Film Screening:

The Woodmans
(Scott Willis, 2010, 82 min, USA, in English, Color, DVD)
 

Winner of Best New York documentary at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Francesca Woodman's haunting B&W images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and Charles Woodman, Francesca was a precocious RISD graduate, who came to New York with the intention of setting the art world on fire. But in 1981, as a despondent 22-year-old, she committed suicide. The Woodmans beautifully interweaves the young artist's work with interviews with the parents who have nurtured her professional reputation these past 30 years, while continuing to make art of their own in the face of tragedy. The film grapples with disturbing issues, among them: parent-child competition and the toxic level of ambition that fuels the New York art scene.

Program details: The museum cafe opens for dinner at 5 PM on Thursdays. Enjoy ample parking, time to cool off, cafe dinner specials and reserved seating. Cafe reservations can be made online at nasher.duke.edu or by calling 919-684-6032. The lecture hall will open for seating at 6:30 PM. The film begins at 7 PM.

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Sponsors: Nasher Museum of Art