Films & Events

Jodi Mack will present a curated program of 16mm and digital works, anchored by Yard Work is Hard Work, a vibrant animated musical that blends handmade abstraction, pop structure, and personal reflection. Her work transforms everyday materials such as textiles, gift wrap, and found objects into kaleidoscopic, rhythmic visual compositions.

Her films have screened at major festivals including Locarno, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival, with solo programs at Anthology Film Archives and the Harvard Film Archive. Now she brings her inventive work to The Nick for a one-of-a-kind event.

The program will feature a selection of short films, most presented on 16mm in their original format, followed by a live Q&A with the artist. This is a rare opportunity to experience Mack’s tactile, visually striking work on the big screen and hear directly about her creative process.

FILMS

Yard Work is Hard Work | 28 minutes 

A 28-minute musical that explores simultaneous disillusionment and hope in glorious color and song. Glistening Thrills | 8 mins

A shiny otherworld of holographic reverie pairs dollar store gift bags and haunting resound, unfolding an effervescent melancholy in three parts. Featuring compositions for bowed vibraphone by Elliot Cole.

Razzle Dazzle | 5 mins

Tacky threads luminesce at a firefly’s pace, twinkling through remnants of chintzy opulence and gaudy glamour prestissimo brilliante.

Something Between Us | 9.5 mins

A choreographed motion study for twinkling trinkets: costume jewelry and natural wonders join forces to perform plastic pirouettes, dancing a luminous lament until the tide comes in.

Wasteland No. 3: Moons, Sons | 5 mins

A world tender and unhatched. Future chaos in repose, in slumber. Yggdrasil. Microcosmos. Batter in a bowl. A living wreath. Oleander hyacinth blow away dandelion particles of an interplanetary lullaby.

Dusty Stacks of Mom | 41 mins

Interweaving the forms of personal filmmaking, abstract animation, and the rock opera, this animated musical documentary examines the rise and fall of a nearly-defunct poster and postcard wholesale business; the changing role of physical objects and virtual data in commerce; and the division (or lack of) between abstraction in fine art and psychedelic kitsch. Using alternate lyrics as voice over narration, the piece adopts the form of a popular rock album reinterpreted as a cine-performance.

Let your Light Shine | 3 mins

A spectacle for prismatic spectacles. Handmade optical polyrhythms and a thousand rainbows explore the grating equation.

126 min.