photographer / director / publisher
INDIRA CESARINE PRESENTS THE XXXX MAGAZINE VIDEO ART INSTALLATION AT THE “SOIREE AU LOUVRE” BENEFIT
[slidepress gallery=’soiree-au-lourve’]
I was asked by Christopher Pastor of the American Friends of the Louvre to put together a video art installation in conjunction with XXXX Magazine, The “Untitled” Magazine for the 3rd annual “Soiree au Louvre” Benefit in New York at the French Embassy Cultural Center on June 3rd. After having only recently launched XXXX Magazine in December of 2009, I though it was a brilliant opportunity to showcase some of our films from the first issue as well as the upcoming Surreal Issue, which is coming out later this month. I put together a screening of 25 original productions produced for the issues, with a mix of contemporary art and fashion films.
XXXX, The “Untitled” Magazine, is about collaborations between artists, pushing the boundaries of creative thought, multiplying ideas and concepts of sound & visuals to create multimedia productions in which motion is the key element. For the installation, as there was a DJ, so I had to present the visuals in a dynamic way in order to compensate for the lack of the accompanying sound of the films. I decided to have 2 projections playing simultaneously different movies on the 2 main walls of the ballroom. The overall effect was visually very dynamic, creating a visual universe that was on one hand very intense, yet equally beautiful. The films that were screened included some of my video art films, as well as many of my contributors including Patrik Andersson, Phanstasmic TV, Jordan Doner, Michael Daks, Kevin Ryan, Edward Symes, Bo Sul Kim,Menelaou & Rueberg, Monika Elkev, David Bower, John Paul Zuviate, Pato Guillamon, Jesus and Sophia Deininger.
I couldn’t of asked for a more beautiful location to screen the films from XXXX Magazine. The “Soiree au Louvre” event was held at the former home of Payne and Helen Whitney. Known as one of architect Stanford White’s most imposing accomplishments, the modern-day home of the French Embassy denotes the classicism and grandeur of the Louvre in Paris. Attendees made their way into the second-floor ballroom, overlooking Central Park. This year, the YPC’s benefit will help support the American Friends of the Louvre’s $4 million fundraising campaign for the restoration of the Musée du Louvre’s 18th-century decorative arts wing, a voluminous repository for pieces donated by the likes of Salomon de Rothschild, Arconati Visconti, and Stavros Niarchos.
The American Friends of the Louvre (AFL) was founded by the Musée du Louvre in 2002 to strengthen ties between the Louvre and its American public, and to formalize the long-standing generosity of American patrons. Over one million Americans visit the Louvre each year, making it the most visited museum by Americans after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Through special fundraising events and activities, the Young Patrons Circle (YPC) supports AFL’s mission to raise awareness for the Louvre’s collections and museum expertise and help make the Louvre’s exhibitions and permanent collections more accessible to English-speaking visitors across the globe. Committee members such as Annie Churchill Albert, Peter Davis, Poppy de Villeneuve, Kyle Hardin de Woody, Dabney Mercer, Serena Nikkhah, Maximilian Whitney, and other members of young society celebrate the world’s grandest fine art institution, the Louvre, and help to raise money for the museum restoration.
Look out for upcoming events with XXXX Magazine and American Friends of the Louvre, as they have asked me to continue to collaborate with them on future events and benefits.
For more information about the event, check out New York ART BEAT’s article on the installation:
For Soiree Au Louvre: XXXX Magazine’s Video Installation at the French Embassy