James Nares: Street

When I first proposed it in 2011, I talked about this film as being something to be viewed 'a hundred years from now.' Well, it's nine years since then, and I don't think any of us could have imagined the city that we find ourselves in at this present moment. The contemplation of times past has always sparked my imagination. The actualité and other 'document' films from the previous century were a large source of my original inspiration. It pleases me to find my own film falling into line with them. The city as presented in Street seems very distant now but I have every hope that we will soon return to some semblance of it. I have spoken of this film as a love poem to New York and that still holds true.

—James Nares

From Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29, starting at 5 p.m., The Met will project James Nares's mesmerizing Street (2011) onto the Museum's south-facing wall in Central Park (just inside the park entrance at 80th Street), marking the first time the Museum has projected a work of art onto its exterior. The sixty-one-minute video, filmed in New York City in September 2011 as a love letter to British-born Nares' adoptive home, decelerates the hubbub of the city to hypnotic effect. The artist recorded sixteen hours of footage from a moving car using a massive high-speed camera, and then greatly slowed the source material, editing down the results to one hour of steady, continuous motion and scoring it with music for twelve-string guitar composed and performed by the artist's friend Thurston Moore, co-founder of Sonic Youth.

On view within Central Park and outside The Met—two icons of New York City—the projection of Nares' languorous tribute to the bustling metropolis will offer a restorative respite from the eerie quiet caused by the impact of the global pandemic. As Central Park goers pass by and encounter the spellbinding video of New York City's streets and its people, it can briefly offer a moving reminder of the fabric of urban life that makes New York so unique and a hope for a return to the vibrant energy.

Please note that projections are weather permitting.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public space where people are present. Those viewing this display do so at their own risk of such exposure. Please remember to wear a face covering and limit your viewing time.

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This installation is made possible by the Director's Fund.