Jem Cohen: Classics and New Videos

Since his famous clips for R.E.M., Jem Cohen has taken a path that, inspired by the poetics of Vigo, Vertov, Marker or Benjamin, alternates lyric, evanescent images of cities and travels with criticism of capitalist power over public spaces. In his latest production, which we present here, we can see how he proceeds in his search: exploring the cadence of travel, filming Patti Smith in her home, listening to her sing Nirvana, or providing a portrait of New York in full post-11-S paranoia, as in the piece, NYC Weights and Measures, in which the police confiscates the camera containing the short.

Talk About the Passion, Jem Cohen, USA, 1988, 3.5 min., video
Country Feedback, Jem Cohen, USA, 1991, 4 min., video
Belong, Jem Cohen, USA, 1992, 5 min., video
Nightswimming, Jem Cohen, USA, 1993, 4 min., video
Blessed Are the Dreams of Men, Jem Cohen, USA, 2006, 10 min., video
NYC Weights and Measures, Jem Cohen, USA, 2005, 5 min., video
Spirit, Jem Cohen, USA, 2007, 8 min., video
For Walter Benjamin and René Daumal, Jem Cohen, USA, 2008, 18 min., video
One Bright Day, Jem Cohen, USA, 2008, 18 min., video