Parrish Art Museum Screening Marion Cajori’s Documentary About Chuck Close

“My film traces the evolution of Chuck Close as an artist and the course his work has taken in becoming art,” said Marion Cajori.

In conjunction with the current special exhibition “Chuck Close Photographs,” the Parrish Art Museum is presenting the full-length feature documentary, “Chuck Close,” which examines the artist’s working process as well as his influence on a generation of artists.

Screening on Friday, June 19th at 6 p.m., the documentary, the last by the late filmmaker Marion Cajori, is primarily devoted to the artist’s unique practice of rendering enormous paintings through a grid system based on Polaroid photographs as source material. Specifically, the film follows Close’s 82-day process of “Self-Portrait,” made in 1993.

“‘Self-Portrait’ impelled me to make this film about Chuck Close,” said Cajori. “I wanted to know about him and what went into the creation of this painting and others.”

The film features commentary by Close, and interviews with the friends, family, and artists who served as his subjects. Several paintings shown in the film are based on photographs currently on view at the Parrish. Attendees at the screening are invited to visit the exhibition on Friday, when the Museum is open until 8 p.m.

“Chuck Close Photographs,” on view at the Parrish through Sunday, July 26th, is the first full-scale retrospective of Close’s exploration of the photographic medium. It features more than 90 images from 1968 to the present, ranging from small-scale portrait maquettes for paintings to monumental, multi-panel Polaroid composites of portraits, nudes, and, surprisingly, flowers.

Tickets are $10 and include museum admission, but admission is free for museum members, children, and students.

Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Highway in Water Mill. For more information, call 631-283-2118 or visit www.parrishart.org.