Recent Films by Neil Ira Needleman

Check out these recent submissions from New York-based experimental filmmaker, Neil Ira Needleman. Needleman will be featured in the Westport Arts Center’s “Solos 2011” on view from May 20 to June 26. The show is juried by Robin Jaffee Frank, senior associate curator of American paintings and sculpture at Yale University Art Gallery.

Lighthouse Polka (DVD, 2010, 5:32min)
“Oom-pah, oom-pah. That’s what I hear through my eyes as I watch the steady 1-2 polka-like rhythm of this video. The single-take shot that forms the foundation of this video is simple enough: a slow stroll around the walkway atop the lighthouse at Manukau Head, New Zealand. This 360° panoramic shot takes in views of the bay, mountains, pastures, and the buildings that are part of the lighthouse compound. From that visual material I extracted a 6-frame shot and paired it with a flipped image of itself. These tiny shots then progress forward one or two frames at a time, each perfectly matching its flipped twin for length, composition, and progression.”

slow fall (DVD, 2011, 4:30min)
“Autumn is a particularly enthralling time of year for my eyes. The sky can be deep blue one day and cool, hazy gray the next. On any given day, the trees can range in color from blazing orange to deep crimson to bright green to screaming yellow. I’ve attempted to include all those colors in this video, as well as quivering rhythms that flow over branches and leaves like a soft autumn wind. How rapturous it is to see and sense every season of the year! The older I get, the more I appreciate it. And the more I look forward to seeing/experiencing it again the next year.”

These films and much more can be viewed at our Library & Study Center in Culver City, CA. Please set up a viewing appointment by contacting us at: info@iotacenter.org. For more information about Needleman and his work please visit his blog.