This year’s virtual Expanding the Frame presents groundbreaking experimental works from the past decade that explore modes of performance in film and dynamic relationships between camera and artist. Variously playful, pointed, and poignant, the month-long program highlights work by BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists who are expanding the boundaries of performance and film. Included in the series are several titles recently acquired for the Walker’s Ruben/Bentson Moving Image collection. Total runtime: 79 minutes (with The Giverny Document).
Live Artist Talk
Join a conversation with some of the artists featured in the month-long Expanding the Frame program on February 12 at 7 pm. Click here to register now for this conversation with creators including Rini Yun Keagy, Cauleen Smith, and James N. Kienitz Wilkins.
Expanding the Frame Part 1 Featured Films
The Giverny Document by Ja’Tovia Gary (Available February 2–9)
Unleashing an arsenal of techniques and materials to explore the creative virtuosity of Black femme performance figures, Gary creates a multitextured cinematic poem that meditates on the safety and bodily autonomy of Black women. 2019, 16mm to digital, 41 min.
The Violence of a Civilization Without Secrets by Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, and Jackson Polys
Using Indigenous cinematic language, humor, and performance, this transgressive documentary reflects on Indigenous sovereignty, the undead violence of museum archives, and postmortem justice prompted by the “discovery” of the Kennewick Man. From the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. 2018, digital, 10 min.
Traveling Shoes by Kevin Jerome Everson
A record spins, a young woman poses, and elders recount their memories with the Brown Singers gospel group. Featuring Sidney Brown Sr., Robert Whitfeld, Matilda Washington, and Kimberly Knox. 2019, digital, 7 min.
My Twilight Zone Thing by Sondra Perry
The artist reenacts scenes of actors in the television show The Twilight Zone alongside appropriated footage in her split-screen performance film. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York. 2017, digital, 2 min.
Which is Witch by Marie Losier
Louis II of Bavaria has been petrified in the ice since time immemorial. Three witch sisters try to defrost him and unravel a mystery in a colorful and surreal fairy tale. 2020, in French with English subtitles, 16mm transferred to digital, 5 min.
Lookin’ Good, Feelin’ Good by Stanya Kahn
Wearing a giant phallic costume, Kahn’s stand-up comedy routine is intercut with footage of her wandering the streets of her Los Angeles neighborhood. The artist shares her experiences with anxiety, arrogance, and vulnerability—all at the heart of her performance. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York. 2012, digital, 5 min.
The Sausage by Hilary Harp and Suzie Silver
Based on a Swedish folk tale, The Sausage tells the humorous story of two sisters, three wishes, and a disastrous obsession with a sausage. 2015, digital, 9 min.
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