Kenneth Anger, Lord Shiva (Sampson de Brier), 1954-66, C-Print, 110 x 85.2 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Astarte (Anaïs Nin), 1954-66, C-Print, 111 x 85.2 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Scarlet Woman (Margorie Cameron), 1954-66, C-Print, 118.4 x 85.2 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Lucifer (Leslie Huggins), 1970-81, C-Print, 112.4 x 85 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Lilith (Marianne Faithfull), 1970-81, C-Print, 111.3 x 85 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Fireworks, 1947, C-Print, 110.3 x 85.2 cm.

Sprüth Magers London
7A Grafton Street
+44 (0)20 / 74 08 16 13
London
Kenneth Anger
February 19-March 27, 2010

Kenneth Anger’s work constitutes a radical critique of Hollywood, often evoking and referencing an iconography of contemporary pop culture within occult settings, and depicting youth counterculture in the midst of ‘magick’ rituals, violence and eroticism. Using a non-narrative style, Anger´s abstract films are highly symbolic and cinematic manifestations of his occult practices, exploring themes of ritualistic transformation. His films are imbued with a baroque splendour stemming from the heightened sensuality of an opulent use of colours and mystic imagery. Devoid of dialogue, the recurrent theme of music is immediately apparent in Anger’s visionary films which have earned him widespread acknowledgement as the pioneer of MTV and the music video.

Sprüth Magers London is delighted to present an exhibition of work by the legendary filmmaker and artist Kenneth Anger, in his first solo show in London for five years. Making films continuously since the late 1940s and considered a countercultural icon, Kenneth Anger is widely acclaimed as a pioneering and influential force in avant-garde cinema. His groundbreaking body of work has inspired cineastes, filmmakers and artists alike. Many channels of contemporary visual culture, from queer iconography to MTV, similarly owe a debt to his art.

The exhibition will feature his seminal 1969 film Invocation of My Demon Brother. This work, a hypnotic montage of jarringly edited images, shifting intense colours and symbols with a repetitive synthesised soundtrack by Mick Jagger, is typical of Anger’s sinister and subversive aesthetic. The aim of Anger’s subliminal techniques is to get through to "the great Collective Unconsious" and evoke the idea of an alternative reality, which, in turn, adds to the viewers’ anxiety. The claustrophobic setting and jagged texture of Invocation seems to parallel the uncertainty of the counterculture at the time. Brief glimpses of the Rolling Stones performing in Hyde Park, in memory of Brian Jones who died in the summer of 1969, darkly presage their notorious concert at Altamont later that year, at which Hell’s Angels killed Meredith Hunter. Furthermore, many of the fragmented scenes which make up the film feature Bobby Beausoleil, Anger’s erstwhile Lucifer, who was convicted of murdering the musician Gary Hinman, alongside the infamous Charles Manson, in 1970. The film’s intense torrent of images also include a US military helicopter unloading soldiers in Vietnam, the Magnus played by Anger himself performing fevered rituals during a ceremony filmed at the autumn equinox of 1967, flashes of the novel Moonchild (1917) written by the influential occultist Aleister Crowley and brief shots of Marianne Faithfull, Anton LaVey, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg.

Anger’s playful neon sign Hollywood Babylon (1975/2009) is part of a site specific installation exploring the artist’s longstanding fascination with the outrageous antics and sordid tales of old Hollywood detailed in his classic book Hollywood Babylon (1959/1975). Additional exhibition highlights include the photograph Lucifer (Leslie Huggins) taken from Anger’s epic film Lucifer Rising (1970-1981) featuring a further collaboration with Bobby Beausoleil who is unique in being the only musician to score a film while serving a life sentence.

Kenneth Anger was born in Santa Monica, California. His most iconic works include the classic Fireworks (1947), Eaux D’Artifice (1953), Rabbit´s Moon (1950-1973), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954-66), Scorpio Rising (1964), Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) and Lucifer Rising (1970-81). His work has been featured at the Whitney Biennial 2006, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre, New York in 2009 and the Athens Biennial 2009. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Kenneth Anger, Osiris (Donald Cammell), 1970-81, C-Print, 109.6 x 85.2 cm.

Kenneth Anger, Puce Moments (1949), Film, Courtesy the artist.

Kenneth Anger, Invocation of my Demon Brother (1969), Film, Courtesy the artist.

Kenneth Anger, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954-66), Film, Courtesy the artist.

Kenneth Anger, Scorpio Rising (1963), Film, Courtesy the artist.

P.S.1
Contemporary Art Center
22-25 Jackson Avenue
718-784-2084
Long Island City
Kenneth Anger
February 22-
September 14, 2009

This is the first major survey of filmmaker Kenneth Anger's body of work in a U.S. museum in over a decade. Making films since 1947, Anger is considered internationally as a pioneering and influential force in avant-garde cinema. His ground breaking films have inspired the likes of Martin Scorsese, Gus Van Sant, and Guy Maddin. The exhibition will focus primarily on Anger’s early iconic works including Fireworks (1947), Puce Moment (1949), Eaux D’Artifice (1953), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954-66), Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos (1964 -65), Invocation of my Demon Brother (1969) and Lucifer Rising (1970-81). The exhibition is presented in the 2nd floor Kunsthalle.

Kenneth Anger’s work constitutes a radical critique of Hollywood, often evoking and referencing pop icons within occult settings and depicting youth counterculture in the midst of violence and eroticism. Anger does not use a narrative-based style, but rather lyrically explores themes of ritualistic transformation and transfiguration. His films are imbued with a baroque splendor stemming from the heightened sensuality of his opulent colors and imagery. They are often accompanied by a haunting soundtrack, composed by renowned musicians such as Mick Jagger and Bobby Beausoleil.

The exhibition design, consisting primarily of red and silver vinyl partitions and wall and floor coverings, is evocative of the atmosphere of Anger’s films. It extends the sumptuous settings that are depicted on screen into the exhibition space, creating an immersive viewing experience.

Kenneth Anger (b. 1927, Santa Monica, California) has been creating films since the 1940s with his first being Who Has Been Rocking My Dreamboat (1941). Anger’s six-decade-long oeuvre includes most notably Fireworks (1947), Puce Moment (1949), Eaux d'artifice (1953), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954-66), Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965), Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969), Lucifer Rising (1970-81)), Rabbit's Moon (1950-79), Mouse Heaven (2004), Elliot’s Suicide (2004), and the recent Ich Will! (2008) and Foreplay (2008). He also performs as Technicolor Skull with Brian Butler.

Kenneth Anger is organized by Susanne Pfeffer, Curator at KW Institute for Contemporary Art/ P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Curatorial Advisor with Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator, Department of Media, The Museum of Modern Art/Chief Curatorial Advisor, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.

Kenneth Anger, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954-66), Film, Courtesy the artist.