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What Else Might You Do?Miranda July
When she decided to devote Wednesday nights to being alone in her studio, artist Miranda July recognized she was doing something dangerous: opening a world of possibility. This documentary short follows the artist as she navigates the complexities of her creative practice, balancing being a multidisciplinary artist, her commitments to her family, and her happiness. A prolific writer, filmmaker, performer, and artist, July describes the highs and lows of the creative process and what led her to change how she creates her work in order to live a more fulfilling life. “I’ve done my work exactly as I wanted to do. For some reason, I granted myself permission to do that from the get-go,” says the artist. “Once you have this new perspective on your life and your family and how these things interact, it just goes on from there.” Taking risks and charting new paths, July poses a question for herself and others: “If you’re gonna do that, what else might you do?”
This film was co-directed by Ian Forster and Chiemi Karasawa, based on an interview conducted by Chiemi Karasawa for “Friends & Strangers” of Season 11 of Art in the Twenty-First Century.
More information and creditsCredits
Director: Ian Forster, Chiemi Karasawa. Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski. Series Producer: Ian Forster. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Cinematography: Daud Sani. Sound: Luiza Sá-Davis. Colorist: Max Blecker. Sound Mix: Collin Blendell. Archival Producer: Leah Ford. Associate Producer: Andrea Chung. Assistant Curator: Jurrell Lewis. Assistant Editor: Michelle Hanks. Music: Blue Dot Sessions.
Artwork Courtesy: Miranda July. Archival Footage: Bam Hamm Archives; Beatrice Perego, Courtesy Fondazione Prada; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
Extended Play is presented by the Marina Kellen French Foundation, with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Every Page Foundation, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Henry Nias Foundation, and individual contributors.
Closed captionsAvailable in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian
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Miranda July was born in 1974 in Barre, Vermont, and lives and works in Los Angeles, California. July studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, before leaving the university to pursue filmmaking. The artist works across media in her practice, from staged performances and feature films to impromptu dance and short videos posted on social media, from novels and short-story collections to sculptural installations at the Venice Biennale. In each of these varied media, July examines different models and modes of connecting with people, from close friends and family to total strangers, and shows audiences how these connections might transform our lives and the world around us.
“I’ve done my work exactly as I wanted to do. For some reason, I granted myself permission to do that from the get-go. Once you have this new perspective on your life and your family and how these things interact, it just goes on from there.”
Miranda July