New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Detail: "Life of Action," Carl W. Peters, 1937. Mural. Photography: Fotowerks/St. Clair Photo Imaging, Rochester, NY.
In 2015, in the city of Detroit, we have our own modern day example of grit, determination, and community coming together to re-create a city before our eyes.
When
Franklin Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in May of 1935, he wanted to use the arts in
America to help lift us out of the Great Depression. On
September 15, at Cinema Detroit, a new film will celebrate the arts of the WPA, which helped us rebuild our society after the great crash of 1929.
"I'm delighted that we're screening in
Detroit and especially in a venue such as Cinema Detroit," said
Director Michael Maglaras, who also wrote and narrates this film. "Our film is a celebration of the art of the WPA era, and even though
Diego Rivera's
Detroit Industry murals were not WPA art…it is clear that his work and example did more than anything else to spark into life the great American mural work that was done under the WPA."
"Enough to Live On" celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Art Project: the
New Deal initiatives that put artists, writers, musicians, and actors on the federal payroll and back to work, as a part of our nation's recovery from the effects of the Great Depression.
This film features more than 70 works of art from this period and brings viewers behind the scenes for an intimate look at
Diego Rivera's
Detroit Industry murals through the use of archival footage of Rivera at work on the murals at the
Detroit Institute of Arts, and of intimate moments between him and his wife, the artist
Frida Kahlo. An excerpt can be viewed at this link: https://vimeo.com/133360184
Maglaras commented "Eighty years ago, there was no better example than the WPA of how a belief in the value of work and the importance of community could pull a nation together. In 2015, in the city of Detroit, we have our own modern day example of grit, determination, and community coming together to re-create a city before our eyes."
Other notable works featured in the film are by
Rockwell Kent, Dorothea Lange,
Stuart Davis, and Reginald Marsh. This work is also accompanied by newly discovered film footage and still photos of WPA artists at work…everything aimed at helping to tell the story of how
Franklin Roosevelt and the
New Deal moved art in
America out of the rarified atmosphere of the elite and brought it directly to the American people as an inspiration and catalyst for change and recovery in the 1930s.
Screening dates are being added frequently and the tour will continue through 2016. The full schedule can be viewed at this link: https://two17filmsschedule.blogspot.com.
WHAT: "Enough to Live On: The Arts of the WPA" introduced by filmmakers Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton. A Q&A will follow the screening.
WHEN: Tuesday,
September 15
7:00pm
WHERE: Cinema Detroit
3420 Cass Ave., Detroit, Michigan
TICKETS: $9
More about 217 Films: 217 Films is an independent film company devoted to the American artistic experience.
In 2005, Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton released their first film "Cleophas and His Own" taken from the American Modernist painter Marsden Hartley's epic narrative of love and loss, a private and personal narrative which was first published many years after his death. In "Cleophas and His Own," Maglaras both directed and played the role of Hartley.
In 2008, 217 Films' second release was the first-ever documentary film on the life of Hartley, called "Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet."
In 2010, with their film "John Marin: Let the Paint be Paint!" they established, through the first documentary made about this important painter, that John Marin was one of the fathers of American Modernism.
Among other distinctions, these films have been shown to acclaim at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In 2012, in honor of the re-publication by the Library of
America of the six seminal graphic novels of the American master Lynd Ward, they released the film "O
Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd Ward."
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the art exhibition that introduced Modernism to America, in
September 2013 "The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show" was produced.
Their sixth film "Enough to Live On: The Art of the WPA" was released in May 2015 in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Federal Art Project under
Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
The Sacramento Bee called Michael Maglaras a filmmaker of "Bergman-like gravitas." His films have been described as "virtuoso filmmaking" (National Gallery of Art) "alive and fresh" (Art New England) "elegiac and insightful" (Naples Daily News) and "unforgettable" (Journal of American History).
David Berona, author of "Wordless Books" said "O
Brother Man" "is stunning" and
Judith Regan of
Sirius XM called it "magnificent." A review in The Dartmouth said of "The Great Confusion" that "Michael Maglaras...brought the drama of the original show back to life." Scott Whipple of the New Britain Herald said, "Maglaras and Templeton's work is comparable to that of the widely acclaimed Ken Burns." Maglaras was recently featured in a full-length interview on "Conversations from Penn State" on Public Television.
More About Cinema Detroit: Cinema
Detroit is metro Detroit's only truly independent cinema, and the only first-run theater in the City's Greater Downtown (the area consisting of Downtown, Midtown, Woodbridge, Eastern Market, Lafayette Park, Rivertown, and Corktown). Cinema
Detroit delivers an eclectic, quality mix of contemporary, indie, cult, genre, and classic movies in the heart of the city. The theater features a unique setting and freshly made popcorn, Faygo soda, and other locally-made treats at reasonable prices. Cinema
Detroit was founded and is operated by Paula and Tim Guthat, and is completely separate from any previous theater operation in the former Burton International School building.
On the Web:
217 Films: https://www.two17films.com
Cinema Detroit: https://www.cinemadetroit.com
Excerpts from the film: https://vimeo.com/two17films
