Synopse
Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas are interdisciplinary artists and educators, whose projects blur lines between art, civic engagement, and technology. They have exhibited internationally including solo shows at the Venice Biennale, as well as the São Paulo, Berlin, Gwangju Biennales, Manifesta and Documenta exhibitions. They are also my parents.
Preparation for their first ever retrospective at the National Art Gallery in Lithuania will allow the audience to dive into the key projects of their career. I have a personal connection to most of them, as I either helped my parents, or was a part of the projects. The preparation will also reveal what it takes to put an exhibition together. My parents always argue, forget to eat, and go sleep deprived while preparing for an opening. In this chaos, however, they also have creative breakthroughs and moments of pride. The main plotline of the film will follow my parents in their struggles to prepare a retrospective of 30+ years of work.
The film will also observe my own retrospective of sorts, reflecting on what it was like to grow up in a family of artists. My mom says that she always liked having no distinction between art and family. But what has been sacrificed for the sake of creative recognition? As my parents traveled a lot, my grandparents raised me. It seemed normal to me at the time, though I often felt lonely. By setting a high bar for themselves and their work, my parents set the same standard for me, making me constantly question, am I good enough? Loneliness and high expectations tinted my childhood. Now, as I pursue a career in film industry and start thinking of having a family of my own, the question of what gets sacrificed for creative recognition has become especially relevant for me. How would I balance art and family?
Preparation for their first ever retrospective at the National Art Gallery in Lithuania will allow the audience to dive into the key projects of their career. I have a personal connection to most of them, as I either helped my parents, or was a part of the projects. The preparation will also reveal what it takes to put an exhibition together. My parents always argue, forget to eat, and go sleep deprived while preparing for an opening. In this chaos, however, they also have creative breakthroughs and moments of pride. The main plotline of the film will follow my parents in their struggles to prepare a retrospective of 30+ years of work.
The film will also observe my own retrospective of sorts, reflecting on what it was like to grow up in a family of artists. My mom says that she always liked having no distinction between art and family. But what has been sacrificed for the sake of creative recognition? As my parents traveled a lot, my grandparents raised me. It seemed normal to me at the time, though I often felt lonely. By setting a high bar for themselves and their work, my parents set the same standard for me, making me constantly question, am I good enough? Loneliness and high expectations tinted my childhood. Now, as I pursue a career in film industry and start thinking of having a family of my own, the question of what gets sacrificed for creative recognition has become especially relevant for me. How would I balance art and family?
Fotogalerie
