ART SEEN presents weekend screenings of THE GREAT FLOOD, a film-music collaboration by Bill Morrison and Bill Frisell. Bill Morrison in person for a Q&A following the Saturday, May 17 screening! With frieze video: at home with Jonas Mekas.

The Great Flood is based on, and inspired by, the catastrophic Mississippi River Flood of 1927 and the ensuing transformation of American society. Using minimal text and no spoken dialog, filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer/guitarist Bill Frisell have created a powerful portrait of a seminal moment in American history through a collection of silent images matched to a searing original soundtrack.

The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in American history. In the spring of 1927, the river broke out of its banks in 145 places and inundated 27,000 square miles to a depth of up to 30 feet. Part of it enduring legacy was the mass exodus of displaced sharecroppers. Musically, the “Great Migration” of rural southern blacks to Northern cities saw the Delta Blues electrified and reinterpreted as the Chicago Blues, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and Roll. Music performed by Bill Frisell, Guitar; Ron Miles, Trumpet; Tony Scherr, Bass; Guitar Kenny Wollesen, Drums. 

Film courtesy of Icarus Films. In partnership with frieze. Featuring Absolut vodka cocktails.