PoetryFilm will feature at Wenlock Poetry Festival 2015
PoetryFilm will be contributing a programme of film artworks to the Wenlock Poetry Festival 2015.
Feb 7
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PoetryFilm World Tour
The PoetryFilm World Tour continues…
- Husavik, Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Barcelona, Spain.
- Athens, Greece.
- Hvide Sande, Denmark.
- London, Liverpool, Leeds, UK.
- Cannes, France.
- Berlin, Germany.
- Miami, USA.
- Cork, Ireland.
Two artworks by Zata selected for Tate Britain exhibition, 24-25 January 2015
I am delighted that two of my artworks, the concrete poem Full Stop, and the Morse Code sound transmission of the same text, have been selected for inclusion in Tate Britain’s RadioCity exhibition, a special season of radio, sound art, performance and broadcast. The printed text will be displayed, and both the text and the Morse Code audio will be broadcast through the radio channels at Tate Britain, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January 2015, 10am-6pm. Look and listen out for it if you visit Tate Britain today.
Happy Birthday Eugen Gomringer, the father of Concrete Poetry
Thanks to Thomas Zandegiacomo Del Bel at Zebra for the heads-up.
“No mistake in the system”
Exhibition at Rook and Raven (London): Corinne Felgate
Corinne Felgate at Rook and Raven Gallery: Bigger Than the Both of Us
Exhibition runs: 23 January 2015 – 28 February 2015
Private View: 22 January 2015, 6pm – 8:30pm
The artist will be in conversation with curator Paul Bayley at 7pm
Husavik
Here is documentation of my Artist Residency in Husavik on the north coast of Iceland, where I lived in January and February 2015.
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Exhibition and Private View, 12 February 2015
The Artist-in-Residence Exhibition PV took place on Thursday 12 February 2015. For the exhibition, I exhibited the following:
Aural (exhibited in the fridge space, in darkness)
- Dettifoss Waterfall recording
- Extremely Low Frequency radio wave recording of auraural activity
- Gale Wind recording
- Hail recording
- Geothermal Bubbles recording
- Crunchy Snow recording
Visual (projected)
- A selection of 125 photographs
Verbal (printed)
- A printed piece of research (5,000 words), completed during the residency, exploring crossovers between art, science, poetry, film
Material (displayed)
- Two jamjars containing black sand collected from the black sand beach in Husavik (steep cliff descent/ascent to obtain)
Guests inside the FFFFF at the Private View (Fantastic Former Fishermen’s Fish Fridge)
The Door to the FFFFF
Setting up my sound installation inside the fantastic former fishermen’s fish fridge. 12 February 2015.
The FFFFF Door
Recording Dettifoss Waterfall
Here I am recording the sound of Dettifoss Waterfall, “Europe’s most powerful waterfall”. It sounded like roaring TV snow. 11 February 2015.
Icicles on the Cliff of Husavik Beach
I climbed down the cliff to take these pictures. The climb back up was hard as my rucksack contained jamjars full of black sand, so it was difficult to balance. The spiky crampons on my snowboots were vital.
The Black Sand Beach
Husavik Church, Midnight 9 February 2015
Back-up plan
Sky, 7pm
Sky, 7 February 2015
In the air…
Landing in Husavik
The Eagle
About to board The Eagle for the domestic flight from Reykjavik to Husavik.
In the clouds…
Poet Rooms
Domestic flights were all cancelled on Friday 6 February due to bad weather, so I checked into a hotel next to the airport. The hotel happened to have a range of themed “Poet Rooms”, each dedicated to an Icelandic poet.
Taxidermy Menagerie
The hotel also happened to have a large taxidermy menagerie.
Guarding
Plan from the Plane
“It’s a pity we don’t whistle at one another,
like birds. Words are misleading” – Halldor Laxness, Under The Glacier
Photographed at Klafavik Airport on 4 February 2015, on my way to travel to FACT Liverpool to give my presentation at the Send & Receive symposium about Poetry, Film and Technology in the 21st Century. These words resonated with some of the themes raised at the symposium.
Chiaroscuro
On the Road
Lake
Vital Equipment
Geothermal Activity
Footprints
Snow Cave
Mid-afternoon light
A peak
Lava Rock
These rocks were formed by lava, and this extraordinary example has a hole through the middle.
Electricity Pylons in Iceland
A fantastic pylon design proposal by Choi + Shine Architects.
Gale, 25 January 2015
I thought it was a bit windy today, then I realised that the Icelandic Meteorological Office had issued a Weather Warning: “Strong gale warning (more than 20 m/s) is expected widely until after midnight, and even whole gale (more than 24 m/s) in some places.” A whole gale is number 10 on the Beaufort Scale, and 12 (the maximum number on the scale) is a hurricane. Here is today’s wind map:
Sperm Whale
Here is a picture of a portion of sperm whale in a packet, sadly on sale in the local supermarket at the fish counter.
Pickled Shark
A delicacy in Iceland is pickled shark. It contains 17g of protein and 36g of fat per 100g.
The Geo-Thermal Cheese Tub Spa
This is the Husavik spa hidden in a top secret location on a mountain. This geo-thermal spa is made of a former cheese tub tin that was used for making large quantities of yoghurt/cheese. After trekking back from the frosty black-sand beach, I had a hot dip before continuing my journey home in the snow. Highly recommended.
En route to the geo-thermal hot tub
This reminds me of Tarkovsky circa Stalker. The geo-thermal cheese tin hot tub is to the right, out of view and in the middle of this extraordinary landscape.
Sky circa 16:30 on 23 January 2015
Icicles
A “Tooth” Icicle
The black-sand sea
Yellow Lighthouse at distance
Snow Star
Husavik architecture
Photographs taken next to the yellow lighthouse, on my return trek. The light had changed dramatically by then.
20 January 2015
Husavik Lighthouse
Composition in white, yellow and blue (snow, lighthouse, sea, sky).
Lampposts in daylight: the afternoon view in Husavik. With good snowboots and crampons, walking in the snow is manageable.
Monday 19 January 2015
The brightest building in Husavik so far
An extraordinary coloured building in Husavik.
Husavik: Sun, Moon, Light
Sunday 18 January 2015
My coordinates are: 66°2’43” N, 17°20’34” W
Sunrise Today: 10:54
Sunset Today: 15:46
Moonrise Today: 08:30
Moonset Today: 14:06
Daylight Hours: 4 hours, 51 minutes
I have arrived in Husavik
Friday 16 January, evening
I have finally arrived in Húsavik, after travelling from Akureyri by road. Many thanks to Marina for meeting me and for showing me the wonderful accommodation, and the fantastic studio spaces at Fjúk Art Centre (run on geothermal energy), including a huge former fridge studio space with a vault-like door. I enjoyed smoked fish for supper and am looking forward to spending the next month in this inspiring location.
View from Plane
The journey to Husavik in Iceland continues…
Friday 16 January 2015, morning
I am in Iceland and still en route to Husavik, my final destination on the north coast. I left London on Thursday 15 January in the morning and flew to Reykjavik’s international airport. I had planned to then take a domestic flight from Reykjavik to Husavik, but upon arrival at Reykjavik, I discovered that all flights to Husavik had been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions – and the next available flight would be on Sunday afternoon! My options were to stay put in Reykjavik for three days, or find another way of travelling to Husavik. I decided to keep going and managed to book a flight to Akureyri, a town in northern Iceland, which is a few hours drive away from Husavik. The one-hour flight was on a very small aircraft: there was a lot of turbulence on the journey, and I was relieved to land. I found a hotel for the night and today I shall continue my journey to Husavik by road. This photograph was taken upon arrival at Akureyri airport.
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Zata Banks awarded an Artist Residency in Iceland in 2015
I am delighted to have been awarded an Artist Residency in Iceland in 2015. I am looking forward to spending 5 weeks in Iceland producing new creative work in the context of the Northern Lights, sulphuric volcanoes, boiling mud, and Europe’s most powerful waterfall.
PoetryFilm: International Women’s Day 2015
Sunday 8 March 2015, London
PoetryFilm will mark International Women’s Day 2015 with a selection of moving image artworks celebrating women.
Please email info@poetryfilm.org for full details nearer the time.
Jan 8
Send & Receive: Poetry, Film & Technology in the 21st Century (symposium at FACT Liverpool, part of the Type Motion exhibition)
FACT, in association with the University of Liverpool, PoetryFilm and The Poetry Society, is pleased to invite you to imagine the future of poetry at our symposium Send & Receive: Poetry, Film & Technology in the 21st Century. With presentations from artists, scientists and thought leaders, the day examines innovative platforms involved in contemporary poetic practices.
Part of the Type Motion exhibition still running in FACT.
The symposium will include three distinct discussion areas, with audiences invited to join facilitated discussions after each segment. Confirmed speakers include George Szirtes (poet and translator), Deryn Rees Jones (poet and director of Centre for New and International Writing), Zata Kitowski (Director of PoetryFilm), Marco Bertamini and Georg Meyer (Visual Perception Labs UoL), Suzie Hanna (Animator and Professor of Animation Education) and Jason Nelson (hypermedia poet and artist, Australia).
Jan 5
Zata invited to judge the Apples and Snakes poetry film competition
I am looking forward to being a Guest Judge for this competition organised by Apples and Snakes, one of the UK’s leading poetry organisations.
Read Our Lips Deadline 23 February
Open to poets living in the north of England, this competition from Apples and Snakes celebrates a DIY aesthetic with prizes offered to poets making their own film poems from storyboard to final cut. Awards go to best film, best first film and audience favourite. For rules and how to enter, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/745493288879145/
Merry Christmas!
As it is December 24 today, the night before Christmas, here is the 1905 poetry film “The Night Before Christmas” directed by Edwin S. Porter. It closely follows Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, and was the first film production of the poem.
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
Based on the poem written by Clement Clarke Moore
Cinematography by Edwin S. Porter
Distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company
1,670 feet of film was shot, with 798 feet used
A panoramic shot of Santa Claus riding his sleigh over hills and the moon was shot using miniatures and a painted backdrop.
PoetryFilm Solstice: Comments Book
Below is a selection of comments from the sold out PoetryFilm Solstice event at the ICA Cinema on 21 December 2014.
“Just a short word to say how much I enjoyed the poetry film winter solstice. It was wonderful, stimulating and great to see it got a full house too, lots of interesting brilliant people.”
“Really good to see something so unique and thought-provoking”
“Wonderful creative poetry films screened and excellently hosted/presented”
“Very unique and thought-provoking”
“Wonderful films, stimulating. Loved Sandpiper, Genet, Solstice”
“Great project – well produced. Dann Casswell’s film was great as was Sandpiper and Turbines”
“Some lovely inspirational creativity and all beautifully presented / hosted”
“Following PoetryFilm since my film was selected for Shot Through the Heart (Southbank) – lovely to come to an event – enjoyed the selection”
“Really enjoyed – thank you”
“Great programme”
“Fantastic films”
“Great selection of films! Love the connection between poetry and science in an experimental medium”
“Thank you really much!! That was hypnotic and poetic. Great time”
“Thank you for a fine afternoon. Enjoyed the turbine the most! :-)”
“Really enjoyed it, thought-provoking for a Sunday afternoon. Lovely venue”
“It’s the best poetry event that I’ve missed, yet!”
“Solstice screening today was cool. Lots of great stuff”
“Perfect way to spend the Winter Solstice. Keep up the good work and roll on the next event”
PoetryFilm Solstice at The ICA Cinema is sold out
PoetryFilm Solstice sold out in record time. Please email info@poetryfilm.org to be added to the priority list for future events.
PoetryFilm Solstice: Programme (ICA Cinema, December 2014)
Programme for PoetryFilm Solstice on Sunday 21 December at the ICA Cinema in London.
“Blood Types” exhibit at The Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin
A photograph of the “Blood Types” participatory art exhibit at The Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin. Visitors were invited to have their blood type tested (by having a finger pricked) and the test cards were displayed by blood type.
“Great meals I never had” by David Sherry
Here is a photograph of “Great meals I never had”, by David Sherry, taken in Cork.
The “Regulate” exhibition has now ended
Demonstrating the headphone exhibit. Many thanks to the Regulate team.
PoetryFilm: Comments Book
Below is a selection of comments written in the PoetryFilm Comments Book following the PoetryFilm event in Cork.
“Really brilliant, makes us question perception and everyday events”
“Great stuff.”
“Excellent initiative allowing to see great talents calling out to reflect upon everything. Brilliant.”
“Fantastic.”
A short note about PoetryFilm Submissions
Due to the high volume of submissions received by PoetryFilm, please read the following advice before submitting your work:
– A fully completed Submission Form must accompany all submissions – please download from http://www.poetryfilm.org/submissions
– Please print out and include hard copies of all the additional material you would like to have considered as part of your submission
– Please do not write website links or “see website” on the form, and please do not submit links by e-mail or through social media
– Please submit a screening copy of your film, preferably on a properly-formatted DVD, or on a USB memory stick, and send your submission to PoetryFilm by post to: PoetryFilm, First Floor, 85 Harwood Road, Fulham, London SW6 4QL.
Thanks very much.
Zata invited to read at The Poetry Café, Saturday 13 December, 7:30pm
I have been invited to read at The Poetry Café on Saturday 13 December. Publicity material for the event is below:
Platform 1 is a wonderfully eclectic night of poetry and spoken word at The Poetry Café, hosted by Ernie Burns and Amy Neilson Smith. This month’s event features:
Mishi – a devoted Stalwart Football fan, his work, often written in a real-life, working man’s rhyme is honest and hilariously self deprecating
Zata Kitowski – a jewel of antithesis, her collection Doppelgangers is published by Heaventree Press
James McKay – since graduating from Cambridge, his lyrical work and mastery of Victorian classics has stolen many a show
Elphara – a violinist whose music will pluck your heart strings
ICO Archive Screening Day Programme: This Is Now
In the early 1980s clubbers, art students, new romantics and members of the post-punk scene used inexpensive, domestic technology to find new modes of expression and subvert the mainstream media. The DIY approach of punk was powerfully reborn.
The period also saw new perspectives and voices emerge. More female, gay and black filmmakers pushed themselves forward and often they were friends; squatting flats, clubbing and developing new styles and techniques together. ‘Scratch video’ artists meanwhile cut-up pre-existing material to create startling new juxtapositions and reveal hidden meanings, and had an extraordinary impact.
These films focus on work from the early 80s that explored the blurred lines between media images and identity, creating new dialogues between the self and the world. Technology appeared to ease life, make things more exciting yet also create gaps between people. Artists considered what images and technology could mean and be in their fullest sense.
Weaving film and video together, often utilsing religious imagery, and introducing colour, effects and surface texture, filmmakers generated a new, vividly transcendental style by the end of the post-punk era. Key examples of this sensual, visually mature work are presented alongside other dynamic pieces that explore the dreamlike state.* The films are listed below.
ICO Archive Screening Day Programme: The Wonderful World of Colour
Colour has been used in silent film since its very beginning – as spectacle in its own right, as a means of underscoring a narrative by addressing the senses and emotions of the audience, and in relation to the opening up of a world of colour in other popular art forms.
In this selection you will find glorious examples of hand colour, tinting and toning, stencil colour from the sound era as well as Gasparcolor and Technicolor from the sound era.*
PoetryFilm invited to attend the ICO Archive Screening Day at the BFI, Thursday 4 December
PoetryFilm has been invited to be a delegate at the Archive Screening Day event at the BFI Southbank organised by the ICO (Independent Cinema Office). Designed for independent exhibitors, this will be an industry screenings event showcasing films from the UK’s national and regional film archives – extremely rich resources.
The Archive Screening Day sessions are outlined below and the archive film programmes will be posted here separately.
Magic Mirror: Sarah Pucill
Magic Mirror translates the startling force of French surrealist Claude Cahun’s photographs into a choreographed series of tableaux vivants. Re-staging Cahun’s black and white images with selected extracts from her book Aveux Non Avenus (Confessions Untold), the film explores the links between Cahun’s photographs and writings. The kaleidoscope aesthetic that runs through the film serves not only to weave between image and word but also between the work of Cahun and the films of Sarah Pucill, creating a dialogue between two artists who share similar iconography and concerns. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Sarah Pucill and Helena Reckitt.*
3 December, 7pm, JW3 Cinema, London
Nov 28
Zata Banks invited to contribute to the AHRC-funded “Pararchive” Conference at Leeds University
I am delighted to have been invited to contribute an academic presentation called The PoetryFilm Archive 2002-2015 to the Pararchive Conference at Leeds University.
This AHRC-funded conference and community showcase marks the climax of an eighteen-month multidisciplinary research project entitled Pararchive: Open Access Community Storytelling and the Digital Archive. The project is based at the School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds and seeks to build new interactive environments that explore issues of ownership, public and institutional relationships and provide tools for collaborative community research and creative expression using digital heritage resources.
Many thanks to the team at Pararchive for the invitation.
Friday 27th March 2015 – Saturday 28th March 2015
stage@leeds, University of Leeds
Mirror Mirror: McAlpine Miller at Castle Galleries
“The idea behind the work is more important than the work itself.” – Stuart McAlpine Miller
Cited by art critics as “changing the course of art history” and having had his influence and appeal likened to Picasso, Stuart McAlpine Miller has catapulted to the forefront of the contemporary art scene.
His new collection, Mirror Mirror, goes above and beyond classic portraiture and offers a storyboard of social commentary. His work exposes the vanity and consumerism of modern society and reflects it back on the viewer. There is intelligence behind the gloss.
The exhibition will launch with a special private view in the presence of the artist on Thursday 4th December 6pm – 9pm in Mayfair. It will then run for three weeks.
Regulate art exhibition ends on 5 December 2014
The Regulate art exhibition in Sheffield runs until 5 December 2014 at The Montgomery in Sheffield. The show features work by 12 artists exploring the theme of repetition, including Full Stop by Zata Kitowski.
Next stop: Dublin
Following the PoetryFilm event in Cork, today PoetryFilm is heading to Dublin.
PoetryFilm 
