In 1913, a major exhibition in New York City changed the way we look at art….
A decade before that in Boston, Goodwill Industries changed the way we look at people.
WHAT: Screening of 217 Films’ “The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show” to benefit Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. Director Michael Maglaras will introduce the film.
WHEN:
Wednesday, December 11
Reception: 6:30pm
Screening: 7:00pm
WHERE:
University of Southern Maine
Abromson Community Education Center
Hannaford Hall
88 Bedford St., Portland
Free parking in the adjacent USM Parking Garage. Directions
FMI:
Maureen Puia
Goodwill Industries of Northern New England
207-774-6323 x6321
COST:
$10 in advance, $15 at the door
Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/9076741779
WHY?
In 1913, The International Exhibition of Modern Art, known as the 1913 Armory Show, changed the face of art in America. From February 17 until March 15, 1913, thousands of Americans pushed their way through the doors of the 69th Regiment Armory on the east side of New York City while a battle was waging “for or against” Modern Art for the first time. What they saw would annoy and infuriate some…and captivate, delight, and inspire many.
President Theodore Roosevelt, upon visiting the exhibition, called the most modern of these works “repellent”…and that was just the beginning of the controversy surrounding this historic show.
“On December 11th, President Roosevelt will be in Portland to explain himself,” said filmmaker Michael Maglaras.
Independent filmmakers Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton of 217 Films will be joined by Roosevelt reprisor Joe Weigand at the Portland premiere of their new film “The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show.” This film will screen on Wednesday, December 11 at 7pm at the Abromson Community Education Center.
“We have screened all four of our films in Portland, Maine,” said Michael Maglaras, director of The Great Confusion, “but this screening, in support of Goodwill Industries, is an important one for me. This is the 100th anniversary of the great Armory Show…the exhibition that continues to this day to enhance the quality of life for all of us. Of course, Goodwill Industries works every day to enhance the dignity and quality of life for everyone as they strengthen every community.”
2013 also marks the 80thanniversary of the opening of the Maine office of Goodwill Industries Northern New England, which was founded in Boston in 1902.
“We are thrilled that 217 Films has selected Goodwill as the beneficiary of this film screening. As we connect people with challenges to marketplace employment throughout our region, we embrace out-of-the box thinking, which is so often a catalyst for positive change,” noted Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England.
“The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show” features more than 60 works by American and European painters and sculptors and probes deeply into the history of how the show was organized. It provides fascinating glimpses into the backstage efforts of the American artists Arthur B. Davies, Walter Pach, and Walt Kuhn as they worked tirelessly to bring a new art to a new American audience.
What resulted from these four weeks of mass exposure to European artists such as Cezanne, Renoir, Van Gogh, and the upstart Marcel Duchamp (with his “Nude Descending a Staircase”), as well as such Americans as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Charles Sheeler, changed how Americans came to understand their own times. By entering through the doors of an armory, they had entered through the doors of the Modern Era.
This film is currently touring the northeast and will be available on DVD in December. Excerpts can be viewed at this link: http://vimeo.com/71219208.
The screening schedule can be viewed at this link.
New dates are being added frequently and the tour will continue through 2014. The next screening is December 7 at the Delaware Art Museum.
More about Goodwill: Goodwill Industries of Northern New England enables individuals with diverse challenges to achieve personal stability and community engagement. A social enterprise for over 100 years, Goodwill reflects the integration of economic, social and environmental sustainability, with a focus on connecting people to marketplace employment. Our services are funded by revenue from retail and recycling operations, grants, fees, and philanthropic investments and gifts. Please visit www.goodwillnne.orgfor more information.
More about 217 Films: 217 Films is an independent film company in Ashford, Connecticut devoted to the American artistic experience. “The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show” is 217 Films’ fifth film since 2005 about the art born of the profound energy and vigor of the American twentieth century.
In 2005, Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton released their first film “Cleophas and His Own” about American painter Marsden Hartley’s epic narrative of love and loss. Maglaras both directed and played the role of Hartley in this film. In 2008, they released a second film about Hartley called “Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet” – the first-ever documentary on the life of Hartley. In 2010, with their film “John Marin: Let the Paint be Paint!”they established, through the first full-length documentary on this important painter, that John Marin was one of the fathers of American Modernism. All three films, among other distinctions, have been shown to acclaim at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Their fourth film, “O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd Ward” was released in 2012 and will screen this winter in New York City.
The Sacramento Bee called Michael Maglaras a filmmaker of “Bergman-like gravitas.” His films have been described as “virtuoso filmmaking” (National Gallery of Art) “alive and fresh” (Art New England) and “elegiac and insightful” (Naples Daily News). David Berona, author of “Wordless Books” has said of “O Brother Man” “This film is stunning.” Judith Regan of Sirius XM Radio called it “Magnificent.”
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