24 June 2025
To accompany his exhibition Dancing with the Moonlight at Pera Museum, Canadian artist Marcel Dzama shares five albums that have long sound-tracked his creative process. From post-punk echoes to folk-tinged introspection, each record offers a sonic window into the artist’s visual universe.
A Trip to the Moon (1902), Georges Méliès
This was a foundational film for Dzama, shaping his early visual style. The iconic moon sequence of A Trip to the Moon has echoed through his drawings for years, and its camera tricks inspired his first video experiments.
The Red Shoes (1948), Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
This film ignited Dzama’s fascination with ballet. Its surreal climactic sequence remains one of his favorite scenes in cinema—a pivotal influence.
The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed
A teenage discovery that opened his eyes to cinema as art. The Ferris Wheel monologue by Orson Welles, along with the play of light and shadow, profoundly shaped Dzama’s visual thinking.
M (1931), Fritz Lang
This German noir captivated Dzama with its pacing, lighting, and Peter Lorre’s chilling performance. M is a cinematic masterclass in tension, atmosphere, and shadowplay.
The Holy Mountain (1973), Alejandro Jodorowsky
A surreal, mind-expanding journey that reawakened Dzama’s love for experimental cinema. “Every frame could be a photograph,” he reflects, praising its audacity and visual poetry.
To accompany his exhibition Dancing with the Moonlight at Pera Museum, Canadian artist Marcel Dzama shares five albums that have long sound-tracked his creative process. From post-punk echoes to folk-tinged introspection, each record offers a sonic window into the artist’s visual universe.
We meet at Marcel Dzama’s studio in Brooklyn on the occasion of his solo exhibition Dancing with the Moon at Pera Museum. On this freezing day in January, he welcomes us with a warm smile, and for a few hours, we step into his world filled with surreal characters, music, dance, politics, and play.
Pera Museum, in collaboration with Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is one of the main venues for this year’s 15th Istanbul Biennial from 16 September to 12 November 2017. Through the biennial, we will be sharing detailed information about the artists and the artworks.
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 22:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
The museum is closed on Mondays.
On Wednesdays, the students can
visit the museum free of admission.
Full ticket: 300 TL
Discounted: 150 TL
Groups: 200 TL (minimum 10 people)
