Carter Logan (left) and Jim Jarmusch, who perform as Sqürl, will play live accompaniment to Man Ray films at the Walker Feb. 7. (photo courtesy Walker Art Center)
Director/musician Jim Jarmusch is on a mission to make sure the films of photographer Man Ray are seen. And heard.
That last part may seem odd, given that Man Ray's dreamlike short films are silent, but the band Sqürl -- which consists of Jarmusch and Carter Logan, who has scored such Jarmusch films as "Paterson" and "The Limits of Control" -- will provide a live, semi-improvised score when the films are screened at Walker Art Center Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
Known as the godfather of Dadaism, Man Ray is most famous for his surreal photographs but the Walker is showcasing 1920s films that include "The Starfish," "Return to Reason" and "The Mysteries of the Château de Dé."
Jarmusch is a fan.
"We feel very proud to be Man Ray's backup band," he told Detroit publication Metro Times when his band played there, adding that the music, like the movies, will strive to achieve a state "between consciousness and unconsciousness, between dream and wakefulness."
Conscious or not, Walker moviegoers will pay $25 to see the movies, which also are part of the museum's Ruben/Bentson Moving Image collection. For more information, go to walkerart.org.
