Oddball Films
presents Strange Sinema 53: Kinetica, a monthly screening of offbeat films, old gems and newly
discovered oddities all culled from Oddball Films 50,000 film archive.
Entertaining, experimental and eye-opening, this program’s films feature an
eclectic mix of kinetic, motion-oriented innovative art and sounds from the 20th
century. Films include the mesmerizing documentary Kinetic Art in
Paris (1971), a viscerally
challenging, kaleidoscopic homage to light, sound and motion featuring some of
the world’s foremost kinetic artists. The Dreamer That Remains (1973),
Stephen Pouliot‘s portrait of Harry Partch, one of the most eccentric and
influential composers of the 20th century. Partch invented instruments (cloud
chamber bowls, cong gongs, and more), experimented with drama and ritual and created a live
ensemble utilizing dozens of custom-built instruments. Arabesque (1975), John Whitney’s pioneering computer-generated
trance film; Who is Victor Vasarely? (1968) featuring French/Hungarian Op Art genius
Victor Vasarely filmed
at his home, studio space and art exhibitions; and Discovering Electronic
Music (1983) an introduction
to the synthesizers and computers used to create electronic music, including
the legendary Fairlight CMI, one of the first sampling synthesizers used in
music production. Segments from Faces of Chinatown (1963) depicting the underbelly of San
Francisco’s Chinatown, from its beginning to the early 1900’s with music
performed by Harry Partch; Catalog (1961) Cinema innovator John Whitney’s kaleidoscopic demo reel made
with equipment salvaged from WWII; and a trailer for Raga,
the rare doc of famed Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar.
Date: Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 8:00PM.
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Featuring:
Kinetic Art in Paris (Color,1971)
The works of Kinetic
artists Julio Le Parc, Victor Vasarely, John Rock Yvar aren’t the only things
explored in detail in this ultra rare, quirky documentary that features music
from the short-lived cult British pop duo White Trash. Viscerally challenging,
this kaleidoscopic homage to light, sound, motion and restraint is
quintessential viewing for anyone with a desire to be fascinated by
anything…even if just for a moment. Don’t miss this!
The Dreamer That Remains (Color, 1973)
“Harry Partch is an
American visionary. He has built his own musical world out of microtones, hobo
speech, elastic octaves and percussion instruments made from hubcaps and
nuclear cloud chambers.”
Stephen Pouliot ‘s
portrait of Harry Partch, one of the most innovative and influential composers
of the 20th century. Partch invented instruments (cloud chamber bowls, cong
gongs, the harmonic canon, more), experimented with drama and ritual and
created a live ensemble utilizing dozens of invented instruments.
Partch influenced
virtually every forward thinking composer and experimental musician of the 20th
century. A fascinating artist Partch lectured, performed and rode the rails as
a hobo during the Great Depression, incorporated everyday speech into his melodic
lines. He transcribed graffiti and used it as text. Partch was one of the great
musical innovators of the last century.
“The work that I have been doing these
many years parallels much in the attitudes and actions of primitive man. He
found sound-magic in the common materials around him. He then proceeded to make
the vehicle, the instrument, as visually beautiful as he could. Finally, he
involved the sound-magic and the visual beauty in his everyday words and
experiences, his ritual and drama, in order to lend greater meaning to his
life. This is my trinity: sound-magic, visual beauty, experience-ritual.”-Harry Partch
Note: Recently the rock
performer Beck created a musical tribute to Harry Partch. For more info visit: http://www.beck.com/news/index.php/page/3
John Whitney ‘s Arabesque, is considered by many
to be the seminal computer film.
Set to the music of Manoochelher Sadeghi, and created during a residency
at IBM Whitney balanced science with aesthetics as he experimented with the
eccentricities of Islamic architecture creating whirling, exotic flows of
computer generated images. Arabesque was one of the first computer generated
films that married technology and art is a focused, cinematic manner. Working
with his early home-made computerized motion-control set-up, Whitney could
produce a variety of innovative designs and metamorphoses of text and still
images, which proved very successful in advertising and titling of commercial
projects. He also did various commercial assignments including the title design
for Hitchcock's feature Vertigo
(in association with Saul Bass), and the preparation (in association with
Charles Eames) of a seven-screen presentation for the Buckminster Fuller Dome
in Moscow.
Who is Victor Vasarely? (Color, 1968)
This rare documentary
features French/Hungarian artist Op Art genius Victor Vasarely filmed at his
home, studio space and art exhibitions. The film is set in Provence, France and
describes Vasarely's work, processes, theories on art through interviews with
the artist in addition to a female narrator reciting his writing. The film
showcases his artwork and uses graphics extensively. Cinematography heavily
influenced by Vasarely’s love of geometric shapes.
Discovering Electronic Music (Color, 1983)
An introduction to the
synthesizers and computers used to create electronic music, including the
legendary Fairlight CMI, one of the first sampling synthesizers used for pop
music production. Directed by Bernard Wilets, a veteran educational producer
and particularly known for his “Discovering Music” series.
Faces of Chinatown (Segment, B+W, 1963)
A rare documentary
film segment about the infamous history San Francisco’s Chinatown, from its
beginning to the early 1900’s. This film profiles the riot of white mobs
descending on Chinatown, the development of the Tongs or “hatchetmen”, and the
gradual change of attitude by which the Chinese
came to regard San Francisco as home – and began to adopt Western ways. The
music for the film was composed and performed by the avant garde musician and
composer Harry Partch.
Catalog (Color, 1961)
Famed cinematic innovator John
Whitney's demo reel of work created with his analog computer/film/camera
machine he built from a WWII anti-aircraft gun sight. Whitney and the techniques
he developed with this machine were what inspired special FX wizard Douglas
Trumbull) to use the slit scan technique on 2001: A Space Odyssey. An
eye-opening and inspiring work of early computer generated imagery.
Raga (Color, 1971)
A trailer for the legendary documentary film about the
life and music of famed Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, championed by
Beatle George Harrison.
Curator Biography:
Stephen Parr’s previous programs have explored the erotic underbelly of sex-in-cinema (The Subject is Sex), the offbeat and bizarre (Oddities Beyond Belief), the pervasive effects of propaganda (Historical/Hysterical?) and oddities from his archives (Strange Sinema). He is the director of Oddball Film+Video and the San Francisco Media Archive (www.sfm.org), a non profit archive that preserves culturally significant films. He is a co-founder of Other Cinema DVD and a member of the Association of Moving Archivists (AMIA) where he is a frequent presenter.