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iota News May – June 2010

June 2, 2010 J-Walt 0 Comment abstract animation, animation, artist, experimental animation, filmmakers, info, live performance, lumia, music videos, news, synesthesia, visual music, vj

Jodie Mack: Animations

A variety of short experimental animations from Jodie Mack that exhibit her many techniques and styles as a filmmaker.

Jodie Mack is a Chicago-based artist working in various forms of cut-out and stop-motion animation. Her films combine traditional feminine crafts with rhythmic editing and obsessive nuance to create a radical domesticity that is new to the film world.

To view some of Jodie Mack’s work, visit her Vimeo page.

Yard Work is Hard Work: 29mins, DVD, Color, 2008
Lilly: 6mins, DVD, Color, 2007
Mannequin’s Harlequin: 2mins, DVD, Color
A Joy: 3mins, DVD, Color, 2005
All Stars: 30secs, DVD, Color, 2006
Ebullition: 2mins, DVD, Color
Two-Hundred Feet: 3mins 30secs, DVD, Color, 2003

New Acquisitions from the USC Department of Animation & Digital Arts

Two collections of animated shorts that showcase exemplary student & faculty work from the Department of Animation & Digital Arts at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Student Shorts Include: “La Leyenda” by Roberto Gomez, “Estrogen” by Dariush Derakhshani, “Harmonics” by Diana Reichenbach & more

Faculty Shorts Include: “Indefinable Moods” by Kathy Smith, “Winter” by Mar Elepano, “Baby, Bab” by Everett Lewis & more

First Look 2005: 2 DVDs, Color, 2005
Adobe First Frame 2009: DVD, Color, 2009

Images by Anne-Sarah Le Meur (1990-2001)

Four short animated films by Anne-Sarah Le Meur that showcase computer-generated abstract animation dealing with the influence of 3D data processing on the imagination and shown in artworks. Le Meur’s aim is to reveal how the expression of the body can be transformed.

Where It Wants to Appear/Suffer (La ou cela veut poindre): 14mins, DVD, Color
In-BeesTw… (Etres-en-tr…): 8mins, DVD, Color, 1994
Aform (Aforme): 2mins, DVD, Color, 1989-90
Some Skin is Still Spreading (Un peu de peau s’etale encore): 30secs, DVD, Color

The iotaWeekly – May 31-June 6, 2010

Clip of the Week
“Flat Out” (1989) by David McCutchenWatch this clip of visual music from “Flat Out” (1989) by David McCutchen, based on Chopin’s Etude in C Sharp Minor. Produced with the Music Animation Machine, this playful piece allows the melody to take the viewer on an animated journey as inspired by the music’s notes.

Site of the Week
2010 Dance Camera West: Dance Media Festival
June 4-27This weekend, the 9th Annual Dance Camera West: Dance Media Film Festival kicks off its city-wide dance film festival, promoting the vibrant art of dance films from around the world. The mission – to interconnect diverse populations and environments through the innovative art fusion – dance on screen, which merges performance and cinematic aesthetics. The Dance Media Film Festival represents a truly unique cinematic experience.

On Sunday June 13 at 7:00pm, DCW will screen “SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts” at The Hammer Museum at no charge. On Sunday June 19 at 8:00pm, DCW is hosting “LOCAL MAKERS – LA Choreographers and Directors,” a free outdoor screening event for the whole family, at The Cheviot Hills Recreation Center. Both events are free, but seating is limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

2010 DCW Festival screenings take place at venues such as The Getty Center, REDCAT, The Hammer Museum, and many other spaces throughout Los Angeles. For other festival screening times, locations, tickets, and more information on this year’s film festival, click here.

Artist of the Week
Dennis Hopper
May 17, 1936 ““ May 29, 2010As an early advocator of independent and experimental filmmaking, The iotaCenter would like to commemorate Dennis Hopper for his lifetime of achievements and contributions to cinema. Hopper’s long and vast career traversed many highs and lows, with the body of his work including notable works such as Easy Rider, The Last Movie, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, and more recently starring in the television series “Crash.” Easy Rider and The Last Movie, both written, directed, and starring Hopper, are noted for their independent production as well as their employment of experimental techniques and themes. In addition to a successful mainstream Hollywood acting career, Hopper was involved a great deal in underground cinema, having close ties to significant experimental filmmakers such as Andy Warhol, Curtis Harrington, and Bruce Conner.

Hopper recently succumbed to his battle with prostate cancer, passing in his home in Venice, CA this past Saturday, May 29th.

Mecanismo Olvidador – Available for viewing in The iotaCenter’s Library & Study Center

The imagery of Juan Camilo Gonzalez‘s “Mecanismo Olvidador” (Forgetter Mechanism) morphs, multiplies, & grows into a study of the mind, delving viewers into a trapped psyche and what it must go through to escape.

Mecanismo Olvidador: 2min, DVD, B&W, 2009

Shorts by Erick Oh – Available for viewing in The iotaCenter’s Library & Study Center

As an animator, filmmaker, and artist, Erick Oh has developed a vivacious style in an attempt to expand the definition of animation and art. These two animated films are concerned not only with time and space, but also lively movement and simple, genuine human ideals. Erick Oh has spent most of his life in Korea and is currently enrolled in the MFA graduate film program at UCLA. Included are: “Symphony” and “Communicate.”

Symphony: 6min, DVD, B&W, 2008
Communicate: 2min, DVD, B&W & Color, 2009

Passage for Francis – Available for viewing in The iotaCenter’s Library & Study Center

Conceptualized as a new media funeral rite-of-passage by Robert Mulder and his father, Dr. H.F. Mulder, “Passage for Francis” integrates abstract animation into a cardiac Doppler audiogram to create a flow of geometrical shapes & patterns. Generated and controlled in real time as inspired by the music, this unique concept merges themes from biology, medicine, and art into a stunning study of rhythm and “Panta Rei” (everything flows). This piece was performed at Dr. H.F. Mulder’s funeral in November 2007.

Passage for Francis: 9min, DVD, color, 2006/2009

The iotaWeekly – May 24-30, 2010

Clip of the Week
“3600 Frames” (2010) by Vertna BradleyFrom the first of its titular 3600 frames, Vertna Bradley’s “3600 Frames” (2010) entrances you with its hypnotizing pattern and flow of flickering photographed images. Accompanied by somber electro-industrial music, this piece will leave each viewer with a unique & complex series of images and questions burned into the mind.

To view more of Vertna Bradley’s work, please visit her Vimeo page.

Site of the Week
2010 Live Performers Meeting
May 27-30The 2010 Live Performers Meeting is the eight edition of an international meeting of live video performers, visual artists, and VJs focused on live video performance. Held at Brancaleone in Rome, Italy from May 27-30, this unique media conference unites hundreds of visual performers and artists from around the world to host performances, exhibitions & showcases, and new media-creation software & products throughout its four day run, with each day having a different complementary theme.

Artist of the Week
Louis HockBorn in Los Angeles in 1948 and raised in Arizona, Louis Hock began making films when he was studying psychology and poetry at the University of Arizona, graduating with a BA in Psychology in 1970. In 1973 he received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Louis Hock’s artwork – films, video tapes, and media installations – have been exhibited in solo shows at numerous national and international art institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, & the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His work has been described as an “hypnotic study in motion” (Nora Sayre, The New York Times); “Our eyes are virtually goaded out of our heads” (Richard Eder, The New York Times). In 1977, Hock joined the University of California, San Diego, and still works there as a professor in the Visual Arts Department.

For more information on Louis Hock and his work, please visit his website

The iotaWeekly – May 17-23, 2010

Clip of the Week
“Taking Flight” (2009) by Neil Ira NeedlemanNeil Ira Needleman’s “Taking Flight” (2009) is a rhythmically active and transformative piece that builds and develops complexity through its progression of visual patterns and motion of abstract imagery.

To find out more about Neil Ira Needleman and his work, please visit his website.

Site of the Week
Museum of Neon ArtThe Museum of Neon Art glows bright in downtown Los Angeles. This unique space aims to preserve and promote artwork created from neon lights, whether produced for commercial or expressive purposes, and encourages the production of new works by offering a wide range of workshops and classes.

Earlier this May, MONA coordinated with the Los Angeles Video Artists to host a “VJ101 Mixing Workshop,” in which students learned how to mix live video and exhibited their creations. MONA continuously hosts classes and exhibitions of various kinds of neon light and related art.

Artist of the Week
Chiaki WatanabeChiaki Watanabe is a media artist based in both Europe and the United States. As a creator of abstract visual music works, she explores cross-sensory experiences by integrating sound and visual imagery in video recording, live video performance, and installations. Particularly interested in the psychophysical effects of visual music, her work aims to stimulate the senses with pounding beats and vivacious visuals. Her works have been presented internationally at festivals, galleries and museums including the 2007 Punto y Raya Festival, New York Video Festival, European Media Art Festival, New York Museum of Modern Art, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and she has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Her works are distributed by Getty Film, Printed Matter, Microcinema, and the New York Film Makers’ Cooperative.

Chiaki has upcoming shows in Europe at the Dansehallerne in Copenhagen, CAMP 2010: Visual Music festival at ZKM in Germany, and the Salon Bruit
in Berlin.

For more information on Chiaki Watanbae and her work, please visit her website.

The iotaWeekly – May 10-16, 2010

Clip of the Week
“Please Don’t Stop” (1989) by Stephanie MaxwellThis clip from Stephanie Maxwell’s “Please Don’t Stop” (1989) of vibrant and vivid abstract animation takes you on a surreal journey through the night, accompanied by the sinister synth beats dripping with electrified emotion.

To find out more about Stephanie Maxwell and her work, please visit her website.

Site of the Week
Lula Washington Dance TheatreThis year, Los Angeles’ famed African-American dance troupe Lula Washington Dance Theatre celebrates 30 Years of bringing innovative and transformative dance to audiences both old and new. On Saturday, May 15, Lula Washington Dance Theatre collaborates with abstract animator J. Walt Adamcyzk as part of their show at Luckman Fine Arts Complex at CSU Los Angeles.

Can’t make the performance? Visit the Lula Washington Dance Theatre’s YouTube Channel for video of their energetic and beautiful creations.

Artist of the Week
Peter MaysGrowing up in Los Angeles, Peter Mays studied painting and mathematics at UCLA. Mays’ work is expansive, ranging from avant-garde shorts to features to animation for educational documentaries. Also a founding member of the psychedelic light show group Single Wing Turquoise Bird and a teacher of film and photography, Mays continues to produce animation for educational history videos and create short experimental films. His recent short DV films explore ancient cultures to express spiritual/political meanings, and Mays’ most recent film, “Dark Island” (2006-9), blends original animation with recontextualized forms of media (YouTube clips, for example) in order to create an original narrative. Mays recently exhibited the body of his filmography at the Cinematheque108 Alternative Screening Series within the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2009.

For more information about Peter Mays, or to view his films, please visit his website or watch an excerpt from his oral history for LA Filmforum’s Alternative Projections project.