Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich: “Too Bright to See pt. 1”

Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich (b. 1987) is a filmmaker and artist whose work blends narrative and documentary traditions to explore stories and experiences of Black women in the Americas.

Hunt-Ehrlich’s experimental narrative artwork Too Bright to See (Part I) draws on her extensive research on the legacy of Suzanne Roussi-Césaire, a writer and anticolonial and feminist activist from Martinique who, along with her husband, Aimé Césaire, was at the forefront of the Négritude movement during the first half of the 20th century. Roussi-Césaire would also become an important Surrealist thinker, influencing the likes of painter Wifredo Lam and writer André Breton. However, despite her critical contributions to Caribbean thought and Surrealist discourse until recently much of her work was overlooked.

Too Bright to See (Part I) weaves archival materials with cinematic narrative scenes filmed with an unconventional and modern cast. Drawing inspiration from Caribbean aesthetics and Surrealist artwork, this film installation brings attention to new aspects of Roussi-Césaire’s legacy that are undocumented in the public arena, while addressing the broader question of the continued erasure of women from historical accounts. 

Organization and Support

Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich: Too Bright to See (Part I) is organized by Iberia Pérez González, Andrew W. Mellon Caribbean Cultural Institute Curatorial Associate, in the Bank of America Gallery. Ongoing support for PAMM’s project galleries from Knight Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.  Too Bright to See (Part I) was produced by Sophie Luo and Mike S. Ryan. Support for the film was provided by Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute, and the Film/Video Studio at the Wexner Center for the Arts. The work is courtesy of the artist. 

Credit: Sound Design, Music Supervision, and Mix