Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This event occurred on April 7, 2022.
In 1986, the film screening of "Maya Deren in Context" at the Kitchen in New York City placed the groundbreaking filmmaker among European and American avant-gardes. Yet Deren’s experimental films were also deeply influenced by the dances and rituals of Haiti as well as her early work for the choreographer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham, who studied and made dances reflective of the African diaspora in the Americas.
In this conversation, research specialist Kristin Juarez, scholar James Smalls, and multidisciplinary artist Kandis Williams screen films—including a selection of Deren shorts, experimental films from the 1930s and 1940s, and Williams's “Annexation Tango” (2020)—and discuss the influence of Black dance within an ongoing lineage of experimental film. The third program in the Dancers on Film series, this talk revisits the 1986 screening with a focus on the Black dancers and Black dance history in these films and the impact they had on their creative communities. .
James Smalls is professor and chair of visual arts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research and publications consider the intersections of race, gender, and queer sexualities in the art of 19th-century Europe and in the art and visual culture of the Black diaspora.
Kandis Williams is a visual artist whose practice spans collage, sculpture, film, performance, writing, publishing, and curating. She explores and deconstructs critical race theory, nationalism, authority, and eroticism.
Kristin Juarez is a research specialist for the African American Art History Initiative at the Getty Research Institute.
The films screened were Maya Deren’s “Study in Choreography for Camera” (1945), an excerpt of Jean Cocteau’s “The Blood of a Poet” (1932), and Kandis Williams’s “Annexation Tango” (2020).
This program is associated with the Getty Research Institute's African American Art History Initiative, which focuses on the history, practices, and cultural legacies of artists of African American and African diasporic heritage. The initiative aims to provide a more robust and accurate account of American art through Black history. https://www.getty.edu/projects/african-american-art-history-initiative/
Learn more about this event: https://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev_3456.html
The Getty Research Institute is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts and their various histories through its expertise, active collecting program, public programs, institutional collaborations, exhibitions, publications, digital services, and residential scholars programs. Its library and special collections of rare materials and digital resources serve an international community of scholars and the interested public. The Research Institute's activities and scholarly resources guide and sustain each other and together provide a unique environment for research, critical inquiry, and scholarly exchange.
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
Getty is a world-renowned cultural and philanthropic organization that shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage. Collectively and individually, our programs pursue our mission in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Our engagement in culture, arts, and philanthropy is achieved through our constituent programs: the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust.
The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to preserve culture and advance the practice of art conservation. Our work is driven by the values of excellence, innovation, leadership, collaboration, and service. Current projects include post-doctoral fellowships in conservation science.
The Getty Foundation is responsible for funding research and preservation of visual arts projects. The Foundation partners with people and organizations throughout Los Angeles. We award grants to support art historical scholarship, conserve art and architecture, increase access to museum collections and archives, and train visual arts professionals.
The Getty Museum fosters the enjoyment and understanding of art through events, exhibitions, and education. Visit the Getty Center and the Getty Villa Museum to explore exhibitions featuring art by Leonardo da Vinci, medieval artists, and others. Admission is free! Visit Getty’s website for tickets.
Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Villa Museum: https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
This event occurred on April 7, 2022.
In 1986, the film screening of "Maya Deren in Context" at the Kitchen in New York City placed the groundbreaking filmmaker among European and American avant-gardes. Yet Deren’s experimental films were also deeply influenced by the dances and rituals of Haiti as well as her early work for the choreographer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham, who studied and made dances reflective of the African diaspora in the Americas.
In this conversation, research specialist Kristin Juarez, scholar James Smalls, and multidisciplinary artist Kandis Williams screen films—including a selection of Deren shorts, experimental films from the 1930s and 1940s, and Williams's “Annexation Tango” (2020)—and discuss the influence of Black dance within an ongoing lineage of experimental film. The third program in the Dancers on Film series, this talk revisits the 1986 screening with a focus on the Black dancers and Black dance history in these films and the impact they had on their creative communities. .
James Smalls is professor and chair of visual arts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research and publications consider the intersections of race, gender, and queer sexualities in the art of 19th-century Europe and in the art and visual culture of the Black diaspora.
Kandis Williams is a visual artist whose practice spans collage, sculpture, film, performance, writing, publishing, and curating. She explores and deconstructs critical race theory, nationalism, authority, and eroticism.
Kristin Juarez is a research specialist for the African American Art History Initiative at the Getty Research Institute.
The films screened were Maya Deren’s “Study in Choreography for Camera” (1945), an excerpt of Jean Cocteau’s “The Blood of a Poet” (1932), and Kandis Williams’s “Annexation Tango” (2020).
This program is associated with the Getty Research Institute's African American Art History Initiative, which focuses on the history, practices, and cultural legacies of artists of African American and African diasporic heritage. The initiative aims to provide a more robust and accurate account of American art through Black history. https://www.getty.edu/projects/african-american-art-history-initiative/
Learn more about this event: https://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev_3456.html
The Getty Research Institute is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts and their various histories through its expertise, active collecting program, public programs, institutional collaborations, exhibitions, publications, digital services, and residential scholars programs. Its library and special collections of rare materials and digital resources serve an international community of scholars and the interested public. The Research Institute's activities and scholarly resources guide and sustain each other and together provide a unique environment for research, critical inquiry, and scholarly exchange.
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
Getty is a world-renowned cultural and philanthropic organization that shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage. Collectively and individually, our programs pursue our mission in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Our engagement in culture, arts, and philanthropy is achieved through our constituent programs: the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust.
The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to preserve culture and advance the practice of art conservation. Our work is driven by the values of excellence, innovation, leadership, collaboration, and service. Current projects include post-doctoral fellowships in conservation science.
The Getty Foundation is responsible for funding research and preservation of visual arts projects. The Foundation partners with people and organizations throughout Los Angeles. We award grants to support art historical scholarship, conserve art and architecture, increase access to museum collections and archives, and train visual arts professionals.
The Getty Museum fosters the enjoyment and understanding of art through events, exhibitions, and education. Visit the Getty Center and the Getty Villa Museum to explore exhibitions featuring art by Leonardo da Vinci, medieval artists, and others. Admission is free! Visit Getty’s website for tickets.
Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Villa Museum: https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
