Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1968 La Prisonnière (Woman in Chains) offers a nuanced view of the possible connotations that kinetic art might bring.
Developed with help from Denise René—a key figure in the op art circle, the film partly takes place in a gallery run by the protagonist Stanislas. He sells works by Nicolas Schöffer, Yacov Agam, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Rafael Soto, Victor Vasarely, and Max Bill. However, his flat, which is located in the back of the gallery, is full of the works of artists connected with a diametrically different kind of art: Jean Dubuffet and Hans Bellmer. These works relate to Stanislas’ other activity: taking nude pictures of hired models. The two types of artworks in the film show two different sides of his character.
Before the screening, Daniel Muzyczuk will introduce the film on Skype.
Daniel Muzyczuk is Head of the Modern Art Department at Museum Sztuki in Lodz. Curator of the exhibitions Gone to Croatan (with Robert Rumas), MORE IS MORE (with Agnieszka Pindera and Joanna Zielinska), The Melancholy of Resistance (with Agnieszka Pindera), Views 2011, Sounding the Body Electric: Experiments in Art and Music in Eastern Europe 1957 – 1984 (with David Crowley), Notes from the Underground: Art and Alternative Music in Eastern Europe 1968-1994 (with David Crowley), The Museum of Rhythm (with Natasha Ginwala), among others. Co-curator of the Polish Pavilion of the 55th Venice Biennale (with Agnieszka Pindera). He is the winner (together with Agnieszka Pindera) of the Igor Zabel Competition in 2011.Vice-president of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Poland.
La Prisonnière
Director Henry-Georges Clouzot, France, Italy, 1968. 106 minutes.
18+