Michael Snow: Solar Breath (Northern Caryatids)

Solar Breath (2002) is a 62-minute loop of fluttering curtains that reveal and conceal an idyllic landscape in rural Newfoundland. The work was a result of the artist’s observations of a window of his summer cabin in Canada.  Over the years, according to Snow, “a mysterious wind performance takes place in one of the windows, about an hour before sunset.” The artist sought to capture in the film the various movements and folds that the window’s curtain create against the window’s screen with the interaction of the wind. While on one level, Solar Breath is merely a fixed-camera documentary recording,” says Snow, “it is also the result of years of attention. Solar Breath (Northern Caryatids) is 62 minutes of the most beautiful, eloquent movements and pliages that the sun, wind, windows and curtain have yet composed. Chance and choice coexist.” Michael Snow is a visual artist, filmmaker, and musician originally from Toronto.  He first gained attention for his work in 1956, and in the 1960s, he became internationally renowned with his film Wavelength. His work can be found in many of the most significant contemporary art collections in the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, and the National Gallery of Canada. He has represented Canada at the Venice Biennale. The exhibition is made possible thanks to a JSMA Academic Support grant.