In this documentary short, filmmaker JJ Anderson traces the life and career of Ulysses Jenkins, a pivotal influence in contemporary art of the last 50 years. The film follows Jenkins’s start as a painter and muralist and his evolution into a seminal video artist with landmark works such as Mass of Images and Two-Zone Transfer. The film is presented in conjunction with Jenkins’s career retrospective—and first solo museum exhibition, organized by the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Featuring in-depth interviews with Jenkins as well as artists Todd Gray, Maren Hassinger, Senga Nengudi, May Sun, and Matthew Thomas; scholar Dr. Bridget Cooks; and exhibition curators Erin Christovale and Meg Onli.

Credits

Director: J.J. Anderson

Produced by Hammer Museum & HRDWRKER

Executive producer – Hammer Museum: Erin Christovale

Producer – HRDWRKER: Daisha Jimenez

Editors: Tito Molina, J.J. Anderson

Writers: J.J. Anderson, Erin Christovale

Director of photography: Connor Smyers

Camera operators: Connor Smyers, Tito Molina

Steadicam operator/Drone operator: Connor Smyers

Camera assistant: Jackson Masimiro

Gaffer: Gabe Sandoval

Sound recordists: Israel Casanova Ruiz, Ben Chan

Sound mix: Jacob Miller

Production assistant: Chantal Stamp

Music by Othervisions Art Band

Additional music by Will Van De Crommert, Fryderyk HD, Risian, David Gives, Jazz Art Quartet

Archival photography courtesy of The Charles White Archives

Archival videoworks and photography courtesy of Ulysses Jenkins

Archival videoworks courtesy of Maren Hassinger