ICC collaborates with TIFF® to present FREE installation paying
homage to David Lynch’s Blue Velvet
The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) continues its annual collaboration with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). From September 9 to 19, 2010, the Thorsell Spirit House, on Level 1 of the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, hosts the Toronto premiere of Soft Rains#6: Suburban Horror (Part 1) as part of TIFF’s multi-venue exhibition, Essential Cinema. Admission to this display is free.
Borrowing from Ray Bradbury’s iconic short story of the same title, artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy’s Soft Rains series consists of miniature robotic film sets that reconstruct familiar cinema archetypes and genres. With Soft Rains #6, the McCoys have created a tiny diorama of an unsettling suburban scene inspired by David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), the film ranked #92 on the TIFF’s Essential 100 listing. Live video cameras trained on this diorama create a continually looping video sequence, presented on a nearby projection screen. This disconcerting tableau is complemented by Billie Holiday’s haunting rendition of the song “On the Sentimental Side.”
Jennifer and Kevin McCoy are a Brooklyn-based couple who work with interactive media, film, performance and installation to explore personal experience in relation to new technology, the mass media, and global commerce.
Institute for Contemporary Culture
The Institute for Contemporary Culture is the ROM’s window on contemporary societies around the globe. Playing a vital role within the historical museum, the ICC examines current cultural, social and political issues throughout the modern world in thought-provoking exhibitions of contemporary art, architecture and design that are presented in the Roloff Beny Gallery and other galleries of the Museum. Additionally, a roster of public events such as lectures, film series, debates and performances further explore relevant themes addressed in ICC exhibitions, serving as a catalyst for stimulating public conversations. The ROM's extensive collections of world cultures and natural history through the ages add context, meaning and depth to these engaging discussions of contemporary ideas. More information is available at: www.rom.on.ca/icc.
About Essential Cinema
Essential Cinema is the inaugural exhibition at TIFF Bell Lightbox, the new, permanent home of the Toronto International Film Festival. Inspired by the Essential 100, a list of films based on voting by TIFF staff and audiences, Essential Cinema features iconic objects and images from cinematic history, as well as film-based works of art from notable international artists and filmmakers.