Alex McQuilkin's Two-Screen Film 'Joan of Arc' Reinterprets Dreyer's Silent Classic at Marvelli Gallery
In her two-screen projection film 'Joan of Arc,' Alex McQuilkin offers a fresh take on Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent classic 'The Passion of Joan of Arc.' For a duration of 5 minutes and 18 seconds, McQuilkin appears in color on the right screen, while the left showcases Dreyer's original in black-and-white. Sporting a gray t-shirt emblazoned with 'OK,' she reflects on the film's significance as she cuts her long strawberry blonde hair. The narrative explores themes of Joan's martyrdom, spiritual purity, and her execution at the age of nineteen. The film wraps up with McQuilkin highlighting that Joan is the only individual both executed and canonized by the church. This work was presented at Marvelli Gallery, located at 526 West 26th Street, New York City, phone 212 627 3363. Joe Fyfe's article references related insights from David Cohen's writings.
Key facts
- Alex McQuilkin created a two-screen projection film titled 'Joan of Arc'
- The film reinterprets Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent film 'The Passion of Joan of Arc'
- McQuilkin appears in full color on the right screen while Dreyer's black-and-white film plays on the left
- The film runs for five minutes and eighteen seconds
- McQuilkin wears a gray t-shirt with 'OK' in white letters and provides mumbled voice-over
- Mournful medieval music by The Anonymous Four serves as the soundtrack
- McQuilkin cuts her long strawberry blonde hair during the film, using an electric razor
- French film theorist Andre Bazin noted Dreyer's crew cried during the hair-cutting scene in the original
- The film explores themes of adolescence, spiritual purity, and martyrdom
- Joan of Arc was executed at age nineteen and later canonized as a saint
- McQuilkin's shorn head matches the tilted angle of Maria Falconetti's in Dreyer's film
- Dreyer insisted against makeup on his actors
- The film was shown at Marvelli Gallery in New York City
- The article was written by Joe Fyfe and published on artcritical.com in 2007
Entities
Artists
- Alex McQuilkin
- Carl Dreyer
- Maria Falconetti
- Andre Bazin
- Oscar Wilde
- Karen Yasinsky
- Isaac Julien
- Joe Fyfe
- David Cohen
Institutions
- Marvelli Gallery
- artcritical.com
- The Anonymous Four
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- 526 West 26th Street
- Second Floor