Barnes Cinema: Arthur Jafa Retrospective
Saturday, June 13, 1 – 4pm
Still from Arthur Jafa’s Dreams Are Colder than Death (2013)
$15; $10 members and students
About the Event
Today’s program features three films by Arthur Jafa, one of the artists featured in our Freedom Dreams exhibition, and his collaborators: Deshotten 1.0 (2013), Dreams Are Colder than Death (2013), and 4:44 (2017). Spanning narrative fiction, experimental documentary, and music video, these works demonstrate Jafa’s distinctive approach to montage, rhythm, and emotional intensity. The screening will be followed by a short lecture and conversation with director and Jafa collaborator Elissa Blount Moorhead.
This screening is part of a special three-part series curated by Maori Karmael Holmes of BlackStar Projects in conjunction with Freedom Dreams, which brings together film, video, and installations that invite viewers to engage deeply with the memories, dreams, and histories of Black Americans.
Tickets include admission to the Barnes collection and Freedom Dreams.
About the Films
2013
Deshotten 1.0
Directed by Arthur Jafa and Malik Hassan Sayeed
Lying in a hospital bed, a young man replays the moments leading up to a nighttime shootout in the streets of New York.
Duration: 10 min.
2013
Dreams Are Colder than Death
Directed by Arthur Jafa
Dreams Are Colder than Death is an experimental documentary/essay film that leverages a reflection on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to pose more fundamental and pressing questions: What is the concept of Blackness? Where did it come from? What does it mean for people of color living in America today?
Duration: 52 min.
2017
4:44
Directed by Arthur Jafa, Elissa Blount Moorhead, and Malik Hassan Sayeed
Created to accompany the titular song from Jay-Z’s 2017 album, Jafa’s video uses a variety of sourced and original footage centered around Black American life. The video creates dynamic tension, offering viewers a complex relationship between the music, lyrics, and visuals.
Duration: 8 min.
About the Artist
Arthur Jafa is an artist and filmmaker. Jafa grew up between Tupelo, Mississippi, and the Mississippi Delta and witnessed the tensions associated with both desegregation and continued segregation. With a career spanning over three decades, Jafa uses multidisciplinary work to reference, discuss, and question the meaning and potentialities of Black experiences. His work Love is the Message, The Message is Death (2016) is on view in Freedom Dreams.
Speaker
Elissa Blount Moorhead
Moorhead is an artist, curator, and producer who has created public art, books, exhibitions, and cultural programs for the past 25 years.
Curator
Maori Karmael Holmes
Holmes is the chief executive and artistic officer of BlackStar Projects and the co-curator of Freedom Dreams. She has organized programs at Anthology Film Archives and the Whitney Museum, as well as exhibitions at ICA and Pearlstein Gallery.
Go Further
Daily Gallery Talks
Every day, our gallery specialists offer talks about the Barnes collection. Learn more about our history, founder, and collection.
Deep Dive: Cézanne’s Still Life
An in-depth discussion about Still Life with Penn MA student Nina Huang. Free with admission; Room 8
Lecture & Book Signing: Soutine with Celeste Marcus
Author Celeste Marcus discusses her new book Chaim Soutine: Genius, Obsession, and a Dramatic Life in Art.