Guest post by Seth Mutchler.
Our world is messy. Our world is overwhelming. Our world endlessly expands in every direction. Humans have many things that differentiate us, but the world’s incomprehensible totality is universal. Another thing that we have in common is art. Art has many functions but one that many, myself included, find the most solace in is taking the infinite world and creating a window. The world is boundless but the screen, the frame, the stage, the pedestal, the pages of a book; these all take interminable reality and confine it to one moment. Art makes the incomprehensible tangible.
Each artistic discipline provides a different viewpoint to the world we inhabit. Consider how you feel after an exceptional film. Now after seeing a breathtaking painting. And now after you read the last line in a magnificent poem. These experiences all inspire awe yet are unique. As if we are artists attempting to paint our own world, the disciplines provide new colors to our palate. For art to furnish understanding, a holistic approach is required.
This Sunday, the IU Cinema is partnering with the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art to present Art and a Movie, focusing on the life and work of Jackson Pollock. This continuing series pairs cinema with works of art from the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art’s collection. At the gallery talk Nan Brewer, the Eskenazi Museum of Art’s Lucienne M. Glaubinger Curator of Works on Paper, will discuss a rare suite of six silkscreen prints by Jackson Pollock. This unique opportunity to see and learn about Pollock’s prints is worthwhile in and of itself, but will also inform the following screening. Just as blending two paints creates a new color, the event synthesizes the experiences of each medium. With the sum equaling more than its parts, Art and a Movie allows access to Pollock’s life but also the piece of the world he expressed in his work.
Art and a Movie is particularly personal for me. I am a house manager at the IU Cinema and also the graduate assistant for Public Relations and Marketing at the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art. These two positions provide distinct opportunities to grow in my career as an arts administrator. As I said above, art is an organized window into a chaotic world. Art does not exist on its own however; it is in constant conversation with its audience. It is the responsibility of the arts presenter to facilitate those conversations. I hope you all join us for Art and a Movie this Sunday and together we can make a little more sense out of the world we all share.
Art and a Movie pairs gallery talks with film screenings. The Spring 2017 series begins Sunday February 19 with a 2:00 p.m. Gallery Talk: Pollock in Focus at IU Eskenazi Museum of Art, Gallery of the Art of the Western World, Doris Steinmetz Kellett Endowed Gallery of Twentieth-Century Art, first floor followed by a 3:00 p.m. screening of Pollock directed by and starring Ed Harris at IU Cinema. These programs are presented in partnership between the Eskenazi Museum of Art and IU Cinema and are funded by an endowment thanks to Marsha R. Bradford and Harold A. Dumes.
Seth Mutchler is a senior house manager at the IU Cinema, graduate assistant for Public Relations and Marketing at the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art, and a graduate student studying Arts Administration and Public Affairs. When not at school or work, Seth enjoys spending time with his fiancé and their two cats, playing board games, and making music.
Seth is also grateful to be a member of such a wonderful arts community, so if you see him at the cinema, the museum, or just around town please say hello!