As part of Interlocking Dimensions: Eco-Art at the Deering Contemporary, 16mm Experimental Films on Eco Art is a free presentation of rare Avant-garde and experimental works from cinema history presented in their original 16mm film formats.

The program features silent artist films by Stan Brakhage, Abigail Child, David Gatten, and Barbara Hammer.

Current Deering Estate Project Artist in Residence Barron Sherer organizes the screening. Sherer continues to showcase his study of classic personal filmmaking through a public exhibition of vintage 16mm film prints. These silent, avant-garde films delve into ecosystems and our relations to the natural world, involving explorations, interactions, and mediations. The screening will appeal to an audience interested in spectacle and creativity. Moreover, it supports Sherer’s technical research and inspiration while creating new site-specific works at Deering Estate. With thanks to Canyon Cinema Foundation.

Films are for ages: 18+

Program:

Pond and Waterfall

Barbara Hammer | 1982 | 15 minutes | COLOR | SILENT | 16mm

“Hiking in Point Reyes National Seashore, I came upon a vernal pool with an intriguing and mysterious underwater world. I optically printed swimming underwater to slow the movement to a meditative rhythm. I hoped that the appreciation of the clarity and beauty of water would lead us to better protect it.”

— Barbara Hammer.

“The camera eye is like an amphibian that sees on two levels in its journey from underwater in a safe pond down to a violent, turbulent ocean. Early in the silent film shot north of San Francisco we see an homage to Monet’s Nymphiades in the faded raspberry color of the step-printed underwater lilies. The painterly effects of the printing make the water seem viscous. Pushing through clouds of fish eggs, fronds and algae, the camera establishes a sense of intimacy and connection in a natural ecosystem. But this amiable underwaterscape acquires ominous overtones as the camera/amphibian surfaces. Splashes strike the lens, and the rock of the ocean surf is destabilizing and disorienting. One of the most provocative foreshadowing ambiguities occurs when the half-submerged camera tracks the tip and slosh of the horizon, echoing the mood change from underwater confidence to vulnerability to natural forces, a passage from balance to defiance.” – Kathleen Hulser, Centre Georges Pompidou Brochure

Narrow Rivers, Open Seas & Seventeen Sunsets (Silences for A Merchant Mariner)

David Gatten | 2016 | 8 minutes | COLOR | SILENT | 16mm

“The last time I had dinner with Peter (Hutton) we spoke of sunsets – both sunsets we had experienced and sunsets we had filmed – and, of course, of boats; shrimp boats in particular. We made a plan to share with each other all the rolls of all the sunsets we’d never put into our films. That was November of 2015. By June of 2016, Peter was gone. We never had the chance to exchange our sunsets, but in the 72 hours after his passing, I composed this film, made up of some of the elements about which he cared so much: sea and sky, water and light, boats making for the horizon. In memory and in celebration.”

Peripeteia 2

Abigail Child | 1978 | 12 minutes | COLOR | SILENT | 16mm

“Extending from PERIPETEIA 1 – a navigation by light, contrasting the camera’s fixed sight with “in site” movement. A sculpture of glass, mirrors and film vies with the choreography of the cardinal points: dense shelter, rain, red emulsion. Filmed in the Oregon coastal forest, June.”

Visions in Meditation Part 2: Mesa Verde

Stan Brakhage | 1989 | 17 minutes | COLOR | SILENT | 16mm

“This meditation takes its visual imperatives from the occasion of Mesa Verde, which I came to see finally as a Time rather than any such solidity as Place. “There is a terror here,” were the first words which came to mind on seeing these ruins; and for two days after, during all my photography, I was haunted by some unknown occurrence which reverberated still in these rocks and rock-structures and environs. I can no longer believe that the Indians abandoned this solid habitation because of drought, lack-of-water, somesuch. (These explanations do not, anyway, account for the fact that all memory of The Place, i.e., where it is, was eradicated from tribal memory, leaving only legend of a Time when such a place existed.) Midst the rhythms, then, of editing, I was compelled to introduce images that corroborate what the rocks said, and what the film strips seemed to say: The abandonment of Mesa Verde was an eventuality (rather than an event), was for All Time thus, and had been intrinsic from the first such human building.”

THE DEERING ESTATE is a 21st Century house museum, cultural and ecological field station, and a national landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, owned by the State of Florida, and managed by Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. The Deering Estate is located at 16701 SW 72 Ave. in Miami.

For those who treasure the Deering Estate, who advocate for its preservation and wish to invest in its future, THE DEERING ESTATE FOUNDATION provides opportunities for individuals and corporations alike to partake in membership, signature events, and one-of-a-kind experiences, all in service of providing vital funding and support to the Deering Estate. Through these efforts, the foundation fulfills its mission to uphold the legacy of Charles Deering’s cherished 1920s-era property, to provide funding for the cultural, educational and recreational experiences it offers, as well as its significant scientific and archaeological endeavors to conserve its diverse flora, fauna and the eight native ecosystems that thrive on its 450 acres, and to ensure its longevity as a prized American heritage site. Established in 1989, The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc. is a community-based charitable 501(c) 3 Florida Corporation and the philanthropic partner of the Deering Estate.

About Artist-in-Residence and curator of film program Barron Sherer:

Barron Sherer is a time-based media artist with a background in moving image archival practices focusing on altering and repurposing archived films and videos in cinematic, para-cinematic, and gallery installation contexts. Artistic processes in social media and digital platforms help Barron create source material and documentation for temporary and experiential installations. His films and videos have been screened locally, nationally, and internationally. His practice has led to awards, commissions, fellowships, and residencies, including a 2020 Oolite Arts Ellies Creators Award and, in 2017, a South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship.