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Beyrouth

A work made of digital color video, sound (projection); 9 min. loop
edition number three of five.

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  • A work made of digital color video, sound (projection); 9 min. loop
edition number three of five.

Date:

2001

Artist:

Joshua Mosley
American, born 1974

About this artwork

Joshua Mosley’s stunning, often cryptic work, which involves a labor-intensive combination of drawing, high-definition video, photography, and sculpted stop-motion figures, has redirected the leading edge of animation technology away from its origins in collective production models and commercial applications, and into the visionary realm of the individual artist and the fine-art short film.
In Beyrouth, Mosley depicts an imaginary philosophical debate between his Lebanese grandfather, represented by a twelve-year-old boy in braids, and his great-grandfather, portrayed as a white donkey. The piece has its origins in a libretto that was inspired by the artist’s conversations with his grandfather, an etching by Francisco de Goya featuring a donkey, and English translations of short stories by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. Mosley wrote his libretto in English, translated it into Spanish, back into English, and finally into Arabic. Like much of his work, including A Vue and dread, Beyrouth explores the behavioral rules of conversation and the structure of dialogue. In this case, the libretto developed into an operatic soundtrack created in collaboration with composer Toufic Farroukh and inserted within the enigmatic, dreamlike film.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Joshua Mosley

Title

Beyrouth

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

2001

Medium

Digital color video, sound (projection); 9 min. loop Edition number three of five

Credit Line

Pauline Palmer Prize Fund

Reference Number

2003.87

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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