Zoe Beloff, “Two Marxists in Hollywood” (2015) (image courtesy the artist)
Hollywood is considered a uniquely American phenomenon, however — like most things “quintessentially American” — immigrants played a large part in its development. Several of those immigrants were members of the European avant-garde, including pioneering Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, who spent six months in Los Angeles in 1930 under a Paramount contract, and German playwright Bertolt Brecht, who arrived in 1941 fleeing the Nazis.
Artist and filmmaker Zoe Beloff explores their Hollywood legacies with A World Redrawn, that incorporates a book, an exhibition, and three films based on their unrealized cinematic projects. Glass House is based on notes Eisenstein made for a science-fiction film he pitched to Paramount, while A Model Family in a Model Home is inspired by Brecht’s notes for a film based on a Life Magazine article, that examines the theatrical roles that everyday people play in their domestic spaces. Two Marxists in Hollywood features interviews with the two icons, played by boys, set in present-day LA. Friday’s screening at the Velaslavasay Panorama — where part of Two Marxists was shot — will include a discussion with Beloff.
Copies of her book, which compiles previously unpublished drawings and writings by Brecht and Eistenstein, will also be available for purchase.
When: Friday, April 6, 8pm (Tickets: $15 general admission / $13 Panorama members)
Where: Velaslavasay Panorama (1122 West 24th Street, University Park, Los Angeles)
More info at Velaslavasay Panorama.
Great piece! Though “complies” should be spelled as “compiles.”
Ugh. Fixed.