Film Screenings / Programs / Retrospectives
JIM FLETCHER ON SCREEN
June 11 – June 16
Performer, actor, and writer Jim Fletcher has been an invaluable part of New York City’s cultural landscape for many years, above all as a member of Richard Maxwell’s renowned theater company, the New York City Players, and as a collaborator with many other of the city’s most innovative and adventurous theater groups (including The Wooster Group and Elevator Repair Service). In his stage performances, Fletcher is possessed of a commanding, indelible, yet singular presence – a simultaneously lumbering and graceful physicality, a voice that seems to emanate from quarters unknown, an entirely unique comic sensibility, and above all, an unparalleled mastery of the highly distinctive, uninflected acting style that Richard Maxwell and his company have pioneered.
Though he may be most widely known for his stage appearances, Fletcher has, throughout his career, ranged freely among almost every medium imaginable, forging collaborations with figures across creative communities that often operate in isolation from each other. In addition to his work in the theater, he has been active with the artist collective Bernadette Corporation, making major contributions to the group’s magazine Made in U.S.A. and to the collectively-written texts Reena Spaulings and The Complete Poem. He has also served as an occasional writer and editor for the renowned publishing imprint Semiotext(e), as well as contributing articles and interviews to Bomb Magazine and other journals.
Perhaps least recognized of all, though, is his engagement with the moving image. His screen appearances encompass video experiments by theater artists such as Richard Maxwell and Tim Etchells (of U.K. theater group Forced Entertainment), documentaries like Shaun Irons's STANDING BY: GATZ BACKSTAGE, and collaborations with film and video artists including Laura Parnes, Ellen Cantor, Tony Oursler, and Zoe Beloff. Presented in conjunction with special screenings of two of Fletcher’s most recent moving-image projects – New Red Order’s NEVER SETTLE: THE PROGRAM and Adam Khalil, Bayley Sweitzer, and Anton Vidokle’s A I O U – this film series further reveals Fletcher’s Venn-diagram-like ability to draw together different constellations of artists, communities, and creative approaches.
This film series is co-presented with Participant Inc. Special thanks to Jim Fletcher; Adam Khalil; Zack Khalil; Jackson Polys; Bayley Sweitzer; Rebecca Cleman, Tyler Maxin, and Karl McCool (Electronic Arts Intermix); Lia Gangitano (Participant Inc); Zach Vanes (Video Data Bank); and all the filmmakers.
Jim Fletcher will be here in person for selected screenings, and will be joined by several collaborators and other guests!
