Suggests: Opening of THERE, THERE by Andrew Bujalski AB '98

Rusha & Co. is thrilled to unveil “There There,” a gallery installation by renowned filmmaker Andrew Bujalski. Known for idiosyncratic and boundary-pushing narratives (from Funny Ha Ha to Computer Chess and Support the Girls), Bujalski here reimagines and reworks his previously cinema-released feature film for a gallery setting, marking a daring foray into a new artistic medium.

At the heart of “There There” lies a simple twist on filmed storytelling’s basic building block— the edit. Rather than favoring the conventional illusion of shared time and space, here each actor was filmed separately, thousands of miles and often months apart, a method integral to its story of human connection made only through effort. Adapted for a gallery setting, the work now adds new dimensions both thematically and quite literally, spreading the performances across three strategically placed screens within a space enclosed by a massive curtain (evoking the intimacy and proportions of a train car). The viewer is immersed, as in a dream of being “in the middle of the movie,” invited to physically navigate and interact with the exchanges surrounding them.

As the forced spatial perspective of the single-screen cinema is dissolved, so is its temporal experience— the non-linear structure of the story particularly well-suited to a gallery environment with no set start or end time, where no one viewer’s encounter will quite replicate another’s. Unlike a movie, there is no passive viewing, only personal interpretation and discovery.

“There There” demonstrates Bujalski’s versatility and forms a unique contribution to the evolving dialogue between cinema and installation work. The project is a testament to contemporary art’s dynamic and ever-changing landscape, where traditional forms are constantly being interrogated, reinvented, and expanded to forge exciting new connections.

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