ArtReview screens Jonas Mekas film documenting summers with Kennedy family in Montauk

To honor the late filmmaker Jonas Mekas, ArtReview is hosting a screening of his 1999 film 'This Side of Paradise.' This piece was filmed over several summers in Montauk during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Mekas spent time with Jackie Kennedy and her sister Lee Radziwill's families after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They resided in a house rented from Andy Warhol, who would join them on weekends. To help ease the transition for her children, John Jr. and Caroline, along with their cousins Anthony and Tina Radziwill, Jackie sought activities suggested by art history tutor Peter Beard, who recommended Mekas introduce them to filmmaking. Mekas provided a user-friendly 16mm camera and created a mini-textbook with simple exercises. Jackie expressed her appreciation in a letter, highlighting the joy the camera brought. Mekas completed editing the film in the late 1990s, which is characterized as a beautiful, gentle, and experimental Modernist interpretation of home movies, foreshadowing a culture fixated on celebrity. Mekas noted that Jackie enjoyed his avant-garde works, especially 'Walden: Diaries, Notes and Sketches,' and chose 'Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania' to share with family on Mother's Day. The screening is presented by Modern Forms.