PROGRAMMING & CURATING
Gartenberg Media Enterprises anchors its expertise in both film history and contemporary film, and has a long track record in programming a wide range of works, from major studio and independent cinema to international and experimental films, at a variety of international venues.
As the head of GME Jon Gartenberg regularly consults on programming initiatives with various institutions in the US and Europe, that have included the BAMcinématek (Brooklyn), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Austrian Film Museum (Vienna), Cinemateca Portuguesa (Lisbon), Cinema Ritrovato (Bologna, Italy) and the Pesaro (Italy) and Locarno (Switzerland) Film Festivals. Projects have included tributes to filmmakers and production entities, including Allan Dwan and Douglas Fairbanks, Jean-Gabriel Périot and Andy Warhol, and the Vitagraph Company, as well as thematic exhibitions centered around New York City Symphony Films and American Experimental Cinema. These projects augment the myriad exhibitions that Gartenberg initiated while working as a film curator for nearly two decades in The Museum of Modern Art (New York).
WARREN SONBERT
Following Warren Sonbert’s untimely death in 1995, Jon Gartenberg has served as the exclusive representative for the filmmaker’s estate in all matters concerning his creative career. He has devised and executed a comprehensive plan for furthering this artist’s legacy. All of Sonbert’s films are preserved at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Harvard University has acquired a complete set of master prints of Sonbert’s films, in addition to his 16mm work reels and papers.
For description of Warren Sonbert collection at Harvard University, see:
The Warren Sonbert Film CollectionFor the Framework publication of Sonbert's writings, edited by Jon Gartenberg, see:
Framework Volume 56, Number 1 (Spring 2015) Special Issue, The Writings of Warren SonbertFor the new digital releases of Sonbert’s early films see: The Warren Sonbert Collection
An international touring show retrospective of Sonbert’s films is available from Light Cone, the European distributor of his films. Posthumous retrospectives of Sonbert’s films have been presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), SFMOMA (San Francisco), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Austrian Filmmuseum (Vienna), Anthology Film Archives (New York), Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.), the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), the Cinemateca Portuguesa (Lisbon), International House (Philadelphia), the Tate Modern (London), the CINEMATEK (Brussels), The Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, Ohio), and the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Cinémathèques (Israel).
A capstone career retrospective of Sonbert’s 16mm work screened at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, May 2023.
For the catalogue from the most recent Warren Sonbert exhibition at the Tate Modern, see:
Tate Film – Warren Sonbert: Retrospective of seminal American experimental filmmakerFor the brochure of the Sonbert retrospective touring show available for rental from Light Cone, see:
Warren Sonbert Retrospective Touring Programs
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Jon Gartenberg was the experimental film programmer for the Tribeca Film Festival from 2003 - 2014, where he built a legacy of curating a strong representation of cutting-edge moving image works, a number of which garnered festival prizes.
For Gartenberg’s pioneer programming of experimental films within the context of a larger festival, see: Tribeca Film Festival 2011
For Gartenberg’s thematic curation of the experimental short film program, “Let There Be Light: The Cycle of Life”, in 2013, see: Interview with Jon Gartenberg, Tribeca Film Festival
"a pANORAMA OF AMERICAN EXPERIMENTAL NARRATIVES
IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM"
Gartenberg recently curated a centerpiece retrospective for the 50th anniversary of the Pesaro Festival of New Cinema, entitled “A Panorama of American Experimental Narratives in the New Millennium." This exhibition has also toured to the 8th Athens Avantgarde Film Festival in Greece, as well as to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
For Gartenberg's catalogue essay and description of films in this exhibition, see:
A Panorama of American Experimental Narratives in the New Millennium
Jon Gartenberg interviewed at 8th Athens Avant-garde Film Festival (Athens, Greece).
THE FRAGILE EMULSION
Curator Jon Gartenberg provides an in-depth analysis of the ephemeral nature of the experimental filmmaking enterprise, focusing in particular on moving image works produced in 16mm celluloid format. Both literally and metaphorically, these artists ingrain the fragility of human existence onto the sensitive nature of the film emulsion. Drawing from his extensive experience in archiving, distribution, and curating, Gartenberg articulate ways in which these ephemeral materials have been brought back to life for future generations.
For presentation at UnionDocs in Decmber 2013, see:
UnionDocs – The Fragile Emulsion: curated by Jon GartenbergFor presentation at the National Gallery of Art in July 2013, see:
From Vault to Screen: The Artist and the Fragile EmulsionFor Gartenberg's article on the art and science of preserving experimental films, see:
The Moving Image: The Journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists– "The Fragile Emulsion"
At The Museum of Modern Art in the mid-1980’s, Jon Gartenberg spearheaded the first round of preservation of Andy Warhol’s films, in conjunction with an exhibition series at the Whitney Museum in 1988. This project led to Gartenberg's presentation of Warhol’s movies in France, Italy, Japan and Portugal in the early 1990’s. For an exhibition of Warhol’s films organized at BAM in 2003, Gartenberg authored an essay reflecting on his experiences in archiving Warhol’s films.
See catalogue essay for Whitney Museum exhibition:
The Films of Andy Warhol: Preservation & DocumentationSee catalogue essay for BAMcinématek exhibition:
Excavating Andy Warhol’s Film Legacy
For the 2009 edition of the Howl! Arts Festival, Gartenberg curated a special 7 part film series that linked film and video to the various underground creative movements transpiring in the East Village in fact and in spirit: poetry, music, theater, performance, and fine art painting as well as protests affirming sexuality, opposing gentrification, and supporting the flourishing of a subversive culture.
For a catalogue of the exhibition, see: The Howl! Arts Project 2009: Film Series
For the inauguration of the BAMcinématek, Jon Gartenberg curated a one time, exclusive multimedia event (comprising film, video clips, slides and audio) of a tribute to the Borough of Brooklyn spanning a century of cinema, organized around such icons as the Brooklyn Bridge and Coney Island, and such themes as the Brooklyn Dodgers and Integration, and Art and Industry – Pride and Disaster.
For the program of this exhibition, see:
Brooklyn on Film: Then and NowFor Gartenberg's essay about the history of New York City Symphony Films, see:
NY, NY: A Century of City Symphony Films
Remembering History, Reconstructing Memory: Discovering the Films of Jean-Gabriel Périot
Experimenting in the Digital Era: An Interview with Jon Gartenberg
NYFF Forum: Avant Garde Influences Mainstream Movies!
Jon Gartenberg discussing experimental documentary Native New Yorker, TFF '06 prize winning film.