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Psoy Korolenko's Film-Performance, Philadelphia, PA, 28 Apr 2012

Psoy Korolenko's Film-Performance
Sat, April 28! $10. Doors open at 7:30.
Fergie's Pub
1214 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19107-4913

Moscow’s renowned troubadour, “wandering scholar” and “singing professor,” Psoy Korolenko, presents a film screening and performance of his live sound track & rap style-commentary to the Russian silent movie classic 'Bed and Sofa' ('Tretya Meshchanskaya') by Abram Room and Victor Shklovsky (1927; 75 min).

Please pay cash for the admission. Credit card may be used for
drink and food purchases.

Don’t miss this PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE and opportunity to witness a cine-performance of Bed and Sofa with Psoy Korolenko -- songwriter/performer/'avant-bard' and professor of Literature from Moscow.

Korolenko’s live accompaniment contains elements of allegedly irreconcilable styles–Russian urban songs, contemporary sound poetry, rap, ands freestyle commentary—presenting a playful reflection on the movie in the context of the Russian revolution, Erotic Utopias of Russian modernity, and the history of famous Russian threesomes whose real-life dramas inspired the story in Bed and Sofa.

When the film Bed and Sofa was originally reviewed by Vincent Canby, of the New York Times, he described it as an "oddball, engaging, pocket-size 'silent movie opera.” Known as one of the most controversial Soviet avant-garde movies, Bed and Sofa is a brilliant and hilarious social commentary that centers on a bizarre love triangle in the midst of a housing shortage in Lenin’s Moscow. Supposedly based on the details in the life of poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, this film rejects politics and symbolism for a sense of humor and naturalism. The decision reached at the end of the film by the woman at the center of the triangle represents the liberation of women in the new Soviet society.

Korolenko’s aim is to render the spirit and vibe of early Soviet culture using the styles and devices of the 21st century – and this classic film, as the basis for a contemporary artistic exploration.

Korolenko’s first cine-performance of Bed and Sofa was presented in Moscow’s ‘Silent Movie, Live Music' project – inspired by the 'Loud Music, Silent Film' series which originated in NY at the Knitting Factory, and brought together radical musicians to sound old silent movies.

This performance will be in English, and the lyrics have been translated by Professor Stuart Goldberg (Atlanta, Georgia Tech U), and poet-singer/songwriter Daniel Kahn (USA-Germany).

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