A collaboration with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Los Angeles Filmforum, the Academy Museum, and Rotations LA, a three-part tribute of Gunvar Nelson’s work will take place on March 22nd, 27th, and 28th. The retrospective trilogy will span multiple locations: 2220 Arts + Archives for Program 1: Red Shift, the Ted Mann Theater for Program 2: Moons Pool, and the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum for Program 3: Light Years Expanding. In total screening twelve of Gunvar Nelson’s works, the tribute has been curated by Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu and Steve Anker.
Programme
Works distributed by Filmform
FRAME LINE
Gunvor Nelson
1983, 00:22:00
RED SHIFT
Gunvor Nelson
1984, 00:50:00
TIME BEING
Gunvor Nelson
1991, 00:06:00
SCHMEERGUNTZ
Gunvor Nelson & Dorothy Wiley
1966, 00:15:00
MY NAME IS OONA
Gunvor Nelson
1969, 00:10:00
FOG PUMAS
Gunvor Nelson & Dorothy Wiley
1967, 00:25:00
MOONS POOL
Gunvor Nelson
1973, 00:15:00
SNOWDRIFT (A.K.A SNOWSTORM)
Gunvor Nelson
2001, 00:09:00
LIGHT YEARS EXPANDING
Gunvor Nelson
1988, 00:25:00
OLD DIGS
Gunvor Nelson
1993, 00:20:00
FIELD STUDY #2
Gunvor Nelson
1988, 00:08:00
NATURAL FEATURES
Gunvor Nelson
1990, 00:30:00
From the organisers:
A pioneer of personal cinema and feminist film, Gunvor Nelson produced innovative work combining painting, collage, and sound experimentation with humor, resistance, intimacy, and tactile sensation. Her early films frequently reflect the qualities, thoughts, and voices of women in the 1960s and 1970s; homes, daughters, and mothers are particularly important themes. Moving from painting to still photography and from analog film to digital media, her work delves deeper into the texture of life and the past, uncovering an intuitive yet delicate sensibility that retreats from the real world into another, imaginatively reconstructed one. During her time teaching in San Francisco, Nelson inspired countless experimental filmmakers and artists. After returning to Sweden, she continued to explore new audiovisual languages, leaving us with a rich legacy.
The program trilogy is co-presented by LA Filmforum, Rotations, the Academy Museum, and UCLA Film & Television Archive on March 22, 27, and 28. The screenings begin with introductions by film scholar Steve Anker and a prerecorded video with filmmaker Lynne Sachs.
This program covers a range of Nelson’s works, from her debut film, the feminist classic ‘Schmeerguntz’ (1966) co-directed with Dorothy Wiley, to the late abstract video art ‘Snowdrift’ (aka Snowstorm, 2001), with several other essential and influential masterpieces created during the years in between.
Programmed and notes by Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu and Steve Anker. With video introduction from filmmaker Lynne Sachs.
Program 1: Red Shift
Total run time 80 min, all screenings in 16mm film
‘Red Shift’ (1984), 16mm, B&W, sound, 50 min.
‘Frame Line’ (1983), 16 mm, B&W, sound, 22 min.
‘Time Being’ (1991), 16mm, B&W, silent, 8 min.
Program 2: Moons Pool
Total run time 74 min.
‘Schmeerguntz’ (1966), 16mm, B&W, sound, 15 min.
‘My Name is Oona’ (1969), 16mm, B&W, English, Swedish, 10 min.
‘Fog Pumas’ (1967), 16mm, B&W/Color, English, 25 min.
‘Moons Pool’ (1973), digital, color, English, 15 min.
‘Snowdrift (aka Snowstorm) (2001), digital, color, sound, 9 min.
Program 3: Light Years Expanding
Total run time 81 min.
‘Light Years Expanding’ (1988), 16mm, color, sound, 25 min.
‘Old Digs’ (1993), 16mm, color, sound, 20 min.
‘Field Study #2’ (1988), 16mm, color, sound, 8 min.
‘Natural Features’ (1990), 16mm, color, sound, 28 min.