Presented in gloriously restored 16mm, Mike Henderson’s short films, spanning the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, approach the unique qualities of the medium in an unexpected way. From his talking blues shorts and queries into Black history and identity, to his bewitching, semi-abstract works of the 1980s, his films often grapple with the very essence of artistic creation itself, as if to ask (quoting his dear friend William Wiley), “What’s it all mean?”
A selection of Henderson's films, including The Last Supper (1970/73) and Pitchfork and the Devil (1979) will be screened at The Academy Museum, followed by a Q&A with the artist and filmmaker. The Blues and the Abstract Truth represents the first time these works are being seen in Los Angeles.
The Academy Film Archive has been conserving and restoring Henderson’s films since 2008. The event is programmed by Academy Film Archive Senior Film Preservationist Mark Toscano.
Learn more at academymuseum.org
