Desolation Center

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Daniel Voznick

A still from Stuart Swezey's documentary "Desolation Center" (2018), from behind Minutemen.

MMoCA is cautiously restarting its Rooftop Cinema series, following Dane County's current limits on capacity. And the museum has some important safety protocols in place: Wear a mask and bring your own chair or blanket for distanced seating. The film is the award-winning Desolation Center, about an early 1980s punk rock gathering in the Mojave desert that included Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Savage Republic and more. Advance tickets ($5) are required. The series continues on Fridays through August, unless precluded by COVID-19 conditions.

press release: Save the dates for the 2020 season of Rooftop Cinema, bringing you independent films screened in a socially distant setting in MMoCA’s Rooftop Sculpture Garden! In its fifteenth season, the 2020 series takes place at sundown, at approximately 8 pm, on August 7, 14, 21, and 28.

The program will follow Forward Dane guidelines for outdoor gatherings, with limited capacity. As a protective measure, seating will be in designated areas and chairs will not be provided; please come prepared with a blanket or camp chair. Masks are required inside MMoCA.

Rooftop Cinema is $5 per screening/free for MMoCA members and anyone age 21 and younger. Purchase tickets beginning July 29 on MMoCA's Rooftop Cinema webpage. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Screenings are cancelled if rain is likely; check MMoCA's website for updates.

Aug. 7: In the early 1980s the Los Angeles punk rock community ventured out into the Mojave Desert to escape police harassment. Desolation Center documents a series of music and art performance happenings that later inspired alternative music festivals like Burning Man, Lollapalooza, and Coachella. Director Stuart Swezey, a principal impresario behind the events, has collected interviews and rare performance footage of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Swans, Redd Kross, Einstürzende Neubauten, Survival Research Laboratories, Savage Republic and more. Desolation Center won Audience Awards at the SF Indiefest and Chicago Underground Film Festival.