History Meets Religion & Art

March 22, 2012

Known as a modern day Renaissance Man, Lech Majewski will discuss his captivating film "The Mill & The Cross" at Stonehill on Friday, April 13

Following three screenings of his film The Mill & The Cross, Polish artist, filmmaker, poet, and stage director Lech Majewski will speak at Stonehill's Martin Institute on Friday, April 13 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

His film is based on Michael Francis Gibson's book of the same title, which tells the story of Christ's passion as told in Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 1564 painting The Procession to Calvary.

The film focuses on a dozen of the 500 characters depicted in the painting, whose life stories unfold and intertwine. The theme of Christ's suffering is set against religious persecution in Flanders in 1564.

The three screenings leading up to Majewski's visit will run on Monday March 26, Friday March 30 and Monday April 2 in Room 105 of the Martin Institute from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

The Mill & The Cross first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and was praised by Variety writer Dennis Harvey as "an extraordinary imaginative leap, visually ravishing, surprisingly beguiling gamble, immersive experience."

In its own review, The New York Times said "Majewski is painting cinematically an inspiring, alluring meditation about imagery and storytelling, the common coin of history, religion and art."

Since its Sundance debut, the film has been sold to over 50 countries and has appeared at numerous other festivals. The film stars Charlotte Rampling, Michael York and Rutger Hauer as Bruegel.

Based on his intricate film work, Majewski also created a series of videoart pieces entitled Bruege
l Suite that were installed in February 2011 in the Louvre and in June 2011 became a part of the 54.Venice Biennale, displayed in Titian's parish, Chiesa San Lio.

While working on The Mill & The Cross, Majewski had retrospectives of his works in New Zealand, where he lectured in 2009 at the University of Canterbury on "The Hidden Language of Symbols in Art".

In 2006, The Museum of Modern Art in New York honored him with a major retrospective of his works, entitled "Lech Majewski: Conjuring the Moving Image." For that program, Majewski created the film eventually called Glass Lips.

Majewski's visit to Stonehill is being co-sponsored by the Visual & Performing Arts, Communications, and Religious Studies Departments as well as the Moreau Honors Program.

Contact

For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.