BEN RUSSELL
br@dimeshow.com
EDUCATION
2000-03 MFA Film/Video/New Media School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1994-98 BA w/ Honors: Art/Semiotics Brown University
INSTRUCTION
2008- Clinical Assistant Professor in Moving Image, University of Illinois at Chicago – Chicago, IL
2006-08 Visiting Assistant Professor in Moving Image, University of Illinois at Chicago – Chicago, IL
2006 Visiting Lecturer in Modern Culture and Media, Brown University – Providence, RI
2006 MFA Mentor, Art Institute of Boston – Boston, MA
2005-06 Adjunct Faculty in Film/Animation, School of the Museum of Fine Arts – Boston, MA
2003-06 Adjunct Faculty in Media Arts, Emerson College – Boston, MA
CURATION/ MISCELLANY
2009- Co-Founder/ Curator, BEN RUSSELL (artist-run space) – Chicago, IL
2004-07 Founder, Film/Video Curator, Magic Lantern Cinema – Providence, RI
2003-05 Projectionist, Cable Car Cinema – Providence, RI
1998-00 Rural Community Development Worker, Peace Corps Suriname - Suriname, South America
GRANTS/ AWARDS/ RESIDENCIES
2009 Honorable Mention, Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival (for Trypps #6 (Malobi))
NoBudget Jury Award, Hamburg Short Film Festival (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Honorable Mention, Media City Film/Video Festival (for Trypps #6 (Malobi))
Overkill Award, Images Festival (for B/W Gods)
Visiting Artist-in-Residence, Liaison for International Filmmakers Toronto (LIFT)
Artist-in-Residence, Wexner Center for the Arts/ Art & Tech
2008 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2007 Grand Prix du court-métrage documentaire – Festival EntreVues (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Best Experimental Film, Chicago Underground Film Festival (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Honorable Mention, Onion City Film Festival (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Best Short Film, Silver Lake Film Festival (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Best of Festival, Milwaukee Underground Film Fest (for B/W Trypps No.3)
Honorable Mention, Ann Arbor Film Festival (for B/W Trypps No.3)
2005-06 Rhode Island State Council for the Arts RFP Recipient (for Magic Lantern Screening Series)
Forbes Fund Recipient, Brown University (for Magic Lantern Screening Series)
2005 LAB HD Equipment Grant
Third Place, Onion City Film Festival (for Black and White Trypps No. One)
2004 Honorable Mention, Onion City Film Festival (for The Tawny)
Chicago Underground Film Festival Fund Recipient
LEF New England Moving Image Fund Recipient
2003 Made In Chicago Award, Chicago Underground Film Festival (for Terra Incognita)
2002 Princess Grace Foundation John H. Johnson Graduate Film Scholarship
FILM/ VIDEO/ PERFORMANCE/ INSTALLATION
2009 An Incantation for Eternity (installation, 5x16mm proj.)
Ben Russell Is Medicine Cabinet (150:00, live performance)
Let Each One Go Where He May (135:00, 16mm)
Rock Me Amadeus by Falco via Kardinal by Otto Muehl (3:20, video)
Trypps #6 (Malobi) (12:00, 16mm)
2008 MAZES (collaboration w/Joe Grimm) (35:00, live performance) The Black and the White Gods (20:00, live performance)
Workers Leaving the Factory (Dubai) (8:00, 16mm, silent)
Trypps #5 (Dubai) (3:00, 16mm, silent)
Black and White Trypps Number Four (10:30, 16mm)
Tjúba Tén/ The Wet Season (co-directed w/ Brigid McCaffrey) (47:00, 16mm)
2007 Peace Noise (collaboration w/Joe Grimm) (25:00, live performance)
Black and White Trypps Number Three (11:30, 35mm)
2006 Michoacan: La Muerte/El Traidor (co-directed w//Sabine Gruffat) (8:00/8:00, HD)
Black and White Trypps Number Two (9:00, 16mm, silent)
2005 Black and White Trypps Number One (6:30, 16mm, silent)
The Red and the Blue Gods (8:00, 16mm, live sound)
The Twenty-One Lives of Billy the Kid (55:00, 16mm)
2004 Last Days (5:00, 16mm)
The Ataraxians (co-directed w/Sabine Gruffat) (6:00, 16mm)
Extra Terrestrial (co-directed w/Robert Rhyne) (11:00, video)
2003 The Tawny (11:00, video)
2002 Terra Incognita (10:00, 16mm)
the quarry (4:00, 16mm, silent)
The Breathers-In (30:00, 16mm)
2000 Daumë (7:00, 16mm)
1998/00 The Death of Abraham Lincoln (in Three Parts) (13:00, 16mm, silent)
SOLO SCREENINGS & EXHIBITIONS*
2009 “Ben Russell: Black and White Trypps Number Four” at WHITE HEAT – Stuttgart, Germany*
Viennale – Vienna, Austria
Walking Pictures Palace at Anthology Film Archives – NYC, NY
“Ben Russell Is Medicine Cabinet” at Medicine Cabinet – Chicago, IL*
Rotterdam International Film Festival – Rotterdam, Netherlands
Wexner Center for the Arts – Columbus, OH
Balagan Cinema – Boston, MA
MassArt Film Society – Boston, MA
Magic Lantern – Providence, RI
Heaven Gallery – Chicago, IL
Keene State – Keene, New Hampshire
2008 Onion City Film & Video Festival – Chicago, IL
Silent Movie Theater/ Cinefamily – Los Angeles, CA
Southern Circuit Film Tour – Various Locations, USA
no.w.here – London, UK
No Nothing Cinema – San Francisco, CA
2007 Pierogi-Leipzig - Leipzig, Germany
Skolska28 – Prague, Czech Republic
Dudley Cinema – Venice, CA
LA Filmforum – LA, CA
40 Frames – Portland, OR
Cineworks – Vancouver, Canada
2006 Conversations at the Edge at the Gene Siskel Film Center – Chicago, IL
Magic Lantern – Providence, RI
2004 Museum of Modern Art – New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP SCREENINGS & EXHIBITIONS*
2009 “Video Music” at VideoLounge/ Down Street Art – North Adams, MA*
“(Astral) Projections” at VEGA ESTATES – Chicago, IL*
“The Night Clarifies the Day” at Cinematheque Francaise – Paris, France
2008 “Russell, Warhol: incandescencias” at Xcèntric – Barcelona, Spain
“We Melt Away” at Light Industry – NYC, NY
“The Rock and Roll Picture Show” at the Wexner Center for the Arts – Cincinnati, Ohio
“From Naught to Sixty” at the ICA – London, UK
“Sound vs Light” at San Francisco Cinematheque - SF, CA
“Documents of the Forgotten World” at Mu-Mesons Archive – Sydney, Australia
2007 “Agnostic Ceiling” at LA Filmforum – LA, CA
“Cork Vessel: New Films/Videos From America” at Pickled Arts Center – Beijing, China
“Now is the Winter” at the State Contemporary Art Center – Moscow, Russia
“Masks” at Fort Wayne Museum of Art – Fort Wayne, Iowa
“Liar Lies: Contemporary Performance for the Camera” at DePaul University Museum – Chicago, IL
2006 “The Danger Show” at Magic Lantern – Providence, RI
“Der Fantasticsche Zustand” at Zustand – Berlin, Germany*
“Detroit, In Focus” at Detroit Film Center - Detroit, MI
2005 “The Sound and Land Explosionists” at Ocularis – Brooklyn, NY
“The Anti-Heroic in Recent American Avant-Garde Cinema” at 25p Festival – Zagreb, Croatia
“Movies With Live Soundtracks” at the Tap Room – Providence, RI
2004 “The Inquiring Camera: Experimental Docs.” atPacific Film Archives – Berkeley, CA
“I am yet seized of our Ancient Constitution: Ben Russell & Brian Frye, et al. v. the Robert(a) Beck Memorial Cinema” at the Robert Beck Memorial Cinema - NYC, NY
2003 “Sculptures in Time” at Hull International Short Film Festival – Hull, UK
“Here and Now” at the Chicago Cultural Center - Chicago, IL
2002 “Chicago’s Own: Tales on the Edge of Despair” at Chicago Filmmakers – Chicago, IL
“Myths, Legends, and Lies” at the Gene Siskel Film Center – Chicago, IL
SELECTED FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
2009 Hamburg Short Film Festival – Hamburg, Germany
PLAY at La Casa Encendida – Madrid, Spain
Images Festival – Toronto, Canada
Ambulante – Mexico City, Mexico
Cinéma du Réel – Paris, France
Boston Underground Film Festival – Boston, MA
2008 Toronto International Film Festival – Toronto, Canada
IndieLisboa – Lisbon, Portugal
Melbourne International Film Festival – Melbourne, Australia
Viennale – Vienna, Austria
FICV – Valdivia, Chile
IAO Festival at CAPC Musée d'art contemporain – Bordeaux, France
2007 Sundance Film Festival – Park City, UT
Impakt – Utrecht, The Netherlands
Kill Your Timid Notion – Scotland, UK
The International Cinema Exposition – Montevideo, Uruguay
Entre Vues, Belfort International Film Festival – Belfort, France
2006 Antimatter Film/VideoFestival – Victoria, Canada
New York Film Festival – NY, NY
FLEX Film Festival – Gainesville, FL
2005 Chicago Underground Film Festival – Chicago, IL
PDX Film Festival – Portland, OR
Olympia Film Festival – Olympia, WA
2004 Wisconsin Film Festival – Madison, WI
Athens Film Festival – Athens, OH
2003 London Film Festival – London, UK
Ann Arbor Film Festival – Ann Arbor, MI
2002 Rotterdam International Film Festival – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Image Forum - Tokyo, Japan
2001 New York Underground Film Festival – NYC, NY
Cinematexas - Austin, TX
TOUR PROGRAMS
2009 “Composite Bodies: Mazes/ Mirror Phases”
(North American Music/Performance Tour w/Joe Grimm, Lauren Carter, Lichens) at XPACE – Toronto, Canada; La Brique – Montreal, Canada; North End Studio – Burlington, VT; The Distillery – Boston, MA; Waste Not Want Not – Providence, RI; Gowanus Studio Space – Brooklyn, NY; Hexagon – Baltimore, MD; The Nerve – Pittsburgh, PA
2008 “Tjúba Tén/ The Wet Season and Other Experimental Ethnographies”
(Southern Circuit Film Tour - solo) at Florida Community College - Jacksonville, FL; at Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts - Louisville, KY; at Western Carolina University - Cullowhee, NC; at Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art - Charleston, SC; at The Imperial Theatre - Augusta, GA; at Nickelodeon Theatre, Columbia, SC; at Capri Theatre, Montgomery, AL; at Millsaps College, Jackson, MS; at Mobile Arts Council, Mobile, AL; at The Arts Council of Central Louisiana - Alexandria, LA
2008 “We Can Not Exist in This World Alone”
(New Zealand/Australia Film Tour – w/Ben Rivers) at Auckland International Film Festival – Auckland, NZ; at Gowett-
Brewster Gallery – New Plymouth, NZ; at Wellington International Film Festival – Wellington, NZ; at Borderline Ballroom
– Christchurch, NZ; at Melbourne International Film Festival – Melbourne, AU; at Chalkhorse Gallery – Sydney, AU; at
OtherFilm – Brisbane, AU
2007 “Last Refuge for the Senses, or Noise Hippies Against All War”
(European Film/Music Tour – w/Joe Grimm and Various Artists) at Sala Bahia – Barcelona, Spain; at La Suivre - Bordeaux, France; at Transat Video - Caen, France; at Le Barbizon - Paris, France; at Kommunales Kino Freiburg - Freiburg, Germany; at Le Star (Burstscratch) - Strasbourg, France; at Cinema Nova - Brussels, Belgium; at OCCII – Amsterdam, the Netherlands; at WORM - Rotterdam, The Netherlands; at Helbaard, Den Haag, The Netherlands; at Onderbroek - Nijmegen, The Netherlands; at Spedition - Bremen, Germany; at 11/17 - Hamburg, Germany; at Spanien19c - Arhus, Denmar; at Inkonst - Malmo, Sweden; at Berg211 - Gothenbug, Sweden; at Avant Gotlandica Festival - Gotland, Sweden; at Fylkingen - Stockholm, Sweden; at Moonshake - Umea, Sweden; at Forum Box - Helsinki, Finland; at Kino Thalia - Turku, Finland; at Dirty Deal Cafe - Andrejsala, Latvia; at New Style – Vilnius, Lithuania; at Rhiz - Vienna, Austria; at Hybrida - Tarcento, Italy
2007 “Last Refuge for the Senses, or Noise Hippies Against All War”
(North American Film Tour – w/various artists) at Magic Lantern – Providence, RI; at Cinema Borealis – Chicago, IL; at Hungry Ghost – Vancouver, Canada; at Department of Safety – Anacortes, WA; at Northwest Film Forum – Seattle, WA; at DIVA – Eugene, OR; at Other Cinema – SF, CA; at 7Dudley Cinema – Venice, CA; at PDX Festival – Portland, OR
2006 “The Psychoacoustic Geographers”
(European Film Tour – w/Jonathan Schwartz) at ArtCinema OffOff – Ghent, Belgium; at Cinema Kontra – Antwerp, Belgium; at Cinema de Balie – Amsterdam, The Netherlands; at Huidhischool – Den Haag, The Netherlands; at WORM – Rotterdam, the Netherlands; at Extrapool – Nijmegen, The Netherlands; at ICA – London, UK; at Brighton Cinematheque – Brighton, UK; at Director’s Lounge – Berlin, Germany; at East Germany – Berlin, Germany; at D21 – Leipzig, Germany
CURATED EXHIBITIONS/ SCREENINGS
2009 “BEN RUSSELL : BENRUSSELL” at BEN RUSSELL – Chicago, IL; “BEN RUSSELL : RUSE” at BEN RUSSELL – Chicago, IL; “BEN RUSSELL : BURNS” at BEN RUSSELL – Chicago, IL; “BEN RUSSELL : BEER” at BEN RUSSELL – Chicago, IL
2008 “The Leap (Year) Show” at Golden Age – Chicago, IL; “The Religious Show” at Gallery 400 – Chicago, IL; “The Inside/Outside Show” at G2 – Chicago, IL
2007 “The Photography Show” (Gallery 400); “The False Advertising Show” (Gallery 400); “The Imminent Failure Show” (at UND#2 – Karlsruhe, Germany; at D21 – Leipzig, Germany; at The Ice Capades – Chicago, IL; at Magic Lantern – Providence, RI); “The Desert Show” (Gallery 400); “The Captivity Show” (Gallery 400)
2006 “The Transcendent Show” (Magic Lantern; at Cinema Borealis – Chicago, IL); “The Summer Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Childhood Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Gun Show”” (Magic Lantern)
2005 “The Future Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Comedy Show, Part One” (Magic Lantern; at Balagan – Boston, MA; at Experimental Film Club – Chicago, IL); “The Man and Beast Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Conspiracy Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Geography Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Bird Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Water and Sky Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Experimental Ethnography Show” (Magic Lantern); “La Lanterne Magique” at (Magic Lantern); “The Dead and the Undead Show” (Magic Lantern); “The New Early Cinema Show” (Magic Lantern); “The Re-Enactment Show” (Magic Lantern; Balagan)
2004 “The Animal Show, Part 2: Four Legs vs More Legs” (Magic Lantern); “The Animal Show, Part 1: Bats vs Cats” (Magic Lantern); “The Fear and Anger Show” (Magic Lantern);“The Love Show” (Magic Lantern)
2003 “Anti-Spacesuit: The Dirty Future” at Gallery2 – Chicago, IL
LECTURES/ WORKSHOPS/ SYMPOSIUM
2009 Visiting Artist Lecture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago – Chicago, IL
“The Avant-Garde Remake” at Liaison for International Filmmakers Toronto (LIFT) – Toronto, Canada
Visiting Artist Lecture at Oberlin College – Oberlin, MI
“Traces, Marks and Registers: Reality as Raw Material” at Injerto Symposium, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo – Mexico City, Mexico
Injerto Master Class at Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo – Mexico City, Mexico
2008 “Phenomenology” at no.w.here – London, UK
Cinema of the Trash Heap: DIY for Dutch Eyes and Ears” at Filmwerkplaats – Rotterdam, Holland
2007 Visiting Artist Lecture at Emily Carr Institute for the Arts – Vancouver, BC
Visiting Artist Lecture at MassArt – Boston, MA
2003 Visiting Artist Lecture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago – Chicago, IL
PUBLICATIONS
2009 “Cinema is Not the World” in Afirmar La Realidad (Ambulante Festival: Injerto Symposium 2009)
2009 “Hands Raised and Heads Smashed (In Defense of the Ineffable)” in The End of Analog (Catalog Essay)
PRESS
2009 “The Unbroken Path: Ben Russell’s Let Each One Go Where He May” by Michael Sicinski. Cinemascope, Issue 40.
“Taking Place” by Jason Anderson. Artforum.com
“Found Sound, Cinema Without Cinema” by Danny Birchall. Film Quarterly Mar 2009, Vol. 62, No. 3.
“Unfamiliar Ground” by Vera Brunner-Sung.Senses of Cinema.
“History is Written With Light” by Patrick Friel. Senses of Cinema.
“New Directions: the 33rd Toronto Int’l Film Festival” by Darren Hughes. Senses of Cinema.
"New Rebel Cinema” by Oren Lavie, Corduroy Magazine.
“Psychedel-yah” by Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic Magazine.
2008 “to seek the invisible” by Mubarak Ali, Supposed Aura.
“Shadows and Outlaws” by Genevieve Yue, Reverse Shot.
“London Film Festival: Experimenta Weekend Day Two” by David Berridge, More Milk Yvette.
“MIFF 2008: lo-tech brilliance” by Simon Sellars, RealTimeArts
"Toronto 08. Wavelengths Preview" by Michael Sicinski, Green Cine Daily.
"Breaking Waves" by Jason Anderson, Artforum.com
"Ben Russell on We Can Not Exist in This World Alone" by Brannavan Gnanalingam, The Lumiere Reader.
"Profile of the Curator" by Dan Gunn, Newcity.
2007 “2007 World Poll – Part 1” by Patrick Friel. Senses of Cinema.
“2007 World Poll – Part 2” by Joshua Mabe. Senses of Cinema.
“Treasure-Hunting: The 11th Views from the Avant-Garde” by Patrick Friel, Senses of Cinema.
“NYFF. Views. 1” by Michael Sicinski, Green Cine Daily.
“Short: As Long As It Takes” by Genevieve Yue. Senses of Cinema
“Buried Treasures” by Patrick Friel. Time Out Chicago.
2005 “The Anti-Heroic in Recent American Avant-Garde Film” by Fred Camper. 25fps catalog essay.
2004 “(Un)natural Order” by Fred Camper. Critic’s Choice. Chicago Reader.
2003 “What the Eye Sees” by Genevieve Yue. Senses of Cinema.
2003 “Chicago’s Own: Tales on the Edge of Despair” by Fred Camper. Critic’s Choice. Chicago Reader.
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