Public Art Documentary Film Series

Discover inspiring and thought-provoking cinema at the 2012 Palm Desert Public Art Documentary Film Series. Beginning January 19, the public is invited to a fourth season of free screenings of public art-themed documentaries presented by the City’s Public Art Department and the University of California, Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center. Each screening will include a featured speaker who will discuss that night’s film. 

Artwork by Andy Goldsworthy

Series Schedule

January 19 – Rivers and Tides:  Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time
Landscape sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is renowned throughout the world for his work in ice, stone, leaves, and wood. Shot in four countries and across four seasons, this is the first major film that the artist has allowed to be made about his often ephemeral works.

February 16 – Tony Cragg: In Celebration of Sculpture
Versatile sculptor Tony Cragg has been making magic come alive in hard materials since emerging in the mid-70s. The film, shot in New York, California, London, Eindhoven, and Dusseldorf, reveals the artist as he installs international exhibitions of his work.

March 15 – The Rape of Europa
This feature documentary tells the story of the theft, destruction, and sometimes miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures by the Third Reich during the Second World War. More than 60 years later, a tragic legacy continues to play out as victim families recover stolen works of art, conservators repair damaged artworks, and nations fight over the spoils of war.

April 19 – An Evening of Short Films
Enjoy a series of short films highlighted by Dreaming of Spirit Animals: The Glass Art of Cappy Thompson, a documentary featuring the aforementioned internationally renowned glass painter. Jim Dine Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets) reveals Dine’s creative process for his installation for the Museum at the Getty Villa in 2008. Marfa Voices is a documentary by Donald Judd’s daughter Rainer that provides an intimate and unique view of one of the 20th Century’s most influential artists. The films will be followed by a question and answer period with Dr. Steven Nash, Executive Director of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Attending the Event

All films screen the third Thursday of the month, January through April, at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at UCR Palm Desert, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. For more information, or to make a reservation, please visit palmdesert.ucr.edu or call 760-837-1664.