Created by artist Leslie Foster in 2017 during the inaugural Level Ground residency, 59 is an anthology of 11 unique films created through artistic collaboration and steeped in the controversial space of faith, gender, and sexuality.
About the Show
In creating this set of short films, Leslie Foster—our very first Level Ground resident—established several rules for himself.
Leslie had to create one film every month between May 2016 and April 2017.
Every film had to be exactly 59 seconds and created with a different collaborator, preferably from a different artistic discipline.
Leslie could not be the sole originator of any part of a film; from brainstorming to the final cut, every part of each film had to be created in collaboration with the respective artist.
Leslie could not collaborate with any artist who was a cisgender man.
The completed 59 anthology was displayed as an installation at The Aerial House in East Los Angeles from May 26 to 28, 2017 and at the Iron Triangle Brewery from May 29 to June 2. VICE's Creators series featured the show in the piece, "This Short Film Series Isn't For You."
The Creative Team
Leslie Foster, creator and 2017 Level Ground artist-in-residence
Leslie (he/him) is an experimental filmmaker who has lived in Los Angeles for a decade. His love for storytelling is inspired by a childhood spent in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and he strives to create art that constantly challenges power structures, amplifies those whose voices are so often unheard, and quietly subverts in ways that are aesthetically powerful.
His first solo gallery show, Ritual Cycle, was created with designer and composer Scott Arany and filmmaker Heather Dappolonia, who together form the collective Nomad Solstice. Ritual Cycle debuted in March 2016.
Leslie now serves as Level Ground’s Director of Art Residency and is a founding member of the artist collective Museum Adjacent LA. He spends some of his time as a story analyst at Disney, and in 2019, he was selected to be a member of the Torrance Art Museum FORUM annual residency cohort. He's still trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of running away with a band of sea-faring vagabond artists.
Collaborators
- Angelina Prendergast
- Madeline Merritt
- KC Slack
- DeiSelah Thompson
- Maranatha Hay and Jackie Hay
- Sheridan Wolf
- Tatiana El-Khouri
- Jaqueline Suskin
- Jade Phoenix
- Sarah London
- Rae Threat
