Relatives
“Jones physically carries his mother, Pauline Jones, into the improvisational dance space. While she dies eggs and speaks about family history, he improvises a rhythmic dance-counterpoint to her speech.”
Relatives, (Super-8, short, 1989), commissioned by Alive From Off Center Television is a collaboration between the New York avant-guard dancer and performance artist, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Cinematographer Arthur Jafa and Director Julie Dash.
“Ishmael Houston-Jones is a remarkable artist committed to the themes of social justice and personal witness that are the bedrock of black dance in America, yet he boldly embraces the conceptual and technical innovations of late-’80s postmodernism.”