The Alchemy of Film: Experiments with the Medium
Films
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ExperimentalPeyote Queen
Storm De Hirsch16mm, color, sound, 9 minRental formats: 16mm, Digital file - Read More
AnimationExperimentalPesca Pisca
Irene Duga16mm, color, sound, 3.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read More
ExperimentalPopple's Feet
Katherine Bauercolor, sound, 4 minRental formats: 16mm, Digital file - Read More
ExperimentalPilgrim's Progress
Caroline Avery16mm, color, silent, 8.75 minRental format: 16mm - Read More
ExperimentalHand Tinting
Joyce Wieland16mm, color, silent, 6 minRental formats: 16mm, Digital file - Read More
ExperimentalAlchemy Blues
Olga Spiegelcolor, sound, 10 minRental format: 16mm - Read More
ExperimentalLandfill 16
Jennifer Reevescolor, sound, 9 minRental format: 16mm
Description
On Friday, June 23rd, 2023, at 6:30pm, join us at the James Cohan gallery (52 Walker Street) for "The Alchemy of Film: Experiments with the Medium," a stunning program of avant-garde works from our archive, curated by Julia Curl, on the occasion of Mary Grigoriadis at Cohan, that highlight women filmmakers who experiment with the physical medium.
Like Grigoriadis’s attention to the material quality of her paintings, these filmmakers intervene directly on the surface of their films, scratching, painting, tinting, and even deliberately eroding the emulsion by burying it in a landfill. Works like Storm De Hirsch’s psychedelic classic Peyote Queen (1964) and Irene Duga’s Pesca Pisca (1968) explore the female form, abstracting it in paint. Others employ inventive processes, like Carolyn Avery’s experiments with using scotch tape to pull ink off of magazines before adhering the tape to the surface of Pilgrim's Progress (1985).
This screening will take place on 16mm film and features rare vintage prints. (Photosensitivity warning: this program includes some strobe-like visuals).