Dennis Hollingsworth

Jay Bolotin at Cirrus

One of the events that I'm going to check out this weekend is at Cirrus Gallery, a show and performance by Jay Bolotin. The video above is pulled from YouTube, a show of his at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. Here is the press release from Cirrus:

News : Jay Bolotin:The Jackleg Testament

Opening Reception & Musical Performance, March 21, 5-7 pm

Last Updated: March 2, 2009 5:03 pm GMT(print)
(Los Angeles, California--March 2, 2009) Cirrus is pleased to present The Jackleg Testament, a film, performance, and exhibition project by Jay Bolotin. The film was honored with a "best animation" award at the 2007 Santa Fe Film Festival.

A native of Kentucky, Bolotin is an acclaimed musician and visual artist who has utilised his dual talents to create an impressive body of multi-disciplinary work. His latest project, The Jackleg Testament, is a 67-minute animated film, for which he also composed a richly textured operatic score. The artist spent five years animating the film, using 40 of his own hand-carved woodblocks as source material. Along with other print work by Jay Bolotin, this limited edition suite of prints will be on exhibit and available as a portfolio. The size of these black and white prints is 26 x 20 inches.

In the past, Bolotin cast his artwork into the realm of live action through theater pieces, set designs, and experimental operas. WithThe Jackleg Testament, he ventures for the first time into the medium of film, rather than live stage performance, to translate his printwork into moving images.

This animated film also employs Bolotin's characteristic allusions to art history, literature, religious scripture, as well as personal mythology, to help reinterpret the familiar story of Adam and Eve. The first in a three-part series, it premiered at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati in 2005 and screened at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego and the Pokolenyi Theater, St. Petersberg, Russia.

About the artist:
Described by Kris Kristofferson as "one of the three best songwriters in the country," Bolotin is an accomplished musician whose compositions have been lauded by, among others, Merle Haggard, Dan Fogelberg, and Porter Wagoner. He continues to perform regularly, giving concerts in the United States and abroad.

His artwork can be found in several private collections, in addition to the New York Public Library; Georgia Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Seattle Art Museum; National Museum of Australia, Camberra; and Cincinnati Art Museum. The artist has also been awarded fellowship grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the MacDowell Colony.

Jay Bolotin plans a live musical performance for his opening reception at Cirrus Gallery.

Cirrus Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm