Mennello Museum of American Art

Back by popular demand, the Mennello Museum’s Film Screening Series returns August 23rd with “Through a Lens Darkly”

That means our hours that night will be extended beginning at 4:30 pm to bring together visual arts lovers for viewing and discussion throughout the museum.

Starting at 6:00 pm curator Katherine Navarro will lead a chat through the exhibition alongside a special guest, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz Klotz for a valuable and exciting dialogue.

The film will start at 6:30 pm, giving you plenty of time to take in “Immersion into Compounded Time and the Paintings of Firelei Báez”, network, and grab some popcorn and a beverage before settling in for another inspiring look at humanity through the arts.

Just $5.00, and free for museum Members. Make it a networking or date night! Cash bar available.

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THROUGH A LENS DARKLY

The first documentary to explore the role of photography in shaping the identity, aspirations and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present, Through a Lens Darkly probes the recesses of American history by discovering images that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost.

Bringing to light the hidden and unknown photos shot by both professional and vernacular African American photographers, the film opens a window into lives, experiences and perspectives of black families that is absent from the traditional historical canon. These images show a much more complex and nuanced view of American culture and society and its founding ideals.

Inspired by Deborah Willis’s book Reflections in Black and featuring the works of Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Hank Willis Thomas, Coco Fusco, Clarissa Sligh and many others, Through a Lens Darkly introduces the viewer to a diverse yet focused community of storytellers who transform singular experiences into a communal journey of discovery – and a call to action.
Extraordinary…a deep, rich dive into the history of African American photography.” – Time Magazine
“Critic’s Pick! A wise and passionate guide to an inexhaustibly fascinating subject.” – The New York Times
“A rich, moving documentary…an expansive, fast-moving look at the African American experience since slavery, canvassing everything from the media savvy of figures like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to the ways that contemporary black identity has been corroded by consumerism.”  – LA Weekly
“One of the most important and necessary documentaries of the year.” – Indiewire
“Breathtaking.” – Los Angeles Times
“Rich and stunning: the semi-secret history of African-American photo imagery.” – The Village Voice
“Powerful…marvelous. Worth seeing just for the amazing archival footage.” – This Week in NY

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Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary visual artist. Recognitions include: 2019 Anonymous was A Woman nominee, 2018 UCF Women of Distinction, 2017 UCF Luminary Award, 2016 Franklin Furnace award, 2016 USA Fellowship nominee, among others,MFA 2008 Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of Art Ralph Bunche Fellow, 2002 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alum;Selected exhibitions: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s IDENTIFY: Performance as Portraiture series, Project 35: Last Call, Garage Museum, Russia, The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, Orlando, FL 2015, Manifesta 8, Spain 2010, American Chambers, Gyeongnam Art Museum, South Korea, Performa 05 biennial, Artist Space, NY; The S Files 05, Artist in the Marketplace 25, Bronx Museum of the Arts; The L Factor, Exit Art, New York. She is an associate professor of studio art at the University of Central Florida.