Thursday, February 10, 6:00 pm | Martha Colburn in person!
- Destiny Manifesto (Martha Colburn, 2006). Courtesy the artist.
Martha Colburn’s wickedly witty animations are assemblages of stop-motion puppetry, multi-layered glass painting, and all forms of pop cultural detritus. Drawing inspiration from the histories of the American West and more recent narratives of methamphetamine use and environmental catastrophe, Colburn’s outrageous pastiches offer incendiary commentary on our contemporary condition. Writes Jonas Mekas: “Martha Colburn’s films are naked testimonials of our times, and of her generation.” This evening, she will present a range of works from across her oeuvre—including early favorites like Evil of Dracula (1997) and Cosmetic Emergency (2005)—and the Chicago premiere of two brand-new projects, in addition to an in-depth discussion about her process. 1994-2010, Martha Colburn, Netherlands/USA, multiple formats, ca. 75 mins plus discussion.
MARTHA COLBURN (b. 1972, Pennsylvania) is an artist based in New York. A prolific self-taught filmmaker, she has completed nearly 50 animated shorts since 1994. In addition to her work in film, Colburn recorded and toured as part of the Baltimore-based rock group The Dramatics and in side projects like The Pleasant Livers. She has made music videos and art films for bands such as Deerhoof, Serj Tankian, They Might Be Giants, and the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnson. Her films, collages, and installations have been exhibited widely, most recently at the Cannes Film Festival in France, the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, and the Kunstsammlung Jena in Germany.