Jack Smith: A Feast for Open Eyes
'The only true underground filmmaker' John Waters
The ICA presents a fortnight of films, events and symposia dedicated to the legendary American artist, filmmaker and actor, Jack Smith (1932-1989).
Working in New York from the 1950s until his death in 1989, Smith unequivocally resisted and upturned the world of accepted conventions, whether artistic, moral or legal. Irreverent in tone and delirious in effect, Smith’s films, such as the notorious Flaming Creatures (1961), are at once wildly camp and subtly polemic. Although best known for his contributions to underground cinema, Smith’s influence also extends across the realm of performance art, photography and experimental theatre.
The programme of activity at the ICA looks to map out the breadth of Smith’s practice – from his collaborative film productions to his individual writings – as well as offer a perspective on his legacy in the UK.
Supported by The Edwin Fox Foundation.
This event has been organised in collaboration between the ICA, Dominic Johnson, and LUX, London with special thanks to Gladstone Gallery, New York.
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Flaming Creatures + Chris Dercon Introduction and Q&A with Jonas Mekas and Dominic Johnson
7 September 2011
A screening of Jack Smith’s best-known film Flaming Creatures, which was banned at the time of its release, is introduced by Chris Dercon and followed by Jonas Mekas in conversation with Dominic Johnson.
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Normal Love + Live Soundtrack
8 September 2011
Jack Smith’s Normal Love is screened with a live soundtrack composed and performed by the band Ectopia - filmmaker and performance artist Adam Christensen with Jack Brennan and Vicky Steiri - commissioned by the ICA.
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Jack Smith Symposium
9 September 2011
A symposium exploring legacy of Jack Smith, including presentations by British filmmaker Anna Thew on Smith's influence on UK filmmaking.
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Penny Arcade: Denial of Death
9 September 2011
A performance by Penny Arcade, a New York-based performance artist and close friend of Jack Smith.
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Anna La Thew: Whilst Mario Spins
9 September 2011
British artist filmmaker Anna La Thew presents films inspired by and in the spirit of Jack Smith.
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Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
10 September 2011 - 15 September 2011
Filmmaker and former music video director Mary Jordan’s fascinating portrait features Smith’s rare and unseen films and photographs along with audio recordings, acting appearances, and other relics squeezed from Smith’s vaulted archive. If you can't make it to our cinema screenings of this documentary, pick up a copy of the DVD.
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Everything
10 September 2011
Everything returns to celebrate its first birthday in conjunction with Jack Smith: A Feast For Open Eyes.
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Flaming Creatures
10 September 2011
Nothing short of notorious, Flaming Creatures (1963, 45 min) marked a significant moment in the history of postwar American film and culture.
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Jack Smith Installation and Readings
10 September 2011 - 11 September 2011
Jack Smith’s slides of performance documentation are accompanied by music selected by long-term collaborator, John Zorn.
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Uncle David with an Introduction by David Hoyle
10 September 2011
This dark and menacing low-budget feature film explores the more sinister side of sexuality, where the banalities of conversation between an uncle and his nephew are thrown into the realms of the unconventional.
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Roy Cohn / Jack Smith
11 September 2011
From one of the seminal theatrical events of the 90's - Ron Vawter's stunning performance piece Roy Cohn / Jack Smith - Jill Godmilow has crafted a dramatically deft, comic and terrifying film diptych of queer-on-queer.
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Normal Love
14 September 2011 - 18 September 2011
Smith's second feature length film derives from his adoration of Maria Montez, the B- movie star best know for her performance in Cobra Woman.
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No President
14 September 2011 - 17 September 2011
Smith's third feature film was originally titled The Kidnapping of Wendell Willkie by the Love Bandit in reaction to the 1968 Presidential Campaign.
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Jack Smith Short Films
15 September 2011 - 18 September 2011
A selection of recently restored rare short films by Jack Smith screened on 16mm.
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Flaming Days in a Rented World: Recent commissions inspired by Jack Smith
17 September 2011
A selection of recent commissioned films from the recent Jack Smith exhibition at Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York and the Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art and Hebbel-am-Ufer (HAU) Theatre series Live Film! Jack Smith! in Berlin.