Skyscrapers by the Roots offers visitors an opportunity to discover Horizon, a new film installation by artist David Hartt. As part of the exhibition, the Cinémathèque québécoise and the MAC are also showing some of his video works in the theatre on Tuesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. Hartt will be present for a public discussion after the screening. In addition, on Wednesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. you are invited to a showing of Playtime by Jacques Tati, a reference for Lynne Cohen, another artist represented in the exhibition.
David Hartt
Tuesday, May 20, 6 p.m.
Stray Light [2011, 12 min]
The Republic [2014, 16 min]
Et in Arcadia Ego [2022, 15 min]
The Garden [2024, 15 min]
David Hartt (b. 1967, Montreal) lives and works in Philadelphia where he is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His work explores how historic ideas and ideals persist or transform over time. His work is currently on view as part of Skyscrapers by the Roots at the MAC, and he is preparing for his solo exhibition Metabolic Rift at the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin. Hartt’s work is in several public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Jewish Museum, the J. Paul Getty Museum, MCA Chicago, MoMA, the National Gallery of Canada, the Nasher Museum of Art, the RISD Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Hartt is a Pew Fellow, a Graham Foundation Fellow, and a United States Artists Cruz Fellow. His work is represented by Corbett vs. Dempsey, David Nolan Gallery, and Galerie Thomas Schulte.
Jacques Tati
Wednesday, May 21, 6 p.m.
Playtime [1967, 124 min]
In this masterpiece, Jacques Tati’s burlesque genius, flair for the offbeat, and artistic ambition reach new heights, offering a visionary and poetic critique of the excesses of consumer society and the contradictions of impersonal modernity.
Jacques Tatischeff, known as Jacques Tati, was a French director, actor, and screenwriter. He began his career in show business as a performing artist and acted in films in the 1930s before serving in World War II. After the war, he resumed his acting career and in 1946, he co-founded with Fred Orain the production company Cady-Films, which produced his first three films. The Big Day (1949) was well received by the public and won the Grand prix du cinéma français in 1950. In Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953), he introduced his iconic character inspired by the architect of the building where he lived. The film received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Louis Delluc Prize. Following a disagreement with Orain, Tati founded his own company, Spectra Films, while producing his next film. My Uncle (1958), his first film in colour, won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1959. Monsieur Hulot appeared in two more films: Playtime (1967), now considered a true masterpiece, and Trafic (1971). In 1977, Tati received a César Award for his lifetime achievement in cinema.
