Looking back over a history of one hundred years, experimental cinema has rigorously challenged cinematic conventions. To reach beyond telling stories, artists and filmmakers examined the material conditions of their medium, such as light, motion, celluloid and, with the advent of television and video, electronic signals. This relationship with the technical device—whether a camera or a computer—revolutionized the creative process and opened ever new possibilities for critically reflecting the world we live in.
Dates:
Friday, September 11, 2020 (All day) to Sunday, January 31, 2021 (All day)
To see and think the world as a totality has never been more crucial thanks to the present global environmental crisis. This three-part programme will bring together historical and contemporary films about ‘the world’ with the aim of exploring the divergences and continuities between audiovisual representations of the Earth past and present. From narratives of colonialism and internationalism through to end-of-the-world mythologies and the Anthropocene discourse, these films show that the history of cinema is inseparable from a quest to imagine the world as a totality.
Dates:
Saturday, June 8, 2019 - 13:00 to Sunday, June 9, 2019 - 17:55
Saturday, June 15, 2019 - 13:00 to Sunday, June 16, 2019 - 17:55
Saturday, June 22, 2019 - 13:00 to Sunday, June 23, 2019 - 17:55
As part of the series Science on Screen, on Friday, May 31 the Museum of the Moving Image will present a rare showcase of films connected to the origins of the popular laser light show that began at the Griffith Observatory in 1973. Spanning 1921 to 2015, this program presents films made with paint, kinetic sculpture, animation, and lasers by abstract film pioneers Jordan Belson, Walter Ruttmann, Thomas Wilfred, and light show pioneers Ivan Dryer and Joshua White.
Dates:
Friday, May 31, 2019 - 20:00 to Saturday, June 1, 2019 - 19:55
Produced in 1927, Berlin: Symphony of a Big City is considered one of the most iconic urban symphonies of late-1920s European avant-garde cinema. Reflecting the thinking of Futurism, Walter Ruttmann painted the portrait of the German city during one day, from dawn to dusk. The era of industrialisation was at its peak; urban modernism had become a fashion. The "city symphony" became a fully-fledged film genre, whose characters were the railway, the dance of the trams, the magic of electricity and the roar of automobiles. From this rapidly-developing city arose a resounding combination of new sounds, now given a new dimension by musicians Simon Fisher Turner, Klara Lewis and Rainier Lericolais through a contemporary sound and musical creation.
Dates:
Saturday, January 14, 2017 - 20:00 to Sunday, January 15, 2017 - 19:55
A programme of screenings to accompany the exhibition “The Thinking Machine. Ramon Llull and the «ars combinatoria»”
Before artists worked with computers, a series of avant-garde painters such as Oskar Fischinger, Harry Smith and Jordan Belson created a form of non-narrative film that addressed geometry, the possibilities of mathematic combinations, and spirituality. After these visionaries, artists like John Whitney embraced the new synthetic image medium to continue exploring abstract animation. Many artists have followed in their wake, up until the present day.
Dates:
Thursday, December 1, 2016 - 20:00 to Friday, December 2, 2016 - 19:55
Sight Unseen is pleased to partner once again with The Baltimore Museum of Art, in conjunction with the closing of German Expressionism: A Revolutionary Spirit, to present a rare screening of early experimental cinema produced during the extremely evocative era of German Expressionist art. Featuring the first abstract film, Walther Ruttmann's Lichtspiel Opus I, Opus II, Opus III and Opus IV, followed by the first animated film, Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed, this special event stands the test of time as a celebration of the livelihood and longevity of avant-garde cinema.
Oliver Shell, Associate Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, will introduce the screening and explore the cross-pollination of visual art and cinema in 1920s and 30s Germany.
Dates:
Thursday, September 11, 2014 - 19:00 to Friday, September 12, 2014 - 18:55
