# Joshua Frankel

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**Joshua Frankel** (born 1980) is an American [contemporary artist](/source/Contemporary_art) and [director](/source/Film_director) who makes work in many different media, including [animation](/source/Animation), film, opera, drawing, printmaking and [public art](/source/Public_art).

Music is often central to Frankel's work. His animation has been presented synchronized to live musical performances by chamber ensembles and full orchestra by institutions including the [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress),[1] the [Brooklyn Academy of Music](/source/Brooklyn_Academy_of_Music),[2][3] the [San Diego Symphony](/source/San_Diego_Symphony),[4] and [The River to River Festival](/source/The_River_to_River_Festival), where his animation took over 50 video advertising screens in New York City's [Fulton Center](/source/Fulton_Center) transit hub at rush hour.[5][6] Ann Midgette of the *Washington Post* called his film *Plan Of The City* “one of the best matches of visuals to music I’ve seen.”[1]

Joshua Frankel's animated collages use modern techniques to represent history, not depicting precisely what happened during specific events but evoking how they felt.[7] New York City, architecture and urban planning are recurring themes in Frankel's work. His use of collage also connects his work to the visual language of architectural proposals.[8]

Frankel was also one of the [Superforecasters](/source/Superforecaster) described in the 2015 book *[Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction](/source/Superforecasting:_The_Art_and_Science_of_Prediction)* by [Philip E. Tetlock](/source/Philip_E._Tetlock) and [Dan Gardner](/source/Dan_Gardner_(author)) about the [Good Judgment Project](/source/The_Good_Judgment_Project), a research project that studied how accurately civilians can forecast future news events.[9][10]

## Early life

Frankel grew up in the [Hell's Kitchen](/source/Hell's_Kitchen,_Manhattan) neighborhood of Manhattan.[11] He is a graduate of [Stuyvesant High School](/source/Stuyvesant_High_School)[12] and [Williams College](/source/Williams_College).[13]

## Selected works

### *A Marvelous Order* (2022)

*[A Marvelous Order](/source/A_Marvelous_Order)* is an opera about the battle between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs[14] over the fate of New York City, conceived by Frankel, composer [Judd Greenstein](/source/Judd_Greenstein) and poet [Tracy K. Smith](/source/Tracy_K._Smith).[15][16] The opera is framed, implicitly, as a love triangle in which Moses and Jacobs vie for the affections of New York City.[17] In addition to being [through-composed](/source/Through-composed_music) musically, *A Marvelous Order* has animation that runs throughout, created by Frankel.[8][18] Work-in-progress productions were presented at '62 Center for Theater and Dance at [Williams College](/source/Williams_College)[19] and the [River to River Festival](/source/The_River_to_River_Festival).[6][5] The completed opera had its world premiere on October 20, 2022 at the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, in the culmination of a multi-year partnership including three creative development residencies.[20][21]

### *Emergent System* (2020)

*Emergent System* is an animated film by Frankel synchronized to music by composer [Missy Mazzoli](/source/Missy_Mazzoli) and featuring choreography by [Faye Driscoll](/source/Faye_Driscoll), commissioned by Peak Performances at Montclair State University.[22][23] The film premiered at Peak Performances in 2020 with music performed live on six grand pianos by Grand Band, a piano sextet. In conjunction with the performances, an exhibition of Frankel's drawings was presented in collaboration with the George Segal Gallery.[24][25]

### *Mannahatta* (2013)

*Mannahatta* is an animated film by Frankel, synchronized to music by composer [Judd Greenstein](/source/Judd_Greenstein) and the poem by [Walt Whitman](/source/Walt_Whitman) of the same name. It premiered at the [BAM NextWave Festival](/source/BAM_Next_Wave_Festival) in 2013 with music performed by the NOVUS orchestra, Trinity Wall Street Choir and soloist [DM Stith](/source/DM_Stith).[2][26][3][27]

### *Plan Of The City* (2011)

*Plan Of The City* is a film by Frankel that combines animation with live action footage[28] synchronized to music by composer [Judd Greenstein](/source/Judd_Greenstein) performed by NOW Ensemble, a contemporary chamber ensemble. Greenstein and NOW Ensemble also appear in the film. *Plan Of The City* has been presented with music performed live by NOW Ensemble by institutions including The [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress), the [Brooklyn Academy of Music](/source/Brooklyn_Academy_of_Music)[29] and the [New Museum](/source/New_Museum).[30] The work was awarded the Guldbågen by the Lund Architecture Film Festival.[31] Ann Midgette of the *Washington Post* called the film “one of the best matches of visuals to music I’ve seen,”[1] while *New Yorker* critic Alex Ross called the work "Gorgeous."[32]

### *Queens Is The Future* (2007)

[Queens Is The Future](/source/Queens_is_the_Future) is a public mural created by Frankel in collaboration with artist [Eve Biddle](/source/Eve_Biddle) on a handball court in Jackson Heights, Queens. It originally depicted a subway blasting off into space. In 2015, without consulting the original artists, [Sony Pictures](/source/Sony_Pictures) altered the mural, inserting [Spider-Man](/source/Spider-Man) into the image, to promote the release of the film [The Amazing Spider-Man 2](/source/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2).[33]

## Awards

- NEA Art Works — Media Arts[34]
- NEA Art Works — Opera[34]
- Graham Foundation Fellowship[35]
- Sundance Institute's New Frontier Story Lab Fellowship[36]
- Jerome Foundation New York City Film & Video Fellowship[37]
- New York State Council on the Arts[38]

## See also

- [A Marvelous Order](/source/A_Marvelous_Order)
- [Queens Is the Future](/source/Queens_is_the_Future)
- [Joshua Frankel on KCRW's *Design & Architecture*](https://www.kcrw.com/people/joshua-frankel)

## References

1. Midgette, Anne (2011-05-15). ["Music review: Alt-classical groups Victoire and NOW Ensemble at the Atlas"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/music-review-alt-classical-groups-victoire-and-now-ensemble-at-the-atlas/2011/05/15/AF9jqP4G_story.html). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Judd Greenstein on the Space Between Sounds | Mixtapes"](https://www.wqxr.org/story/judd-greenstein-space-between-sounds). *WQXR*. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive: Production: 21c Liederabend, op. 3 \[2013f.00026\]"](http://levyarchive.bam.org/Detail/occurrences/8371). *levyarchive.bam.org*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Program Notes: Chamber Music Series: An Evening with Art of Elan"](https://www.sandiegosymphony.org/static/media/uploads/ChamberSeries/ProgramNotes/nov3-artelanprogram_notes.pdf). *San Diego Symphony*. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2020-07-22.[dead link]

1. Barone, Joshua (2017-04-12). ["An Opera About Robert Moses Is Among the River to River Festival Highlights"](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/arts/river-to-river-festival-2017-opera-about-robert-moses.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Zax, Tayla (21 June 2017). ["New Opera Tells Story Of Robert Moses And Jane Jacobs — In The City Where They Battled"](https://forward.com/culture/375225/new-opera-tells-story-of-robert-moses-and-jane-jacobs-in-the-city-where-the/). *The Forward*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Times Square Arts: May's Midnight Moment Animates The Battle for the Streets of New York City"](http://arts.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/media/press-releases/joshua-frankel-i-live-here/index.aspx). *arts.timessquarenyc.org*. Retrieved 2020-07-28.

1. McArdle, Molly (2016-05-25). ["A Marvelous Order: A Gentrification Opera for Our Times"](https://www.bkmag.com/2016/05/25/marvelous-order-gentrification-opera-jane-jacobs/). *Brooklyn Magazine*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Zweig, Jason (2015-09-26). ["The Trick to Making Better Forecasts"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trick-to-making-better-forecasts-1443235983). *Wall Street Journal*. [ISSN 0099-9660](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0099-9660). Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Jiménez, Fanny (2016-07-31). ["Sie haben den Durchblick"](https://www.welt.de/print/wams/wissen/article157408681/Sie-haben-den-Durchblick.html). *DIE WELT*. Retrieved 2020-07-28.

1. Pomorski, Chris (2015-05-29). ["Power Couple: The Feud Between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses Becomes Operatic"](https://observer.com/2015/05/power-couple-the-feud-between-jane-jacobs-and-robert-moses-becomes-operatic/). *Observer*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Tetlock, Philip E. & Gardner, Dan (2016). *Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction*. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0804136716.

1. ["A Marvelous Order"](https://magazine.williams.edu/2016/summer/feature/a-marvelous-order/). *Williams Magazine*. Summer 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Wiedeman, Reeves (15 February 2016). ["Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, In Song"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/jane-jacobs-and-robert-moses-in-song). *The New Yorker*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Murray, Larry (2016-01-21). ["Upcoming theatre and dance events at Williams College '62 Center"](https://berkshireonstage.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/upcoming-theatre-and-dance-events-at-williams-college-62-center-open-to-the-public/). *Berkshire on Stage*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.[dead link]

1. ["Judd Greenstein and Joshua Frankel: A Marvelous Order"](https://destinationwilliamstown.org/event/judd-greenstein-and-joshua-frankel-a-marvelous-order/). *Destination Williamstown*. 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2020-07-22.[dead link]

1. ["Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs: An Operatic Myth | On the Media"](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/robert-moses-and-jane-jacobs-operatic-myth). *WNYC Studios*. Retrieved 2020-07-28.

1. ["Pitch Project: A Marvelous Order"](https://www.ispa.org/members/Default.asp?id=58247937). *www.ispa.org*. 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Lange, Alexandra (2016-05-04). ["Imagining Jane Jacobs"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160505203938/http://www.curbed.com/2016/5/4/11565604/jane-jacobs-robert-moses-opera). *Curbed*. Archived from [the original](https://www.curbed.com/2016/5/4/11565604/jane-jacobs-robert-moses-opera) on May 5, 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Waleson, Heidi (27 October 2022). ["'A Marvelous Order' Review: Battling the Power Broker"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-marvelous-order-review-robert-moses-power-broker-opera-11666908850). *Wall Street Journal*. Retrieved 2022-10-31.

1. Weiner, Natalie. ["A 'Marvelous' Endeavor"](https://pennstatermag.com/campus-life/marvelous-endeavor). *PennStater Magazine*. Retrieved 2022-10-31.

1. Lustig, Jay (2020-02-24). ["No other instruments needed as six-piano Grand Band creates a big sound of its own"](https://www.njarts.net/classical/no-other-instruments-needed-as-six-piano-grand-band-creates-a-big-sound-of-its-own/). *NJArts.net*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["A Look At Peak Performances 2019-20 Season"](https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/2019/07/07/a-look-at-peak-performances-2019-20-season). *NewJerseyStage.com*. 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["The Grand Band - Peak Performances"](https://issuu.com/montclair210/docs/grand_band_01-31-20). *Issuu*. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Grand Band - Feb 14th & 15th - Peak Performances"](https://www.peakperfs.org/event/grand-band/2020-02-15/). *Arts & Cultural Programming*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Developing an Opera about Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses by Joshua Frankel"](http://www.cityvisionweb.com/mag/janejacobsandrobertmoses/). *cityvision*. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Folsom, Ed (2016). "Walt Whitman: A Current Bibliography, Summer 2016". *Walt Whitman Quarterly Review*. **34**: 88–100. [doi:10.13008/0737-0679.2226](https://doi.org/10.13008/0737-0679.2226). – via University of Iowa.

1. ["Critics Picks: 'Tiny Kushner,' 'Stranger's Child,' 'Plan of the City'"](https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/critics-picks-tiny-kushner-strangers-child-plan-of-the-city/). *The Seattle Times*. 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Crossing Brooklyn Ferry: Friday"](https://www.feastofmusic.com/feast_of_music/2012/05/crossing-brooklyn-ferry-friday.html). *Feast of Music*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Plan of the City"](http://www.newmuseum.org/ideascity/view/plan-of-the-city). *www.newmuseum.org*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["ArchFilmLund Prize 2012"](https://www.archfilmlund.se/prize#the-archfilmlund-prize-2012). *www.archfilmlund.se*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Ross, Alex (2004-04-30). ["The Rest is Noise"](https://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/alex-ross.html). *The Rest Is Noise*. Retrieved 2020-07-28.

1. McGrath, Ben (9 February 2015). ["Writing on the Wall"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/16/writing-wall). *The New Yorker*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["National Endowment for the Arts: Winter Grant Announcement for FY2020"](https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/DisciplineListReport-Jan2019.pdf). 2019-01-01.

1. Blahut, Chelsea (2016-05-12). ["Graham Foundation Announces Its 2016 Grants to Individuals"](https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/graham-foundation-announces-its-2016-grants-to-individuals_o). *www.architectmagazine.com*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. Hanna, Beth (2013-10-11). ["Sundance Institute Selects Six Creative Teams and Projects for New Frontier Story Lab"](https://www.indiewire.com/2013/10/sundance-institute-selects-six-creative-teams-and-projects-for-new-frontier-story-lab-195635/). *IndieWire*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["Past Grantees: Film, Video & New Media (2005): Joshua Frankel"](https://www.jeromefdn.org/past-grantees). *The Jerome Foundation*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

1. ["NYSCA: New York State Council on the Arts FY11 Grantees"](http://www.nysca.org/grant_app/org_search.cfm?search_type=op&org_id=1007171&projfy=2011). *www.nysca.org*. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

## External links

- [Joshua Frankel’s website](http://joshuafrankel.net/index.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joshua Frankel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Frankel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Frankel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.