Transcribing a Wilderness: Screening of “The Color of Pomegranates”

TRANSCRIBING A WILDERNESS: INFORMAL SCREENING OF “THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES” BY SERGEI PARAJANOV (1969)

Restored to Director’s Original Edit post-censorship

Presented by Julian Chehirian (@crucialobjects) and Jim Strong @jiim_strong in conjunction with Strong’s “Transcribing a Wilderness” Exhibition at Vox Populi Gallery through April 16th.

The Color of Pomegranates (1969, Sergei Parajanov) tells the story of the eighteenth-century troubadour Sayat-Nova, charting his intellectual, artistic, and spiritual growth through iconographic compositions rather than traditional narrative. The film’s tapestry of folklore and metaphor departed from the realism that dominated the Soviet cinema of its era, leading authorities to block its distribution, with rare underground screenings presenting it in a restructured form. This edition features the cut closest to Parajanov’s original vision, in a restoration that brings new life to one of cinema’s most enigmatic meditations on art and beauty.

Hot Teas will be paired with the film and discretely served throughout the feature. BYOTC (Bring Your Own Tea Cup!)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jim Strong is a Visual and Sound artist based in the outskirts of Philadelphia, PA who employs homespun low-tech processes to create personal languages in Painting, Musical Instrument Invention, Home Recording, Anthropomorphic furniture and Poetry- Often merging many of these elements into works and environments, which are both devotional and absurd. He operates the experimental music label, COR ARDENS and under constantly shifting pretexts has organized events and workshops in abandoned graveyards, school auditoriums and exhibition spaces throughout the Philadelphia area. He has shown work at Vox Populi Gallery (Phila, PA), Hudson House (Hudson, NY), The Philadelphia Flower Show (Phila, PA), Platform Project Space (New York, NY) , Rhizome DC (Takoma Park, MD), and The Center for New Music (San Francisco, CA). His musical projects have been released by Vitrine, Chocolate Monk, Gift of Music, Regional Bears, Horn of Plenty, and Cor Ardens. Follow Jim’s Work Here. ACCESSIBILITY DETAILS Please note that Vox Populi is located on the third floor of a historic warehouse building at 319 N. 11th Street and that there are five steps leading from the street-level to the first-floor landing where the passenger elevator picks-up/drops-off. The entry into/out of the elevator is 29-inches wide, so may not accommodate all wheelchairs or motorized chairs. Any individual requiring a ramp to navigate this entryway is encouraged to get in touch with Vox Populi ahead of time to coordinate ramp-access and discuss accessibility details. Our ramps may not be suitable for all wheelchairs or motorized chairs, so we strongly encourage anyone requiring a ramp to be in touch at: events@voxpopuligallery.org or 215.238.1236