“China Film”: Upcoming exhibition at Black Rock Center for the Arts
The exhibition “China Film” documents film sets, locations and the vast outdoor movie sets around Beijing, Shanghai, and Hengdian, China. The images provide a window into an evolving movie industry and global media culture.
The exhibition will be on view November 18-December 19, 2015 at Blackrock Center for the Arts.
Plans to travel the exhibition are in the exploratory stages.
Meet the Artist Reception: Saturday, November 21st from 5:30 – 7:30 PM.
Artist Talk: Sunday, December 13th beginning at 4:00 PM.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:
China is poised to become the largest motion picture market in the world. In fact, China is nowadays the second largest film market in the world after the U.S, and it continues to grow. Box office receipts amounted to $2.8 billion in 2013. Around the country, entire towns have been constructed for the sole purpose of making movies in order to feed the growing demand. An hour’s drive outside Shanghai is a film lot that includes a reconstruction of several blocks of circa 1930s Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s famous shopping high street. Hengdian, in a region of the country known for manufacturing cheap souvenirs, consists of five distinct film villages, including a full-size replica of the Forbidden City. All of the permanent sets portray aspects of Chinese history. While most films produced here get little attention outside the Chinese market, the state-run film industry is working to change that. Just as Hollywood became an essential tool for U.S. ‘soft power’ diplomacy in the twentieth century, China’s growing film industry seeks to have a similar global influence in this century.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Mark Parascandola is a photographer based in Washington DC. A PhD epidemiologist by training, he uses photography to explore the interactions between human populations and their environment. Last year Mark was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and he was previously selected a Finalist for the Sondheim Prize in 2011 and a Semi-Finalist for Critical Mass in 2012. His work has been featured at galleries in Washington, DC and in Spain and appears in the DC Art Bank and numerous individual collections. His exhibit ‘Once Upon a Time in Almería’ was shown at the Embassy of Spain in 2012 and has since traveled to Miami and other locations. In June 2014, his first photobook Carabanchel was published, including photographs and text about the infamous Franco-era prison in Madrid.
www.parascandola.com
ABOUT BLACK ROCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS:
BlackRock Center for the Arts is a cultural cornerstone and the leading venue for the performing and visual arts in Upper Montgomery County Maryland. Since 2002, the nonprofit arts center has been providing the community with diverse performing arts programs, free gallery exhibitions and arts education experiences in a welcoming and intimate setting close to home. The dynamic facility houses two art galleries, two theaters presenting more than 40 performances per year, and numerous classrooms and studios where year-round classes in the arts are offered for all ages.
