Mother Economy
video | drawings
Mother Economy video 2007
HD video with sound / Duration: 19:45 min. Language: no words / Screening Formats: HDcam, DigiBeta, / Beta SP, DVD, Mini DV
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Synopsis
Mother Economy follows the actions of a lonely housekeeper during a day at a house, navigating through the domestic space in order to find traces of family members. she is documenting the position of the objects, drawing marks around them and sketching them in her notepad.
her actions turns out to be part of a traditional systematic ritual, measuring every object and action into a numeric value.
Mother Economy presents the house as an economic unit in which even the mother becomes a calculating instrument and the obvious is revealed as reward and punishment.
Brief description
Mother Economy, a film by Israeli artist Maya Zack, is a meditation on Holocaust remembrance and an homage to resourceful women during violent periods of political upheaval. Wearing glasses, a lace-collared blouse, and her hair neatly arranged in a bun, the protagonist maintains order and composure by performing domestic chores with scientific precision and efficiency. The homemaker locates and identifies objects belonging to absent family members while broadcasts from the radio suggest the destruction and chaos occurring outside her controlled space. She traces a tennis racquet, cigarette ash, pocket change, and other personal artifacts on paper covering the walls and floors. The paper is pink, a color associated with financial newspapers and femininity. Taking on the role of home economist, she proceeds to catalogue objects before her. Using an abacus and formulas from her notebook, she compiles data to bake a round kugel (noodle pudding) which is cut to resemble an economic pie chart. (taken from exhibition text at the Jewish Museum NY).
Cast and Crew
Director: Maya Zack / Production: Ytzchak Roth / Actress: Idit Neuderfer / Camera & Lighting: Stanislav Levor / Editing: Amos Ponger / Original music: Ophir Leibovitch / Viola: Galia Hai / Sound editing & / mix: Omri Levy Jungle Sound / Visual effects: Stanislav Levor / Design, props & costumes: Maya Zack / Script: Ytzchak Roth & Maya Zack /
Curator: Yael Katz Ben Shalom
Exhibitions
2012 Made to Measure, Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, Rome.
2012 3rd Moscow Biennale for Young Art, Moscow.
2011 Camera Obscura, Galerie Natalie Seroussi, Paris.
2011 Vienna art fair 2011. at the Charim Galerie Wien/ CUC Berlin booth.
2011 Arco art fair, Madrid. at the Charim Galerie Wien/ CUC Berlin booth.
2010 Living Room, solo exhibition, Alon Segev gallery, Tel Aviv.
2010 Mother Economy - video and drawings, CUC Gallery, Berlin.
2010 Suspended Spaces #1, Maison de la culture, Amiens, France.
2009 “Reel Mothers”, California Center for the Arts Museum, Escondido
2008 The Jewish Museum, New York. Solo exhibition, Media Center
2008 Figge von Rosen Galerie, Cologne, Germany.
2008 “Mama” exhibition, MixArt Festival, Rishon L'ezion, Israel.
2008 Celeste Kunstpreis - Prise Finalist's exhibition, Berlin
2007 “Got, Gelt, Kunst, Kapital”, Artneuland Gallery Berlin
Awards
2008 Special mention, Imaginaria International Film Festival, Conversano, Italy
2008 Celeste Kunstpreis, Berlin, Art prize - Artist category award 2008 Special prize from “Ideas Museum” , Kinolevchyk, International Festival of Video Art, Lviv, Ukraine 2007 Best Foreign Film Award, Szemletek Visionaudial Film Review Pe'cs, Hungary 2007 Students Jury Special Prize, Szemletek Visionaudial Film Review – Pe'cs, Hungary
Production Support and Sponsors
The video was produced with the support of The New Israeli Fund for Cinema and Television - The Ministry of Culture and Sport – The Israeli Film Council; Israel Lottery Council of the Arts; and Mandel Granola Factories LTD
Festivals and Screenings
2017 Maya Zack: Memory Trilogy, Films screening and conversation. Holocaust Memorial Evening, Jerusalem Cinematheque
2011 Geschichte(n) in Bewegung, Das Filmforum der HBK,
Braunschweig Germany. Curators: Alex Gerbaulet, Prof. Michael Brynntrup
2011 5 artists 5 films, Pécsi Galéria és Vizuális Művészeti
Műhely, Pécs, Hungary. Curators: Katja Melzer & Hajnal Szolga
2010 LACE -Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, LA, U.S.
2010 Werkleitz Festival, Halle, Germany
2009 "Dreams & Disasters" screening, Top Kino, Vienna, Austria
2009 POV, Israeli Photography Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel
2009 100% Tel Aviv, White Night, Paris, Curator: Marie Schek.
2009 45th PESARO FILM FESTIVAL, Pesaro Italy
2009 Cologne Cinemateque, Keolner Filmhous, Germany
2009 Hull Short film Festival, Hull, England
2009 Transart, Rennes, France
2008 Winterthur International Short Film Festival, Winterthur, Switzerland
2008 Invideo, International Exhibition of Video Art and Cinema Beyond. Milan,Italy
2008 LA Freewaves 11th Celebration of Experimental Media Arts, Los
Angeles, USA.
2008 BUSHO, Budapest Short Film Festival, Hungary
2008 Imaginaria International Film Festival, Conversano, Italy
2008 Hamburg International Short Film Festival, Hamburg, Germany.
2008 International Experimental film and video Festival, Egilsstaðir, Iceland
2008 “KinoLevchyk”, International Festival of Video Art. leviv Ukraine.
2007 Trunk, The Nordic Video-Art Festival, Östersund, Sweden
2007 Izmir International Short Film Festival, Turkey
2007 Haifa Cinematheque, Israel
2007 Szemletek Visionaudial Film Festival – Pec's, Hungary
2007 Haifa International Film Festival, Israel
video stills
Festivals and Screenings
2017 Maya Zack: Memory Trilogy, Films screening and conversation. Holocaust Memorial Evening, Jerusalem Cinematheque 2011 Geschichte(n) in Bewegung, Das Filmforum der HBK,
Braunschweig Germany. Curators: Alex Gerbaulet, Prof. Michael Brynntrup
2011 5 artists 5 films, Pécsi Galéria és Vizuális Művészeti
Műhely, Pécs, Hungary. Curators: Katja Melzer & Hajnal Szolga
2010 LACE -Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, LA, U.S.
2010 Werkleitz Festival, Halle, Germany
2009 "Dreams & Disasters" screening, Top Kino, Vienna, Austria
2009 POV, Israeli Photography Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel
2009 100% Tel Aviv, White Night, Paris, Curator: Marie Schek.
2009 45th PESARO FILM FESTIVAL, Pesaro Italy
2009 Cologne Cinemateque, Keolner Filmhous, Germany
2009 Hull Short film Festival, Hull, England
2009 Transart, Rennes, France
2008 Winterthur International Short Film Festival, Winterthur, Switzerland
2008 Invideo, International Exhibition of Video Art and Cinema Beyond. Milan,Italy
2008 LA Freewaves 11th Celebration of Experimental Media Arts, Los
Angeles, USA.
2008 BUSHO, Budapest Short Film Festival, Hungary
2008 Imaginaria International Film Festival, Conversano, Italy
2008 Hamburg International Short Film Festival, Hamburg, Germany.
2008 International Experimental film and video Festival, Egilsstaðir, Iceland
2008 “KinoLevchyk”, International Festival of Video Art. leviv Ukraine.
2007 Trunk, The Nordic Video-Art Festival, Östersund, Sweden
2007 Izmir International Short Film Festival, Turkey
2007 Haifa Cinematheque, Israel
2007 Szemletek Visionaudial Film Festival – Pec's, Hungary
2007 Haifa International Film Festival, Israel
video stills
