Art on Screen

Details:

In this ongoing series Block Cinema presents new films about the art world. Screening this quarter are three new documentaries that offer compelling and diverse stories about art and artists of the twentieth century. The first, Hunting Hitler’s Stolen Treasures recounts the amazing tale of the special unit of the US armed forces that recovered a mind-boggling number of priceless artworks stolen by the Nazis during WWII. Afternoon of a Faun is a remarkable portrait of the great dancer, Tanaquil Le Clercq, and finally, Leslie Buchbinder’s new film, Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists, celebrates a group of local artists that broke new ground in the 1960s and beyond with their strange, surreal, and darkly comic imagery.

 

Hunting Hitler's Stolen Treasures: The Monuments Men

Thursday, May 8, 2014 7:00 PM FREE
(Rebecca Hayman, Paul Nelson, 2014, UK, video, 45 min.)

The Northwestern University Library and Block Cinema present a short documentary and panel discussion about an unlikely World War II band of brothers: academics, historians and architects who were called to the front lines of the bloodiest war in history to rescue centuries worth of priceless artworks and cultural artifacts from Nazi-occupied Europe. Their story was also made into a feature film this year, based on the book by Robert Edsel, and directed by George Clooney. In contrast, the documentary utilizes extensive archival sources and photographs, journals and letter excerpts, along with personal accounts from surviving family members to shed light on this remarkable story.

Following the screening, Anne Rorimer, art scholar, curator, and daughter of one of the primary “monuments men,” James Rorimer, as well as Jason Nargis, Manuscript Librarian for Special Collections, Northwestern University Library, and Howard Trienens, attorney, author and repatriation expert, will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Block Museum Director, Lisa Corrin.

 

Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq

Friday, May 16, 2014 7:00 PM
(Nancy Buirski, 2014, US, DCP, 91 min.)

Tanaquil Le Clercq was an influential star of American ballet and a muse for famed choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Her elongated frame and unique style helped redefine ballet in the mid-century, but her career was cut short in her twenties when she was stricken with polio in 1956. Nancy Buirski’s new documentary tells the story of her amazing career and her life afterwards as she continued to shape the world of dance through her teaching, even as she was paralyzed from the waist down. Critic Godfrey Cheshire calls the film “mesmerizing” and the same could be said about Le Clercq herself.

Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists

Friday, June 6, 2014 7:00 PM
(Leslie Buchbinder, 2014, US, video, 105 min.)

This new documentary provides an important look at the history of the artists’ group, the Hairy Who, which broke new ground in the 1960s and 70s and came to be known as the Chicago Imagists. Buchbinder’s film includes delightful animated sequences and eye-opening interviews with many of the movement’s participants (including Jim Nutt, Karl Wirsum, Gladys Nilsson, and many more), plus interviews with curators, collectors, and critics, and the movement’s admirers (including Chris Ware and Jeff Koons). With a rich variety of perspectives, the film gives a detailed and visually dazzling portrait of this unique group of artists and their strange, surreal, and darkly comic imagery. Following the screening director Leslie Buchbinder, writer/producer John Corbett, and artists Gladys Nilsson and Karl Wirsum, moderated by Block director Lisa Corrin.

Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists

Saturday, June 14, 2014 2:00 PM

Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu