Bruce Conner

'Bruce Conner (1933, McPherson, Kansas - 2008, San Francisco) is one of the most pre-eminent American artists from the second half of the twentieth century.

Conner’s work emerged from the California art scene and addressed wide-ranging questions concerning American society in the post-war era: from the burgeoning consumer culture to the dread of nuclear apocalypse. In his work he cultivated alternate mediums - now the hallmarks of 21st-century art - adopting different techniques and often creating hybrid pieces midway between painting and sculpture, film and performance, drawing and printing.' 

Cosmic Ray (1962)
’Before music videos and rapid-fire editing pervaded popular culture, seminal avant-garde filmmaker, Bruce Conner (1933-2008), pioneered techniques of vertical montage and subliminal messaging with this second film, COSMIC RAY (1961). With thousands of images precisely cut to Ray Charles' hit song "What'd I Say" (1959), Conner created an explosive homage for the blind musician. More than 40 years later, a derivative work was born from the combination of COSMIC RAY, and silent loop installation EVE-RAY-FOREVER (1965/2006).’

‘THREE SCREEN RAY (2006), re-edited and expanded, replaces its predecessors with three new iterations that share the screen. In collaboration with editor, Michelle Silva, Conner created the visual equivalent of a cinematic slot machine; images meet, diverge, and meet again. Conner reveals a common sexual subtext among disparate images to confront consumerism and aggression, while his tour-de-force editing ensures that even after multiple viewings, the viewer will never experience THREE SCREEN RAY the same way twice.’

'Bruce Conner - It's All True' at 'Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía', is the first exhibition to present his work in Spain, bringing together more than 250 works which span his fifty-year career. Including the stunning 'Three Screen Ray' (above).

http://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/exhibitions/bruce-conner

"LOOKING FOR MUSHROOMS is a visionary travelogue documenting a psychedelic 'trip' through rural Mexico and urban America. More about film