Mysteries of the Pussies: The Cat Films of Carolee Schneemann | Museum of the Moving Image, New York

Hales Gallery is delighted to announce a special screening and live event of Carolee Schneemann films at the Museum of the Moving Image, New York at 2pm on Sunday 21st February 2016, with the artist in attendance. 

 

The four films to be screened are Mysteries of the Pussies (1998–2010, 5 mins.), Infinity Kisses (2008, 9 mins.), Kitch’s Last Meal(1973–76, 54 mins.), Fuses (1964-66, 30 mins.) “The intimacy between cat and woman becomes a refraction of the viewers’ attitudes to self and nature, sexuality and control, the taboo and the sacred,” wrote Carolee Schneemann, the pioneering film and performance artist whose films often include her cats. Mysteries of the Pussies is based on a performance that incorporates images of the artist’s cats and her research on the various implications of the word “pussy.” Infinity Kisses was made from a series of color slide "selfies" of Schneemann kissing her cat, made over an eight-year period. Kitch’s Last Meal is a condensed version of an epic double-screen diary film featuring Schneemann’s beloved cat, who also played a supporting role in Fuses, a classic avant-garde film capturing Schneemann’s lovemaking with her partner James Tenney.

 


 

Carolee Schneemann

Mysteries of the Pussies: The Cat Films of Carolee Schneemann

Museum of the Moving Image

36-01 35 Ave

Astoria

New York 11106

February 19, 2016