Presen­tation by Gabriel Lester

Salt Beyoğlu

May 14, 2011 15.00

504

English



Artist and director Gabriel Lester will introduce his short films The Last Smoking Flight (2010) and The Big One (2011) in a discussion around the films’ symbolism and conceptualization.

Additional screenings will be held Tuesdays to Saturdays 18.00-20.00 and Sundays 15.00-18.00 throughout May.


The Last Smoking Flight
10’08”


Smoking, along with its obvious association with pleasure and sexuality, has been a pronounced way of denoting a particular social, cultural and intellectual status. While the symbolism of the cigarette, the pipe, and the cigar in the 19th century became increasingly recognized, it was only in the 20th century that artists really began to make use of this symbolism. Gabriel Lester’s The Last Smoking Flight is a tribute to a disappearing habit. Depicting a combination of historic and cinematographic references, the film is, in fact, a requiem commemorating the death of a rich symbol and those who passed away enjoying it.

The Big One
18’43”


Staging grand lottery shows has been a tradition since the 13th century. Like theater and popular spectacle, the drawing of lots follows a narrative logic, where chance sets the dramatic course within a set of rules and rituals. Representing the gravitational pull of magical belief and the need to attribute value to non-existent connections, The Big One depicts the various stages of ceremonial ritual – from the rehearsal of the orchestra and the decoration of the theater; to the start of the spectacle, the draw of winning numbers, winners and losers; to the grand finale, from which spectators leave before a new audience enters. The film evokes the idea of a life cycle, where fate determines the course of destiny.


The presentation will be held in English.

Kindly supported by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
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