New York, NY (April 13, 2011)—David Bowie,
Artist, a public program, will celebrate this singular talent who has
continued to be a constant innovator in performance-based practices. Expanding
past his notoriety as a musician, David Bowie, Artist showcases the
too-often-overlooked diversity and multifaceted nature of Bowie's total artistic
output. Presented in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Otherworldly:
Optical Delusions and Small Realities, this multi-platform
retrospective—including a film series as well as kiosks showing music
videos, interviews, concert footage and other audio-visual
documentation—will run from May 9 to July 15, 2011. The cinema series
begins on June 3 and will conclude with the screening of a new 35mm print of
"The Man Who Fell to Earth" at Film Forum from June 24 – July 7,
2011.
David Bowie has been a major figure and force in music, film, fashion, art, and
a multitude of creative disciplines over the last five decades. With an innate
ability to shift and shape his persona, style, and creative direction, Bowie has
crafted a powerful fusion of music, culture, and other performance
practices—one that has become the blueprint for contemporary artists
working in
performance.
With training in mime from Lindsay Kemp, and roots in avant-garde theater,
cabaret, and musical-based performance, Bowie merged these diverse disciplines
into his highly influential character project: an otherworldly creature with
bright red hair, a sparkly suit and platform shoes named Ziggy Stardust. Raising
stagecraft to new heights in the 1970s with his rock spectacle cum tour, which
synthesized theater, video, art, and music, Bowie pushed the boundaries of
performance.
During his meteoric rise to superstardom, Bowie continued to work on and off the
screen, taking memorable roles in film and theatre. He impressed critics and
audiences with his turn on Broadway in "The Elephant Man," and his many onscreen
roles most notably as a humanoid alien in "The Man Who Fell To Earth," a goblin
king in "The Labyrinth," a British officer in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,"
and as Andy Warhol in "Basquiat."
In addition to working as a film actor, a fine artist, and collaborating on
music videos, Bowie has also been an Internet pioneer. For these endeavors, in
2007, he received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in
2007.
ABOUT THE SERIES
David Bowie, Artist is a retrospective presented by The Museum of Arts
and Design. Film screenings will be held in the Theater at MAD, at 2 Columbus
Circle, except for a special two-week run of a new 35mm print of "The Man Who
Fell To Earth," which will screen at Film Forum, at 209 West Houston Street.
David Bowie, Artist is programmed by Jake Yuzna, Manager of Public
Programs.
CINEMA SCREENINGS
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
(1973)
June 3, 7:00
pm
Dir. D.A.
Pennebaker
90 min,
35mm
With David Bowie, Mick Ronson and Trevor
Bolder
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
Shot in legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker's trademark vérité style,
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars captures the band on the night
of July 3, 1973, on what was purported to be the final appearance of Bowie's
legendary glam rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Widely considered to be one of
the greatest concert documentaries of the 70s, the film captures Ziggy and the
Spiders from Mars at their most electrifying. Featuring performances of Bowie's
hits like "Suffragette City," "Oh! You Pretty Things," and of course, "Ziggy
Stardust."
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
(1983)
June 8, 7:00
pm
Dir. Nagisa
Ôshima
118 min,
35mm
With David Bowie, Tom Conti and Ryûichi
Sakamoto
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
David Bowie stars as Celliers, a high-ranking British officer interned in a
Japanese POW camp, in this captivating World War II drama. His arrival at the
camp, and a commander's obsession with the blonde officer, throws off the
delicate balance between the prisoners and guards, bringing each side's culture
and concept of honor into question. A brutal, emotional, and multilayered look
at the consequences of war, the film is a considered to be a highlight in
Ôshima's oeuvre, which includes as Night and Fog in Japan, Death by
Hanging, and In the Realm of the Senses.
The Hunger
(1983)
June 10, 7:00
pm
Dir. Tony
Scott
97 min,
35mm
With Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan
Sarandon
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
Catherine Deneuve plays a centuries-old vampire named Miriam who preys on urban
clubgoers with her vampire lover John, played by none other than David Bowie.
The Hunger is a neo-Gothic exercise in style and atmosphere that
sparked a cult following. The film, Tony Scott's feature debut before continuing
on to such successes as Top Gun and True Romance, "reeks with
chic, but never for one minute takes itself too seriously, nor does it ever slop
over into camp" (The New York Times).
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
June 16, 7:00
pm
Dir. Martin
Scorsese
163 min,
35mm
With Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, and David
Bowie
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
Starring Willem Dafoe and David Bowie as Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate
respectively, the film depicts the life of Christ who was subject to every form
of temptation that humans face, including fear, doubt, and lust. Still regarded
as a controversial film, the film expertly questions the divinity of Jesus. Many
critics felt the film showcased Scorsese at the height of his power and
artistry. Peter Gabriel composed the film's Grammy award-winning
soundtrack.
Labyrinth
(1986)
June 17, 7:00
pm
Dir. Jim
Henson
101 min,
35mm
With David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby
Froud
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
The final film directed by legendary puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson,
Labyrinth has come to be regarded as one of a beloved children's film. Produced
by George Lucas, Labyrinth follows Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly)
as she ventures into the Goblin Kingdom to rescue her little brother, Toby, from
Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie). In this journey, Sarah encounters a
multitude of bizarre and colorful creatures. The film also features music by
Bowie.
The Linguini Incident (1991)
June 23, 7:00
pm
Dir. Richard
Shepard
98 min, Digital
Projection
With Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie and Eszter
Balint
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
Never released on DVD, this lost gem of Bowie's acting career teams him with
Rosanna Arquette in one of the most original romantic comedies from the American
indie film movement of the 1990s. Arquette is Lucy, a frustrated escape artist,
who is obsessed with becoming a modern-day female version of Harry Houdini. To
pay the rent, she works as a waitress at a trendy Manhattan restaurant. With her
love interest, the bartender Monte, played by David Bowie, the two conceive a
daring plot to rob the restaurant.
Basquiat
(1996)
June 24, 7:00 pm
Dir. Julian
Schnabel
108 min,
35mm
With Jeffrey Wright, Michael Wincott, Benicio Del Toro, and David
Bowie
$7 MAD Members and Students with Valid ID, $10
General
Julian Schnabel's first feature film looks at the meteoric rise to fame of
Jean-Michel Basquiat, the enfant terrible of the 1980s New York art
scene. David Bowie, in a scene-stealing performance, plays Andy Warhol. The
film's array of art world players and hangers on are played by an incredible
cast, including Dennis Hopper, Willem Dafoe, Benicio Del Toro, Tatum O'Neal,
Gary Oldman, Parker Posey, and Courtney Love.
The Man Who Fell To Earth
(1976)
June 24 – July 7
Dir. Nicolas
Roeg
138 min,
35mm
With David Bowie, Rip Torn and Candy
Clark
Screening at Film
Forum
In this sci-fi drama David Bowie stars in his most iconic role as Thomas Jerome
Newton, a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet,
which is suffering from severed drought. As he starts a high technology company
to fund the construction of his return spacecraft, he meets Mary-Lou, and a deep
romance grows. Bowie's performance and the film's surreal imagery turned this
film into cult classic; it also helped establish British director Nicolas Roeg
as one of the most imaginative filmmakers of his generation.
David Bowie, Artist is presented in conjunction with the exhibition
Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities, opening on June
7.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND
DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design explores what Chief Curator David R. McFadden
calls "the blur zone between art, design, and craft today." It focuses on
contemporary creativity and the ways in which artists and designers from around
the world transform materials through processes ranging from the artisanal to
the digital. The Museum's exhibition program examines and illuminates issues and
ideas, highlights invention and craftsmanship, and celebrates the limitless
potential of materials and techniques when used by gifted and innovative
artists. MAD's permanent collection is global in scope and focuses on art,
craft, and design from 1950 to the present day. Central to the Museum's mission
is education. The Museum's dynamic new facility features classrooms and studios
for master classes, seminars, and workshops for students, families, and adults.
Its Open Studios enable visitors to engage artists at work and further enhance
exhibition programs. Lectures, films, performances, and symposia related to the
Museum's collection and topical subjects affecting the world of contemporary
art, craft, and design are held in the building's historic 144-seat
auditorium.