10/21 3-5 Maria Nordman artist talk at LACMA

MEET at 3pm, at the Balzac sculpture in Rodin garden, in front of LACMA along Wilshire, east of Chris Burden sculpture

Maria Nordman, a contemporary of Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Douglas Wheeler and Larry Bell, is known for her work using light and space as her primary materials. She has a film currently up at LACMA as part of PST, and will be giving us a guided tour/artist talk.

Maria Nordman Filmroom: Smoke, 1967–Present

Shot on a beach in Malibu in 1967, this film features two professional actors, a man and a woman, who were asked to be present at the given location at a certain time. No script was provided to them but the artist gave them specific props: a cigarette lighter, a box of cigarettes, and a chair. “The Pacific ocean and the sun are also actors in the scene,” Nordman says. Two cameras—one static on a tripod, the other one following the movement of the actors—recorded the situation. The films are shown side by side with a wall in between that creates three defined spaces. The room to the left features the film shot with a hand held camera and the chair used as a prop in the film. The room to the right loops the film made with the fixed camera. There is a third room where the viewer is able to look at both screens, witnessing a situation that keeps unfolding in time and space.

REVIEW OF NORDMAN IN NYTIMES