February 28, 2014
Contact Lisa Rubinstein, 941-373-3803 or [email protected]
HERMITAGE PRESENTS BILL MORRISON’S
THE GREAT FLOOD
On Thursday, March 13th, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, along with The Ringling, present renowned, award-winning filmmaker Bill Morrison at the Historic Asolo Theater, as part of the museum’s Art of Our Time series. Morrison, a Hermitage fellow, will show his 78-minute film, The Great Flood followed by an opportunity to ask questions about his work. The program begins at 7:00 pm. It is free to museum members, students with ID and same-day museum ticket holders. All others pay $5.00. The Historic Asolo Theater is located at 5401 Bay Shore Road in Sarasota. To reserve a place, contact the box office at 941-360-7399.
The Great Flood is a collaboration between Morrison and Grammy Award winning composer and guitarist Bill Frisell. The film is about the Mississippi River Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in American history. When the river broke out of its earthen embankments in 145 places, it inundated 27,000 square miles and forced the exodus of a multitude of displaced sharecroppers, who then left plantation life and migrated to Northern cities, where they had to adapt to an industrial society with its own set of challenges. Just released theatrically in January by Icarus Films, The Great Flood is already receiving critical acclaim and is in great demand. In its January review of the film, The New York Times described The Great Flood as a “wordless movie, a documentary that is more like visual poetry.” (film trailer: https://vimeo.com/78381089)
Over the past 20 years, Bill Morrison has built a film collection of more than 30 projects that have been presented in theaters, museums, galleries and concert halls around the world. Variety magazine has called him “one of the most adventurous American filmmakers.” His work is known for its use of rare archival footage in which forgotten film imagery is reframed as part of a new work. Morrison’s films are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, The Nederlands Filmmuseum, and The Library of Congress. He is a Guggenheim fellow and has received the Alpert Award for the Arts, an NEA Creativity Grant, a Creative Capital grant, and a fellowship from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. His work has also been recognized with two Bessie awards and an Obie Award.
“We are going a little bit out of our regular format to present a Bill Morrison film in its entirety.” remarked Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage. “His work is unique and very much in demand, both in this country and around the world. I would venture to say, anyone seeing it for the first time has not ever seen anything like it. Those that are familiar with Bill Morrison’s work will not want to miss the program because of his creative brilliance. We are honored that Bill has chosen to let us show The Great Flood as part of our Art of Our Time partnership with The Ringling.”
The Hermitage is a not-for-profit artist retreat located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood, FL. It invites accomplished painters, sculptors, writers, playwrights, poets, composers and other artists from all over the world for residencies on its beachfront historic campus. Artists are asked to contribute two services to the community during their stay. So far, Hermitage artists have touched over 12,000 Gulf Coast community children and adults with unique and inspiring programs. In addition, the Hermitage awards and administers the prestigious Greenfield Prize, an annual $30,000 commission for a new work of art, rotating among three disciplines: visual art, music and drama. The Hermitage also partners with the Aspen Music Festival and School to award the annual Hermitage Prize to a composition student during the Festival. For more information about The Hermitage Artist Retreat, call 941-475-2098 or visit the website at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
