About the Program
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art’s Modernism + Film program investigates themes in design, engineering, architecture and modern/contemporary art through the lens of film. Developed in partnership with the Charlotte chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture, the Modernism + Film series is offered the third Friday of each month and includes a presentation to engage audience members about themes highlighted in the film.
Time and Tickets
An event reception with a cash bar and free light bites begins at 6 p.m. in the Bechtler lobby followed by the presentation and film screening at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets are $8 for members, $10 for non-members and $5 for students with valid school I.D. (Student tickets must be purchasd at the admissons desk.) Purchase tickets online, by phone 704.353.9200 or at the admissions desk.
AUGUST 16 - NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE AND JEAN TINGUELY: THE BONNIE AND CLYDE OF ART
In their decades together, the peripatetic Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely constructed monumental sculptures throughout the world. Through unpublished personal documents and accounts by other artists and close friends, the 2010 film examines this intriguing couple and the art they created. French and English with English subtitles. (Documentary, 55 minutes) Read more.
Speaker: John Boyer, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art President and CEO
September 20 - Urbanized
This feature-length documentary asks the question: “Who is allowed to shape our cities, and how do they do it?” and explores a range of urban design projects across the globe. The film features some of the world’s most prominent architects, planners, policymakers, builders and thinkers discussing the complexities of urban design. (Documentary, 85 minutes) Read More.
Panel discussion: Charlotte magazine Editor Michael Graff, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer Associate Tracy Dodson and UNC Charlotte Urban Institute Associate Director of Urban and Regional Affairs Mary Newsom
OCTOBER 18 - OSCAR NIEMEYER: A VIDA E UM SOPRO (LIFE IS A BREATH)
A candid and engaging glimpse at the work and life of celebrated modern architect Oscar Niemeyer is explored in this 2007 film. Featuring interviews with a frank and spontaneous Niemeyer as he nears his 100th birthday, the director introduces a wide range of Niemeyer’s most well-known buildings while illustrating the evolution of the post-war intellectual and political atmosphere through Niemeyer’s eyes. Portuguese with English subtitles. (Documentary, 89 minutes) Read More.
Speaker: Jack Ossa, architect at Gensler
NOVEMBER 15 - THE ART OF THE STEAL
A gripping tale of art world intrigue, The Art of the Steal chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of art valued at more than $25 billion. (Documentary, 101 minutes) Read More.
Speaker: Jerald Melberg, owner of Jerald Melberg Gallery and a former museum curator.
JANUARY 24 - THE FOUNTAINHEAD
The Fountainhead, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal, tells the story of an uncompromising, visionary architect struggling to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards. The 1949 movie is based on the novel by Ayn Rand, which was published in 1943. (Drama, 114 minutes) Read more.
Panel Discussion: Jim Williams, National Director of Design at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting | Michael Swisher, Associate Professor of Architecture at UNC Charlotte | Manoj Kesavan, Founder and Executive Director of Que-OS
FEBRUARY 28 (re-scheduled date) - TAMARO: STONES AND ANGELS
Architect Mario Botta (designer of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art) and painter Enzo Cucchi shared a dream of building a chapel with elaborate frescoes near the peaks of the Swiss Alps. This documentary follows the men through the planning stage and execution of this special structure. Dispensing with title cards or narration, director Villi Hermann let his camera tell the story as Botta and Cucchi struggle with stone and paint to build their remarkable structure. Italian with English subtitles. (Documentary, 85 minutes) Read more.
Speaker: John Boyer, President and CEO of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
MARCH 21 - PICASSO AND BRAQUE GO TO THE MOVIES
Produced and narrated by Martin Scorsese, Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies is a cinematic tour through the effects of the technological revolution, specifically the invention of aviation, the creation of cinema and the interdependent influence of these monumental discoveries on artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. With interviews by art scholars and artists including Chuck Close, Julian Schnabel and Eric Fischl, the film looks at the collision between film and art at the turn of the 20th century. (Documentary, 62 minutes) Read more.
Speaker: Sam Shapiro, Adult System Program Coordinator at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
APRIL 11 - BAUHAUS: MODEL AND MYTH
The documentary retraces the beginnings of the Bauhaus school following World War I and its revolutionary influence. It reveals the story behind its closing and the political collusion among some of its members under Nazi Germany, based on accounts by alumni and archival excerpts. German and English with English subtitles. (Documentary, 103 minutes) Read more. Buy Tickets
Speaker: Ken Lambla, AIA, Dean of the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture
MAY 16 - METROPOLIS
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. Silent film dubbed in English. (Sci-fi drama, 153 minutes) Read more. Buy Tickets
Speaker: Robert Whalen, Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte
JUNE 20 - COAST MODERN
Canadian filmmakers Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome, traveled the Pacific coastline from Vancouver to Los Angeles, visiting some of the finest examples of modernist architecture, while interviewing the people who designed, photographed and lectured about these homes. (Documentary, 55 minutes) Read more. Buy Tickets
Speaker: To be determined
The Bechtler’s Modernism + Film series is developed in partnership with
