Do You See What I See? @ Fort Mason Center
Admission: Free-$60 – sliding scale
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On view until March 8, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture’s exhibition Anthony McCall: First Light presents three seminal works of cinematic sculpture by the pioneering British artist, three “solid light” works—including the canonical Line Describing a Cone (1973)—non-theatrical installation works that transformed the possibilities of cinema; challenge the boundaries between film, sculpture, drawing, and performance and invite viewers to step away from the screen and into the sculptural beams of projected light themselves.
In association with this ongoing presentation, Fort Mason Center and San Francisco Cinematheque present a one-night-only screening featuring a trio of diverse works which were inspirational to McCall’s life and practice during the period of conceiving and creating Line Describing a Cone, three works suggested by the artist (all to screen in 16mm): Carolee Schneemann’s Plumb Line (1972), described by Schneemann as ”a moving and powerful subjective chronicle of the breaking up of a love relationship… a devastating exorcism, as the viewer sees and hears the film approximate the interior memory of the experience;” Paul Sharits’ Ray Gun Virus (1966), a film of pure flickering color, “affirming projector, projection beam, screen, emulsion, film frame structure, etc.,” a film as much projected on the viewers nervous system as on the screen; and Nostalgia (Hapax Legomena I) (1971), Hollis Frampton’s poetic ode to motion and stillness, anticipation and memory. Program opens with McCall’s rarely screened early work Landscape for Fire (1972).
Admission Note: Issued free RSVPs are valid for entry, even if the event appears sold out online. Free RSVPs will be held until 15 minutes before the event begins, after which unclaimed spots may be released to a standby line. Paid tickets are held slightly longer but do not receive priority over previously issued free RSVPs.
SCREENING: Landscape for Fire (1972) by Anthony McCall; 16mm screened as digital video, color, sound, 7 minutes. Exhibition file from the maker. Ray Gun Virus (1966) by Paul Sharits; 16mm, color, sound, 14 minutes. Print from Canyon Cinema. Plumb Line (1972) by Carolee Schneemann; 16mm, color, sound, 18 minutes. Print from Canyon Cinema. Nostalgia (Hapax Legomena I) (1971) by Hollis Frampton; 16mm, b&w, sound, 38 minutes. Print from the Film-Makers’ Cooperative.