Photo: Mary Cook
Chiara Clemente’s documentary Our City Dreams, currently on view at NYC’s Film Forum, gives us a glimpse into the lives of five women artists living in New York City: Swoon, Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic and Nancy Spero.
Reviewed by the NY Art Beat as an affecting love letter from Clemente to the Big Apple, this documentary had some special moments:
1. We meet Swoon, a young and vibrant woman with a smile to warm your heart. She’s had her first opening at Deitch Projects—it was a huge party.
2. Ghada Amer’s mother saying that Ghada makes paintings of “bad women…” and (ooops) Ghada forgot to invite the filmmaker to her opening at the Gagosian Gallery.
3. Marina Abramovic, on the one-year anniversary of the tsunami, jokes that Thai women are bad performers because of too much coconut milk.
4. Kiki Smith finishing the installation of her show for the Whitney Museum up until the last moment…it’s part of a venerable tradition!
5. Nancy Spero blowing out candles at her 80th birthday party. Beautiful.
Our City Dreams is on view at Film Forum until Tuesday, February 17th.
In the meantime, a question for all you New York artists: What is it like for you to live and work in this city? What either brought you here and/or made you stay? If you would, please share!