Rapture (1987, 3/4" or VHS tape, color, sound, 20 min)

Transcription

1 Rpture (1987, 3/4" or VHS tpe, color, sound, 20 min) A pseudo "rock video" which will never be shown on MTV. There re often visul resemblnces between grief nd joy nd between mysticl experiences nd the vrieties of body contortions of convulsive psychotic sttes (just s there cn be fine line between the "beutiful" nd the "repulsive"--some of Goy's lte monster pintings re n exmple). "Rpture" is defined s stte of being ecstticlly crried wy. There is thin line which I ttempt to portry in these tbleux, the border line between the sublime nd the repulsive. I wish to hve the viewer respond to the tpe in n intense but very mbiguous wy. One interesting exmple of the reltion of convulsive nd ecsttic sttes is found in the similrities of brin wves of dvnced Zen monks, t stori pek levels, nd epileptics hving grnd ml seizures. At the onset of both the stori nd seizure sttes there re gretly mplified lph wves, which, t certin points of intensity, shift to high mplitude thet wves. The difference between these nerly identicl ptterns is tht ll of the epileptic's brin wves become synchronized nd his/her mind is flooded while the Zen monk is trined to llow only one region of the brin to move into deep thet stte nd the monk will not visully exhibit ny body convulsions. Also, side from Christin literture stting such things s St. Theres lifting off the ground in ecstsy, it is well known tht shmns, voodoo prctitioners, et l. re known to self-induce physicl sttes which resemble convulsions nd who for purposes of religious ecstsy/cthrsis/insight often collpse fter musculr spsms. Perhps the notion of cthrsis is pplicble in some of these rites. At the technicl level, the chief post-production tool ws the ADO (Ampex Digitl Optics), 2-chnnel digitl video synchronizer which digitizes the entire screen imge, llowing one to control size, shpe, direction, movement, etc. of the whole picture. This is device often used in T.V. commercils but is n "effect" which is used s one gimmick mong mny other electrogimmicks. I've tried to use it s cretive device nd to rticulte it in more extensive nd meningful wy. "A fierce vision of Dionysin ecstsy"--c.e.p.a., Bufflo Selected for inclusion in "IrkENTAL 7'1 (Trvelling exhibition of world "38th Interntionl Filmfest spiele Berlin" Februry ;%;,p, 1988 "Offensive Video Kunst", Dortmund, West Germny, Jn. 17, 1988 (the 22 hour nthology will trvel to other Germn cities).

2 FILM AND VIDEO CEPA VIDEO PROGRAM Tuesdy, November 17 t 8:00 PM (Free) The World Premier of mjor new video work by PAUL SHARITS! RAPTURE (1987, 17 minutes, VHS Videotpe) RAPTURE is fierce vision of Dionysin experience, tightly controlled visul sttement bout the bndonment of self to heightened trnsportive sttes. It is lso n explortion of the similrity between "religious" nd "visionry" ecstsy nd psychotic sttes. 'Very rpidly ltering frmes of different colors in video cn produce n pprent infinity of iridescent color "chords;' shimmering time-color fields. Sequentil tensions nd blnces of these chords nd solid units of color chrcterize the leitmotif of this tpe:' 'The only specil effect used in this tpe is the Ampex Digitl Optics Computer which digitizes whole imge frmes nd controls their movement, size nd loction on the screen. This device ws employed to perform common digitl rticultion of the picture plne in wy tht is more cretive thn is usully employed in brodcst N, commercils nd so on, rther it hs been mnipulted s truly expressive tool rther thn mere gimmick :' - Pul Shrits RAPTURE is dedicted to Kte Mnheim. RAPTURE fetures Pul Shrits nd Bob Hewitt s ctors, Scott Sweeny s editor, nd Jim Sntell on cmer. The text ws written by Pul Shrits nd ws nrrted by Nstsh Norelli. RAPTURE fetures music by HEMOR- RHAGE, group which includes Roger Bourdeu on drums, Keith McCormick on guitr, George Scherer on bsswcls nd Scott Sweeny on keybords. RAPTURE ws mde t the Eductionl Communictions Center nd the Electronic Music Studio t the Stte University of New York t Bufflo with post production t TELESIS in Rochester, New York. Pul Shrits is n interntionlly respected rtist whose cretive efforts spn two decdes of pioneer filmmking. In ddition Shnts is recognized s n innovtive pinter ndrapture is his debut effort in video. Pul Shrits is professor of film t the Stte University of New York t Bufflo's Center for Medi Study. Shrits work hs been exhibited t the Whitney Biennil, the Museum of Modern Art, the Long Bech Museum o1 Contemporry Art, the Albright Knox Art Gllery nd numerous other importnt venues. CEPA would like to thnk Pul Shrds for the opportunity to present the world premier of this importnt new work of rt. Tuesdy, November 17 t 8:30 PM (Free) SATANISM IN BUFFALO (1986, 45 min., VHS Videotpe) 5 PART AMIGA GRAPHICS WORKSHOP with PETER BABULA A fee of $5.00 for ech session will be chrged (Limit 10 prticipnts in ech session - dvnced registrtion required). 18 Sturdy, October 31, 12 :00-4:00 PM Introduction to the AMIGA Sturdy, November 7, 12 :00-4:00 PM Pint Progrm Bsics plus Digitizing nd Processing Sturdy, November 14, 12 :00-4:00 PM Advnced Pint Progrm Sturdy, December 5, 12:00-4:00 PM Deluxe Video plus Animtion Bsics Sturdy, December 12, 12 :00-4:00 PM Advnced Animtion This workshop will be conducted on CEPAs new AMIGA 2000 computer which is equipped with 25 meg of RAM nd numerous grphics options. Peter Bbul is Bufflo computer rtist, film & video mker nd is lso grdute of Kent Stte University. SATANISM IN BUFFALO is videotped lecture by Tom Hinchey of the Town of Kenmore Police Deprtment ( suburb of Bufflo) bout the reltionship between juvenile delinquency, drug buse nd the occult presented t Vill Mri College to the student body. "Stnic Cults in our own bckyrds? The devil nd the teenger? Is it the music, or the drugs, or the bnlity of the middle-clss lifestyle of the suburbs, or is it perhps 80's ngst bout blek postnucler future, tht hs cused Stn to tighten his hiry grip on the souls of tody's youth? This videotped lecture revels rel eyewitness ccounts of bizrre rituls, drug crzed myhem, occult relted crime, nd even murder occurring in our own neighborhoods! This is video progrm which must be seen to be believed!" - Ptty Wllce

3 PASSARE I video, color, silent, 30 minutes This nd other chpters of Pssre were intended to be films ; however, fter mking the videotpe Rpture (1987), I cme to pprecite the specil color luminosity of video. I m now using n Ameg 500 to progrm the rticultion of time-color. Becuse of the smll size of video monitors, I recommend smll, chmber viewing of the work ; the viewing spce should be drkened. Pssre I is only the first of mny more 30 minute "chpters," mny of which re bsiclly plnned but not yet precisely "scored." I wnt these pieces to be estheticlly delightful for the viewer, to provide n experience like clssicl music (lthough the videotpes will be silent). Pssre will be the most complex nd intricte work Vv ever done. While composed of pure/blnk color frmes (often "flickering"), it is not t ll relted to "structurl film;" there is not predetermined overll structure or ny looping, or other "fetures" of "structurl film." The work, in its entire form, will be relted to novel, with beginning, middle, but not n end (until I end). This is n "bstrct nrrtive" or chronicle. The tpe moves from "episode to episode" (different lengths nd moods/ rhythms/melodies) without ny pprent cuse-effect, like life itself, which psses on ("pssre"--to pss, to pss on) from one unpredictble event/emotion to nother. Ech "episode" is bsed upon some feeling, event, or plce nd is estheticlly resolved ; but there re no links from one episode to nother. The episodes my be s short s one second or s long s ten minutes ; ech is my subjective interprettion of ctul incidents, plces, feelings, etc. into the terms of pure temporl color. Everything is in ctul chronologicl order. One could regrd the work s n "bstrct chronicle" but my own sense of it is s n "bstrct nrrtive" (becuse it does not "document" every experience but represents my editoril choice of which "scenes" to omit nd/or include, join together. It is not importnt tht the viewer "know" wht ny of the "episodes" represent ; however, it is hoped tht the viewer will hve strong sense tht life-like series of "scenes-emotions-psychologicl sttes" is moving long. (This is qulity we re fmilir with in music of the Romntic Er nd in vrious impressionist or expressionist musicl "tone poems"--we sense tht there is drm or nrrtive going on but we re unble to trnslte it into words, into definite story ; I believe successions of pure color video "frmes" cn lso suggest this sense of relity-life/nrrtive.)

4 0 1' FILM WORKSHOP INC. 66 EAST 4th STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y (212) JUNE 2 (St.) PAUL SHARITS "DECLARATIVE MODE" 142 min.)-1978, "INFERENTIAL CURRENT" 18 min-1971, nd "TAILS" (4 min.) Pul Shrits hs been relesing films since the mid-sixties. He hd his first one-person show t Millennium ten yers go, in He teches film t SONY t Bufflo t this time. A recent issue of Film Culture Mgzine (No ) ws devoted to his films nd theoreticl writings. Despite vritions in stress nd structure, ll his films, relted drwings nd "frozen film frme" works re unified by their concentrtion on uniquely filmic processes nd/or mterils. This inherently modernist ttempt to determine nd use only the bsic fetures of the medium hs been chrcteristic of his concerns from their erliest incrntion. His explntory sttement prepred for the Fourth Interntionl Experimentl Film Festivl t Knokke-Le-Zoute remins comprehensive summry of his ims. I wish to bndon imittion nd illusion nd enter directly into the higher drm of : celluloid, two dimensionl strips ; individul rectngulr frmes ; the nture of sprockets nd emulsion ; projector opertions ; the three dimensionl light bem ; environmentl illumintion ; the two dimensionl reflective screen surfce ; the retinl screen ; optic nerve nd individul psycho-physicl subjectivities of consciousness. In this cinemtic drm, light is energy rther thn tool for the representtion of non-filmic objects ; light s energy, is relesed to crete its own objects, shpes nd textures. Given the fct of retinl inerti nd the flickering shutter mechnism of film projection, one my generte virtul forms, crete ctul motion (rther thn illustrte it), build ctul color-spce (rther thn picture it), nd be involved in ctul time (immedite presence).10 Despite Shrits' dediction to modernist principles, however, his films re never bluntly didctic. Though comprehensively nd systemticlly orgnized by n bstrct schem drwn up in dvnce," his films cnnot be reduced to mere rendering of the forml procedures constituting the work. Experiencing their sensul complexity remins n integrl prt of the films' sttements. His cinem is ultimtely less committed to n nlytic reflection on the mterils, filmic processes nd psychologicl conditions of the medium thn they re to celebrting the intriccy nd vriety of their combintions nd consequences. To prphrse Rolnd Brthes' chrcteriztion of the ncient soothsyer : Shrits is content to spek the locus of filmic mening but will not nme it. 12 F'P-r1 A RLVIG11rfN- MILLENNIUM FILM JOURNAL Vol. 1, No. 2 STUART LIEBMAN Apprent Motion nd Film Structure : Pul Shrits' Shutter Interfce

5 PAUL SHARITS : ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY FILMS AND LECTURES SERIES IN CONJUNCTION WITH DREAM DISPLACEMENT AND OTHER PROJECTS 8:30 p.m. Auditorium MON. MON. TUES MON. TUES. FILMS The rtist will be present t the screenings 4 Rzor Bldes, , color nd blck nd white, stereo sound, 25 minutes, two-screen projection Ry Gun, 1966, color, sound, 14 minutes Piece Mndl/End Wr, 1966, color, silent, 5 minutes Word Movie/Fluxfilm 29, 1966, color, sound, 3% minutes T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G, 1968, color, sound, 12 minutes Inferentil Current, 1971, color, sound, 8 minutes N:O:T:H :I :N:G, 1968, color, sound, 36 minutes S:TREAM:S:S:ECTION:S:ECTION:S:S:ECTIONED, , color, sound, 42 minutes Anlyticl Studies 1 : The Film Frme, , color, silent, 30 minutes Axiomtic Grnulrity, , color, sound, 20 minutes Anlyticl Studies 111 : Color Frme Pssges, , color, silent, 30 minutes Apprent Motion, 1975, color, silent, 36 minutes Color Sound Frmes, 1974, color, sound, 26Y2 minutes Tils, 1976, color, silent, 4 minutes 5 LECTURES TONY CONRAD, Artist in residence t The Center for Medi Study, Stte University of New York t Bufflo nd t Medi Study Bufflo PAUL SHARITS : PRESCRIPTION AND COLLAPSED TEMPORALITY LIZZIE BORDEN, Critic nd filmmker THURS.14 SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT FILM, CONTENT, ART AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE.19 OCT STANDISH LAWDER, Filmmker nd Chirmn of the Deprtment of Visul TUES. Arts, University of Cliforni t Sn Diego PAUL SHARITS : IMAGE AND ILLUSION These progrms re mde possible by grnt from the Ntionl Endowment for the Arts, Wshington, D.C., Federl gency.

6 f e e e $ e e x 0 tot s 2 e s x n n t p rt i c s == q y n n T. vy~,4~*-v,likc Are. The President nd Bord of Directors of The Bufflo Fine Arts Acdemy cordilly invite you to the Members' Preview of the exhibition PAUL SHARITS: DREAM DISPLACEMENT AND OTHER PROJECTS Mondy, September 27, :30-11 p.m. Albright-Knox Art Gllery This invittion dmits two. Plese present t door. The exhibition will continue through October 31, 1976

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