CVM's "Oskar Fischinger and Visual Music" Seminars

Next Seminar begins June 19, 2025

Why is Oskar Fischinger called the Father of Visual Music, and the Grandfather of music videos? CVM's virtual seminar is for those who want a ‘deeper dive’ into Oskar Fischinger, his work, and Visual Music. 5 weekly sessions begin June 19. Limited enrollment.

Five weekly zoom sessions include illustrated talks by curator/archivist Cindy Keefer, screenings of Fischinger’s most important films, plus rare works and unseen materials from CVM's archive. We’ll discuss his influence and place in Visual Music history, and include films by other Visual Music pioneers which he influenced.

Topics covered include Fischinger’s early 1920s work and animation experiments, Raumlichtkunst multiple projector shows, early color explorations, Ornament Sound experiments, emigration to Hollywood, his theories and use of music, the Allegretto process, Paramount, his Disney and Fantasia experience, Hilla Rebay support, Fischinger’s 1950s advertisements, later unshot tests and experiments, the Lumigraph instrument, stereo paintings and films, his final years, legacy and influence, interactions with other artists, and restoration of his films. CVM’s history and aspects relating to loaning Fischinger and archival visual music films to museum exhibitions will also be mentioned.

The Seminars are an excellent resource for students researching Oskar Fischinger and Visual Music-related topics, plus educators, independent researchers, curators, authors and others in the field. Not strictly for academics, the Seminars are open to all who are interested in Fischinger’s work. We encourage participant discussions and questions regarding their own research and projects (if desired). Seminars are limited to approximately 10 attendees.

SEMINAR DATES AND FEES

Five sessions via Zoom, 1.5 hours each plus 30 minutes of discussion and Q & A.
2025 Dates: Thursdays at 11am PST. June 19, 26, July 10, 17, 24.

Fee: Students, $150 (includes all 5 sessions). Non-students, $200.
Fees are payable in advance to CVM via paypal or credit card.

For educators who wish to book a lecture or sessions for their class, please contact Center for Visual Music at cvmaccess (at) gmail.com

Later this fall, our seminar/master class “Jordan Belson, Vortex Concerts and Expanded Cinema” returns. Please email CVM to add your name to the list for the next seminar dates, and for announcements of future seminars.

TO REGISTER

Please email cvmaccess (at) gmail.com with the following information (add SEMINAR in the subject line).
• Name • City/Geographic location • Are you a student (what year?), educator, independent researcher, or other. What is your university or institutional affiliation, if any.
• Are you currently working on a thesis, dissertation, book, or exhibition, if so, what is your focus?
• Have you read William Moritz’s book Optical Poetry: The Life and Work of Oskar Fischinger or Cindy Keefer/CVM’s book Oskar Fischinger: Experiments in Cinematic Abstraction ?
• Your preferred email address for contact and zoom links

Upon notification of acceptance, an invoice will be sent; your enrollment is confirmed upon payment. Participants agree to use Zoom with a functioning camera, and remain on camera during the sessions. Registration is for one attendee. Cancellation policies: A session cancelled due to CVM’s technical difficulties or illness will be made up by adding on an additional session to the end of the schedule above. Cancellation by a participant after registering must be done by June 6 in order to be refunded. No refunds are possible after that date.

Our Fischinger book (2012), co-published by EYE Filmmuseum and Center for Visual Music (published 2013 in the US)

Available online and at selected shops, in Europe through Tate Modern, BFI Filmshop Southbank, Cinémathèque Française, EYE Filmmuseum shop, Walter Koenig, etc.

The Seminar is hosted by archivist/curator Cindy Keefer, Director of Center for Visual Music, and curator of numerous Fischinger exhibitions and Visual Music programs. Ms. Keefer is the editor of Oskar Fischinger: Experiments in Cinematic Abstraction (above), and the co-curator of the Fischinger solo exhibition with the same title, 2012-13. She has restored numerous abstract visual music films by artists including Fischinger, Jordan Belson, John and James Whitney, Harry Smith, Jud Yalkut and others. She is the archivist/curator of CVM's Fischinger Raumlichtkunst reconstruction, which has been installed at Tate Modern, Whitney Museum, Palais de Tokyo Paris, and other museums internationally. Keefer is the producer of both Fischinger DVDs, CVM's Jordan Belson DVD, and previous videotape releases. She publishes on Fischinger, Belson, Vortex Concerts and Visual Music, and presents invited lectures on Oskar Fischinger and Visual Music at institutions including Oxford University, Trinity College Dublin, Goldsmiths College, New York University, ZKM Karlsruhe, UCLA, USC, and other universities and museums internationally.

Keefer curates and presents film screenings on Fischinger and Visual Music films at institutions including the Guggenheim Museum NY, Tate Modern London, Centre Pompidou Paris, Whitney Museum NY, LA County Museum (Los Angeles), SF MoMA (San Francisco), Len Lye Centre (New Zealand), Internationale Kurzfilmage Oberhausen, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC), British Film Institute, Tanglewood Music Festival, Harvard Film Archive, IFFR (Rotterdam) and others worldwide. She holds a degree in film from New York University, received a Peabody Award, and taught the History of Experimental Animation at California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA.

Other Links:

Second DVD Release 2017

DVDs, coasters, scarves, more at CVM's store

Special Collections: Fischinger's papers at CVM

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Images © 2025 Center for Visual Music, all rights reserved.