Cycladic Screenings
EVENTS
3 & 5 OCTOBER 2024
THE EVENT
The screenings will feature two films chosen by Cindy Sherman as key sources of inspiration for her photographic works, many of which are on display in her exhibition at the museum. Viewers will have the opportunity to watch one or both films and explore the exhibition on the same day.
The films to be screened are “The Naked Kiss” (1964) by Samuel Fuller and “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” (1970) by Russ Meyer. Screenings will take place in a specially designed room within the museum, with opportunities to visit the exhibition before and after. These two films offer viewers a chance to explore the influences behind Cindy Sherman’s iconic photographs, which helped establish her as a pioneering artist in the late 1970s.
THE MOVIES
The Naked Kiss, 1964, 90’
A prostitute wants a new life, but the small American town, the authorities (and her men) won’t let her. She will respond. Samuel Fuller was never a “nice guy”, but once he stepped out into the independent realm he really expanded to his full potential. And the buckshot must have gotten everyone, as the film, even from the “disreputable” b circuit, beams ahead of its time by telling it like it is. Prostitution, abuse, abortion were not talked about even in the Kennedy era, any more than the complete subversion of the female norm was in cinema, with empowerment being almost unprecedented. Trashy, camp, aggressive in almost every scene, the kind of cinema studios would understand years later. And David Lynch was taking notes.
Director & Writer: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, Virginia Grey
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Time: 20:00-21:30
Introduction by Thodoris Koutsogiannopoulos, Film Critic.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Time: 19:00-20:30
Introduction by Jacqueline Lentzou, Director
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, 1970, 110’
An independent experimental director and a totally inexperienced screenwriter (who was to become one of the most famous American critics ever) were approached in 1970 by a major studio to sign a Hollywood drama satire that would be an informal follow-up to the box-office success of The Valley of the Dolls. This resulted in one of the most outrageous and cult creations of all time. A combination of moralistic melodrama, musical, violent soap opera and parody – the film charts the entry of a girl group into a dangerous world of showbiz, corruption and decadence. Ross Meyer bombarded his sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll odyssey with flashy colors and dizzying editing, fueling the plot with one outrageous development after another and culminating everything in an unforgettable psychedelic orgy starring sexy females, mad crossdressers, conniving porn stars, crazed hippies and neo-Nazis!
Direction: Russ Meyer
Cast: Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, John Lazar, Phyllis Davis
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Time: 22:00-24:00
Introduction by Akis Kapranos, Film Critic and Founder of Midnight Express.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Time: 21:00-23:00
Introduction by Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy), Director and Composer
INFO
Dates & Hours
20:00-21:30, “The Naked Kiss”
22:00-24:00, ”Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”
Exhibition open until 22:00
⟶ Saturday, October 5, 2024
19:00-20:30, “Τhe Naked Kiss”
21:00-23:00, ”Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”
Exhibition open until 21:00
Venues
Auditorium, 5th floor
Museum of Cycladic Art
Exhibition:
Stathatos Mansion
Museum of Cycladic Art
CINDY SHERMAN’S RELATION TO CINEMA
Drawing inspiration from female images and stereotypes in television, film and advertising, 1950s and 1960s Hollywood, film noir, B movies and European art-house films, Sherman’s work offers a critique of traditional gender roles and identity. Working alone in her studio, she takes on the roles of makeup artist, hairdresser, stylist and director, and transforms herself into the various characters depicted in her photography.
The influence of cinema in Sherman’s work is evident. A typical example is the Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980) series, on display in its entirety at the Museum of Cycladic Art, consisting of 70 black-and-white photographs that Sherman began after moving to New York City in 1977, aged 23. Sherman created images suggestive of the production stills used by movie studios to publicize their films. The images, reminiscent of certain character types and genres, initiated conversations about gender roles, feminism and representation.
In 1980, Sherman turned to color photography to create Rear Screen Projections, part of which is also on display at the Museum of Cycladic Art. Incorporating a technique often used by Alfred Hitchcock, she posed in her studio in front of a large screen, onto which images of various sites were projected. In this way, she gained more control over the final image while extending her dialogue with cinema.
As Aphrodite Gonou, Contemporary Art Program Advisor at the Museum of Cycladic Art, has stated:
“Sherman’s groundbreaking photos shook the art world and the viewers with their profound yet playful power. Her artistic gaze blurs the lines between reality and fiction and exposes the stereotypical roles imposed by society and the mass media. We are excited that, as part of her exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights, the leading artist offers us the opportunity to approach her work in a multifaceted way through the films that she has selected as demonstrative of cinema’s great influence on her work”.
Event Sponsor: Katherine Embiricos
