EUGENE, Ore. -- (October 24, 2014) – On Wednesday, November 5, 2014, Schnitzer Cinema presents a live projection by Dennis Nyback of Harry Smith’s “Heaven and Earth Magic.” The performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus and includes free popcorn and refreshments.
The 2014-15 season of the Schnitzer Cinema, curated by Cinema Pacific director Richard Herskowitz, is devoted to American experimental media, with a special emphasis on the history of American avant-garde film.
In 1957, Portland-born Harry Smith, legendary producer of the “Anthology of American Folk Music,” began work on a feature length cut-out animated film he shot entirely alone in a tiny East Side apartment in New York. Using his own bed as an animation stand, he appropriated images from 19th century sources to tell an eerie, visually austere, surrealistic story about a woman, a watermelon, and a toothache.
Film historian and founding member of the Oregon Cartoon Institute Dennis Nyback researched the expanded cinema techniques Harry Smith used in presenting his film in 1961 and will recreate them in real time, moving between multiple film and slide projectors to create a layered image onscreen.
“The Oregon Cartoon Institute's recreation of Harry Smith’s ‘Heaven and Earth Magic’ received rave reviews from audiences in Bellingham, Portland, and Seattle over the past year,” says Herskowitz. “We are pleased to bring it to Eugene as part of our season on Experimental Media.”
The fall season closes on Wednesday, November 19, with “The Video Art of Julia Oldham.” Casting herself in the role of lover, wanderer, and scientist, Oldham combines science fiction and dreamy mythology to create fantasy worlds that she inhabits in her videos. Her work frequently combines live action, animation and handmade costume and sets; and music and soundscape play an important role in her storytelling. Six of her short films will be screened.
Schnitzer Cinema is sponsored by Cinema Pacific and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, America and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of six museums in Oregon accredited by the American Association of Museums.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.
About Cinema Pacific
Cinema Pacific is an annual film festival based at the University of Oregon in Eugene that is devoted to discovering and fostering the creativity of international films and new media from Pacific-bordering countries, including the U.S. Through onsite and online presentations, the festival connects stimulating artists and ideas with a diverse public, furthering our understanding of world cultures and contemporary issues.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
Cinema Pacific, http://cinemapacific.uoregon.edu/
