JANIE GEISER
Performance / Film / Visual Artist
[email protected]
Cross-disciplinary PERFORMANCES
(Conceived, Directed, Designed unless noted)
2015
Tungsten (artery)
Script by Erik Ehn
2014
Fugitive Time
Scene design by Vincent Richards
2013
Clouded Sulphur (death is a knot undone)
Script Erik Ehn, set by Sarah Krainin
2009/11 The Reptile Under the Flowers
2009
The Griffith Park Inferno
2006/8 Frankenstein: Mortal Toys
Collaboration with Barbara Bestor
Co-created with Susan Simpson
2007
Stolen Archives of the Vanished Ice-World
2005
Invisible Glass
Script by Erik Ehn
2004
Evidence of Floods
Revival /revision of 1994 production
2002
Ether Telegrams
2001
Josiah Meigs and Me
2000
Night Behind the Windows
1996
Some Dark Morning
1994
Evidence of Floods
1992
When the Wind Blows
1990
Half a World Away
Collaboration with Dick Connette)
1989
The House
Collaboration with writer Neill Bogan
1989
The Fish
Russell Banks text;
Collaboration with Vic Chesnutt
Text by Daniel Zippi
adapted by Neill Bogan)
1987
Burning in the Dark
1986
The Third Bank of the River
Joao Guimaraes Rosa story;
adapted by Neill Bogan
1985
Hangman
1984
Blue Night
1983
Looking for Penguin Film
1983
The Glass Dream
Text by Kay Hagan
1981
Sleep
Based on Poems by Terrill
Shepard Soules
1981
Little Eddie
Based on story by Derrick Parker;
adapted with S.Bresler, K. Miller,
and B.Monett
In Development 2016-2017:
Sound House:
Here/There:
Performance/Installation, Collaboration w/composers Cassia Streb and John Eagle
Performance Collage, Collaboration with Hsuan Kuang and Jason Barlaan
1 Geiser, page 2
Selected Recent Performance Venues
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2013
2013
2012
2011
2011
2010
2009
2009
2008
2008
2008
2008
2007
2006
2006
2005
2005
2005
2002
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1996
1996
1994
2002
1994
1993
1992
1994
1992
1990
1989
1990
The Yard, Martha’s Vineyard
Getty Villa, Los Angeles
The Wonder Room, Santa Monica
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
Automata
The Wonder Room, Santa Monica
Radar LA Festival
Automata
ST Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn
Automata at The Box, Chinatown, Los Angeles
The Giraffe Space, Los Angeles
Open Eye Theater, Minneapolis
Katonah Museum of Art
Museum of Jurassic Technology/Foshay Masonic Lodge
Manual Archives
Santa Monica Museum of Art
St. Ann’s Warehouse /GSW Toy Theater Festival, New York
HERE Arts Center, New York
The Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles
The Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles
St. Ann’s Warehouse /Toy Theater Festival, New York
The Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles
Redcat, Los Angeles (2005)
The Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles (2005)
St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY (also 2005, 2001,1998, 1999)
Museum of Jurassic Technology/Foshay Masonic Lodge
Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, New York
St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY 2000 LaMama, New York ()
Art Institute of Chicago (2000)
St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY
St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY
Phenomena Festival, Jerusalem (1996)
Dance Theater Workshop, New York (1996, 1994, 1992, 1990, 1989, 1986)
PS 122, New York (1994, 1992,
International Festival of Puppet Theater, New York1991, 1990)
Dance Theater Workshop, New York
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
The Public Theater, New York (1992)
PS 122, New York
Dance Theater Workshop, New York
Creative Time/Battery Maritime Building
Dance Theater Workshop, New York
Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, NYC
2 Geiser, page 3
FILMOGRAPHY
2016
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2010
2009
2009
2006
2005
2004
2002
2002
2000
2000
1999
1997
1996
1994
1992
1989
Flowers of the Sky
Silent Sister
Cathode Garden
The Hummingbird Wars
Kriminalistik
Arbor
Ricky
The Floor of the World
Kindless Villain
Ghost Algebra
Magnetic Sleep
The Spider’s Wheels
Vapor Drama
Terrace 49
Ultima Thule
Josiah Meigs
The Fourth Watch
Spiral Vessel
Lost Motion
Immer Zu
The Secret Story
The Red Book
Babel Town
Royal Terror Theater
(9:15 min)
(5 min)
(7 min)
(10.5 min)
(5 min)
(7 min)
(10 min)
(9 min)
(4,5 min)
(7.5 min)
(52 min)
( 6 minute loop)
(6.5 min)
(5 min)
(11 min)
(3 min)
(10 min)
(7 min)
(11 min)
(8.5 min)
(8.5min)
(11 min)
(7 min)
(3 minutes)
Recent SOLO Exhibitions and Screenings
2016
2015
2015
2014
2013
2012
2012
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2009
2008
Nightingale Cinema, Chicago
The McColl Center, Charlotte NC
Café Futuro, Osaka
Object Permanence, China Art Objects, Los Angeles (two person show)
Berkeley Museum of Art
Halifax International Independent Film Festival, Halifax (Retrospective)
S8 Festival, La Corunna, Spain
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Caixa Forum Art Center, Catalunya Spain; Tour to 4 cities
CinemaSpace, Montreal (Retrospective)
Redcat, Los Angeles
Fantoche, Baden, Switzerland
Out of the Box Festival, Cape Town, South Africa
Wexner Center, Columbus OH
Cinematheque at USC, Los Angeles CA
3 Geiser, page 4
2008
2007
2006
2006
2006
2005
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2002
2002
2002
2001
2000
2001
2000
First Person Cinema, UC Boulder, (2007, 2000)
San Francisco Cinematheque
Women Make Waves Festival, Taipei
The Getty Museum, Distributed Memory
Gene Siskal Film Center, Art Institute of Chicago
Redcat, The Inner World of Janie Geiser Los Angeles
Museum of Jurassic Technology, Borzai Kabinet Screening Room, solo screening
Portland Institute of Contemporary Art/ Cinema Project (
Pacific Film Archives
San Francisco Cinematheque
Arteluku, San Sebastian, Spain
Animac, Lleida, Spain
Ottawa International Festival of Animation
Chicago Filmmakers
Cornell Cinema
Museum of Modern Art Cineprobe
Walker Art Center Minneapolis
Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Images Festival, Toronto
SELECTED FILM SCREENINGS AND EXHIBITIONS 1996-2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2015
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
Wavelenghts (AvantGarde series at Toronto International Film Festival)
Projections (AvantGarde series at New York International Film Festival)
Fields Festival, Baltimore
L’Age d’Or Festival, Belgium
Traverse City Film Festival
UNEXPOSED Microcinema, Durham NC
Curtas Vila do Conde
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Vancouver Art Gallery Shadow Boxing: Joseph Cornell in American Avant Garde Cinema
Hong Kong International Film Festival
FilmFest Dresden
Crossroads Experimental Film Festival, San Francisco
New York International Film Festival Projections
Experimenta, London International Film Festival
Ambulante, Mexico City
University of Chicago Film Studies Center
Fronteira Festival, Brazil
Bienal de la Imagen en Movimiento (BIM) in Buenos Aires Doris McCarthy Gallery/Videofaq, Toronto
International Shorts Film Festival, Trieste
Black Maria Touring Program
Santa Fe Independent Fim Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
4 2015
Café Futuro (Osaka, Japan)
Geiser, page 5
2015
2015
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2014
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2012
2012
2013
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
FastForward Film Festival, Northampton
Onion City, Chicago
Chicago Filmmakers
TEMPERMENTAL, Doris McCarthy Gallery, Toronto (single channel installation)
Café Figaro (Osaka, japan)
Centre Pompidou, The Minor Cinema
New York International Film Festival, Projections
Redcat, Los Angeles
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Viennale, Vienna
Curtas Vila de Condo, Portugal
Oberhausen Short Film Festival
Curtas Vila do Condo
L’Alternativa, Barcelona
Fargo Film Festival
Wisconsin Film Festival
Sharjah Biennial
New York International Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, “Cine-Collage”
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Courtisane Festival of Experimental Film, Ghent, Belgium
Charleroi Mediatheque Festival, Belgium (2012)
Brakhage Symposiun, Boulder
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Courtisane Festival of Experimental Film, Ghent, Belgium
Uplink Theater, Tokyo
Hong Kong International Film Festival
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Ann Arbor Film Festival
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Hong Kong International Film Festival
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Onion City Film Festival
La Casa Encendida, Madrid
Crossroads Film Festival, San Francisco
Echo Park Film Center
Images Festival (Toronto; 2011, 2000)
Perpi-tube, Pitzer College
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
San Francisco International Film Festival (2010, 2003, 1998, 1996)
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Exile Galerie, Lost Horizon/Head Shop, Berlin
Rotterdam International Film Festival (2010, 2009, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1998)
Courtisane FilmFestival, Ghent (2010, 2009
5 2010
Onion City Festival (Chicago) (2010)
Geiser, page 6
2010
2010
2009
2009
2008
2008
2008
2007
2006
2006
2005
2005
2005
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2002
2003
2000
2000
2000
1999
1999
1998
1998
1998
The Film Registry Show, Los Angeles Film Forum
Austrian Film Museum
L’Alternativa, Barcelona Film Festival
Rotterdam International Film Festival
The Silent Movie Theater, Los Angeles
Parachute Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
Printed Matter, New York (2008)
SFMOMA as part of the exhibition Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination (2007)
Getty Center, Distributed Memory (2006)
Los Angeles Municipal Gallery 2006 COLA exhibition
Black Maria Film Festival (Touring Program; Jurors’ Choice Award))
Museum of Modern Art, Premieres
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Hong Kong International Film Festival
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
London International Film Festival, Experimenta
Toronto International Film Festival, Wavelengths
University of Alaska, Anchorage
The Robert Flaherty Film Conference
POST Gallery, index@POST, Los Angeles
Xinecitta, Barcelona (2003)
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Redcat
Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica
NY Public Library for the Performing Arts Puppetry of Shadow and Light
Ann Arbor International Film Festival (2003, 1999)
CinemaTexas
LA Freewaves
Museum of Jurassic Technology
Xinecitta, Barcelona
Rhode Island School of Design
San Francisco International Film Festival
Portland International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
LA Freewaves
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Toronto International Film Festival
Taipei International Film Festival
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Guggenheim Museum New York
Rotterdam International Film Festival
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Impakt Festival, Holland
Pesaro Film Festival, Italy
6 1996
New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde
Geiser, page 7
SELECTED GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, RESIDENCIES, AWARDS
2016
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2012
2011
2011
2010
2009
2009
2009
2009
2008
2007
2007
2006
2006
2006
2005
2002
2000
2000
1997
1997
1997
1996
1994
1994
1994
1992
1991
1989
1988
1992
1989
Doris Duke Artist Award
Getty Villa Theater Lab Commission/Residency
IndieWire: “One of 6 AvantGarde Female Filmmakers who Redefined Cinema”
Center for Cultural Innovation (Investing in Artists: Artistic Innovation Grant)
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (Commission, Fugitive Time)
The Henson Foundation
Audience Award, Hong Kong International Film Festival
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
MapFund, for Clouded Sulphur (death is a knot undone)
Fellowship for Visual Artists, California Community Foundation
Center for Cultural Innovation (Investing in Artists: Artistic Innovation Grant)
Film Comment Poll: The Fourth Watch in top ten experimental films of decade.
Library of Congress, The Red Book selected for National Film Registry
Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, CEI Grant for residency in Russia
Durfee Foundation (and 2005)
Montalvo Art Center Artist Residency
Center for Cultural Innovation (Investing in Artists)
Tribeca Films/ReNew Media
The Henson Foundation (2004, 2002, 2001,1997, 1994, 1992, 1989)
Montalvo Art Center Artist Residency
COLA (City of Los Angeles) Artist Fellowship
Durfee Foundation
AnnArbor Film Festival, Juror’s Choice Award
Rockefeller Foundation Media Artists Fellowship
Creative Capital Grant
Rockefeller MAPFund and 1997
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (film)
Pew / TCG National Theatre Residency Grant
Rockefeller MAPFund
Jerome Foundation Film Fellowship
ALIVE TV Commission
Bessie Award
National Endowment for the Arts
Guggenheim Fellowship
MacDowell Fellow
OBIE Award
Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award)
Jerome Foundation
New York State Council on the Arts
7 Geiser, page 7
FILMS IN COLLECTIONS
Library of Congress
Austrian Film Museum
The Museum of Modern Art
Donnell Media Center, NY Public Library
The Art Institute of Chicago
Pacific Film Archive/Berkeley Art Museum
University of Colorado, Boulder
California Institute of the Arts
Sarah Lawrence University
Rhode Island School of Design
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
University of Wisconsin
University of New Mexico
Dalousie University (Halifax)
TEACHING
1999-current
Faculty, CalArts School of Theater
1997-1998
Adjunct Faculty, NYU (Playwrights Horizon’s Studio)
CURATORIAL
2004--current
Automata Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of Automata, an artist-run
non-profit organization, based in Los Angeles, committed to the creation and
presentationof experimental puppet and object theater, experimental film,
music, and art.
1996-1998
St.Ann’s Puppet Lab
Founder/Director of the Puppet Lab at St.
Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn
OTHER PROJECTS:
Puppet Design:
Protagonist (2006, Film by Jessica Yu, puppet sections.
Puppet Design:
The Guide (2011) Film by Jessica Yu, shadow puppet sections.
Music Video:
Beautiful World (2012) official music video: Amirali (Crosstown Rebels)
Animation:
Illustration:
Reno Finds Her Mom (1996) Film by Reno
New York Times Book Review (1986-1998)
8