Dreamlands Artist Conversation: Josiah McElheny

Enter at 555 West Street

Circle, Fellow, Sponsor, and Contemporaries Patrons members

Artist Josiah McElheny (b. 1966) and Whitney curator Chrissie Iles discuss the central themes of Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016, using McElheny’s multifaceted involvement with the exhibition and his own work as touchstones. The immersive moving-image works in Dreamlands reflect the profound ways that the omnipresence of technology has inspired new kinds of sensory experience. By presenting contemporary works across various media alongside cinematic experiments from the early-to-mid-twentieth century, the exhibition invites us to consider the connections between the art of our time and earlier moments in art and film history. Like many of the other works in the exhibition, McElheny’s Projection Painting II (2015) dismantles the cinematic apparatus of the screen, as anamorphic re-filmed shots from Maya Deren’s abandoned film Ensemble for Somnambulists (1951) are projected onto a painted planar form covered by a sheet of glass, leaving the constantly distorting image suspended between the two screens. During the early stages of planning for the exhibition, McElheny participated in a foundational roundtable conversation with the curator, scholars, and other artists.

7–7:30 pm: Reception and Dreamlands viewing
7:30–8:30 pm: Conversation

Circle, Fellow, Sponsor, and Contemporaries Patrons members are invited to this event: The invitation is for two individuals per membership household. Registration instructions will be provided by email. 

Please note: To access the event, please use the Museum's Rudin Family Entrance at 555 West Street.