16mm projection and slide projection, 4-channel sound
Re-staged two times consecutively on
this occasion by Juan David González Monroy,
Martin Moolhuijsen & Julian Ross

Japanese experimental filmmaker Takahiko Iimura went to the United States in 1966 as a fellow for the Harvard University International Seminar in Boston, where he met American composer Alvin Lucier. Soon after, they initiated a collaboration called Shelter 9999, a multi-projection live performance that was staged over several years in a variety of venues. Struck by the prevalence of “Shelter” signs across New York – and likely inspired by his Japanese peers Hi Red Center and their project Shelter Plan (1964) – Iimura proposed to address this Cold War anxiety and sought to incorporate its frenetic energy into this performance. Alvin Lucier stated it was inspired by bats. The different instructions, flyers, reviews, and documentation gathered by Collaborative Cataloging Japan confirm the variability of Shelter 9999 upon each iteration of its presentation, but it is worth describing the individual elements: the central projection includes direct scratch animation, largely on black leader film; the film loops involve abrasive scratches and Iimura’s characteristic circular flashes made with a hole-puncher applied directly to the filmstrip; 35mm colour slides show neon cityscapes, face-painted individuals, and other street signs; and the multi-channel soundscape was described in a New York Times review as “scratching, tearing, shrieking.”

• Programm Programme: Unburdened Recollections