The MBC Rolling, Series II (2020)
The ManosBuckius Cooperative
The MBC Rolling, Series II The ManosBuckius Cooperative USAdigital 15 min2020
In The MBC Rolling, Series II, the cooperative engages rolling objects commonly used for auto mechanic work to perform domestic tasks, highlighting and questioning the assumed duality between so-called masculine and feminine labor roles and the heightened value given to capitalist/commodity-based industry over caregiving/service-based industry, the latter of which is often invisible and unpaid. The video is a tapestry of improvised encounters in interstitial and adjacent filmic space between two performers. It is chance choreography with alignment and misalignment in movements and actions engaging bodies, objects, and technology. – The ManosBuckius Cooperative
Streaming Details
This film is available to stream globally.
Program Partners
This film is co-presented with the Art Gallery of Windsor and Windsor Endowment for the Arts.
Image credits: all artworks, stills, and portraits courtesy of the artist © The ManosBuckius Cooperative.
about the artists
The ManosBuckius Cooperative (USA) was established in 2007 by Sarah Buckius (b. Urbana, Illinois in 1979) and Melanie Manos (b. Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1964). Their shared practice responds to conditions of labour and productivity in highly unproductive ways, taking inspiration from the visual and physical work of Lucille Ball, DEVO, and Jacques Tati. Sarah Buckius received a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois (2001) and an MFA from the University of Michigan (2006). Melanie Manos received a BA from the University of California (1999) and an MFA from the University of Michigan (2008). Their individual and collective practice in video and performance, including The MBC @ The Office (2007), The MBC @ The Museum (2007), and The MBC @ The Library (2019), has been exhibited at festivals, museums, and galleries, including the Australian Centre for Photography, Neue Berliner Scala, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Echo Park Film Center, National Gallery of Indonesia, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Filmmuseum Dusseldorf, and Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film and Video Festival, among many others. Buckius is Chief Creative Officer of The Epicenter, where she develops creative empowerment programs for young children. Manos is Lecturer at The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan.