BOUNTY Video Excerpts

Please click below to see brief excerpts from some of the video pieces that make up BOUNTY, my series exploring the psychological and political complexities of American Jewish wealth. Scroll down for a full artist statement about the series. If you would like to see any of these works in full, please email me at ddurch@gmail.com for viewing information.

Dangerous Opinions (EXCERPT) Original footage from Dangerous Liaisons, 1988

Dark Diagnosis (EXCERPT) Original footage from Dark Victory, 1939

The Age of Lefkowitz (EXCERPT) Original Footage from The Age of Innocence, 1993

The Sons and Daughters of Zion Annual Olympus Ball (EXCERPT) Original Footage from Jezebel, 1938

The Woman Who Knew Too Much (EXCERPT) Original footage from The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956

Someday (EXCERPT) Original Footage from Children of Divorce, 1927

Moser’s Honor (EXCERPT) Original footage from Prizzi’s Honor, 1985

Tzedakah (EXCERPT) Original Footage from The Apartment, 1960, and Sunset Boulevard, 1950

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BOUNTY ARTIST STATEMENT

I may not resemble Ivanka Trump physically or politically, but I come from her world - the tightly circumscribed sphere of American family wealth.  Like her, I grew up the lucky beneficiary of a hardworking male ancestor, my great grandfather Nathan.  He started as an immigrant peddler selling shoes door to door and ended his life as a business giant, the founder of Sara Lee and a lauded philanthropist. 

BOUNTY culls from my past to expose the psychological contours of American families like mine, immigrant dynasties who came into their wealth when high class was synonymous with WASPs. These works explore the influence of wealthy, Protestant, capitalist dynamics on Jews who attained enough money to witness American wealth first hand; families simultaneously afraid of the very real, and currently growing, threat of anti-Semitism and its long rhetorical connection to Jewish money, and enamored with their recent positions as centers of political and philanthropic influence.

The video collages of BOUNTY lift the curtain on the mechanics of the 1%, employing voice actors, live actors, animation, and editing to imbue classic cinematic depictions of wealth with Jewish content. These works highlight a confused, misplaced belief in meritocracy held by the most fortunate, and ask difficult questions concerning the gender dynamics and ethical costs of attained riches.