Independent American artist Arthur Jafa in Galerie Rudolfinum (Portal of Prague)

The exhibition of the famous American filmmaker, cinematographer and artist Arthur Jafa can now be seen at the Galerie Rudolfinum. It is his first exhibition in the Czech Republic. Arthur Jafa creates images of African-American identity and culture through a broad spectrum of contemporary footage and found images. The exhibition’s title, ‘A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions’, refers to the feeling of emptiness that characterizes black life, according to Jafa.

Best Camera Award

Jafa, who originally studied architecture, made his debut in filmmaking as a cinematographer in the film ‘Daughters of the Dust’ by director Julie Dash in 1991, winning the prize for best cinematography at Sundance Film Festival. Jafa also collaborated with many directors, from Spike Lee (Crooklyn, 1994) to John Akomfrah (Seven Songs for Malcolm X, 1993) and artists including Kara Walker and Fred Moten. He is also one of the main members of the TNEG (along with Elissa Blount Moorhead and Malik Hassan Sayeed). He lectures at universities in the US and Europe and has published several critical-theoretical manifests.

Unique Master of Edge and Effect

Jafa, as a filmmaker, has a unique conception of editing and juxtaposition to create maximum effect. His work is based on a set of source books of images he has been assembling since the eighties. This archive, which he continuously builds on, is an enduring resource for ‘Picture Books’ series, as well as for new films, including ‘Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death’ (2016), which premiered in New York at Jafa's home gallery, Gavin Brown's Enterprise and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; and was also screened in Prague.

London, Berlin, Prague

An exhibition called ‘Arthur Jafa: A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions (featuring Ming Smith; Frida Orupabo and Missylanyus)’ is the artist's installation created for Prague, based on his previous London exhibition, which was on display in the famous Serpentine Galleries in 2017.

In Prague, the exhibition is a part of the artist’s tour of Europe. After London, it was featured in the Julia Stoschek Collection in Berlin in the summer of 2018, and it will continue from the Czech Capital to Moderna Museet in Stockholm at the beginning of April.

Prague has a unique exhibition

The Prague exhibition is broader than the one in London. “I am delighted that we managed to obtain Jafa's key works for the Prague exhibition: an eight-minute video ‘APEX’, a quick sequence of hundreds of images of objects, people and events, and especially the one-minute shorter ‘Love is the Message, The Message is Death’. This video is a composition of footage of concerts, marches, police operations and YouTube clips edited by Jafa against the soundtrack of gospel-inspired ‘Ultralight Beam’ by Kanye West. By exhibiting it, we managed to extend the original concept of the exhibition in The Serpentine Galleries,” explains Petr Nedoma, the curator of the exhibition in Prague

The exhibition also includes works of three other artists: works of a photographer Ming Smith, an Instagram account, @nemiepeba, of the artist Frida Orupabo, and Missylanyus YouTube content.

For more information, please visit http://www.galerierudolfinum.cz/en/

Additional information:

Guided tours by the curator of the Prague exhibition, Petr Nedoma

14/02/2019 at 6PM: Guided tour with the theme: ‘What does the name of Arthur Jafa’s exhibition refer to?’

28/02/2019 at 6PM: Guided tour with the theme: ‘How does Arthur Jafa identify special visual aesthetics in his work?’

14/03/2019 at 6PM: Guided tour with the theme: ‘Why are the works of Ming Smith, Frida Orupabo and Missylanyus included in the exhibition?’

28/03/2019 at 6PM: Final guided tour.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT:

Open until 31/03/2019

Venue:

Galerie Rudolfinum

Alšovo nábřeží 12, Praha 1

Opening Times:

Tuesday – Sunday: 10AM – 6PM

Thursday: 10AM - 8PM

Free Admission

Independent American artist Arthur Jafa in Galerie Rudolfinum