100

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100/100

In 2017, the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, a nursing home in the Bronx, turned one hundred. In honor of this anniversary, I was invited to paint one hundred portraits of older and disabled residents of the home that summer from direct observation. Like many of my portrait projects, 100/100 focused on overlooked members of society. The portrait subjects were empowered in an artistic process that affirmed their dignity while making visible the beauty and wisdom that come with age. I explored many questions in the project, including: What is important at the end of life? In the face of loss, can there still be joy? How do past experiences fuel happiness in the present? This residency led to a traveling exhibition that included all one hundred watercolor portraits paired with photographs of the subjects posing with their portraits as well as a 20-minute documentary film that I co-directed with Laure Sullivan, with music by Aaron Jay Kernis.

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PROCESS

documentary

In 2017 the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, NY turned 100. Over the course of the year, portrait painter Brenda Zlamany painted 100 residents. 100 surprising, unique and inspiring stories emerged. Through the collaborative nature of the portrait process, this film focuses on the engagement between artist and subject. Older people in our society are often discarded, their stories unheard. We see in the film that as soon as the paint brushes come out, the conversations start. 100/100 was exhibited at the Derfner Judaica Museum in the Bronx (2017) and at the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery in NYC (2019). 100/100 ITINERANT PORTRAITIST was awarded Best Documentary Short at The 2019 Greenpoint Film Festival. CO-DIRECTORS, Brenda Zlamany/Laure Sullivan. ORIGINAL MUSIC/COMPOSER, Aaron Kernis.

Interview

This interview was recorded and edited by the Derfner Judaica Museum, Bronx, New York, on the occasion of Brenda Zlamany's exhibition 100/100 (September 10, 2017-January 7, 2018).