"In Bed With James Broughton" on March 5 Celebrates Experimental Filmmaker and Poet
Event: In Bed with James Broughton: An evening of poetry, films, and performance
Location: San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), 800 Chestnut Street, San Francisco 94113
Date: March 5, 2011, 8-10 pm
Suggested Donation: $10-$50
Images: Digital images attached
Press Contact: Anne Shulock, (415) 749-4507, ashulock@sfai.edu
The San Francisco Art Institute is pleased to announce "In Bed With James Broughton," an evening of poetry, films, and performance on March 5 benefitting the work-in-progress documentary Big Joy. Using the life and work of James Broughton—filmmaker, poet, teacher, wildman—as inspiration, Big Joy explores the power of art to change lives. (View the trailer at http://www.bigjoy.org/trailer.html) The event is part of SFAI's 140th Anniversary celebration, which runs March 2011 through June 2012.
Broughton, who taught at SFAI from 1968-1982 and died in 1999, lived with an exuberance that earned him the nickname "Big Joy." His mantra was "follow your own weird," and he did just that through 23 films and 23 books of poetry that often have the humor and cadence of nursery rhymes yet achieve powerful emotional and spiritual depth. Among his notable works are the 1968 film The Bed (now in MoMA's collection, it raised eyebrows with its full-frontal nudity), poems such as "This Is It," and books including Ecstasies, Androgyne Journal, and Graffiti for the Johns of Heaven.
"In Bed With James Broughton" will be a lively night featuring poetry readings and performances by Keith Hennessy, Kirk Read, Jack and Adelle Foley, Karl Cronin, William Stewart, and others; a screening of some of Broughton's films; and a sneak-peek of excerpts from Big Joy. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Eric Slade and produced by journalist Stephen Silha (who was mentored by Broughton for ten years), Big Joy situates Broughton in the context of the San Francisco Renaissance, and includes interviews with major cultural figures such as City Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet Jack Foley, novelist Armistead Maupin, filmmaker George Kuchar, and dancer/choreographer Anna Halprin. As SFAI celebrates its 140th Anniversary, Big Joy is a reminder of the culture of innovation and experimentation that has long been a hallmark of both the school and city.
For more details on the film, contact producer Stephen Silha at info@bigjoy.org or (206) 819-3755.
San Francisco Art Institute
Founded in 1871, SFAI is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of higher education in contemporary art in the US. Focusing on the interdependence of thinking, making, and learning, SFAI's academic and public programs are dedicated to excellence and diversity.
From March 2011 through June 2012, SFAI will honor its distinguished history and contributions to the world of art with a 140th Anniversary celebration featuring events, screenings, parties, exhibitions, and lectures involving the school's illustrious alumni, students, faculty, and visiting artists. The 16-month celebration also offers alumni and friends worldwide an opportunity to reconnect with the institution as part of its planning for the next 140 years.
For more information about academic and public programs at SFAI, please visit www.sfai.edu.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.