Takahiko Iimura Los Angeles retrospective Feb 27- March 9, 2009

From: Adam Hyman (email suppressed)
Date: Sun Feb 15 2009 - 12:21:26 PST


For Immediate Release
For information, screeners, and stills, please contact Adam Hyman
Executive Director, Los Angeles Filmforum
email suppressed
 
FILMMAKER/ARTIST TAKAHIKO IIMURA APPEARING
IN LOS ANGELES CITY-WIDE RETROSPECTIVE, FEBRUARY 27 ­ MARCH 9, 2009

LOS ANGELES, January 26, 2009 ­ The Japanese filmmaker and artist Takahiko
Iimura will be the subject of an unprecedented ten-day multi-venue
celebration in Southern California, with Iimura in person, from February 27
to March 9, 2009. This series of events was organized by Adam Hyman of Los
Angeles Filmforum and made possible by a grant from the Japan Foundation.

Iimura will make in-person public appearances at Los Angeles Filmforum, the
UCLA Film & Television Archive, REDCAT, the University of Southern
California East Asian Studies Center and School of Cinematic Arts, Cal Arts
Bijou Theatre, and UC Irvine. He will also be conducting student workshops
at UCLA and USC.

"To review all of Iimura's work is an important occasion for all who are
concerned with the development and pleasures of cinema as an art." -- Jonas
Mekas (Director, Anthology Film Archives, New York)

Takahiko Iimura is considered one of the most influential and important
experimental filmmakers of our time. In an era of the explosion of
Underground Film in the States, Iimura, almost alone in Tokyo, began making
experimental film just reading the news from abroad without actually seeing
them. His work explores wide range of experiments from poetic cinema with
Dadaist and Surrealist influence and Absurdist filmic play in the 1960's
through more formal and conceptual investigations in the 1970's and the
later. He is also a widely established international artist, having numerous
exhibitions including installation and performance in Japan, the USA, and
Europe.

One of his early films, "Onan", was awarded Special Prize at the legendary
Brussels International Experimental Film Festival, l964. He has continued
working through the present, creating a fruitful and far-ranging oeuvre in
multiple manifestations exploring light, space, time, nature, semiology,
philosophy, and technology with the background of Japanese arts. Recently he
has been involved in using the computer, publishing multimedia CD-ROMs/DVDs
combining film, video, graphics, text, and animation.
http://www.takaiimura.com/

Takahiko Iimura will be in person at ALL screenings. The series was
organized by Adam Hyman of Los Angeles Filmforum. For full information see
http://lafilmforum.wordpress.com/ This is an unparalleled example of
cooperation among Southern California screening organizations and
universities.

These programs supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation.
http://www.jflalc.org/

Los Angeles Filmforum is the city¹s longest-running organization that
screens non-commercial experimental and avant-garde films and video art,
documentaries, and animation. 2009 is its 33rd year.
 
SUMMARY OF EVENTS
 
Friday Feb 27, 7:30 pm ­ Venue: UCLA Film & Television Archive at the Billy
Wilder Theater
Admission $10 general online, $9 general at window, $8
students/seniors/Cineclub members
The Billy Wilder Theater is located in the Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire
Blvd., at the northeast corner of the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood
Blvds., just east of the 405. Parking is $3 in the lot under the theater.
Enter from Westwood Blvd., just north of Wilshire.
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/public/calendar/calendar_f.html
 
³FILM POEMS²: 1960-70s
Iro (Colors) (1962, 16mm (8mm Blow Up), color, Music: Yasunao Tone, 12
min.)
Taka and Ako (1966, 16mm (8mm Blow Up), b/w, silent, 16FPS, 15 min.)
White Calligraphy (1967, 16mm, b/w, silent, 11 min.)
Kiri (Fog) (1970, 16mm (8mm Blow Up), b/w, silent, 16FPS, 7 min.)
Film Strips I (1970, 16mm, b/w, silent, 11.5 min.)
Film Strips II (1970, 16mm, b/w, silent, 13.5 min.)
The Pacific Ocean (1971, 16mm (8mm Blow Up), color, silent, 16FPS, 13 min.)
Total 83 min.
 
Sunday March 1, 7:00 pm­ Venue: Los Angeles Filmforum (at the Egyptian
Theater)
Admission $10 general, $6 students/seniors, free for Filmforum members
At the Egyptian theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. at Las Palmas, Los Angeles CA
90028
Parking on streets, or validated, 4 hours for $2 at the City lot at the
Hollywood & Highland complex
http://lafilmforum.wordpress.com/
For reservations, email the name & number in your party to
email suppressed>
 
"60s EXPERIMENTS": Early experimental films from 60s
Kuzu (Junk) (1962, 16mm, b/w, sound, Music: Takehisa Kosugi, 10 min.)
Ai (Love) (1962, 16mm, b/w, sound by Yoko Ono, 15 min.)
On Eye Rape (1962, 16mm, b/w, silent, 10 min.)
A Dance Party in the Kingdom of Lilliput No. 1 (1964, 16mm, b/w, sound, 14
min.)
Onan (1963, 16mm, B/W, 7min., Music: Yasunao Tone)
 
"Early Conceptual Videos" (DVD, 23 min. total) - Early conceptual videos
from 70s (DVD)
Includes A Chair (1970, 6 min.), Blinking (1970, 2 min.), Time Tunnel (1971,
5 min.) Man and Woman (1971, 2 min.), Visual Logic (and Illogic) (1977, 8
min.)
Total 72 min.
 
Tuesday March 3, 7:00 pm ­ Venue: The California Institute of the Arts
(Bijou Theater)
California Institute of the Arts ­ 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 255.1050
Exit on McBean Parway on the 5 North, then turn to the right on McBean.
Admission Free
From ³60s EXPERIMENTS²:
Kuzu (Junk) (1962, 16mm, b/w, sound, Music: Takehisa Kosugi, 10 Min.)
Ai (Love) (1962, 16mm, b/w, sound by Yoko Ono, 15 Min.,)
On Eye Rape (1962, 16mm, b/w, silent, 10 Min.)
A Dance Party in the Kingdom of Lilliput No. 1 (1964, 16mm, b/w, sound, 14
Min.)
 
PERFORMANCE/MYSELF (Or Video Identity) (1972-1995, DVD, 7 pieces, total 29
min.) which includes
Self Identity (1972, 1 min. extract)
Double Identity (1979, 1.5 min. extract)
Double Portrait ( 1973-1987, 5 min.)
I Love You (1973-1987, 4.5 min.)
This Is A Camera Which Shoots This (1982-1995, 5 min.)
As I See You You See Me (1990-1995, 7 min.)
I Am A Viewer, You Are A Viewer (1981, 4 min.)
Total: 78 min.
 
Wednesday March 4, 12:00 pm ­ Venue: UC IRVINE
Admission Free
UC Irvine Humanities Instructional Building 135
Programs Sponsored by the UCI Center for Asian Studies and the UCI Program
in Visual Studies.
For further information about the Irvine shows. Please email email suppressed
 
Map: Download a free UCI Campus map at: http://www.uci.edu/campusmap
Directions: From the 405 or I-5, exit Jamboree and go west. Turn LEFT on
Campus Dr. Turn RIGHT onto the UCI Campus at W. Peltason Drive. The Pereira
Parking Structure is on your left and the Humanities Instructional Building
is right in front of you.
From SR73, exit University Dr. and go EAST. Turn RIGHT on Campus Dr.
Turn RIGHT onto the UCI Campus at W. Peltason Drive. The Pereira Parking
Structure is on your left.
Parking is available in the Pereira Parking Structure.
 
³LANDSCAPE FILMS-WORKS FROM THE 1980s²
Air¹s Rock ­ [DVD, including Moments at the Rock, (1984, color, sound, 12
min.) and A Rock in the Light (1985/2008, 18 min. Music: Haruyuki Suzuki,
2008)]
New York Hotsprings (1984, DVD, b/w, 10 min. Part of Experiments in New
York)
New York Day and Night (1989, DVD, color, Music: Takehisa Kosugi, 58 min.)
Total: 90 min.
 
Wednesday March 4, 8:00 pm ­ Venue: UC IRVINE
Admission Free
UC Irvine Humanities Hall 178
Programs Sponsored by the UCI Center for Asian Studies and the UCI Program
in Visual Studies.
Map: Download a free UCI Campus map at: http://www.uci.edu/campusmap
Directions: From the 405 or I-5, exit Jamboree and go west. Turn LEFT on
Campus Dr. Turn RIGHT onto the UCI Campus at W. Peltason Drive. The Pereira
Parking Structure is on your left and the Humanities Instructional Building
is right in front of you.
From SR73, exit University Dr. and go EAST. Turn RIGHT on Campus Dr.
Turn RIGHT onto the UCI Campus at W. Peltason Drive. The Pereira Parking
Structure is on your left.
Parking is available in the Pereira Parking Structure.
 
Selections from ³Film Poems²: 1960-70s
Iro (Colors) (1962, 16mm (8mm Blow Up), color, Music: Yasunao Tone, 12min.)
Taka and Ako (1966, 16mm(8mm Blow Up), black and white, silent, 16FPS, 15
min.)
White Calligraphy (1967, 16mm, black and white, silent, 11 min.)
Kiri (Fog) (1970, 16mm(8mm Blow Up), black and white, silent, 16FPS, 7
min.)
Film Strips I (1970, 16mm, black and white, silent, 11.5 min.)
 
Onan (1963, 16mm, B/W, 7min., Music: Yasunao Tone)
 
And from early conceptual videos:
PERFORMANCE/MYSELF (Or Video Identity) ( 1972-1995, DVD, 7 pieces, total 29
min.) which includes
Self Identity (1972, 1 min. extract)
Double Identity (1979, 1.5 min.extract)
Double Portrait ( 1973-1987, 5 min.)
I Love You (1973-1987, 4.5 min.)
This Is A Camera Which Shoots This (1982-1995, 5 min.)
As I See You You See Me (1990-1995, 7 min.)
I Am A Viewer, You Are A Viewer (1981, 4 min.)
 
Thursday March 5, 2:30 ­ 4:30 pm Venue: University of Southern California
Social Sciences Building, room B-40
Free and open to the public. Reception for filmmaker at 5 PM, followed by
USC Cinematheque screening at 7 PM. Social Sciences Building is central on
campus, across from Taper Hall.
Campus map (F4):
http://www.usc.edu/private/about/visit_usc/USC_UPC_map_color.pdf
<http://www.usc.edu/private/about/visit_usc/USC_UPC_map_color.pdf>
Parking is available for $8. Enter campus through Gate #3 off of Figueroa
St. and USC McCarthy Way. Off-campus metered parking is also available on
Jefferson Blvd. and Figueroa St.
For more information and to RSVP for the workshop, please send email to
email suppressed or call 213-740-2991.
Program Sponsored by the East Asian Studies Center
 
A WORKSHOP & PRESENTATION WITH ³MA: A Japanese Concept² (DVD)
Ma: Space/Time In The Garden Of Ryoan-Ji (1989, 16mm, Color, Music: Takehisa
Kosugi, 16 min.)
The Making Of "Ma" In Ryoan-Ji (1989, B/W and Color, 8 min., Sound);
Ma : The Stones Have Moved (2004, B/W and Color, 10 min., Silent);
Ma (Intervals) (1977, B&W and Color, 10 min., Excerpt out of 22 min.,)
Total 44 min
 
Thursday March 5, 7:00 pm Venue: University of Southern California School
of Cinematic Arts (Cinematheque 108 Theater, George Lucas Building, 1st
floor)
Admission free
 
³WORKS FROM THE LATE 1960s - EARLY1970s²
Filmmakers (1969, 28min., Portrait of filmmakers: Andy Warhol, Stan
Vanderbeek, Stan Brackage, Jonas Mekas, Jack Smith, and Takahiko Iimura)
In the River (1971, 16mm, color, sound, 12min/revised, 2009)
Shutter (1971, 16mm, b/w, Music: Keijiro Satoh, 25min.)
1 To 60 Seconds (1973, 16mm, b/w, 31min.)
Total 96min.
 
Sunday March 8, 7:00 pm - Venue: Los Angeles Filmforum (at the Egyptian
Theater)
Admission $10 general, $6 students/seniors, free for Filmforum members
At the Egyptian theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. at Las Palmas, Los Angeles CA
90028
Parking on streets, or validated, 4 hours for $2 at the City lot at the
Hollywood & Highland complex
http://lafilmforum.wordpress.com/
For reservations, email the name & number in your party to
email suppressed>
 
 ³RECENT WORKS²
John Cage Performs James Joyce (1985, DVD, color, 15min, Music: John Cage)
Aiueonn Six Features (1982-1994,DVD, 15 min.)
Observer/Observed and Other Works of Video Semiology (1976 (First Version),
B/W, DVD, 22 min,)
Seeing / Hearing / Speaking (2002, DVD, b/w, 33 min.)
I Am (Not) Seen (2003, DVD, color, 5min. Music; Makoto Sato)
Total 90 min.
 
Monday March 9, 8:30 pm ­ Venue: REDCAT (Roy & Edna Disney Cal Arts Theatre)
Admission $9 general, $7 students, $5 Cal Arts students, faculty& staff
REDCAT is located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles at 631 W. 2nd St., on
the northeast corner of the intersection with Hope St. We are housed in the
Walt Disney Concert Hall complex but have our own separate street entrance
on 2nd St.
Tickets may be purchased by calling 213.237.2800 or at www.redcat.org or in
person at the REDCAT Box Office on the corner of 2nd and Hope Streets (30
minutes free parking with validation). Box Office Hours: Tue-Sat | noon­6 pm
and two hours prior to curtain.
Funded in part with generous support from Wendy Keys and Donald Pels.
 
³ON TIME IN FILM, 1970s²
2 Min. 46 Sec. 16 Frames (100feet) (from Model, Reel 1, 1972, 16mm, black
and white, sound, 9 min,)
24 Frames Per Second (1975, 16mm, B&W, 12 min.)
Timed 1,2,3 (from Models, Reel 1, 1972, 16mm, B/W, 11 min., Sound)
One Frame Duration (1977, 16mm, B/W, 12 min., Sound)
+ & - (Plus and Minus) (1973, 16mm, B/W, 26 min, Sound)
I Am (Not) Seen (2003, DVD, color, 5 min. Music; Makoto Sato)
Total 75 min.
 

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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.