MARK LOMBARDI: DEATH DEFYING ACTS OF ART AND CONSPIRACY
(MARK LOMBARDI – KUNST UND KONSPIRATION)
Dir. Mareike Wegener, 2011.
Germany. 77 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – 10PM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 10PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 – 7:30PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – 5PM, with virtual Q&A, this event is $10
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 – 5PM

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Mark Lombardi’s medium would probably be described as “graphite” or “pencil” on a museum placard, but his true medium was information. The tools he used to create his works were various publicly available journalistic outlets. The work, an assemblage of the information put together and showing the connections between the world’s governments, politicians, financial markets, military and terrorist operations. His ‘drawings’ were concept maps, diagrams showing the relationships between entities in regards to geo-political events. Lombardi followed the money, and he presented his findings in art galleries and museums rather than the dark recesses of the internet.

The associations Lombardi drew would garner the attention of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation after the events of September 11th, 2001, when they contacted the Whitney Museum and Pierogi Gallery to look at drawings of his that connected the Bush family, their oil holdings, the Saudis, and Osama bin Laden. The nature of Lombardi’s work, and the names contained within raise an eyebrow to the circumstances surrounding the taking of his own life in March of 2000. Lombardi was found dead in his Williamsburg apartment a day before his birthday and a day after he bequeathed all of his work to Pierogi Gallery.

Director Mareike Wegener humanizes and presents Lombardi through interviews with the people who knew him best: his friends, family, fellow artists, and gallery representation. Intertwined with archival footage and home videos taken by Lombardi’s friends showing him at work, as well as a now nostalgic depiction of late aughts Williamsburg that long time frequenters of Spectacle may recognize.

Mareike Wegener is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer based in Cologne, Germany. Wegener came to New York in 2009 as the recipient of the Gerd-Ruge scholarship, to work on the documentary during her graduate studies at the New School. Wegener will join us virtually for a post-screening audience Q&A on November 23rd at 5pm.

ONE DAY AND ONE NIGHT
(하루낮 하루밤)
Dir. Pak Kyong Jin, 2022.
North Korea. 95 min.
In Korean with English subtitles.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 – 10 PM

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“NORTH KOREA’S FIRST HORROR FILM”

After accidentally unearthing a conspiracy that seeks to thwart the revolution, young nurse Ra Myong Hui must gather the might to prevail against the forces that hope to end the worker’s cause… and her life.

Although some States-based gorehounds may just crave more blood, ONE DAY AND ONE NIGHT is a truly unique ghost story that adopts the more violent and thrilling aspects of its Southern siblings, while still towing the line as a Juche-Approved stagepiece about the awesome power of self-reliance and iron smelting (we agree). Playing all November long, only at Spectacle!

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR BLINDNESS
Dir. Alan Zignoto, 2012.
United States. 123 min.
In English

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – 5 PM
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – 10 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – 7:30 PM

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“HR4B” is a home-video snapshot from the catalogue of prolific audio/visual wizard Alan Zignoto. Shot in 2006, scored over the next few years, and released on VHS in 2012, is a slow-cooked music video manifestation of Zignoto’s ongoing music project Slobberkiss Intl. Zignoto describes the film as an aggregate of visuals they were fascinated with, and collecting onto video, in a time before they had social media platforms at their disposal for sharing. While living in Louisville, Kentucky, Alan (or ‘Al N’, ‘Arsenio’, ‘Raw Thug’) collaborated with multiple groups of the improvisational and genre-escaping DIY midwest landscape, including Softcheque, Sapat, Kark, and others. The film offers a casual, pedestrian, almost ambient glimpse into the suburban environments of Louisville, set to experimental, sometimes casiotone, musical accompaniment.

The Water Cycle and The Mandala Cycle

A pioneering video artist, Peter Donebauer has made artworks that combine an improvisational spirit with calculated scientific know-how. In 1974, he became the first artist whose video-work was commissioned and broadcast nationally by the BBC in the United Kingdom. That piece was “Entering” and it was part of The Creation Cycle, which Donebauer and his musical collaborator Simon Desorgher tinkered with over five years. The structure of the cycle is one Donebauer would return to twice more in his career, and it is our honor to host these rare cycles this November.

Donebauer was commissioned to make The Water Cycle under the aegis of Thorn-EMI, who intended to distribute the video as the first concept album on the then new JVC laser disc format. He teamed up with musicians Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins (formerly of Soft Machine) on the soundtrack, and the result is a spellbinding, seven-part video-meditation on the eponymous natural cycle. Unfortunately, the videodisc system didn’t sell in Japan and never even made it to the British market, leaving The Water Cycle in limbo. Nevertheless, the spirit of the project lived on in future “pop promos” (music videos) and the video can now be seen in full in our theater for one-night only.

Another 10 years went by before Donebauer made The Mandala Cycle, another seven-part video that toyed with order and chaos to create a spiritual experience in moving image form. The video, as its title suggests, revolved around mandalas — circular images that are used in meditation and symbolize the unity of creation in traditional eastern philosophies. In video-form, Donebauer moves across several mandalas, designing a riveting, metamorphosing experience meant to stimulate a “centering” of consciousness. Unlike his previous cycles, Donebauer opted to first record all of the imagery in the film and then digitally manipulate it, creating variations through feedback that maintain the seamless magic of his previous experiments.

THE WATER CYCLE
dir. Peter Donebauer, 1981
United Kingdom. 47 min.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13 – 7:30 PM

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Peter Donebauer’s The Water Cycle was commissioned by Thorn-EMI as a concept album for their brand new JVC laser disc player. With music from Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins (of Soft Machine fame), the video moves through the several states of the eponymous cycle — Sea, Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Seepage, Run-Off, Sea. As in much of Donebauer’s videos, shifting streams of color and amoeba-like figures coalesce into a meditative, spiritual experience.

THE MANDALA CYCLE
dir. Peter Donebauer, 1991
United Kingdom. 40 min.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 7:30 PM

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Peter Donebauer’s most recent cycle to date revolves around the symbol of the mandala, and is designed to stimulate a “centering” of consciousness. Working with predetermined imagery, Donebauer subjected each part of his cycle to a myriad of technological interventions, resulting in a video that fluidly transforms before the viewer’s eyes. The video proved so relaxing that it became popular among ravers in London, who’d often watch it during the come-down of a long night out.

Special thanks to Peter Donebauer.

Dir. Joel Straley, 2024
United States. 105 min.
In English.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 – 7:30 PM featuring post-screening discussion

Join us on November 20 for a one night only screening of local film maker, Joel Straley’s 2024 film, THE PRESENT SITUATION.

Alluding to the group of writers and activists, The Situationist International, this film follows three political dissidents who kidnap a hedge fund manager in an attempt to do vigilante justice. After some initial success their ideological differences cause major impasse. The drama is cut with equal parts YouTube clips pertaining to our contemporary political reality (or our present situation). The characters in this plausible satire can be considered with the back drop of the archival footage. Straley has created an excellent portrait of our vexed political landscape.

This event will be followed by a Q and A which will not only pertain to the film’s making but to questions and problems it highlights.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV_tPplqdVY