Moving Image presents a conversation with Bruce Beresford and preview screening of Mao's Last Dancer (Aug 3)

Tuesday, August 3, 7:00 p.m.

At Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, Manhattan

Bruce Beresford, the Academy Award-nominated director of Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy, and Crimes of the Heart, will discuss his remarkable career as a director and screenwriter, in a conversation accompanied by clips from his finest films. This special evening will be presented by Museum of the Moving Image on Tuesday, August 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Scandinavia House. The conversation, moderated by Chief Curator David Schwartz, will be followed by a preview screening of Beresford's acclaimed new film Mao's Last Dancer (opening August 20).

Beresford, one of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers, was a key member of the Australian film renaissance in the 1970s and 1980s. He was first nominated for an Oscar in 1980 for the script of Breaker Morant, then again in 1984 for directing Tender Mercies (which won Robert Duvall the Oscar for Best Actor); Driving Miss Daisy, which he directed, won the Best Picture Oscar in 1989. His new film, Mao’s Last Dancer, is based on the remarkable true story of Chinese-born ballet dancer Li Cunxin, a poverty-stricken boy who rises to international stardom as a world-class dancer. The film stars Chi Cao, a gifted dancer and principal at the Birmingham Royal Ballet making his impressive screen debut as Li. The cast also includes Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen and Amanda Schull.

Mao’s Last Dancer (2009, 117 mins.) is being released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn Films and ATO Pictures on August 20. To view a trailer, visit http://www.maoslastdancer-movie.com.

“A Conversation with Academy Award Nominee Bruce Beresford and Preview Screening of Mao’s Last Dancer” will take place at Scandinavia House, located at 58 Park Avenue (between 38 and 29 Streets), Manhattan. Tickets are $18 public / $12 Museum members / Free for sponsor-level members and above. Call 718.777.6800 or order online at http://movingimage.us.

About Museum of the Moving Image
Founded in 1981, Museum of the Moving Image is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology, and social impact of film, television, and digital media. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artifacts and screens hundreds of films annually. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition, Behind the Screen—are noted for their integration of material objects, computer-based interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations. A major expansion and renovation of the Museum’s facility is currently underway; the grand re-opening will be January 15, 2011. Designed by architect Thomas Leeser, the project will double the size of the Museum and includes a new 264-seat theater, a 68-seat screening room, new galleries for the exhibition of digital art, and a multi-classroom education center. For more information, visit movingimage.us

The Silas Marder Gallery & Hamptons International Film Festival + more on Saturday 7.31.10

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Tracie Hotchner — Your Dog's Best Friend

click on image to link to Peconic Public Broadcasting
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Tune if for Authors on Animals which airs
Mondays 7PM ET on
WLIU 88.3FM Peconic Public Broadcasting.
Listen live as Tracie interviews authors of nonfiction
& fiction books dealing with animals, or grab the
weekly podcast for listening on your own schedule.

The Silas Marder Gallery presents its Fifth Annual “Big Show”: 54 Artists, 162 Canvases

Bridgehampton, NY—THE FIFTH ANNUAL BIG SHOW EXHIBITION opens at The Silas Marder Gallery on Saturday, August 7, 2010. A reception will be held at the gallery on the same day from 5-9 PM.
The Big Show has become a favorite event for the local community,
generally attracting between 300-500 people. Each year, gallery owner Silas Marder invites over fifty national and international artists to participate, aiming for an eclectic mix of emerging and established talent. Participating artists are given three 8'' x 10” blank canvases, and are offered little direction other than being asked to “reflect on where they are in their careers.”

According to Marder, the event was fashioned after years of attending group openings at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, and coming to understand the importance of a gathering place to the local community. “I wanted to take that energy, raise the bar of the artwork, and exhibit it all in a visually organized way. The biggest challenge to a large-scale group show is in making it cohesive.”

The energetic charge to the show can be attributed to the fact that the work is new work produced virtually simultaneously by artists from different backgrounds, each effected by world events, career demands, and the particular guidelines for this exhibition. Because of all that these canvases share, their differences are more subtle than obvious. Despite sometimes extremely varied content, the works relate. “From painting to painting there’s a dialogue of texture and form,” Marder states. “Even the ones that don’t relate to each other play a part in the overall presentation. Once the installation is completed, the pieces seem to talk to each other. It’s like a lively dinner party where the guests might have conflicting opinions, but they are all expressing themselves very politely at exactly the same volume.”

Another intention of the show is to make connections, not only between artists, but also between communities. “One artist in the show might be from Bridgehampton, but the next artist might be from Italy or Portugal. The visiting artist might not ever have been on Long Island before, so their canvas becomes a sort of ambassador. And even though some artists are not “local,” the local artists—and the local community—are positively affected by their participation and presence.”

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I grapple with this constantly—the concept of local,” Marder says. “Local is important, but locals need exposure. No one should remain sheltered or underexposed. Exposure comes in different forms: sometimes you go elsewhere; sometimes you invite others to you. The Big Show helps me think about here—what it means to live here, be here, choose to remain here. My job is to connect that “here” with a larger arts community. It’s like drawing concentric circles.”

Because of its diversity, the Big Show attracts collectors and dealers from the East End, Manhattan, and regions beyond. Established collectors are encouraged to try new artists and new collectors are offered an array of original works at accessible prices. “Some people buy all three pieces from a single artist, some buy single pieces on impulse to give different rooms of their house a different character. I have one couple that comes in every year just for portraits to add to their portrait collection. My friends in Sag Harbor have Big Show pieces hanging in quirky little niches in their house. This canvas size is actually a very cool scale for Sag Harbor houses.”

This year’s exhibition will feature works by Mary Heilmann, Robert Olsen, Judith Linhares, Elisa Rossi, as well as William King, Connie Fox, Pamela Collin Focarnio, Erica-Lynn Huberty, Mica I. Marder, Terry Elkins, Jennifer Cross, Cory Barber, Susan Zises and Oliver Peterson. The show will run through September 6, 2010. For more information, contact the gallery at 631/702-2306 or info@silasmarder.com.

“It’s exactly the kind of show I’d want to go to,” Marder says. “These are original pieces, they are contemporary pieces, they are diverse in terms of style, and I could actually afford something. The Big Show is in no way a survey of the art world, but it’s definitely a mark.”

Photo credit: Gary Mamay
Top Photo: Installation view of the Silas Marder Gallery
2nd Photo: The Tight Shoe, Liz Gribin; Acrylic on canvas, 2010, 8 x 10 inches
3rd Photo: mile Beautiful, Joshua Petker; Acrylic on canvas, 2010, 8 x 10 inches

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See listings for Marders' Friday Night Free Film series on the Haywall –below.

At the Movies — Indie Style!

What a great idea...I love it!

Hamptons Drive-In

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The great outdoors continued...

Silas Marder Gallery link to films, exhibitions & lectures

what fun!

Bridgehampton, NY

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