Equitable Vitrines announces End of Life: An Immersive Film Experience by Paweł Wojtasik and John Bruce.

End of Life is the product of four years spent by Wojtasik and Bruce with five individuals at various stages in the process of dying. In preparation for this project, the filmmakers trained to be end-of-life doulas and documented hundreds of hours of interactions with their subjects, two of whom are still living. In lieu of imposing any semblance of narrative upon their subjects, Wojtasik and Bruce strove simply to record “what they did or did not do, what they said or did not say.” There is an openness, even a certain willed ambivalence, to this approach that reflects the unique quality of life in its final phase, when the mundane and the significant seem to flow seamlessly, one into the other. The results defy cultural and cinematic conventions in equal measure, producing an uninflected vision of a process that remains pathologically hidden within the operations of everyday life.

Viewings of End of Life will take place on the twenty-seventh floor of the Equitable Life Building, from 7:30–8:30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays beginning on September 13th and continuing through the end of the month. Attendees will be met in Equitable’s lobby by an usher and escorted to a converted office suite.

Please note that seating is extremely limited and must be reserved in advance of each screening.

Paweł Wojtasik is a filmmaker and video artist born in Łódź, Poland and currently living in Brooklyn, NY. Wojtasik received an MFA from Yale University in 1996. From 1998 until 2000 he was a resident at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Buddhist monastery in New York State. Wojtasik’s work has been exhibited at MASS MOCA; The Whitney Museum; MOMA / PS1; the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford; the Prospect.2 Biennial, New Orleans; Martos Gallery, New York; and Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles. His films have screened at film festivals such as Berlinale, Hong Kong and Locarno.

John Bruce is a filmmaker, designer, and educator. He earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, and an MBA in Sustainable Systems from Pinchot University. Bruce is cofounder of the whole-systems strategy firm Forward Mapworks, as well as the architecture and design firm super-interesting! He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Strategic Design at Parsons School of Design, and is President of the Board of Trustees at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. He is a Fellow at the Graduate Institute for Design, Ethnography, and Social Thought at The New School.

John and Paweł completed the End of Life Doula training program led by program founder Henry Fersko-Weiss.

Equitable Vitrines is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization committed to exhibiting museum-quality artworks in quotidian contexts, with the intention of deepening the public’s understanding of art today.

Those visiting the Equitable Building for screenings of End of Life will be encouraged, following the film, to consider Equilibre Trunk, a sculptural installation by Berlin-based artist Klaus Weber, housed within two vitrines built into the building’s lobby. Equilibre Trunk is the fifth such exhibit organized by Equitable Vitrines, and consists of selections from the artist’s extensive collection of death masks. Though End of Life and Equilibre Trunk were conceived as entirely separate exhibitions, their thematic relation and simultaneous placement within Equitable re-casts the building itself as a spatial metaphor, in which the distinction between a lobby and an office might be seen as an articulation of the difference between death as a subject of contemplation and death as an imminent experience.

FAQs

Are there ID requirements or an age limit to enter the event?

All minors must be accompanied by an adult.

What happens if I am late?

Due to the intimate size of the viewing room, late entry will not be possible.

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?

There is street parking and lot parking at the City Center on 6th and the Equitable Life Building. Equitable Vitrines does not provide parking validation.

What is the run time of the film experience?

1 hour.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?

info@equitablevitrines.com

818-421-7974

Is my registration/ticket transferrable?

Tickets are only transferrable to other screening dates if there are available seats.