Animation of the Unconsciousness

Monday, October 10, 2011

Animation of the Unconsciousness: CalArts and the Teachings of Jules Engel

1 of 1

“Jules Engel’s work speaks for itself. Direct and lucid, it requires no paraphrase. The language, which is universal… comes from the center of his being.” —Lucretia Cole

Film/Video–Jack H. Skirball Series

Presented as part of Pacific Standard Time and co-presented by Los Angeles Filmforum.

Founded and directed by Jules Engel (1909–2003), the CalArts Film Graphics Program (later called “Experimental Animation”) sought to push the boundaries of animation. Through his teaching, and the example of his own work, Engel fostered the emergence of a new form of animation—freewheeling, transgressive, and imaginative. What happens when an animator follows a line, a patch of color, or a shape into the unconscious? What wild images would emerge; how could one image lead to another? What can we learn about art and the human condition from these brave forays into the unknown depths of the mind? Such were the questions posed by Engel’s own films—Shapes and Gestures (1976), Wet Paint (1977), Hors d’oeuvre (1978)—and by the students carrying his legacy: Kathy Rose (Mirror People, 1974), Adam Beckett (Flesh Flows, 1974), Dennis Pies/Sky David (Aura-Corona, 1974), Henry Selick (Phases, 1978), Lisze Bechtold (Moon Breath Beat, 1980), and others.

In person: Christine Panushka, Dennis Pies, Lisze Bechtold

Curated by Christine Panushka.

Funded in part with generous support from the Getty Foundation and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Presented as part of Pacific Standard Time. This unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together more than 60 cultural institutions from across Southern California for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene.