Portrait and Experimental Film

The portrait is used in various media throughout Warhol’s work. Whether, and to what extent, his Screen Tests (1964–1966) can be seen as portraits remains open to debate. Yet such interest in the filmic portrait may nonetheless be surprising in the context of 1960s experimental film, as this genre of cinema is characterized by a radical dismissal of temporal and spatial coherence—which in portraiture seems to be a prerequisite. The program presents experimental film in its myriad functions: as a reflection on filmic devices, as a social visual form, as a commodification of the face, and as the idea of a (production) collective as well as that of an audience.

Program

Andy Warhol, Screen Tests, 1964–1966 (selection: reel 7)
  #1 Paul Wittenborn, 1965, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #2 Barbara Rubin, 1965, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #3 Ondine, 1966, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #4 Bea Feitler, 1964, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #5 Imu, 1964, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #6 David Hallacy, 1964, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #7 Lucinda Childs, 1964, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #8 Timothy Baum, 1966, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #9 Marie Menken, 1966, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)
  #10 Billy Linich, 1964, 16mm, b/w, no sound, 4:30 min (16 fps)

Edward Owens, Remembrance: A Portrait Study, 1966, 16mm, digitized, color, sound, 4 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Galaxie: Jasper Johns, 1966, 16mm, color, no sound, 2:30 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Moment (Hepworth), 1970, 16mm, color, no sound, 8 min
Robert Beavers, The Painting, 1972/1999, 16mm, color, sound, 12 min

Curated by Maja Naef, introduction prerecorded

MAJA NAEF is an art historian and critic. She published and taught at the University of Basel and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Basel, focusing on experimental cinema, performance art, and feminist issues. In her recent book, she explores the portrait in postwar experimental film.