Film Screening: “Duchamp Comes to Pasadena”

with a Brief Presentation by John Clarke

As we near the final days of Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, we are excited to host a screening of the PBS documentary “Duchamp Comes to Pasadena” following the screening there will be a brief presentation by art historian and UT Professor, John Clarke, who will provide further reflections on Duchamp’s influence on art today.

Through interviews and archival documentation, the hour length documentary captures the excitement leading up to the opening night of Marcel Duchamp’s storied 1963 exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, described as a “defining moment for generations of artists who would go on to revolutionize the contemporary art world.” Carl Cheng, who cites Duchamp as a key influence, is among the artists interviewed for the film. The behind-the scenes footage provides a window into Cheng’s studio and an art historical context for his process, making connections between his work under the name John Doe Co. with Duchamp’s readymades and his alter ego Errose Selavy.

This screening is open to the public and admission is free. Skip the line with advance registration, or register upon walk-up. Seating and complimentary refreshments will open at 6:00P, and the film will begin around 6:45P, with a brief presentation by John Clarke following the screening. Feel free to arrive early to view the exhibitions on view.

For accommodation requests, please email [email protected].
2022, Run time: 56 minutes, 59 seconds, Not Rated.

Thank you to our programming partner:

About John Clarke

 
John R. Clarke earned his doctorate in ancient art history at Yale University in 1973. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin since 1980, where he holds the title of Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor in the Department of Art and Art History. His teaching, research, and publications focus on ancient Roman art and archaeology, art-historical methodology, and contemporary art. Clarke has seven books and over 100 essays, articles, and reviews to his credit, His early work investigated the architectural and social contexts surrounding the production and perception of Roman mosaics and wall painting, with an emphasis on Roman Italy. During the past fifteen years he has focused on how visual representations can shed light on ancient Roman attitudes toward the practices of everyday life. His 1998 book, Looking at Lovemaking, rethinks erotic art in Roman terms. Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans (2004) examines non-elite art in its lived context. In 2007 he published a scholarly book, entitled Looking at Laughter, on visual humor. In the same year Roman Life appeared, a richly-illustrated book for laypersons accompanied by an interactive CD-ROM. Since 2006 he has directed the Oplontis Project, a multidisciplinary study aimed at the publication of two ancient Roman villas buried by Vesuvius (www.oplontisproject.org). Volume one, Oplontis Villa A (“of Poppaea”) at Torre Annunziata, Italy: The Ancient Setting and Modern Rediscovery, is slated to appear this year as an open-access, born-digital e-book in the Humanities E-Book series of the American Council of Learned Societies.