Bimodal Press is excited to present Gravity Spells II: Bay Area New Music and Expanded Cinema Art, a combined publication release and performance series featuring over 30 Bay Area musicians, sound artists, filmmakers and writers. The perfmance series is co-presented by The San Francisco Cinematheque, and takes place at 8:30 pm (8 pm doors) at THE LAB in San Francisco on Thursday May 19th, Friday May 20th, Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd, 2022.

The publication is a numbered edtiion of 250, and consists of a hand silkscreened double gatefold with 2x LPs and 4x DVDs featuring eight original 20-minute films and sound/music works, a 60-page booklet containing original essays by Bay Area artists, scholars and curators, images by all contributing artists, a silkscreened performance poster and announcement card. A link for digital download is included with each publication.

Copies will be available for sale at the live events, and can also be purchased at San Franisco Cinematheque’s online STORE.

Publication media contributions:

Paul DeMarinis Kudelski Palimpsest (sound/music), Keith Evans Amphoterism (film), Zach Iannazzi No Worries (film), Janis Crystal Lipzin Some Mistakes I Have Made (film), Suki O’Kane Texture (for John Davis) (sound/music), Laetitia Sonami Holding My Breath (sound/music), Scott Stark Night Out Of Song (film), Zachary Watkins For Paul Clipson (sound/music)

Publication writing contributions:

Steve Anker An Anatomy of Live Cinema, Brian Darr Embrace The Vortex, John Davis Foreword, Paul DeMarinis Kudelski Palimpsest, Keith Evans Amphoterism and The Unstable Image, Kathleen Quillian Signs of Life in a Post-live Era, tooth (arc) Light, Tanya Zimbardo Interview with Scott Stark on Night Out of Song.

About:

The films and music within the publication are meant to give form to the ineffable. A physical set of transposable time-based variables that, when combined, approximate the uncanny and unpredictable inherent in live cinema and music performance.

The LP records and corresponding DVD media (as with the first Gravity Spells edition) are designed to be interchangeable. However, unlike the first edition which highlighted eight artists working as four designated pairs (one musician with one filmmaker), Gravity Spells II asked the eight artists to work independently as indirect collaborators (whereby four works of sound and music are randomly paired with four individual films). This approach re-emphasizes the project’s focus on chance and serendipity, while furthering an interest in the confluence of energies and synthesis of forms resulting from collaborative performance.

The artists selected for the live series were encouraged to collaborate with individuals they hadn’t worked with previously as a way to promote new works, while also helping extend community overlap and grow diverse audiences.

The writing contributions add unique perspectives from individuals embedded both within the project and beyond - scholars, artists, historians and curators (some, all of the above), each providing informed transmissions at various intersections from within the constellation of contemporary Bay Area Media Arts practice.

The project has received funding from the California Council for the Arts and Southern Exposure. Generous support comes from The Lab and the project’s fiscal sponsor and co-presenter The San Francisco Cinematheque, who graciously provide ongoing services and promotional assistance.