Elizabeth Hirsch, our newest arts contributor, is a Brooklyn-based artist presently pursuing a Masters in Art History from Hunter College. Look out for more of her stuff to come!

"The Unfinished Film," which opened on Thursday at GLADSTONE GALLERY, thoughtfully combines footage, drawings and ephemera from abandoned or never made films. In doing so, the exhibition explores the curiosity and vibrancy of the creative gesture itself rather than finished form. 

The show has some rare treats, such as Andy Warhol’s never before shown Batman Dracula (1964)–starring no other than Jack Smith–and Kenneth Anger’s gorgeously displayed drawings for Puce Women, a colorful suite of images on an accordion-fold sketch pad, which the artist mailed to curator Thomas Beard in a plain envelope. 

For a rumination on rawness the show is remarkably refined, a reminder of the difference a frame (in any sense of the word) makes. As things go, the show is also a history of men making films, though works by the talented Maya Deren and Leslie Thornton figure into the mix through an extensive screening program. The front gallery has been transformed into a black box theater that will screen a selection of unfinished films each day at 3pm for the run of the show. 

Don’t miss "The Unfinished Film" or the accompanying publication featuring essays on film by Giorgio Agamben, Hollis Frampton, and Robert Smithson among others. 

"The Unfinished Film" is up through July 29.

GLADSTONE GALLERY
515 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10001
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FILED UNDER: Elizabeth Hirsch , Art , Exhibition , Gladstone Gallery , New York , andy warhol , kenneth anger , film