You are here: iota » News » Newsletter 9, December 2005
  • State: visible

Newsletter 9, December 2005

Newsletter #9 ∙ December 2005

In this issue:

1. The Writings of Bill Moritz Online
2 Half of The History of Experimental Animation
3 Classic Abstract Films Released on DVD
4 Book and Documentary on Live Video Performance

Season's Greetings!

So what's new in the world of Visual Music since last May?

Plenty.

For example,

...The William Moritz Archive of articles is up on our completely redesigned iota website. Our crew of interns (from Calarts, USC, and UCLA film schools) worked all summer and fall on the site. We'd love to get your feedback in our new online forum.

...New Books and DVDs have been released, covering the genre from the historic to the most contemporary.

For more on these stories, read on...

Larry Cuba
Director
The iotaCenter

The Writings of Bill Moritz Online

We're publishing on the iota website, as a tribute to the late William Moritz, and as a resource for the entire iota community, an archive of Dr. Mortiz' writings on the subject of abstract animation and visual music.

Between 1969 and 2002, Bill wrote a staggering number of articles for magazines, journals, festival programs, exhibition catalogs and so on and so forth. Entrance into this massive archive begins with his bibliography... To the Bill Moritz Archive - http://www.iotacenter.org/program/publication/moritz

Half of The History of Experimental Animation

One of Bill's larger writing projects consisted of a history of experimental animation, told in fifty short episodes, for a website sponsored by Absolut Vodka, directed by Christine Panushka and therefore dubbed, "Absolut Panushka".

Approximately half of these articles pertain to the history of abstraction and visual music. While the original site is no longer online, we've republished the "abstract" half of this history and even recreated the original navigation bar: a timeline in the shape of a beautiful spiral.

"Absolut Panushka" on iota - http://www.iotacenter.org/program/publication/moritz/Absolut

Classic Abstract Films Released on DVD

At left is an image from Francis Brugiere's classic film from 1930, Light Rhythms, one of the 155 rare avant-garde films compiled into the 7-DVD set: Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1894-1941.

Produced by Bruce Posner and David Shepard, the set includes several rare, abstract works (appearing on DVD for the first time) by Mary Ellen Bute, Douglas Crockwell, Dwinell Grant and Norman McLaren.

Details at iota's online store... - http://www.iotacenter.org/store/videos/unseencinema

Book and Documentary on Live Video Performance

The VJ Book: Inspirations and Practical Advice for Live Visuals Performance by Paul Spinard is a book and DVD package that blends practical information (on hardware and software) with history (from the 1920s "color concerts" to the '60s psychedelic light shows to the contemporary scene's huge projection screens).

Contains interviews with:
Benton-C Bainbridge, Craig Baldwin, Ivan Dryer, George Stadnik, Melissa Ulto and others. The DVD includes: VJ software, mixable video clips, live performance footage, and excerpts from "Video Out."

Video Out is an 83-minute documentary on "The Story of VJ'ing and Live Video Art".

From the psychedelic light shows of the 1960s to the heady, early days of experimental video art; From New York's nascent Soho Scene to today's techno underground, Video Out tells the story of live video art over the last thirty years and includes taped interviews with 50 of this history's key figures. For more details and a complete list of participants, check the Video Out page on iota's online store.

Read on... - http://www.iotacenter.org/store

iotaCenter.org
Top of Page
For best viewing on a Mac, use Mozilla or Safari

iotaCenter is a nonprofit organization that provides this information as a public service to film artists and the larger community. We have made sincere efforts to get permission from all rights holders. Please contact us at webmaster@iotacenter.org if you are a rights holder whom we have not yet been able to reach. For all other inquiries, please contact us at info@iotacenter.org