Martin Arnold (born 1959 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
) is an
experimental film
Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...
maker known for his obsessive deconstruction of
found footage.
Career
Arnold's films are intensely cut sequences in which several seconds of old movie clips are taken and stretched out into much longer works. The figures on the screen flip back and forth between frames, as the motion is repeated and reversed, and numerous single frame cuts are made. His intent is to create, or possibly unearth, narratives concealed within the mundane films from which he samples. In films such as ''Pièce Touchée'' (1989) and ''Passage à l'acte'' (1993) for example he uses several seconds of the films ''The Human Jungle'' and ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', the latter to create a bizarre story of aggression and tension within a traditional American family.
Later works
In a later group of short film loops such as ''Soft Palate'' (2010) and ''Whistle Stop'' (2014), Arnold seems to discover psychoanalytic underbellies in the most popular form of post-war family entertainment, animation, and its most iconic characters such as
Mickey Mouse (using two of Mickey's shorts, one of them ''
Mickey's Delayed Date''),
Tom And Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
,
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
(''
Draftee Daffy
''Draftee Daffy'' is a 1945 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon was released on January 27, 1945, and stars Daffy Duck.
Plot
Having read about the U.S. fighting forces pushing the Nazi German troops back du ...
'') and
Goofy (''How To Play Golf'').
Accolades
His work has been shown at 168 international film festivals, including Cannes, Rotterdam and New York. At these festivals he has won 34 awards, such as the
Golden Gate Award at the
San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...
(1990), the Primo Premio at the Arco Madrid's Week of Experimental Cinema (1994) and the Main Award at the
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International C ...
(1998). For his entire oeuvre he was awarded for Honors for Art in Cinema by the State of Austria (1994) and the Province of Lower Austria (1995).
In addition to festival screenings, Arnolds's films have been shown at various cinematheques such as the Cinematheque in Paris, the Cinematheque Royale in Brussels, the
National Film Theatre
BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute.
His ...
in London, the
San Francisco Cinematheque
San Francisco Cinematheque is a San Francisco-based film society for artist-made cinema. It was created in 1961 by a group of filmmakers, including Bruce Baillie and Chick Strand. This screening program grew into Canyon Cinema before being split ...
, and the Cinematheque of the MoMA in NYC.
Arnold's work was also included in museum exhibitions at places such as the Witte de With in Rotterdam, the Bozar in Brussels, the Barbican Art Center in London, the
Kunsthaus Zürich
The Kunsthaus Zürich is in terms of area the biggest art museum of Switzerland and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over the years by the local art association called '. The collection spans from the Midd ...
and the Hamburger Kunstverein, among others.
Essays on his work and at-length interviews have appeared in several film and art magazines including ''Afterimage'', ''Film Quarterly'', ''Frieze Magazine'', Cahiers du Cinéma, and ''Semiotiques'', and in catalogues and books such as ''Martin Arnold – Gross Anatomies'' by Martin Janda
Martin Janda
/ref> an
Martin Arnold – Deanimated
by Gerald Matt and Thomas Miessgang, ''A Critical Cinema 3'' by Scott MacDonald, L’Art du mouvement by Jean-Michel Bohours for the Centre Georges Pompidou. Reviews of his film and installation works were published in numerous papers including ''The New York Times'', The Village Voice, ''The Chicago Weekly Reader'', L. A. Weekly, ''The Guardian'', Le Monde, La Liberation and ''Die Neue Zürcher Zeitung''.
Personal life
He taught at several American universities and art schools such as the University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, Milwaukee (1995), the San Francisco Art Institute (1996/97), Bard College
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark.
Founded in 1860, ...
(2000/01), Binghamton University (2004–2007) and CalArts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
(2008). In Europe Arnold had guest professorships at the Städelschule
The Städelschule (), Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, is a tertiary school of art in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It accepts about 20 students each year from 500 applicants, and has a total of approximately 150 students of visual a ...
in Frankfurt (1999), the FAMU in Prague (2009/10) and the University of Art and Design in Linz (1998).
Selected filmography
2014
* ''Whistle Stop, format variable, color, sound, 3:30 loop''
2013
* ''Charon, format variable, color, silent, 00:08 loop''
* ''Hydra, format variable, color, silent, 00:21 loop''
* ''Nix, format variable, color, silent, 00:05 loop''
* ''Tooth Eruption, format variable, color, sound, 5:20 loop''
2011
* ''Haunted House, format variable, color, sound, 3:00 loop''
* ''Self Control, format variable, color, sound, 2:00 loop''
2010
* ''Soft Palate, format variable, single screen, color, sound, 3:10 loop''
* ''Shadow Cuts, format variable, color, sound, 4:20 loop''
2007
* ''Coverversion, format variable, color, sound, 7:30 loop''
* ''Cloudy Insulin, format variable, 2 screens, color, sound, 6:00 loops''
2005
* ''Silent Winds, format variable, 3 screens, color, sound, 12:00 loops''
2003
* ''Jeanne, quicktime data, b/w, silent, endless loop''
2002
* ''Deanimated, format variable, b/w, sound, 60:00 loop''
* ''Dissociated, format variable, 2 screens, b/w, sound, 8:00 loops''
* ''Forsaken, format variable, 2 screens, b/w, 9:00 loops''
1998
* ''Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy, format variable, b/w, sound, 15:00''
1997
* ''Psycho. Viennale Spot, 35mm, b/w, sound, 1:00''
1996
* ''Don’t - The Austrian Film, 35mm, b/w, sound, 3:00''
1994
* ''Kunstraum Remise. Spot, 35mm, color, sound, 1:00''
1993
* ''passage à l’acte, format variable, b/w, sound, 12:00''
1989
* ''pièce touchée, format variable, b/w, sound, 16:00''
References
External links
Website of Martin Arnold , Film
Recent films 2010-2014
Galerie Martin Janda
*
Lightcone Paris
Martin Arnold at Canyon Cinema Cooperative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Martin
1959 births
Living people
Austrian experimental filmmakers
Austrian video artists
Kansas City Art Institute alumni
Binghamton University faculty
Postmodern artists
Collage filmmakers