JAMES LEE BYARS

A portrait of the American performance and installation artist James Lee Byars (1932-1997) based on interview recorded at Wide White Space Gallery (Antwerp) and on the historical performance at VRT.

James Lee Byars, Antwerpen 18 april – 7 mei 1969
1969, 32'30”, b&w, English spoken.
Documentary on James Lee Byars’s exhibition at the Wide White Space Gallery, Antwerp (18.04.1969 / 07.05.1969). James Lee Byars, his whole body covered by a robe, talks to Walter Van Dijck about the meaning of art, the new meaning of clothes, the beauty of ’Natural Landscapes In An Urban Situation’, the role of museums and his idea that a show is a translation of his ideas. Images of Byars at work are alternated with those of other participants, moving in procession through the streets of Antwerp and into the gallery.

James Lee Byars: World Question Center
1969, 63'28”, b&w, English spoken.
During a live broadcast, James Lee Byars, surrounded by a few people, speaks over the phone to a number of intellectuals and asks them to tell him what question preoccupies them. He discusses these questions with the people around him (Georges Adé, Dr. Peeters, Marcel Broodthaers). Others communicate their questions over the phone. Byars concludes and asks viewers to phone in their questions.

This event is part of Jef Cornelis - A screening series in the Cinematek