Batiste Madalena
dal 14/10/2008 al 5/4/2009
Segnalato da
14/10/2008
Batiste Madalena
The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, New York
'Batiste Madalena: Hand-Painted Film Posters for the Eastman Theatre, 1924-1928' . This exhibition consists of fifty-three posters drawn from institutional and private collections and from the Museum's collection. Madalena created over 1,400 unique works before the end of his tenure, when the theater changed management. Approximately 250 of these posters survived when the artist himself rescued them from the trash behind the theater. 'Batiste Madalena and the Cinema of the 1920s' presents a selection of films for which the artist designed posters. His work brings unexpected color and a new perspective to the iconic stars and films of silent cinema's mature period.
Batiste Madalena: Hand-Painted Film Posters for the Eastman Theatre, 1924–1928
Batiste Madalena (American, b. Italy, 1902–1988) was hired by George Eastman during the late period of silent cinema to design and hand-paint film posters for his theater in Rochester, NY—at the time the third-largest cinema in the U.S. Working alone over a four-year period and against deadlines that required as many as eight new posters a week for each change of bill, Madalena created over 1,400 unique works before the end of his tenure, when the theater changed management. Approximately 250 of these posters survived when the artist himself rescued them from the trash behind the theater. Madalena's rediscovery in the 1980s brought his brilliantly colored, singular designs, done in tempera paint on illustration board, to the attention of critics and collectors, and soon made him one of the most celebrated advertising artists for moving pictures. This exhibition consists of fifty-three posters drawn from institutional and private collections and from the Museum's collection.
Organized by Ronald S. Magliozzi, Assistant Curator, and Jenny He, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.
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Batiste Madalena and the Cinema of the 1920s
October 20, 2008–March 14, 2009
Presented in conjunction with the gallery exhibition Batiste Madalena: Hand-Painted Film Posters for the Eastman Theatre, 1924–1928, this series features a selection of films for which the artist designed posters. In advance of seeing the films themselves, and influenced by his passion for particular performers, Madalena would work from still photographs and press materials to create one-of-a-kind posters promoting his larger-than-life subjects—all on a scale that could be clearly seen from streetcars passing the theater’s poster vitrines. His work brings unexpected color and a new perspective to the iconic stars and films of silent cinema’s mature period.
Organized by Ron Magliozzi, Assistant Curator, and Jenny He, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Film.
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Sally of the Sawdust. 1925. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With W. C. Fields, Carol Dempster. Fields made his film debut in this sentimental adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Poppy, playing a con man who raises a sensitive orphan girl (Griffith protégé Dempster) to be a sideshow performer. Madalena's posters present the film's stars as naïve carnival entertainers in a series of juggling and dancing poses. Silent, with organ accompaniment by Ben Model. 117 min.
Monday, October 20, 2008, 6:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, November 29, 2008, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Hotel Imperial. 1927. USA. Directed by Mauritz Stiller. With Pola Negri, James Hall. Swedish director Stiller brings a European sensibility and atmosphere to the setting of this Hollywood studio vehicle, written by Jules Furthman for Polish actress Negri, about a housemaid who hides a fugitive Hungarian officer from Russian soldiers during World War I. Although Negri gives one of her least glamorous performances in the film, Madalena's poster features a flamboyant caricature that he had originally created to promote her 1923 feature The Spanish Dancer. Silent, with organ accompaniment by Ben Model. 80 min.
Monday, October 20, 2008, 8:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, November 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Old Ironsides. 1926. USA. Directed by James Cruze. With George Bancroft, Wallace Beery, Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston. Originally presented in a startling widescreen format, this historical epic was big-budget, state-of-the-art entertainment upon its release. Mixing adventure, romance, and comedy, Old Ironsides tells the tale of the famed frigate USS Constitution battling pirates off the coast of North Africa in 1803. Madalena's poster design emphasizes the film's machismo; against a flaming red sky, the craggy, disembodied heads of Bancroft and Beery float above silhouetted ships on the high seas. Silent. 109 min.
Friday, November 28, 2008, 6:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1 (With piano accompaniment by Ben Model)
Saturday, November 29, 2008, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1 (With piano accompaniment by Ben Model)
The Last Command. 1928. USA. Directed by Josef von Sternberg. With Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent. Jannings won the first-ever Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of a refugee Russian general reduced to working as a Hollywood extra and reenacting his own glory days for the camera. The German actor was the most critically acclaimed international male star of the period, able to play both proud and put-upon with equal aplomb. Madalena captured his typically stern and tragic demeanor in posters for a half-dozen of his most important roles. Silent. 89 min.
Friday, November 28, 2008, 8:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1 (With organ accompaniment by Ben Model)
Sunday, November 30, 2008, 4:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1 (With piano accompaniment by Ben Model)
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