Ken Jacobs' Black Space is a sensorial exploration of a completely black room, intended as an actualization of the theoretical "black space" needed for optimal film projection. The performance begins with audience members sitting on chairs in a completely dark, quiet room, which is gradually and personally revealed through minimal exposure to and accumulation of acoustic and visual elements such as the breathing of others, rolling coins, and the images induced and retained in the eye from flashes of bright light. Black Space was conceived and first performed in the mid-70s and has only previously been presented twice in the past 40 years.
"Complete darkness and we only acknowledge sensation, what we feel and hear and see, and not what we know...flashes of light leave 3D images lingering on our retinas as they join the other sensations, as does my disembodied guiding voice." - Ken Jacobs, 2016
Followed by a special presentation “My Enduring Fling with Black Space” including the projection of Jacobs' "JACK SMITH TUMBLING" (from "Two Wrenching Departures"), an extract from one of his Nervous Magic Lantern performances, and the premiere of "POPEYE SEES 3D".
"Dreamlands: Expanded" is a series of expanded cinema events organized by Microscope Gallery in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of the exhibition "Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905-2016"
Lead Underwriting Support Provided by the Robert D. Bielecki Foundation. Generous Support provided by J.J. Kasper, Paul Jost, and Natasha Reatig. This presentation is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council of the Arts' Electronic Media & Film Presentation Funds grant program, administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. Microscope Gallery Event Series is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Additional Support provided by Knockdown Center and Negativland. Sponsored by Colorlab and The Bodega. Official Media Partner: The Brooklyn Rail.