Maya Deren’s Sink

Born in Kyiv, filmmaker Maya Deren was a key figure in the U.S. avant-garde of the 1940s and 1950s. In the spirit of this influential, lyrical, and experimental artist, Barbara Hammer created a visually elusive yet illuminating portrait of an indomitable spirit.

The title refers to an object Hammer came across by chance: the sink from Maya Deren’s former home, which she uses as both a starting point and a projection screen for her reflections on Deren and the artist’s own reflections on art, architecture, time, and space. Hammer also filmed in the house itself, where the artist made her films and which provides a backdrop once again, this time for Hammer’s visual collages incorporating excerpts from interviews and Deren’s own films.

An experimental soundtrack frames this distinctive portrait of a woman who was creatively, intellectually, and spiritually uncompromising, and who gave expression to her original ideas not only through images, but also through words.

This screening is part of Focus: Barbara Hammer, a program presenting films by American filmmaker and visual artist Barbara Hammer. See the full program here.