Essential Visual Music: Rare Classics

SEPTEMBER 1 at Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA.
Essential Visual Music: Rare Classics
from Center for Visual Music’s archives

This evening features a range of work, from 1920s German film experiments to light show psychedelia, highlighting the evolving technology and artistic sophistication of visual music and experimental animation. The program includes films from the tradition of “color organ” experimentation, and films designed to be used in performance contexts, light shows, and other forms of expanded cinema, often with independent musical accompaniment. Accordingly, one of the themes that emerge from this program is a dialogue between structure and spontaneity in visual music. Many of the prints in this show represent recent preservation work by CVM.

Includes: R-1 ein Formspiel (Oskar Fischinger [1993 recreation by William Moritz/Fischinger Archive], c. 1926-1933, Komposition in Blau (Oskar Fischinger, 1935), 3 Charles Dockum Mobilcolor films from 1952 and 1966, Muntz TV Commercial (Oskar Fischinger, 1952), Mood Contrasts (Mary Ellen Bute, 1953), Cibernetik 5.3 (John Stehura, 1960-65, screened digitally), Turn, Turn, Turn (Jud Yalkut, 1966), Single Wing Turquoise Bird Light Show Film (1971), Tanka (David Lebrun, 1976), Celebration (Jules Engel, 1978), 3 Arctic Flowers (Jules Engel, 1978), Mobiles (Jules Engel, 1978). Total running time: 75 mins, 35mm/16mm/ digital. Film notes and a review of the program at:
www.centerforvisualmusic.org/VMEssenClassics.htm

Program curated by Center for Visual Music. All prints are from the Collection of CVM. Engel films were preserved by CVM in association with NOMI Group. The 35mm R-1 Recreation film by William Moritz/ Fischinger Archive was made possible with support from The Deutsches Filmmuseum. Komposition in Blau was preserved by Academy Film Archive.
Thanks to the National Film Preservation Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Jules Engel Preservation Project at CVM, and to private donors whose support enabled the preservation of many of these films. Bute film screened courtesy Cecile Starr.

Tuesday September 1, 7:30. PFA is at 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA.
Ticketing through PFA box office, via phone at (510) 642-5249, and online at www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries