Monday March 3, 7pm (doors)
Race Films: Images, Bodies, and Ideologies in Motion
16mm films by Matt Town
admission $6 – filmmaker in person
Still from SOAP (2014, Matt Town) © courtesy of the artist
Microscope Gallery is very pleased to present the first solo screening of works by Matt Town, a young filmmaker who arrived in New York from Florida last summer just in time to be included in our “now what #2” screening and live film performance event. Town works with black and white, silent 16mm films that relate to and are driven by personal ties to the neighborhoods, dwellings, and public institutions he examines and unpacks with his camera.
The program includes the premiere of Town’s latest work “Soap” a black and white 16mm film shot in the streets of Bushwick and featuring a hand-built vehicle by Town. Two recent works by the filmmaker: a reenactment of a portrait of his grandfather and a trip to a local racetrack – an environment in which the word race is an obvious but accurate double entendre – are also featured along with a 1975 educational film on Soapbox derby racing. The films will be projected from a box designed by Town (medium-density fiberboard, steel, cooling fans, glass) to create a true silent projection.
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Matt Town was born in Sarasota Florida in 1989 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Town’s films have been shown within the United States as well as Canada at festivals primarily screening documentary and experimental film including Haverhill Experimental Film Festival, Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival, $100 Film Festival, and The 8 Fest among others. Town holds a BA from the University of Florida in Film and Media Studies.
PROGRAM:
GRANDPA (2013, black & white 16mm to 4k digital video, silent, loop)
An elaborate photograph of my Dad’s Dad, which I inherited, is re-enacted. The fabrication, as well as the mental spectrum, involved with the stasis of an image is discussed, oscillating between the interior of a home and an anterior space.
RACE (2012, black & white 16mm, silent, 3 minutes)
RACE is a case study of a dog track in Florida. Although I grew up right down the street from the establishment, I had never been inside. Exploring the space with a camera enabled me to see more than just dogs running around a track.
THE SOAP BOX DERBY SCANDAL (1975, color 16mm, sound, 23 minutes)
Soapbox derby racing is investigated in this educational film, which concludes with an event that changed the race forever.
SOAP (2014, black & white 16mm, silent, 25 minutes)
An ominous vehicle cuts through the streets of a neighborhood in Bushwick, NY.
Still from GRANDPA (2013, Matt Town) © courtesy of the artist
