Monday, March 23, 2009

"The Feature" Directed by Michel Auder and Andrew Neel



THE FEATURE
2008, 177 minutes, video.
Michel Auder’s epic new film is a summation of his half-century-long career as a video artist and diarist. In 15-hour diaries, 2-hour neo-narratives, and 1-minute haikus, Auder has created a body of work that is wholly unique in the history of the moving image. With the archive of footage Auder has amassed over the decades providing much of the source material, alongside new scenes shot by co-director Andrew Neel (the grandson of painter Alice Neel), THE FEATURE represents a self-conscious and quasi-fictional variation on the story of Auder’s life.“In Michel Auder’s case, the truth is certainly stranger than fiction. One of the first to compulsively exploit the diaristic potential of the Sony Portapak, he was right there at the heart of the Warhol Factory and the Soho art explosion. This fictionalized biography draws on his vast archive of videotapes, connecting them by means of a distanced narration and new footage…in which Auder portrays his doppelganger, an arrogantly successful artist who may or may not have a life-threatening condition. Resisting nostalgia through willful ambiguity, THE FEATURE remains raw and brutally honest as Auder displays the best and worst of himself. Taking in his marriages to both Viva and Cindy Sherman, and affiliations with Larry Rivers, the Zanzibar group and the downtown art scene, this is necessarily a tale of epic proportions, chronicling an amazing journey through art and life while providing access to a wealth of fascinating personal footage.” –Mark Webber
Upcoming Showings:
Monday Mar 23 7:00 PM
Tuesday Mar 24 7:00 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment