29 min
Will Call #71: Jennifer Trainer on Museum Town Will Call
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In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Trainer, director of the documentary, Museum Town which released earlier in 2019, debuting at SXSW. Museum Town tells the story of MASS MoCA, arguably the United States’ most expansive contemporary art space, but it does a lot more besides. This flick situates the museum within the various contexts of history, culture, and economic development. With memories and observations contributed by political figures, local business owners, the general public, artists, and the architects of the original idea, Museum Town takes an unflinching look back at how their instincts were, in many ways, spot on, but at the same time missed the mark here or there.
⬇️ Podcast Player ⬇️
Thanks for tuning in to Episode #71 of Will Call here at the Greylock Glass, the Berkshire’s mightiest independent alternative newsthing. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and I’d like to remind you that if you like the programming and articles you find at the Greylock Glass, you can support our work by becoming a member for as little as a dollar per month. Find out more by going to greylockglass.com/membership.
The film presents some of the most relevant and interesting history of the mill complex, from the days of Sprague Electric back to its inception as Arnold Print Works; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker.
Such a documentary, in part compiled of photos footage collected by the museum itself over the years, risks being overly promotional, yet Trainer stops well short of creating an overly self-congratulatory paean to an institution that has, at time generated intense criticism. The film makes its cinematic debut at Images Cinema in Williamstown, Friday, November 1 with a discussion featuring Jennifer Trainer, Representative John Barrett, producer Noah Bashevkin, producer Rachel Chanoff.
Museum Town — showing 11/1 through 11/7Director: Jennifer TrainerRuntime: 1 hour 15 minutesImages Cinema50 Spring StreetWilliamstown, Mass.For showtimes, clique aqui.For more info, visit the documentary’s website.
Jennifer Trainer, on Museum Town
Jennifer Trainer at Hancock Shaker Village, where she serves as Director; submitted photo.
My goal was really to tell what I knew. My goal was to tell the history of MASS MoCA and what MASS MoCA is today, and to tell a story about risk and taking risk, and what that means…To compress 30 years into 90 minutes is impossible, and, as my cinematographer said to me, you’re going to leave many of your babies on the cutting room floor, because they don’t serve the point, the purpose in the end, and that was so true. It killed me to leave out something that we had filmed.
But, ultimately, we picked five characters, and they were an artists that we followed through an installation for 18 months, a curator and how the curatorial process works, because I also wanted to show what it’s like to work inside a museum. And then we picked the guy in the basement who’s actually fabricating some of these works, because so many of these massive contemporary pieces are not just made by one person in their studio — they’re really like a film their collaborative effort.
Installation of Christoph Büchel’s unfinished Training Ground for Democracy; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker.
In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Trainer, director of the documentary, Museum Town which released earlier in 2019, debuting at SXSW. Museum Town tells the story of MASS MoCA, arguably the United States’ most expansive contemporary art space, but it does a lot more besides. This flick situates the museum within the various contexts of history, culture, and economic development. With memories and observations contributed by political figures, local business owners, the general public, artists, and the architects of the original idea, Museum Town takes an unflinching look back at how their instincts were, in many ways, spot on, but at the same time missed the mark here or there.
⬇️ Podcast Player ⬇️
Thanks for tuning in to Episode #71 of Will Call here at the Greylock Glass, the Berkshire’s mightiest independent alternative newsthing. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and I’d like to remind you that if you like the programming and articles you find at the Greylock Glass, you can support our work by becoming a member for as little as a dollar per month. Find out more by going to greylockglass.com/membership.
The film presents some of the most relevant and interesting history of the mill complex, from the days of Sprague Electric back to its inception as Arnold Print Works; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker.
Such a documentary, in part compiled of photos footage collected by the museum itself over the years, risks being overly promotional, yet Trainer stops well short of creating an overly self-congratulatory paean to an institution that has, at time generated intense criticism. The film makes its cinematic debut at Images Cinema in Williamstown, Friday, November 1 with a discussion featuring Jennifer Trainer, Representative John Barrett, producer Noah Bashevkin, producer Rachel Chanoff.
Museum Town — showing 11/1 through 11/7Director: Jennifer TrainerRuntime: 1 hour 15 minutesImages Cinema50 Spring StreetWilliamstown, Mass.For showtimes, clique aqui.For more info, visit the documentary’s website.
Jennifer Trainer, on Museum Town
Jennifer Trainer at Hancock Shaker Village, where she serves as Director; submitted photo.
My goal was really to tell what I knew. My goal was to tell the history of MASS MoCA and what MASS MoCA is today, and to tell a story about risk and taking risk, and what that means…To compress 30 years into 90 minutes is impossible, and, as my cinematographer said to me, you’re going to leave many of your babies on the cutting room floor, because they don’t serve the point, the purpose in the end, and that was so true. It killed me to leave out something that we had filmed.
But, ultimately, we picked five characters, and they were an artists that we followed through an installation for 18 months, a curator and how the curatorial process works, because I also wanted to show what it’s like to work inside a museum. And then we picked the guy in the basement who’s actually fabricating some of these works, because so many of these massive contemporary pieces are not just made by one person in their studio — they’re really like a film their collaborative effort.
Installation of Christoph Büchel’s unfinished Training Ground for Democracy; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker.
29 min