Dec 22, 2005

Time
Dec 22, 2005, 12.57 pm

Screening of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura, with brief introduction, in connection with Jill Magid’s exhibition in Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam.

L’Avventura - Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960. B/W. Italian (English subtitles).
Commences 8:00 p.m.
Free admission
Reservations via desk@stedelijk.nl (you will receive a reply only in case of overbooking)

This ground-breaking film from 1960 won a Special Jury Prize during the Cannes Film Festival that same year, and provided the international breakthrough for the Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (b. 1912).

Anna, the female lead in Antonioni’s film, goes on a yachting trip with a small group of rich jet-setters, among them her lover Sandro, an aging architect, and her good friend Claudia, who does not entirely fit in with the group. Anna disappears shortly after the film begins. While Sandro and Claudia search for her, they grow increasingly close to one another, and a relation begins between the two. There are moments where it appears as if they have even forgotten Anna. The lovers do not succeed in finding Anna, or the reasons for her disappearance, but ultimately it appears they cannot escape from her influence or their own feelings of guilt.

L’Avventura takes a totally different turn after a particular situation arises. The disappearance serves primarily as the motive for the relation, and all that comes out of it. Antonioni’s real interest is in investigating emotion and fractures in human relationships, more than in the development of a logical story. The roles of Anna, Sandro and Claudia are played by Lea Massari, Gabriele Ferzetti and Monica Vitti, respectively.

In her new work Jill Magid found inspiration in Antonioni’s film, and used various means to construct images of her own absence. The work of this American artist is to be seen in her exhibition ‘Liberation Point’. Among other things, the show includes drawings and a sculpture made by forensic artists and film from public surveillance cameras. 

This exhibition can be seen in Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam from November 13 through December 31, 2005. www.smba.nl

SMCS on 11
SMCS on 11 is the programme of lectures, discussions, film and video presentations by Stedelijk Museum CS. The ‘11’ refers to the 11th storey of the Post CS Building, where most of the activities are held.