In conjunction with Kartemquin Films’ 50th anniversary celebration and with the special exhibition Monster Roster at the Smart Museum of Art, join documentary filmmaker and Kartemquin founder Gordon Quinn and UChicago professor Judy Hoffman for a special double screening and discussion about artists Leon Golub and Nancy Spero.
Free. Seating is limited and offered on a first come, first served basis.
Film descriptions
Golub: Late Works are the Catastrophes
Reflecting what he calls the “disjunctiveness” of modern life, artist Leon Golub’s massive canvasses depict unpleasant imagery—mercenary killings, torture, and death squads. This Kartemquin Films documentary reveals the full complexity of Golub’s work, juxtaposing images and ideas, and following the artist at work from 1985 to 2004. Golub offers not simply a profile of a painter with a political conscience, but an investigation into the power of the artist to reflect our times and to change the way we think about our world. (2004, 82 minutes; Jerry Blumenthal and Gordon Quinn, directors; Judy Hoffman, associate producer)
Woman as Protagonist: The Art of Nancy Spero
This documentary is an invigorating look at the 40-year career of acclaimed feminist artist Nancy Spero, who, in her own works, is concerned with “rewriting the imaging of women through historical time.” With Spero’s own voice as narration, this documentary tracks her development as she matured against the grain of Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and Pop Art when “there wasn’t room in the art world to make way for political or activist art.” This tape includes footage of the artist at work on installations in the United States, Northern Ireland, and Spain that no longer exist. (1993, 46 minutes; Irene Sosa, director)
Presented in collaboration with Kartemquin Films and the Film Studies Center at the University of Chicago.