Screening, Talk

Dara Friedman will present her movie, Musical, a 48-minute orchestration of 60 singing performances, commissioned by Public Art Fund, that took place on the streets of Midtown Manhattan for three weeks last fall. The composition uses a split screen and wide format allowing the singers to harmonize with themselves, sing unintentional duets, or even create dissonance. By producing a musical mis en scène in our cityscape a curious inversion happens by which the choreographed elements transform the happenstance of the street into a crafted stage. Dara Friedman is best known for her film and video installations in which she uses the techniques of structuralist filmmaking to depict the lushness, ecstasy, and energy of everyday life. She often distills, syncopates, reverses, loops or otherwise alters familiar sounds and sights, drawing attention to the distinct sensory acts of hearing and seeing. Whether her work portrays a series of narrative fragments or a single evocative scene repeated over and over, Friedman heightens the emotional impact by cutting directly to the film’s climax in order to, as she puts it, “get to the part you really care about.” You can learn more about Dara Friedman on her official website.

The Public Art Fund Talks is an ongoing series of discussions and presentations by some of today’s most influential artists, critics and curators. The program is organized by the Public Art Fund in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics.