In the 1970s, artists pushed the boundaries of traditional animation, exploring everything from the everyday to the out of this world. Sexuality, the human body, psychedelia, and desire are expressed as extensions of the animators’ innermost fears and dreams. Featuring rare 16mm prints from the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. Contains mature content.
The program begins with Suzan Pitt’s Crocus and Kathleen Laughlin’s Madsong, both stylistically eerie portrayals of women exploring their sexuality against a backdrop of motherhood. In Lisze Bechtold’s Two Stars and Frank and Caroline Mouris’ Impasse, shapes and lines come together and unfold on themselves to reveal seemingly infinite patterns. Sally Cruikshank’s Quasi at the Quackadero revels in dazzling colors and bustling scenes of the anthropomorphic and futuristic. The program ends with a selection of shorts from Mary Beams, whose Rotoscoped work observes the fluidity of human anatomy through rough, loose lines.
Crocus
A mother’s exploration of her body and sexuality, interrupted by her child’s cries and everyday items that exalt in her sexual liberation. Directed by Suzan Pitt. 1971, 7 minutes.
Madsong
A woman’s interior voices and fantasies come alive in a mix of animation and live action. Directed by Kathleen Laughlin. 1974, 5 minutes.
Two Stars
Simple lines frame the shape of bodies and unfold to create new faces and shapes within. Directed by Lisze Bechtold. 1976, 6 minutes.
Impasse
Accompanied by bongo drumming, a small red arrow darts and weaves through a psychedelically patterned landscape created entirely with colored Avery labels. Directed by Frank and Caroline Mouris. 1978, 10 minutes.
Quasi at the Quackadero
Three pals take a capital-T Trip to a dizzying amusement park whose main attractions include time, space, and the contents of their own brains. Directed by Sally Cruikshank. 1975, 10 minutes.
Reel 2 featuring Tub Film, Seed Reel, School in the Sky, Going Home Sketchbook, and Whale Songs
A selection of shorts that use rough outlines to express the fluidity of the human form in both mundane and fantastical ways. Directed by Mary Beams. 1972–1980, 20 minutes. Courtesy of MoMA.
*All films are in color and screened on 16mm.
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