Cinema Arts at the Exploratorium
May and June 2009 Schedule of Events

This film series includes Semiconductor, which reveals the chaotic geometries of hidden magnetic fields in and around NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley. Also, view Stop and Go, in which nationally and internationally known filmmakers and visual artists use stop-motion techniques, curated by Bay Area artist and animator Sarah Klein. And, join local archivist Rick Prelinger for a selection of films from Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, an eclectic montage of lost and rarely-seen clips showing life, landscapes, and labor in a vanished San Francisco. All events are included in the price of admission to the Exploratorium.

Friday, May 1
Magnetic Movie (2007, 4 min. 56 sec.)
A Semiconductor Film by Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt
In the Seeing Gallery
Through May 31, 2009

In this looping installation, Semiconductor reveals the chaotic geometries of hidden magnetic fields in and around NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley. As scientists describe their discoveries, vivid animations of magnetic fields undulate and pop to sounds of electromagnetic signals from the earth’s ionosphere and magnetosphere. Are we observing a series of scientific experiments, the universe in flux, or a documentary of a fictional world?

Saturday, May 9, at 2pm
Stop and Go
Stop-Motion Techniques by Visual Artists and Filmmakers

Nationally and internationally known filmmakers and visual artists use stop-motion techniques to tell stories, examine visual phenomena, and make political statements in a collection of short videos, curated by Bay Area artist and animator Sarah Klein. The line-up of videos includes intricate paper-cutouts by sculptor Jen Stark in Papermation; comic illustrator Lilli Carré’s high-wire act of sleepy time bears, black crows, and senior folk in For the Birds; a friendly look at one of life’s little troubles from a mouse’s perspective in Squeak, Chirp, Honk by Lana Kim and Saelee Oh. The complete list of artists includes Tommy Becker, Lilli Carré, Meredith Holch, Lana Kim, Sarah Klein, Saelee Oh, Mel Prest, Judith Selby, Jen Stark, Melinda Stone and Aeneas Wilder.

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Lost Landscapes of San Francisco
With Film Archivist Rick Prelinger in Person
McBean Theater, 2pm

Join local archivist Rick Prelinger for a selection of films from Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, an eclectic montage of lost and rarely-seen clips showing life, landscapes, and labor in a vanished San Francisco captured by amateurs, newsreel cameramen, and industrial filmmakers. Help make an impromptu soundtrack by identifying scenes and asking questions about what you see.

Since 1983, Rick Prelinger has collected ephemeral advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films. In 2002, the Prelinger film collection (comprising over 200,000 items) was acquired by the Library of Congress; much of it is available online at the Internet Archive. In 2004, Prelinger and his spouse Megan opened the Prelinger Library in downtown San Francisco, which houses over 50,000 pieces of print ephemera, books, periodicals, maps, and zines.

Saturday, June 13, Noon and 2pm
Re-Edit — Found Footage Animations
McBean Theater

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

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.

Saturday, June 20, Noon and 2pm
One Click at a Time
Stop-Motion Animation
McBean Theater

Celebrate 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 silly fun. Includes new work by local artist Michael Langan and old favorites by Jane Aaron and Rock Ross, drawn 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 formulas and patterns of life with humanity’s frenetic behavior, set to a driving vocal percussion score.

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, yet 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. It uses a mix of stop-motion and live-action projection mapping techniques. Created in the filmmaker’s apartment using home-made devices, it provides 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)