80WSE Gallery presents a retrospective exhibition of Ken Jacobs' work, curated by Andrew Lampert. The exhibition, titled Up the Illusion, features a selection of Jacobs' films and videos, such as Blonde Cobra (1963), Tom, Tom the Piper's Son (1969-71), Star Spangled to Death (2004), and Seeking the Monkey King (2011). The exhibition is also the first to being together some of Jacobs' lesser-known drawings with his moving image work.
Ken Jacobs is a pioneer of the American film avant-garde and a central figure in post-war experimental cinema. His work spans from the late 1950s to the present, and includes films, videos, and installations that explore the formal and material properties of the medium, as well as the act of viewing. Working in tandem with his wife, Flo, he created dozens of live performance pieces with their self-invented double 16mm “Nervous System” projection apparatus.
The exhibition aims to celebrate Jacobs' artistic achievements and to introduce his work to a new generation of viewers. The gallery has a website that serves as a cinematheque-style extension of the exhibition where viewers can watch all the works currently displayed in the Broadway Windows on their own viewing devices.
The show runs from April 15 to November 26, 2023 at the Broadway Windows gallery located on the corner of Broadway and E. 10th Street. The installations can be viewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.