Screening Room with Jan Lenica

Streaming video - 2015

In addition to being a celebrated experimental animator, Jan Lenica (1928-2001) was a multi-talented artist known for his poetic and surreal graphic art in many forms. Whether working with film, posters, book illustrations, or designs for theater costumes or postage stamps, Lenica expressed very forcefully his satirical ideas, dark humour, and profound skepticism about life. He was an important pioneer of modern independent animation, as well as one of the leading Polish poster artists of the last century. He worked and taught in Poland, Paris, America, and Germany, earning international acclaim and numerous awards. Jan Lenica appeared on Screening Room in April, 1973. He screened and discussed excerpts from his films Fantorro, Monsieur Tet...e, A and Labyrinth. About the Screening Room series: In the early 1970s a group of idealistic artists, lawyers, doctors and teachers saw an opportunity to change commercial television in Boston and the surrounding area. It would require years of litigation up to and including the Supreme Court, but the case was won and the Channel 5 license was given to WCVB-TV. Screening Room was one of several programs offered in an effort to provide alternative television viewing. The idea behind Screening Room was to give independent filmmakers an opportunity to discuss their work and show it to a large urban audience. Nearly 100 ninety-minute programs were produced and aired between 1973 and 1980. Screening Room was developed and hosted by filmmaker Robert Gardner, who at the time, was Director of Harvard's Visual Arts Center and Chairman of its Visual and Environmental Studies Department. His own films include Dead Birds (1964), and Forest of Bliss (1986). more