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Welcome to our new section, where our Members announce their new projects, publications, conferences and research. See below for submission procedures for Members. If you are not a member yet, please join us!
1. Kurt Schwerdtfeger - Reflektorische Farblichtspiele Submitted by Ingo Petzke The Weimar Bauhaus in the 20s was a breeding ground not only for film, but for what today might be called Light Shows or Visual Performance. Comparatively much is known about Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack and his "Farbenlichtspiele" (Colour-Light-Play) instrument whereas the earlier "Reflektorische Farblichtspiele" (Reflecting Colour-Light-Play) by Kurt Schwerdtfeger has been mostly overlooked. Ingo Petzke of the Research Center for Experimental Film at Wuerzburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany) dived into the sources and talked to art historians as well as to Schwerdtfeger’s son Stefan, who like his father was a distinguished Professor at an Arts Academy. So, yes, Schwerdtfeger's performance instrument was first before Hirschfeld-Mack's - but there are some tragic moments in the story. Red Avocado Film will publish a DVD early next year* including a reconstituted performance of the Reflecting Colour-Light-Play, a short Making of – how it worked – and also a lengthy talk between Stefan Schwerdtfeger and art historian Michael Stueber about the play, its inception, the rivalries behind the scenes and his father Kurt. Ingo currently seeks to publish a short article about his findings. ingo (at) petzke.biz Ingo Petzke is a Professor of Film at Wuerzburg University of Applied Sciences. He holds a PHD from Bond University, Australia and a DR PHIL (PHD) from Osnabrueck University, Germany. * For those in the US, this DVD will be available through Center for Visual Music, when released.
2. Jordan Belson and The Vortex concerts, 1957-1959 Ongoing Research and Recent Publications by Cindy Keefer "Raumlichtmusik - Early 20th Century Abstract Cinema Immersive Environments." in Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Creative Data Special Issue. Leonardo: The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology, and MIT Press. October 2009. PDF at Leonardo Online (Also includes brief text from Keefer's research on Fischinger's 1920s multiple projector performances).
"Cosmic Cinema and The Vortex Concerts." in Cosmos: The Search for the Origins, from Kupka to Kubrick. Arnauld Pierre, Ed. Madrid:El Umbral/Santa Cruz de Tenerife:TEA, 2008. Exhibition catalog. In Spanish and English. ISBN 978-84-87340-97-0
Keefer is currently working on a monograph about The Vortex concerts. Images above: Cover of Vortex 5 program (courtesy CVM Library); Time magazine article about Vortex, February 2, 1959.
Submissions: Email to Center for Visual Music cvmaccess (at) gmail.com
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Center for Visual Music
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