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90 Year-Old Art Film by Karl Cohen
Three screens from Oskar Fischinger's 1926 'Raumlichtkunst', reconstructed in 2012. photo: courtesy Center for Visual Music
THIS FREE EXHIBIT, THE WEST COAST
premiere of Oskar Fischinger's "Raumlichtkunst", has been held over at the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco until February 10th.
The recently restored print by the Center for Visual Music has been exhibited at the Whitney in New York City, the Tate Modern in London and now here, in a space specifically designed to exhibit it properly.
It is a fascinating film experience, a rare chance to see this experimental work of animation created about 1926 and restored in 2012. It is a totally abstract work except for a drawing of a woman. The official in attendance told me that one person said she thought the woman represented an angel. In fact, the drawing was from the label on a bottle of beer Fischinger liked.
It is being shown in the Weinstein Gallery’s second space South of Market, where the black room and projection is ideal. The large, very wide screen (about 30’ wide), fills your field of vision. Fischinger sometimes showed it in his studio and in other spaces in Germany using five projectors with music performed live.
The current version uses three bright video projectors and a John Cage soundtrack.
They will also be showing animation artwork from the film “Radio Dynamics” and other material from Fischinger's papers from the Center for Visual Music’s collection in LA. For more info see their site.
The location, a South of Market warehouse, at 444 Clementina is open 10 to 5, Tuesday to Saturday. Please note that Sixth Street going towards Market is inhabited by some sad-looking street people and some people might feel more comfortable going there with a friend. There is parking on one side of Clementina.
I spent almost an hour watching the screening. I ran into animator/teacher Dan McHale, outside taking a break, after which he went in for more. The experience is somewhat like an excellent light show, although the materials used were different from a Fillmore or Obscura Digital shows, and includes flowing liquids, wax, painted images and more.
Weinstein Gallery’s main exhibit space, at 383 Geary, is currently exhibiting their 5th anniversary show, consisting of experimental works from their collection.
Karl Cohen is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached .Posted on Jan 14, 2018 - 06:38 AM