Ballad of Philip Guston

The work of Jem Cohen closely intertwines with music. Music with an affinity to his own aesthetic: unadorned, lyrical, sincere – and yet also raw, confronting, abrasive, unafraid to look at everything and everyone ruined and abandoned by society. Cohen himself uses similar words to describe a beloved artist’s approach to painting in the plangent, essayistic BALLAD OF PHILIP GUSTON. In the rest of this Cohen round-up, a network of musical friendships and artistic collaborations appears. TREE SONG showcases a track by the duo Xylouris White; Cohen’s static landscape frames resonate with the combination of old and new musical styles. Jim White on drums then reappears on a rooftop in OR NOTHING alongside thrashing guitarist Emmett Kelly. Kelly is associated with Jessica Moss, whose investigation of Jewish musical tradition fills both OPENED ENDING, a mournful violin drone set against a free montage of images captured in New York streets; and TISH NIGN, featuring the music of Black Ox Orkestar. At one point, a truck with the word “Time” painted in large letters passes by – could any stolen moment sum up better the cinema of Jem Cohen? (Adrian Martin)

Followed by a talk between Jem Cohen and James Benning.
This film will be shown as part of the screening JEM COHEN. BALLADS.