Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air

Details:

British filmmaker and artist Phillip Warnell’s experimental documentary explores the relationship between man and beast through the example of New Yorker Antoine Yates, who shared his Harlem high-rise apartment with Ming, a 500-pound tiger, and Al, a 7-foot long alligator, for five years.

Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air

Thursday, April 26, 2018 7:00 PM FREE
(Phillip Warnell, 2014, UK/USA/Belgium, DCP, 71 min.)

British filmmaker and artist Phillip Warnell’s experimental documentary explores the relationship between man and beast through the example of New Yorker Antoine Yates, who shared his Harlem high-rise apartment with Ming, a 500-pound tiger, and Al, a 7-foot long alligator, for five years. Warnell captures this extraordinary story, and moves beyond it to consider broader questions about the ways in which we engage with the natural world, and it with us. Documentary footage is combined with news and archival material and scenes shot in a specifically-constructed set—a replica of Yates’ apartment, where Warnell observes the behavior and reactions of different creatures to this fabricated environment. Noted Icelandic composer and musician Hildur Gudnadóttir performs a text written for the film by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy as part of the film’s soundtrack, extending Warnell’s creative approach to his subject.

This event is organized by the Northwestern Image Lab and is sponsored by the French and Italian Department, Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, and RTVF

In Person: Phillip Warnell

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