The Los Angeles Abstract Movie Workshop is for film and video artists working in abstraction.  We meet monthly to encourage and inspire the creation of the Art.  Modeled after writers' workshops, it is a time when artists congregate to share new works and works-in-progress, and to discuss goals, techniques, aesthetics and ideas.  It is a forum for constructive criticism, so check your egos at the door. Theory is part of what happens at the workshops, but only as it folds into practice.  Bold claims must be backed up with action!  Each attendee should be engaged in the creation of works.  (That's your homework!)  If you are not currently making Art… well, maybe the workshop can help you out!

Try to feel comfortable showing works-in-progress, as the workshop is not open to the public as a showcase. It is not a place to come to be adored. The workshop is not affiliated with any organization. Opinions expressed at the workshop are the sole responsibility of the source. These workshops are for fun and inspiration; there's no obligation, nothing to join.

The workshop meets each month in Culver City, California. If you are interested in attending, write to the workshop coordinator, J.Walt Adamczyk. (jwalt *AT* spontaneousfantasia.com) We have the ability to screen DVD, VHS, miniDV, 16mm, and Flash. Given a "heads up", we can usually accomodate other formats as well.

Why do we do this?

Abstract films and videos have been made since nearly the birth of motion pictures, yet it is not a popular mode of filmmaking. However, some of us find strong beauty or meaning in moving images and we're inspired to create new works. The workshop helps us all by giving us placetimes to share our works and common interests.

We've been holding these workshops since October of 2001. The workshop is small, but it has been instrumental to our creating many new works. We don't all agree on aesthetics or philosophy, but we respect each other's work. We try to keep the atmosphere welcome and friendly. That helps people feel comfortable to bring new untested work, but it also allows us to be candid and good-humoured in our criticism.

We only show works by artists who are present at the workshop. There are two reasons for this:

1. It keeps the pressure on us to produce works. . The whole point of the workshop is to get us to produce, so that we feel obliged to make something every month or so. We shouldn't substitute our lack of work with "filler" material. As practicing artists, we need to be creating new works, not watching "re-runs".

2. By limiting the works to those of artists who are present, we keep the discussions fair and even-handed. It's not fair to criticize an artist's new work when the artist is absent, and it's not fair to give short shrift of those in attendence.

Here's a list of people whose work has influenced many of us to work with abstract imagery. Some of these artists have passed on, but others are still producing great works.

Adam Beckett
Jordan Belson
Busby Berkeley
Stan Brakhage
Larry Cuba
Robert Darroll
Sky David
Mary Ellen Bute
Jules Engel
Oskar Fischinger
Hollis Frampton
Hy Hirsch
Len Lye
Norman McLaren
Pat O'Neill
Michael Scroggins
Harry Smith
James Whitney
John Whitney

Painting

Many of us are inspired by painting and graphic arts. Not just artists from the 20th century, but also from ancient traditions of non-representational art.

Wassily Kandinski
Joan Miro
Kazimir Malevich
Jackson Pollack
Phillip Rothko
Piet Mondrian
Paul Klee
Hilma Af Klint
Marcel Duchamp
Georgia O'Keefe
Oskar Fischinger

Music

Music is the most popular form of abstract art. It also has a temporal dimension that painting doesn't have. We often look to music for its emotional impact as well as for its formal structures as well. Many artists pursue "visual music", a combination of music and imagery.

Iannis Xenakis
Erik Satie
Sergei Prokofiev
Duke Ellington
Ornette Coleman
Don Cherry
John Lewis and the MJQ
Terry Riley
Steve Reich
Miles Davis
Frederic Chopin
Claude Debussy
J.S. Bach

Poetry

Poetry has a long history of non-narrative and experimental forms, so it has a lot in common with what we attempt in our works. Poetry often has an economy that is inspiring to many of us, as our works are usually only a few minutes long.

Animation

Though some of us work with photographed film and video, most of our work is animated, or created with many steps of processing and compositing. The techniques we employ are the same as those of cartoon animation, visual effects, and other types of filmmaking.

New Media and Technology

We can't deny the impact of technology on the art we create. Film itself is a relatively new medium, made possible only in an industrial age. Computer technology has made high-quality film and video much more affordable and much easier. This has a huge impact on our artwork. Computers allow us to have professional studios in our homes, and they also allow the creation of new forms of interactive and performance art.