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Perpetual Motion Machine: A Bruce Bickford Retrospective

PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE: A BRUCE BICKFORD RETROSPECTIVE

October 2nd at 7:30 PM

Bruce Bickford is Seattle's own born and raised animation genius. Most well-known for his claymation work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, he still animates or draws basically all day every day, and has an impressive accumulation of independent work. He is inspired by history, mythology and classic hero stories, and yet his films are unlike anything you've seen elsewhere. Bruce's films are unconcerned with our desire for clarity, and yet they are rewarding when committed to. We are proud to screen the NW's first comprehensive compilation of his oeuvre, including CAS'L, Bruce's latest long clay film that he was animating from about 1988 to 1997. It has only recently been mastered and completed with a soundtrack and has rarely been seen in its entirety. Along with Prometheus' Garden, Bruce's clay masterpiece finished in 2008, we are proud to show some of Bruce's intricate pencil animations that are almost more mesmerizing than the clay for which he is known. Bruce is scheduled to be in attendance for the screening.

Prometheus' Garden
Seattle, WA 2008
28 min

Inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created the first mortals from clay and stole fire from the gods, Prometheus' Garden is a dark, magical and violent stream of consciousness version of a hero's journey.
The Comic That Frenches Your Mind
Seattle, WA 2008
5 min

A sample of Bruce Bickford's trippy line animation, guided by his ethereal voiceover.
Excerpt from Dream of a Beatnick Poet aka Pachuco Cross
Seattle, WA 2011
5 min

A poet sits by a tree and is confronted with violence. This is just the beginning of a trip through Bruce Bickford's unconscious, guided by his own voice as the recalls the origins of the images. This is an excerpt from a work in progress.
Inversion Layer
Seattle, WA 2003
14 min

Freeways to nowhere, military police, and impressionistic camera moves characterize this film, one of Bruce's earlier forays into pencil animation.

CAS'L
Seattle, WA 2015
46 min

CAS'L' is an elusive place usually found only accidentally, though it is sometimes obvious. It has manifold manifestations in its many levels above and below ground. The animation for CAS'L' started in 1988 and was finished in 1997. It has only recently been completed with an audio track.