Arabian Lights 1983

"ARABIAN LIGHTS is the second of only two Super 8mm films deAk is known to have fully edited to completion, and the only work she produced outside the New York club scene. During an extended romantic holiday in Egypt in 1977 with Jamie (then James) Nares, the two young visual artists shared a movie camera and recorded intimate, carefree moments that deAk later edited into this unusual self-portrait. Tourism becomes performance art at legendary historic sites and across the bright desert landscapes as their budding romantic relationship plays out. The film was rarely screened during the period, and MoMA’s new digital preservation is drawn from deAk’s unique original Kodachrome print and a reel of assembled outtakes, both recently acquired for the Museum’s collection." — MoMA

"ARABIAN LIGHTS is the second of only two Super 8mm films deAk is known to have fully edited to completion, and the only work she produced outside the New York club scene. During an extended romantic holiday in Egypt in 1977 with Jamie (then James) Nares, the two young visual artists shared a movie camera and recorded intimate, carefree moments that deAk later edited into this unusual self-portrait. Tourism becomes performance art at legendary historic sites and across the bright desert landscapes as their budding romantic relationship plays out. The film was rarely screened during the period, and MoMA’s new digital preservation is drawn from deAk’s unique original Kodachrome print and a reel of assembled outtakes, both recently acquired for the Museum’s collection." — MoMA