MOMA Presents DOUBLE TIDE

The Museum of Modern Art will present the New York premiere, followed by a weeklong theatrical run, of Sharon Lockhart's Double Tide (2009), from November 11 through 17, 2010. Double Tide is a luminous and meditative portrait of a woman digging clams in the mudflats of the Atlantic Ocean. Filmed in Seal Cove, Maine, a historic site for commercial clamming, during the rare natural phenomenon of low tide occurring twice during daylight hours-once at dawn and once at dusk-Double Tide depicts an ageless tradition of backbreaking work within the sublime and quiet beauty of a wild coastal landscape.

The first half of the film begins in the foggy half-light of the early morning, and is gradually illuminated by the rising sun as the clammer traverses the mudflats, moving farther into the distance. The latter half finds her again at work, the pace of her clamming coinciding with the approaching twilight as she finally exits the mudflats, and the frame, in near-darkness. Double Tide, which also exists as a double-screen gallery installation, continues the fascination with ritual and labor seen in Lockhart's other recent works, from her choreographed study of Japanese farmers piling hay (NO, 2003) to her recent look at Maine shipyard workers at rest (Lunch Break, 2009) and leaving the factory at day's end (Exit, 2009). As with many of her films, Double Tide occupies the liminal space between stillness and movement, and between actual time and subjective time. Jen Casad, the clam digger who appears in the film, will join Lockhart in a Q&A following the opening night screening on November 11.

Double Tide is organized by Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film.