In 2013 artist Doug Aitken realized an extraordinarily ambitious art project, “Station to Station,” a kind of continuous art performance on wheels.  This one rolled coast to coast, populated with creative folk who got on and off, making music, making art, making dance, and making pronouncements on camera.  Some even performed in concert at one of the train stops. “Today for most of us the default condition is to be in motion,” a narrator in the film says, “to be in movement from one place to another.”  Aitken says in an interview that he also likes the idea of taking oneself out of one’s comfort zone.  

Aitken shot video throughout the three-week trip, recording performances, interviewing participants, taking in the scenery.   Later he wanted to share the experience with a larger audience, and thus was born the documentary “Station to Station,” which opens its one-week run on Friday, Aug. 21 at the Nuart Theater (more info below)—a run which will hopefully be extended if they get the audience. There will be live performances before the 7:30 p.m. show on Aug. 21 and 22, and Aitken will do a Q&A after the screening, as well.

Doug Aitken

“Station to Station” alternates between the propulsive and the serene.  It is made up of 62 one-minute segments, each featuring an artist, performance group, a musician or band, and sometimes a person Aitken met on the way. There are also flashes of passing scenery—pulling into a shimmering city at night, or passing farmland under billowing Midwest clouds.  Musicians include Jackson Browne reciting a poem he hasn’t yet set to music, Patti Smith speak-singing about “seeing the world from the window of a train,” and The Black Monks of Mississippi crooning “Workin’ and Wailin’.”  Artists include Olafur Eliasson demonstrating how a drawing is made by a ball rolling around in a round tray, suspended on four springs, responding to the movement of the train. Ed Ruscha walks through a field of desiccated golden grass, and ruminates on how the land “washes your mind of the city.”  Mark Bradford talks in his studio about how observations made in his neighborhood (South Central LA) inspire his large-scale work.

There are a few captions at the beginning that tell us the overall scope of the project—24 Days, 10 Happenings—but the film doesn’t attempt to provide the usual documentary narrative, nor is it chronological. Aitken edited intuitively, seeing and listening through what would flow.  His intuition serves him well—he has created nuggets of intense flavor, with varying rhythms and mood, and some stunning visuals.  I plan to watch this film again, hopefully on a big screen next time!

What:  “Station to Station,” Directed by Doug Aitken
When:  Friday, Aug. 21 – Thursday, Aug. 27
Where: Nuart Theater
11272 Santa Monica Blvd.
 Los Angeles, CA 90025