Michael Betancourt is a research artist, historian and theorist who has been working on the links between media theory and media practice since 1989. He is the author of The ____________ Manifesto, and has exhibited internationally since 1993 at the Black Maria Film Festival, Art Basel Miami Beach, Contemporary Art Ruhr, Athens Video Art Festival, Festival des Cinemas Differents de Paris, Anthology Film Archives, Millennium Film Workshop, the San Francisco Cinematheque's Crossroads, and Experiments in Cinema, among others.
His process is a self-conscious engagement with history and research that began as a child. Although he has published work as an historian/theorist, all this writing and publication is a side effect of my consistent, structured heuristic and critical research into movies. He uses logical argument to understand the theoretical and aesthetic issues he encounters while making his movies; as a consequence of this approach, and has published extensively, and continuously to look for ways to more directly link theory to practice. Cinegraphic presents work-in-progress fragments and notes from this critical-theoretical analysis and updates on his screenings, lectures and publications.
Quick links:
The 3 Periods of Abstract Film & Video in the US
Theory writing on Digital Capitalism
History
Interesting primary source documents:
The Last of the Mohicans: Oskar Fischingers Symphony in Blue, FilmLiga, 15 November 1935, pp. 314-315 [.pdf]
Dreams That Money Can Buy, Hans Richter, 1947 [.pdf]
Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film, second edition, 1918 [.pdf]
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