Found Footage and Stop-Motion Animation
Cinema Arts at the Exploratorium
June 13 and June 20, 2009
Noon and 2pm

All events are included in the price of admission to the Exploratorium.

Cinema Arts Program: Re-Edit
Found Footage Animations
Saturday, June 13

Creating new films out of old, this collection of animation shows what one can do with a small budget and a lot of imagination. These artists appropriate, deconstruct and then piece films back together frame by frame, creating new narratives and a aesthetic all of its own.

ReAdaptation: The Book Series (2007/2008. 6 min.), by local filmmaker Amy Hicks, plays ingeniously with the notion of flip books. Each segment is approximately one minute long and re-edits sequences from the films Jaws; Frankenstein; I, Robot; Stepford Wives and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Fast Film (2003, 14 min.), by Virgil Widrich, is an animated homage to motion pictures. The film is hand-made by folding 65,000 Xeroxed prints of film frames into three-dimensional objects. Selections come from roughly 300 of Hollywood’s most memorable films.

Come Ons (2000, 2 min.), by Joe Sola, employs cunning edits to Hollywood films to make a point.

Cinema Arts Program: One Click at a Time
Stop-Motion Animation
Saturday, June 20

This program celebrates the essence of film — stop-animation! Piecing together thousands of still images, the illusion of motion is created, bent, stretched and teased. The works feature observations of light, the beat of the city and plain old silly fun. Including new work by local artist Michael Langan and old favorites by Jane Aaron and Rock Ross from the Exploratorium’s film collection.

In Plain Sight (1977, 4 min.), by Jane Aaron, is a clever film that combines animation techniques to create a delightful study of light and movement across a landscape. (16m film)

Western Spaghetti (2008, 2 min.), by PES, is a brilliant stop-motion animation of a surprising cooking demonstration.

Plac (The Market) (2006, 10 min.), by Ana Husman of Zagreb, Croatia, captures the vibrant, social activity around the edible bounty of an outdoor market from set up to take down over the course of a day.

Dalhia (2009, 3 min.), by Michael Langan, creates a moving portrait of the bustle and permanence of a city. Dahlia juxtaposes the stable forms and patterns of life with the frenetic behavior of humanity, set to a driving score of vocal percussion.

Muto (2008, 7 min.), by BLU, is a graffiti-like animation painted on public walls in Buenos Aires and Baden. The animation is thoughtfully integrated into the environment within which it is drawn, yet it also unfolds in unexpected ways.

Scintillation (2009, 3 min.), by Paris-based music video director Xavier Chasseing, is an ingenious experimental work comprised of over 35,000 photographs, which uses a mix of stop-motion and live-action projection mapping techniques. Created in the filmmaker’s apartment using home made devices this animations is a gorgeous visual experience.

Vespucciland: The Great and Free (1982, 3 min.) by Rock Ross captures a spirited and celebratory gathering of the clan of Vespucciland! (16mm film)