Still from the documentary film Public Discourse (2005)
Directed by: Brad Downey, Tim Hansberry, Quenell Jones
Public Discourse is an in-depth study of illegal installation art. This is a film about passionate artists who want their work to be seen by a wide range of people rather than be confined to the systemic structures of galleries and museums.
Painting street signs, manipulating advertising, postering, and guerrilla art, are some of the subversive tactics used in this film by artists including: Darius and Downey, Swoon, Shepard Fairey and Revs.
Shot in the classic cinema verité style using compact mini-dv and video 8 cameras, Public Discourse follows the art-making from initial idea through to installation and exhibition, capturing the artists’ private and personal moments of exuberance and regret.
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This Wednesday, June 22, Open Air Modern is hosting a free projected screening of this unique documentary film. Please do join us this Wednesday at 7pm.
Open Air Modern presents:
Public Discourse, street art documentary film
Wednesday, June 22
FREE at 7pm
at Open Air Modern
489 Lorimer St. (btwn Grand and Powers)
Following the screening, we are thrilled to welcome director and cinematographer Quenell Jones to discuss the film and take questions from the audience.
Quenell Jones, director and cinematographer
Quenell Jones attended SVA for his undergraduate degree in Narrative Cinematography and earned his Masters of Docuementary Cinematography from the University of Salford in Manchester, England.
He recently filmed 13 webisodes for NBC’s 30 Rock and completed a four-year documentary journey with the legendary boxer “Smokin” Joe Frazier as cinematographer on the upcoming film Joe Frazier: When the Smoke Clears.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Also joining in our discussion after the film is writer and photographer, Ed Zipco, author of the non-fiction book The Adventures of Darius and Downey, which features the tales and exploits of two artists and companions featured in the film Public Discourse.
Ed Zipco is an acute and empathetic commentator on urban graffiti art, relates their most memorable experiences, from their early exploits and brushes with the law, to their work internationally in London and Berlin.
The Adventures of Darius and Downey by Ed Zipco (Thames & Hudson, 2008)
Through a series of true stories, this unique book reveals the tight-knit, exciting world of street art. Darius (aka Leon Reid) and Downey (aka Brad Downey) did their first piece together in Brooklyn in 2000—a life-changing experience marking the birth of a partnership that would go on to revolutionize street art.
Whats-Up or The Burden of the Children by Brad Downey, 2006
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Open Air Modern presents:
Public Discourse, street art documentary film
Wednesday, June 22
FREE at 7pm
at Open Air Modern
489 Lorimer St. (btwn Grand and Powers)
With cinematographer Quenell Jones and author Ed Zipco in dialogue following the screening.
Public Discourse has screened at dozens of film festivals all over the world, including: Brooklyn Underground Film Festival, Copenhagen International Film Featival, Beirut Documentary Film Festival and Berlin’s Transmediale Festival. We are delighted to bring this film back to Brooklyn for the first hometown screening in over five years.
Join us at Open Air Modern!
Open Air Modern – 489 Lorimer St. (btwn Grand and Powers)