Myron Ort

A short film by Myron Ort.

"In the 1960s I pioneered Abstract Expressionist painting directly to the film surface creating a new vocabulary of moving shape, color, and texture as well as a good measure of chance operation. In the 1970s I added multiple stages of optical printing to my hand-painted film ("Ommo"), but now have returned to a simpler and more pragmatic approach without composing added speed variations." - Ort

Second in the series by the Maysles brothers documenting the monuments/sculptures of Christo, whose art projects are landscape-scaled, and more "pop" performance art designed to question how we relate to art in the public sphere, especially when it's as oblique, non-political (at least, that is what he would claim), and neutral as running a fence through a landscape.

Transition from psychedelics to Meher Baba. Cinema as path to reality.

"A film produced in Regular 8mm around 1970. At the time this film was very much praised by Stan Brakhage who asked me for a print and urged me to never put a sound track with it." -MO

Mirrored from left to right and front to back, this multilayered black and white symmetrical abstract horror film has apocalypse written all over it. It is still a lot of fun to see and is not without its humor.

From the Psychedelic Series 1968-1972 / Painting on Film, Optical Printer work, Multiple exposure, pioneering techniques from Psychedelic era.

Even by the late 1960s, to my knowledge, there had been no “Abstract Expressionist” non-referential, extended painting applied directly to motion picture film. All previous examples of “direct animation” were more or less figurative, although some by Len Lye involved stenciling and dancing geometric shapes, all previous examples adhered mostly to some kind of a figure based continuity between individual frames.

From the Psychedelic Series: 1968-1972. Painting on Film, Optical Printer work, Multiple exposure, pioneering techniques from Psychedelic era.

Student film project for San Francisco State University.

Originally an 8mm film with hand-painting which was blown up to 16mm and hand-painted again before multiple printings with several optical manipulations. A mandala of ever changing configurations, both angelic and demonic, to be seen as an evanescent phenomenon.

Myron Ort headed up a small team of animators for this 1977 short.

A short film by Myron Ort.

Filmed in Baja California where the desert sun meets the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf. A rusting shipwreck on the rocks outside of Cabo San Lucas in 1972 provides a central and poignant metaphor for a macro-psychedelic and micro-expressionistic exploration of tropical colors and surfy forms. At the time many innovative and experimental in-camera techniques were used to create a dazzling and mysterious vocabulary of painter’s eye multi-plane cinema. Extensive abstract expressionist hand painting can also be seen in this final version. Meanwhile the shipwreck "Inari Maru" has disintegrated and disappeared back into the sea.

From the Psychedelic Series: 1968-1972. Early work with the JK Optical Printer. Some of the earliest examples of optically manipulated hand painted film.

The edited A-roll original prior to reversal wet-gate printing and hand-painting.

A love story, as it happened, filmed entirely by the lovers themselves. A joyful affirmation of peace, harmony, and beauty.

Through the veils of multiple exposure at an "Acid Test" party in San Francisco (toward the end of "He's Here Now" ) one might catch a brief glimpse of Ken Kelsey and Neal Cassidy. During those years, when picking up processed film at Multi-Chrome labs in San Francisco, I would sometimes run into and chat with another hero, the great filmmaker Bruce Baillie, one of the original founders of Canyon Cinema.

A short film by Myron Ort.

Hand painted film. Extended graphic modes explored.

Hand painted film. Extended graphic modes explored.