June 19, 2008 to September 7, 2008

The second part of the Hirshhorn’s exploration of contemporary moving-image art, Realisms, looks at a decade of film, video and digital works that investigate how cinema—now encompassing such related media as television, home video and digital entertainment—communicates, amuses and critiques by complicating the relationship between fiction and reality. Films and videos by nineteen international artists reveal a spirit of critical self-examination and invention that parallels cinema’s historical ability to imagine for itself other possible forms, functions, and correspondences with the world at large.

Realisms is divided into two sections. The first half focuses on films that quote Hollywood, global cinema and popular culture, while the second half examines media representations as they relate to historical events and the genre of the documentary.The exhibition is organized by curator Anne Ellegood and associate curator Kristen Hileman.