporary Art Center in the trendy 798 Art District of Beijing."

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/sinosphere/2015/06/08/ai-weiwei-solo-exhibition-china-beijing/?emc=edit_tnt_20150608&nlid=16657911&tntemail0=y&_r=0&referrer=

Ai Weiwei Trades Politics for Subtlety in First Solo Exhibition in China Tourists, fans, and family and friends of the artist flocked to the opening the exhibition to see the show and, more important for many, to catch a glimpse of Mr. Ai.

Flashback to MUSE's Executive Director Karl Katz with abstract painter Larry Poons in 1998!

For more flashbacks, watch a quick video interview with Karl in his office about founding MUSE Film and Television in 1992.

http://www.musefilm.org/interviews/

MoMA | A Road Three Hundred Years Long: Cinema and the Great Migration

Earlier this week we wrote about MoMA The Museum of Modern Art's Jacob Lawrence exhibition One Way Ticket: Migration Series. Blog post: http://www.musefilm.org/blog/2015/6/1/one-way-ticket-jacob-lawrences-migration-series-and-other-works

We also highly recommend you check out MoMA's Film Department companion series: A Road Three Hundred Years Long: Cinema and the Great Migration (until June 12), which presents a selection of fiction films by African American independent directors and nonfiction films from 1920s-1940s, including newsreels, ethnographic films, home movies, and New Deal social documentaries.

View the film schedule with their descriptions here: https://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1580

MoMA | A Road Three Hundred Years Long: Cinema and the Great Migration MoMA | A Road Three Hundred Years Long: Cinema and the Great Migration

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Friday, June 5 to Saturday, June 6, Wangechi Mutu launches Africa's Out! Initiative, a platform to initiate, create, and make happen the radical ideas that change the way we engage with Africa and the way Africans reach out to empower one another.

The Wangechi Mutu Studio is hosting the Africa's Out inaugural celebration with a performance by Solange Knowles and DJ Venus X. There will be a benefit auction with work from artists Julie Mehretu, Cindy Sherman, Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu, and more!

"This celebration is sure to drum up an exciting level of noise, love, awareness and funds for UHAI EASHRI so that the work they do for LGBTI East Africans can be continually enhanced in the lives and the minds of a wider population!"

More info here: http://africasout.com/

(no title) Equal Rights for African LGBTQI

Our blog post on MoMA The Museum of Modern Art's One-Way Ticket: Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence is now online!

Learn about Lawrence's prodigious talent and vision for his Migration Series, the rich art and culture of Harlem's Second Renaissance, and how the Great Migration transformed the country's social landscape.

BLOG: http://bit.ly/1M18TiZ

Amnesty Ambassador of Conscience Award: Joan Baez and Ai Weiwei show power of words in a silent...

Congratulations again to Ai Weiwei and Joan Baez, winners of the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, who were celebrated yesterday at a ceremony in Berlin.

http://yhoo.it/1PAVxjr

Amnesty Ambassador of Conscience Award: Joan Baez and Ai Weiwei show power of words in a silent... In that context – if or when change comes to Hong Kong -- it will be interesting to see how Margaret Thatcher's former private secretary, Charles Powell, will gloss his categoric and faintly contemptuous statement last year that protesters in Hong Kong were "unrealistic". There was, he conceded, "a…