Oddball Films presents Strange
Sinema 64: Optical Explorations, an evening of newly discovered and choice rarities
from the stacks of Oddball Films’ 50,000 reel film archive. This installment of
Strange Sinema features an eclectic combination of films that illuminate the visual
vanguard and optical experimentation. We begin with Rene Claire’s surrealist/dada masterpiece Entr’acte (1924) featuring avant-garde photographer Man Ray and Frances Picabia,
followed by the rare documentary Art
of the Sixties (1967), featuring the eye-popping soft sculptures of
Claes Oldenberg, kinetic artist Len Lye, Les Levine’s early interactive
environments, action painter Jackson Pollock and more. We follow up with West
Coast experimental filmmaker Donald Fox’s exhilaratingly beautiful optical poem Omega
(1970) and Who is Victor Varasely?, (1968) a fascinating documentary about the French/Hungarian father of
Op Art and his cybernetic approach to image creation. Other films include seminal
motion graphics pioneer John Whitney’s short Arabesque (1975), an oscillating color dance to
the music of Persian rhythms created using early computer generated waveforms; Perspectrum (1974), directed by famed Indian animator Ishu Patel,
with Japanese koto soundscore produced for the National Film Board of Canada;
and a sublime work Infinity (1980),
by Bay Area abstract image pioneer Jordan Belson. Plus! Let us play even
more tricks on your eyes with Optical Film
Loops!
Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to: 415-558-8117
or info@oddballfilm.com
Featuring:
Entr’acte (B+W, 1924)
This extraordinary early film from director René Clair was originally
made to fill an interval between two acts of Francis Picabia’s new ballet,
Relâche, at the Théâtre des Champs- Elysées in Paris in 1924. Entr’acte is a
surrealistic concoction of unrelated images, reflecting Clair’s interest in
Dada, a radical art form relying on experimentation and surreal
expressionism. Clair’s imagery is both
captivating and disturbing, giving life to inanimate objects (most notably the
rifle range dummies), whilst attacking conventions, even the sobriety of a
funeral march. The surrealist photographer Man Ray also puts in an appearance,
in a film which curiously resembles his own experimental films of this era.
The Art of the Sixties (Color,
1967) This rarely seen documentary aired on CBS at the height of the
revolutionary and hopeful changes sweeping the art world (not to mention the
rest of society). The film takes an inside look at some of the leading figures
in art during the decade, including rare glimpses into their studios and
workshops. Highlights include soft-sculpture pop iconographer Claes Oldenburg
who states “My work is not meant to be funny or even art, my work is just made
to be important”, Jackson “The Dripper” Pollock, conceptualist Sol Lewitt, Les
Levine, and other artists who have since become emblematic of the wild
experimentation of and use of industrial processes (Rauschenberg’s silkscreens,
Barnett Newman’s steel fabricated sculptures) of the 60s. We also follow
filmmaker, sculptor and engineer Len Lye among his kinetic large-scale sound
sculptures.
Omega (Color, 1970)
An optical poem by West Coast experimental filmmaker Donald Fox this is a dazzling, highly original non narrative,
exhilaratingly beautiful film. OMEGA deals with the end of mankind on earth,
prophesying man's liberation from his earthly bounds to roam the universe at
will. By sending an energy ray to the sun and harnessing its solar power, man
is able to make an evolutionary leap. The film can be used to explore the outer
limits of the concepts of death, evolution the afterlife, and the future of
mankind. Phew! A source film
that over 40 years later still inspires.
Who is Victor Vasarely? (Color, 1968) This
rare documentary features French/Hungarian
the legendary inventor of Op-Art (Optical Art) Victor Vasarely
(1906-1997) filmed at his home, studio
space and art exhibitions. The film is set in Provence, France and describes
Vasarely's work, processes and theories on art through interviews with the
artist and his writings. The film showcases his artwork and makes extensive use
of his phenomenal use of geometric shapes.
For an interview with him:
Arabesque (Color,
1975)
Early abstract computer-generated film by pioneer John
Whitney- shimmering lines and waves of oscillating color dance to the music of
Eastern rhythms and evolve from randomness to patterns inspired by 8th century
Persian designs. Inspired by his 1974 visit to the city of Isfahan in Iran,
Whitney found a relation between the formal and visual tradition of Islamic art
and architecture and his own computer graphic study. Whitney famously
collaborated with Saul Bass on the
title sequence to Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
Perspectrum (Color, 1974)
Directed
by famed Indian animator Ishu Patel and produced by Dorothy Courtois and Wolf
Koenig. This animated short consists of simple geometric forms, as thin and
flat as playing cards, but so arranged that a sense of perspective is conveyed.
The effect is kaleidoscopic, but much more active, forming and re-forming
constantly to the music. The koto, a thirteen-stringed Japanese instrument, is
played by plucking the strings; the sound has a tinkling effect, synched to the
glasslike shapes of the moving designs. Produced for the National Film Board of
Canada.
Infinity (Color, 1980) In the
late experimental filmmaker Jordan Belson’s non narrative film abstract forms
of light and color serve as transitions between a variety of man-made and
natural environments. Sublime and otherworldly.
About
Bay Area filmmaker Jordan Belson
Belson studied painting at the University of California, Berkeley. He saw the
"Art in Cinema" screenings at the San Francisco Museum of Art beginning in 1946. The films screened
at this series inspired Harry Smith, Belson and others to produce abstract films.
Belson's first abstract film was Transmutation (1947). Some of his early films were
made with his scroll paintings. Belson's work was screened later as part of the
"Art in Cinema" series. In 1957 he began a collaboration with sound
artist Henry Jacobs at
the Morrison
Planetarium in San Francisco, California that lasted until 1959.
Together they produced a series of electronic music concerts accompanied by
visual projections at the Planetarium, the Vortex Concerts. Belson as visual
director programmed kinetic live visuals, and Jacobs programmed electronic
music and audio experiments. This is a direct ancestor of the 60s light shows
and the "Laserium"-style shows that were popular at planetaria later
in the century. The Vortex shows involved projected imagery, specially prepared
film excerpts and other optical projections. Not just an opportunity to develop
new visual technologies and techniques, the sound system in the planetarium
enabled Belson and Jacobs to create an immersive environment where imagery
could move throughout the entire screen space, and sound could move around the
perimeter of the room. Belson died of heart
failure at his home in San Francisco on September 6, 2011