Doris Totten Chase
2021
Conversation
Doris Totten Chase
Ruth Maleczech
Multiple overlapping images combine with still-frames of an amorous Puerto Rican filmmaker's telephone conversation with a repairman, coincidentally also interested in film. Written by Lee Breuer and performed by Ruth Maleczeck, both of Mabou Mines theatre company. Music by Bob Telson.
Conversation
Plexi Radar
Doris Totten Chase
Plexi Radar is the act of filming a gyrating motion of a circular plexiglas sculpture, which is then looped by a computer. The image of the sculpture alternately divide in between some hypnotic shots in which subconscious impose the illusion of a constant change of frame.
Plexi Radar
Sculpture for Children
Doris Totten Chase
A documentary displaying the use of a set of SCULPTURE FOR CHILDREN in a New York City classroom. Children ages six to nine years were filmed while playing and learning. Sculpture was designed by Doris Chase and is based on kinetic work originating in the field of dance.
Sculpture for Children
Circles II
Doris Totten Chase
A dance film that explores new dimensions in color and space. The film develops like a fugue, with dancers (and giant undulating circle) moving through repeated themes and variations; All the while Brown and Olvey's dazzling color and printing effects electrify the viewer.
Circles II
Dance 11
Doris Totten Chase
Features a duet of sorts between Cynthia Anderson and specially processed images of herself. Similar in technique and intention to DANCE SEVEN, this film is in some ways more lyrical and languorous than the former, emphasizing the overall shaping of the body in dance, rather than isolated movement details such as the virtuoso footwork. Space is transformed into a viscous atmosphere of colored light, which seems to flood and blend in response to movement impulses of the dance. The dance itself has a sustained, weighted quality, contrasting the stable placement of the body against sinuously rhythmic movements of limbs. A mellow sensation of tension is emphasized by the dissonant, muted hues programmed by Chase, while feedback effects multiply, blur and dissolve the image. The sum effect is to induce a meditative mood tinged with a not unpleasant melancholy.
Dance 11
