Mystic Transformations, an exhibition of film still prints and dioramas by LAWRENCE JORDAN opens June 5 at Gallery Extraña

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2009 – Berkeley, CA

June 5 – June 28, 2009
Artist's Reception- Friday, June 5, 7-10 pm
Premier of CIRCUS SAVAGE – June 13, 11 am-11pm
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Mystic Transformations is an exhibition of film still prints and dioramas by artist and filmmaker Lawrence Jordan that opens on June 5 and runs through June 28 at Gallery Extraña. The reception and 75th birthday party for the artist will be on Friday, June 5 from 7-10 pm and will feature live music and a preview of the documentary film Lawrence Jordan. On Saturday, June 13, Jordan will present the premier of his12 hour film, CIRCUS SAVAGE. The 16 mm screening will be from 11 am -11 pm, with an open door to guests to come any time. As the film is non-linear, there are many entry points and it is not necessary to be there for the duration to appreciate the poetic lyricism, depth and charm of the film.

Jordan’s film still prints and dioramas are playful juxtapositions of two and three dimensions, creating strangely seductive narratives and intimate compositions. Jordan’s style is a delightful departure from collage maestro and famous recluse Joseph Cornell, with whom he worked with in the 1960s in New York. Most of the pieces in the show have never been exhibited and were created between the 1984 and 2004, the last year the artist made a two dimensional collage of this sort. The documentary that will screen at the opening Lawrence Jordan is a work-in-progress film about the artist, produced by filmmakers (and former San Francisco Art Institute students) Ashley James, Kathryn Golden and by Babeth Van Loo. It is a co-production of Searchlight Films, Berkeley, CA and Boeddhistsche Omroep Stichting (BOS) of the Public Broadcasting System in the Netherlands.

Jordan’s new work, CIRCUS SAVAGE is essentially a visual autobiography in which Jordan has culled footage from outtakes spanning his 56 years of filmmaking. Jordan has been highly prolific in his career, working in both his signature cut-out collage animation style and in live action in which the lives of his artist and poet friends weave lyrically in front of the camera. And, as P. Adams Sitney shared in his recent Art Forum feature on Jordan, he is one of only three living filmmakers whose work wears the “mask of the mystic”, a genre once prevalent in American avant-garde cinema. Lawrence is one of the most important innovators in the history of avant-garde animation. His meticulous and bizarre filmic assemblages have inspired generations of experimental filmmaking. A bookend to the premier will be a live scoring of one reel of CIRCUS SAVAGE by the experimental band Beno + Minnie. Gallery Extraña is located at 2912 Telegraph Avenue (1 block north of Ashby Avenue) in Berkeley.

www.galleryextrana.blogspot.com
www.searchlightfilms.org
www.buddhistmedia.com.

ABOUT GALLERY EXTRAÑA
Gallery Extraña was founded by Emily the Strange creator Rob Reger and artist, curator, and filmmaker Aimee Friberg in the spring of 2008. Its first show in July of the 2008 turned the heads of national press with the elegant illustrations of Nicomi Nix Turner. Its mission is to showcase contemporary, emerging, and mid-career artists primarily from the Bay Area, with a special focus on talent from the East Bay, where the gallery is situated. Gallery Extraña is committed to exhibiting eccentric, “strange”, and off-center work, and seeks to promote local and underrepresented talent. Located in the Cosmic Debris Design house, Gallery Extraña hours are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12-6pm. Call 415-238-7385 or email galleryextrana@gmail.com for more information.

For press materials or gallery information contact Aimee Friberg, Gallery Extraña/Emily the Strange 415-238-7385 galleryextrana@gmail.com 2912 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702