On Screen At Artpace 2006:
Local Artist Curates Film Series

1.18.06

Media Contact: Libby D. Tilley
t 210 212 4900 x122
f 210 212 4990
ltilley@artpace.org
www.artpace.org

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Internationally renowned artist, former Artpace resident, and San Antonio native Dario Robleto organizes the Spring OnScreen at Artpace with three films that diversely explore the productive value of mourning and longing, ideas at the core of his own artwork. Mana – Beyond Belief, The Straight Story, and Land of Silence and Darkness diversely express the creative potential and possibility that is part of overcoming tremendous pain and adversity. Robleto’s drawings and sculptures composed of material heavy with history delve into the role objects can play in the grieving process. Whether mixing vinyl records or Civil War paraphernalia, Robleto’s obliquely narrative works consistently challenge viewers to develop their own stories. Robleto received his BFA from University of Texas San Antonio, TX in 1997. Among other group exhibitions, he was included in the 2004 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. He has had solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA (2003); the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria (2003); and Inman Gallery, Houston, TX (2003).

February 16, 2006 - 6:30pm
Mana – Beyond Belief, 2004
Directed by Peter Friedman and Roger Manley
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Peter Friedman and anthropologist Roger Manley travel the world searching for forms of Mana, a Polynesian name given to the power invested in things. From Elvis impersonators to Voodoo ceremonies, the film unites Friedman’s gorgeous aesthetics with Manley’s ethnological observations. The result is a rich visual masterpiece, which questions the role of belief in our daily lives. 92 min.

April 6, 2006 - 6:30pm
The Straight Story, 1999
Directed by David Lynch
Three time Academy Award-nominated director David Lynch explores the landscape of loss and family ties in the seemingly simple story of a man who rides a tractor from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin. A departure from Lynch’s typically bizarre and abstract imagery, the film presents a portrait of mortality that is still undeniably a creation of his dream-like aesthetic sense. 112 min.

May 18, 2006 - 6:30pm
Land of Silence and Darkness, 1971
Directed by Werner Herzog
Acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog pioneered the genre of non-fiction cinema, challenging the notion that “truth” requires no augmentation of reality. Land of Silence and Darkness, one of his best-known documentaries, follows the story of blind and deaf Fini Strabinger as she confronts the human impulse to communicate. Confined to her bed for three decades, Strabinger overcomes an existence that is unimaginably remote and abstract, and ultimately triumphs over the constraints nature has placed on her spirit. 85 min.

About Artpace
Artpace San Antonio serves as an advocate for contemporary art and as a catalyst for the creation of significant art projects. We seek to nurture emerging and established artists and to provide opportunities for inspiration, experimentation, and education. Our programs support the evolution of new ideas in contemporary art and cultivate diverse audiences while providing a forum for ongoing dialogue.

Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available on the corner of Savings and N. Flores streets. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.

Artpace San Antonio is supported by Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Neiman Marcus, a grant from the Ruth Lang Charitable Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation, Edouard Foundation, The Nordan Trust, Matthews Family Foundation, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust, and the Friends of Artpace.

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