Dean, Nolan, and Brougher will discuss the future of film as an option for image-making and exhibition, and the importance of determining a standard of best practice for the archiving and exhibition of cinema and art.
Kodak recently announced their commitment to continuing film production, and the aim of the discussion is to address film’s future in the post-digital age. “Film has long been—and will remain—a vital part of our culture,” said Jeff Clarke, Kodak’s Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to provide motion picture film, with its unparalleled richness and unique textures, to enable filmmakers to tell their stories and demonstrate their art.”
“Film as a medium is at a crucial juncture, not only for the motion picture industry but also for the arts in general,” Brougher concurs. “This Getty conversation brings together individuals committed to using film—whether artist, feature director, or museum professional—in order to define and hopefully help secure film’s future.”
“I am an artist and film is my medium,” says Dean, who is in Los Angeles as the Getty’s current artist in residence. “The prevailing argument is dominated by the assumption that film is merely a technology that has run its course and can be replaced, but this is not the case at all; it is a medium with enormous potential to make images differently.”
Every year, the Getty Research Institute brings cultural scholars and artists from around the world to live and work in Los Angeles as part of the Scholars Program, which supports rigorous research under an annual research theme. This year’s theme, “Object—Value—Canon,” explores the way that traditional art historical methodologies can be challenged and reinvented.
“Tacita Dean is an important visual artist whose films are experimental, aesthetically engaging and often deeply moving,” said Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Director of the Getty Research Institute. “In bringing artists such as Tacita to Los Angeles to live and work, we support the dialogue between art historians and artists in our Scholars Program. Her defense of the medium of film is in keeping with a general interest in exploring materiality in artists’ practice in many of the Getty’s programs.”
Learn more about the GRI Scholars Program and Research Projects.
Reframing the Future of Film is FREE, but reservations are required. Parking is $15 per car.
Tacita Dean is a British artist based in Berlin. She is internationally renowned for her 16mm and 35mm films, as well as other works in various mediums, most notably her chalkboard drawings. In 2011, she made FILM for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London and is a founding member of SaveFilm.org.
Christopher Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films include Interstellar (2014), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012), and many more.
Kerry Brougher is the Director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. He is the curator of many exhibitions exploring cinema, including Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film Since 1945; The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image; and Doug Aitken’s SONG 1.