Jonas Mekas, the Godfather of Avant-Garde Cinema | IN THE WORKS | THE SHED

As an introduction to one of Jonas Mekas’s final films, “Requiem,” commissioned by The Shed, we reflect on the late Lithuanian American filmmaker’s impact on American cinema. Mekas, whom the New York Times has called “the godfather of American avant-garde film,” passed away in January 2019. We hear from his friend and peer, artist Marina Abramović, his longtime video editor Elle Burchill, and The Shed’s artistic director and CEO Alex Poots and senior program advisor Hans Ulrich Obrist. Mekas’s new film, “Requiem,” commissioned by and presented at The Shed, is a meditative tribute to Verdi’s score for the Messa da Requiem, or Catholic funeral Mass, and a reflection on the beauty of the natural world. _______________ Visit http://bit.ly/2pMXy78 for more about “Requiem,” and to discover our other original commissions ranging from hip hop and dance to theater , sculpture, digital media, and visual art. _______________ Experience Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem,” one of classical music’s most virtuosic and transcendent works, in concert and in film. Electrifying conductor Teodor Currentzis and the 106-member orchestra and 80-member chorus musicAeterna from Perm, Russia, will take the stage in The Shed’s McCourt to perform Requiem. Following rapturous reviews at this summer’s Salzburg Festival, the performances mark Currentzis and musicAeterna’s North American debut. A new cinematic artwork set to Verdi’s score by late, beloved filmmaker Jonas Mekas, and co-commissioned by The Shed and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, will accompany the performances of Requiem and will be screened in the Level 4 Gallery. The work is a meditative tribute to Verdi’s masterpiece and an homage to the filmmaker himself, who passed away in January at the age of 96. _______________ FOLLOW Facebook:   / theshedny   Instagram:   / theshedny   Twitter:   / theshedny