A pivotal artist in American experimental cinema during the later post-war period, Stan VanDerBeek worked for decades, bridging different periods and modes of research that nevertheless shared analogous and extraordinary intellectual curiosity and a unique sense of humor.<\/p>\n
After his studies at Cooper Union and then at Black Mountain College he created his first animations in the form of collages, done in the irreverent spirit of the Surrealists and Dadaists, but with a more direct and informal taste and approach in line with the Beat Generation.<\/p>\n
An ironic taste combined with an incredible ability in selecting visual materials distinguished his vision of animated cinema. VanDerBeek constantly experimented with formats and techniques. He explored the electronic medium, creating computer film animations and holographic experiments with the supports of Bell Laboratories. Fascinated by the dialogue with other disciplines, such as contemporary theater and dance, VanDerBeek’s attention moved towards a ground of powerful creativity and productivity that in his later years led him to the utopian experiments aimed at extending the visual and perceptive possibilities in the field of Expanded Cinema. He built a unique, round theatrical hall in which dozens of projectors gave the illusion of total immersion.<\/p>\n
A visionary artist, Stan VanDerBeek was a precursor of his times. Even during the final years of his life, in the seventies he created works using global fax transmission, projections in unconventional places, and interactive TV programs. [F.B.]<\/p>\n
Visibles<\/em>, 1959\u20131972 Achooo Mr. Kerrooschev<\/em>, 1960 Selected Works I<\/em>, 1976\u20131977 Selected Works II<\/em>, 1977\u20131981 Selected Works III<\/em>, 1981\u20131983 A pivotal artist in American experimental cinema during the later post-war period, Stan VanDerBeek worked for decades, bridging different periods and modes of research that nevertheless shared analogous and extraordinary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"collezione":[],"class_list":["post-101315","artista","type-artista","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, color, sound, 105 min.
\nPurchased with the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo
\nScience Friction<\/em>, 1959
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, color, sound, 10 min.
\nTo the frenetic rhythm of an eclectic acoustic collage, this short film presents an irresistible crescendo of situations and protagonists of the late fifties.
\n\u00c0 la mode (In Vogue)<\/em>, 1959
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 7 min.
\nStarting with a selection of photographs taken from fashion magazines the artist stages an amusing homage to glamour: faces, clothing, silhouettes, and poses create a compelling and ironic work.
\nBreathdeath<\/em>, 1963
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 15 min.
\nThe artist alternates images of destruction and death with a series of youngsters dancing to pop music.
\nPoemfield No. 2<\/em>, 1966
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, color, sound, 6 min.
\nBeginning with electronic elaborations of colored computer graphics on monitors, the work concentrates on the creation and decomposition of pixelled words that become more and more abstract.<\/p>\n
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 2 min.
\nA short but insistent animation based on repertory and press images shows a selection of funny, even grotesque poses of Nikita Khrushchev.
\nSee Saw Seams<\/em>, 1965
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 9 min.
\nWith almost optical illusions the continuous overlapping, enlargement, and dissolving create collage effects in motion.
\nPanels for the Walls of the World<\/em>, 1967
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 8 min.
\nA refined work of montage, starting with many reportage and newsreel photos.
\nOh<\/em>, 1968
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, color, sound, 10 min.
\nCharacterized by the use of bright colors, this animation piece shows faces, profiles, hands, and figures that seem to come out of spots of color, thereby playing with the perceptive processes.
\nSymmetricks<\/em>, 1972
\ntransferred from 16 mm film, black and white, sound, 6 min.
\nThe work features animations in rapid superimposition\u2014or in split screen\u2014of circular, luminous plays and movements that create psychedelic and visionary effects and atmospheres.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 48 min. 30 sec.
\nPurchased with the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo
\nNewsreel of Dreams: Part I<\/em>, 1976
\nvideo, color, sound, 28 min.
\nBased on a series of choreographies carried out for the Elaine Summers Dance Company, in an almost abstract flow of movements and electronic sounds, this work includes dance sequences, poetry, and electronic elaborations of images in motion, thus structuring a sort of collective oneiric condition.
\nStrobe Ode<\/em>, 1977
\nvideo, color, sound, 11 min.
\nThis visionary piece, in which the music is also by the artist, presents exercises of video feedback applied to images that are modified and rendered abstract by means of luminous stroboscopic flashes.
\nVanishing Point Left<\/em>, 1977
\nvideo, color, sound, 9 min. 30 sec.
\nThe vanishing point, referred to in the title, is an analogy by which to indicate looking at a video screen that progressively takes on the forms of a mandala and a flower.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 29 min. 03 sec.
\nPurchased with the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo
\nColor Fields Left<\/em>, 1977
\nvideo, color, sound, 7 min. 47 sec.
\nAbstract images in motion that superimpose colored bands are the subject matter of this work. The resulting hypnotic effect is one of pulsing and increasing luminosity that is also enhanced by the use of electronic sounds.
\nMirrored Reason<\/em>, 1979
\nvideo, color, sound, 9 min. 22 sec.
\nA narrative evoked by the female face portrayed in the video tells the story of a woman who feels obsessed and then persecuted by her double.
\nFace Concert<\/em>, 1981
\nvideo, color, sound, 11 min. 54 sec.
\nThe face of a woman produces vocal sounds and expressions of every kind, while the flow of images presents multiplied and overlapping faces that are often in negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 29 min. 30 sec.
\nPurchased with the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo
\nAfter Laughter<\/em>, 1981\u20131982
\nvideo, black and white, color, 7 min. 28 sec.
\nSatellite images of the Earth together with recordings of off-screen voices give way to a rapid editing of images of men in motion who seem to parody the idea of human evolution.
\nReeling in TV Time<\/em>, 1982\u20131983
\nvideo, color, sound, 3 min. 40 sec.
\nA series of electronic elaborations of a hand in front of a monitor with a visual feedback effect.
\nSelf-Poured Traits<\/em>, 1983
\nvideo, black and white, color, sound, 4 min. 52 sec.
\nTo the reciting of poems by Kenneth Rexroth the artist creates an electronically elaborated portrait starting with a photograph and the numerous superimpositions obtained from it.
\nSonia and Stan Paint a Portrait of Ronnie<\/em>, 1982\u20131983
\nvideo, black and white, color, sound, 13 min. 30 sec.
\nVanDerBeek and the artist Sonia Sheridan carry out a series of electronic manipulations beginning with an image of Ronald Reagan and produced thanks to digital graphic effects created in real time.<\/p>\n
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