Andy Warhol, the deliciously crass and unavoidably relevant pop-artist, continues his reign of unconventional artistry with a screening of the less than beloved Empire, a film featuring an eight-hour time-lapse of the iconic Empire State Building.
Ranked by various polls as one of the most boring films of the century, avant-gardists take to the one-shot production as an artistic expression of the beauty and marvel behind the "greatest city in the world," summarized by its most prestigious and emblematic structure, the Empire State Building.
Eight hours, though, makes the film not something to watch but to exist with, it's not meant to view but moreover to experience, as we live and experience a jungle unlike ones in a National Geographic special.
Co-conspirator Jonas Mekas remarked on the film and its effect as a modern art piece, as well as how Empire was influenced by thee minimalist composer La Monte Young:
"We became friends after Naomi Levine [one of Warhol's 'superstars'] invited me to his party, and I realized it was the same white-haired guy who had come to sit on the floor and watch my films. I always remember that we went to see a [Young] performance where one note was stretched out to four or five hours. It was soon after that I helped Andy make Empire. Young was making time stretch in sound; Andy picked up the idea and repeated it visually."
If you can stomach an eight-hour showing of Empire like you can stomach Warhol fandom and ideology, then the film is a must-see.
Empire will project at James Fuentes, 55 Delancey, between January 9-12 and 22-26.
The screening starts at 10 a.m. and--if you're a sound mathematician, you can guess--will end at 6 p.m. on the same day.
