Commissioned & world premiered by the Goethe-Institut Toronto
In 2024, an old 16mm print of "Man and Mask: Oskar Schlemmer and the Bauhaus Stage" surfaced from storage at the Goethe-Institut Toronto. The 1969 dance film is an interpretation of Oskar Schlemmer's choreographies conceived at the Bauhaus University in Dessau around 1925. Through chemical deterioration of the aging print, the film is now awash in vibrant pink and magenta hues. Curator Jutta Brendemühl offered Frankfurt-born Toronto artist and filmmaker Oliver Husain the 16mm material for a carte blanche treatment.
Husain and his collaborators use this flamboyant tint as both clue and entry point to reimagine Schlemmer's dances, ideas, and impact. Through its colourful deterioration, the film invites unexpected readings of early modernist dance and performance art history. International (notably Indian Bauhaus) connections and queer perspectives unfold through a short film, celluloid installation, and lecture-performances that explore the intersection of personal and collective memory in still and moving image arts.
"Art should not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible." - Oskar Schlemmer
Free public programs at the Goethe Space:
Opening Event: Sept. 11, 2025
5.30-7pm
Opening reception with artist Oliver Husain
More events to be announced!
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