Creative Capital

Bill Morrison Decasia

Discipline
Film/Video
Medium
Interdisciplinary
Subject

Body

Religion and Spirituality
State
New York
Year
2001
Status
Completed

Description

Decasia, an 80-minute film created from restored nitrate footage re-photographed onto 35mm, uses decaying found footage from the early days of film to investigate the human desire to transcend the limitations of earthbound existence. The abstract scenario follows the course of a life-cycle, beginning with 1927 footage by Sergei Eisenstein of a cesarean section and live birth, and includes shots from a mission school where Native Americans were taught discipline by nuns in foreboding black shawls. The score for Decasia was composed by Bang On A Can co-founder Michael Gordon, and the work was initially screened with live accompaniment by the Basel Sinfonietta in November 2001.

Bill Morrison

Bill Morrison’s films and videos have been screened in theaters, museums and concert halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, …
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Project Updates

2010: Decasia screens at Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of Creative Capital film festival
2002: Decasia premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
2002: Decasia is featured in The New York Times Magazine article “Sublime Decay.”
2003: Decasia receives a one-week run at Anthology Film Archives in New York
2003: Decasia receives UK distribution through the British Film Institute (BFI)
2004: Decasia ’s DVD release is featured in the New York Times article, “After the Decay of Decay, a New Modernity.”
2004: Decasia ’s screening with musical accompaniment at St. Ann’s Warehouse is featured in The New York Times article, “From Dying Movies, The Birth of a Score.”
2004: Articles about Decasia run in The Guardian, Sight and Sound, and TimeOut New York
2007: Decasia is presented live with orchestral accompaniment at the Angel Orensanz Center for the Arts in New York