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Join us on Wednesday, October 23rd at 6PM for a screening of Eric Rohmer’s 1986 film, The Green Ray, followed by a discussion with exhibiting artist Joanna Piotrowska. This film explores themes of isolation and intimacy relating to the works featured in Joanna Piotrowska: unseeing eyes, restless bodies. Romher—a lesser-known French New Wave director—shares several interests with Piotrowska, including the use of amateur models and actors, working with friends, and using authentic domestic interiors. This is the second of three parts in the [untitled] film series, which aims to deepen our understanding of Piotrowska’s work.

Captioning will be available for this program.

ICA is committed to creating a welcoming environment for all visitors. For more notes on accessibility including accessible parking nearby visit our Accessibility landing page. If you require any accessibility accommodations or have any questions about the program, please contact Brittany Clottey ([email protected]).

The Green Ray, dir. Eric Rohmer, 98 minutes

Declared the best movie of the year in 1986 by Andrew Sarris—a list that also included Hannah and Her Sisters, The Sacrifice, and Vagabond — Le Rayon vert is frequently cited as a career triumph in a filmography that includes numerous great films. Rohmer’s tale, the fifth in his “Comedies & Proverbs” cycle (“Ah for the days/That set our hearts ablaze” – Rimbaud), follows the independent but insecure Delphine (Rivière), a newly single young Parisian who cannot find a holiday companion for the month of August, and meets and rejects, glides and stumbles in her longing for connection. Overhearing a discussion of Jules Verne’s The Green Ray, Delphine becomes fascinated with seeing the elusive meteorological event – The Green Ray – and the promise that comes with it. Rohmer stock player Rivière, who also co-wrote her largely self-created role, delivers one of the most captivating lead performances in any of the filmmaker’s works.

About the series

[untitled] is a three-part film series inspired by ICA’s current exhibition, Joanna Piotrowska: unseeing eyes, restless bodies, that highlights the various technical or thematic devices Piotrowska employs in cultivating her highly enigmatic and cinematic aesthetic. Each screening will begin with an offering that inspires close looking and ends with a group discussion moderated by a selected guest speaker. We invite participants to view the films together, exchange their perspectives, and engage in mutual learning. Film screenings will take place on September 18th, October 23rd, and November 21st.

About the guest speaker

Joanna Piotrowska (b. 1985) is a Polish artist based in London. She examines the human condition through performative acts and the construction of multiple ‘social landscapes’ using photography, performance and film. Family archives, self-defence manuals and psychotherapeutic methods are used as reference points as Piotrowska explores the complex roles which play out in everyday performance. Her psychologically charged photographs probe human behaviour and the dynamics of familial relations, exploring intimacy, violence, control, and self-protection. The artist reveals moments of care as well as hierarchies of power, anxieties, and imposed conventions that play out in the domestic sphere.

Support

Programming at ICA is made possible in part by the Emily and Jerry Spiegel Fund to Support Contemporary Culture and Visual Arts and the Lise Spiegel Wilks and Jeffrey Wilks Family Foundation. Public and Student Engagement at ICA is supported by the Bernstein Public Engagement Fund, Suzanne Weiss Doft & Jacob W. Doft, Stacey & Robert Goergen Jr., Hilarie L. & Mitchell Morgan, the Nash Family Foundation, Joline & David Stemerman, and by Dana McDonald Strong & Mark W. Strong.

Support for Joanna Piotrowska: unseeing eyes, restless bodies has been provided by The Inchworm Fund. Additional support has been provided by Danielle Anderman, Cecile & Chris D’Amelio, Stacey Burke Frost & Benjamin Marc Frost, Christina Weiss Lurie, Norma & Lawrence Reichlin, and Stephanie & David Simon.

Register for this free event here.