Thursday, Jan. 22 (7:30pm)
JIM HENSON: EARLY EXPERIMENTS
Co-presented by Aurora Picture Show and the Jim Henson Legacy
Introduced by Peter Lucas
Admission: $10 / Free for Aurora members
“Back in the sixties, I thought of myself as an experimental filmmaker. I was interested in the visual image for its own sake―different ways of using it―quick cutting and things of that sort. I loved what one could do with the montaging of visual images, so I was playing with that in several experimental projects.”
—Jim Henson
Jim Henson is widely known for his creative innovations in puppetry and playful sensibility, but less is known about his bold experimentation before the ubiquity of his Muppets and movies. This selection of rarely seen, early works includes his abstract animation Drums West (1961), the Oscar-nominated short film Time Piece (1965), excerpts of experimental television project The Cube (1969), and much more. Many of these 1960s works feature music and sound by electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott. This special screening illuminating the experimental roots of Henson’s imaginative ideas and techniques is presented in association with the Jim Henson Legacy, and will be introduced by Aurora Curator Peter Lucas.
Program:
Drums West (1961)
This animated film was created in Henson’s home studio in Bethesda, MD and features music by jazz drummer Chico Hamilton. Brief footage of Henson in his studio is also shown.
Time Piece (1965)
Written, directed, produced, and starring Jim Henson, this increasingly surreal film was nominated for an Academy Award for best short film. Score is by Don Sebesky.
Limbo: The Organized Mind (1966)
Henson introduces this live, televised presentation of The Organized Mind, mixing a collage film with live manipulation of Henson’s Limbo face puppet. Electronic score by Raymond Scott.
Paperwork Explosion (1967)
Created to promote IBM’s first generation word processor, the film’s quick-cut montage mirrors the intense pace of modern business. Electronic score by Raymond Scott.
Memories (1967)
A commercial for Bufferin pain reliever, continuing ideas of The Organized Mind. Features Henson’s voiceover, and his children Cheryl and John. Electronic score by Raymond Scott.
Ripples (1967) Created for a competition at Montreal’s Expo 67, this film uses a variety of images rapidly cut together to visualize the mind of an architect, played by Jon Stone. Electronic score by Raymond Scott.
Wheels That Go (1967)
A boy (Henson’s young son Brian) plays with toys with wheels while he imagines experiences involving cars, buses and trains. Electronic score by Raymond Scott.
Youth 68 (1968) excerpts
Experimental documentary produced by Jim Henson and directed by Jon Stone for the NBC series, Experiment in Television. Also included here is an outtake with Henson himself.
The Cube (1969) excerpts
Made for the NBC series Experiment in Television, a surrealistic dramatization of “the complex and baffling problems of reality versus illusion."
Image: Jim Henson, 1960s. Courtesy of the Jim Henson Company.