Expanded Cinema at the Planetarium Co-presented by Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and Houston Museum of Natural Science Saturday, May 14, 8PM Location: Burke Baker Planetarium - 5555 Hermann Park Drive Free Admission
The CAMH, Aurora Picture Show, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science co-present a unique, multiple-projection planetarium event incorporating rarely seen, mind-expanding, experimental films made in the 1960s and early 1970s. Held in conjunction with the opening of the CAMH exhibition Stan VanDerBeek: The Culture Intercom, this show evokes the cultural landscape as film/media artists of the era embraced multiplicity, combined art forms, and integrated new technologies to create immersive art experiences. In the planetarium’s dome and under its starfield, we’ll see Ronald Nameth’s experimental document of Warhol’s 1967 multimedia Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows; the collaborative film/video manipulations of Nam June Paik and USCO artist Jud Yalkut; and early experiments in computer animation and motion graphics by John Whitney, Stan VanDerBeek, and and 3-D films by Lillian Schwartz.
Expanded Cinema is curated by Houston native Peter Lucas. Lucas is currently Education Associate with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and Curator of the ByDesign festival in Seattle. Peter has worked as a Film Programmer with Northwest Film Forum, Seattle International Film Festival, and Experience Music Project. With a particular interest in exploring various intersections of music, visual art, and design with moving image media, he has presented programs and talks at Cornish College of the Arts, School of Visual Concepts, Sound Unseen Film and Music Festival, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and Aurora Picture Show.
The planetarium show begins at 8PM, and doors open at 7:30PM. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating. Special thanks to American Paper Optics for providing 3D glasses for films by Lillian Schwartz.
The CAMH exhibition Stan VanDerBeek: The Culture Intercom is on view from May 14 – July 10, 2011. This exhibit is the first museum survey of the work of media art pioneer Stan VanDerBeek, exploring his investigation of the links between art, technology, and communication. Surveying the artist’s remarkable body of work in collage, experimental film, performance, participatory, and computer-generated art over three decades, Stan VanDerBeek: The Culture Intercom highlights his pivotal contribution to today’s media-based artistic practices. The exhibition features a selection of early paintings and collages, a selection of his pioneering films, recreations of immersive projection and film environments, documentation of site-specific and telecommunications projects, and material related to this influential writing on media. The CAMH exhibition is curated by Bill Arning, Director, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Joao Ribas, Curator, MIT List Visual Arts Center.
About The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is an idea and a place shaped by the present moment. The Museum exemplifies the dynamic relationship between contemporary art and contemporary society through its exhibitions, public and educational programs, and publications. The CAMH provides the physical and intellectual framework essential to the presentation, interpretation, and advancement of contemporary art; it is a vibrant forum for artists and all audiences, and for critical, scholarly, and public discourse.
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is located at 5216 Montrose Boulevard, at the corner of Montrose and Bissonnet, in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. Hours are Wednesday 11AM-7PM, Thursday 11AM- 9PM, Friday 11AM-7PM, Saturday and Sunday 11AM-6PM. Admission is always free. For more information, visit www.camh.org or call 713 284 8250.
About The Houston Museum of Natural Science Founded in 1909, the purpose of the Houston Museum of Natural Science has always been to "enhance in individuals the knowledge and delight in natural science and related subjects." To this very day, this purpose is carried out in every project, program and exhibition associated with the museum. As one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States, and one of the most attended venues in Houston, the Museum houses the Burke Baker Planetarium, Wortham IMAX® Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center and a fascinating variety of permanent exhibit areas that examine astronomy, space science, Native American culture, paleontology, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals, seashells, Texas wildlife and much more. In addition, the museum frequently presents traveling exhibitions on a variety of topics.
