Mamori by Karl Lemieux

Montréal, January 5, 2010 — As part of the Projections series, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is proud to present, with the collaboration of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the world premiere of Mamori (2010), an experimental animated film by artist Karl Lemieux. This original work will be screened continuously in Beverly Webster Rolph (BWR) Hall at the Musée d’art contemporain from January 13 to March 14, 2010. At the end of January, Karl Lemieux be showing this new work at the upcoming edition of the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam, devoted to innovative, independent and experimental films.

Musée Director Paulette Gagnon is delighted to have Mamori on the Projections series program: “This series introduces the Montréal public to works by artists on the local and international scenes who are building and enriching the art of film. Lemieux’s work fits in perfectly with this tradition.”

According to Monique Simard, Director General of French Program at the NFB, “Mamori is being presented in one of the most conducive places for discovering its artistic qualities, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. In keeping with its mission, the NFB supports innovation in all types of cinematic practices, including experimental films, and is proud to work all across the country with bold creative artists like Karl Lemieux.”

Press Screening

Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 10 a.m. – in BWR Hall at the Musée d’art contemporain
In the presence of Karl Lemieux
RSVP by January 12: Danielle Legentil 514-847-6232

Mamori

Mamori (2010) was produced at the National Film Board of Canada by Julie Roy.The NFB Animation Studio, a creative space made legendary by Norman McLaren, welcomed Karl Lemieux for this project that emerged out of an artistic residency organized by Spanish composer Francisco López. A leading figure on the avant-garde music scene, López set up the Mamori ArtLab, where sound artists are invited to make field recordings. At this place in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, Lemieux set out to capture the textures of tropical vegetation and its various transformations according to the phenomena of light. The result is an experimental animated film, produced by the coming together of two forms: the acoustic abstraction of López’s original music and the visual abstraction of the images. Back in the studio, Lemieux refilmed his original digital photos, one photogram at a time, with a 16-mm camera. He did photochemical tests on expired colour film and kept only the resulting black-and-white images. The final product: a subtle physical sensation that takes shape through the rhythm of the images, sounds and editing.

Karl Lemieux

A native of Kingsey Falls, near Victoriaville, the experimental Montréal filmmaker Karl Lemieux studied cinema at Concordia University. From his first short film, he showed an interest in the relationship between image and sound. Together with Daichi Saito, he co-founded the collective Double Negative dedicated to producing and exhibiting experimental film. He has also participated regularly in concerts and performances in which he projects and manipulates—live—16-mm films. His memorable contribution to the Musée’s Friday Nocturnes in 2008, with the group Pas Chic Chic, was one such occasion. He has made many short films, including The Bridge (1998); KI (2001); Mouvement de lumière/Motion of Light (2004), Western Sunburn (2007); Trash and No Star! (2008); and Passage (2008). This last film has garnered several national and international awards, among them the Grand Prize of the Jury/PHI Group.

Credits for Mamori – 35-mm film, 8 min
Direction, camera and animation: Karl Lemieux
Field recordings, composition and sound design: Francisco López
Producer: Julie Roy, Animation and Youth Studio, NFB
Production: National Film Board of Canada
Presentation: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Projections series organization: Louise Simard, Head of Multimedia Events, MACM

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is located at 185 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Place-des-Arts metro. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., plus the first Friday of every month for our Nocturnes until 9 p.m. Information: 514-847-6226. Website: www.macm.org

Acknowledgements

The Musée d’art contemporain is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.

The NFB in brief

As Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board creates socially engaged documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with an authentically Canadian perspective. Since it was founded in 1939, the NFB has crafted over 13,000 productions and received more than 5,000 awards, including twelve Oscars® and more than ninety Genies. In 2009, the film Neighbours/Voisins by the great Norman McLaren, who pioneered animation at the NFB, was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.