The Water Cycle and The Mandala Cycle
A pioneering video artist, Peter Donebauer has made artworks that combine an improvisational spirit with calculated scientific know-how. In 1974, he became the first artist whose video-work was commissioned and broadcast nationally by the BBC in the United Kingdom. That piece was “Entering” and it was part of The Creation Cycle, which Donebauer and his musical collaborator Simon Desorgher tinkered with over five years. The structure of the cycle is one Donebauer would return to twice more in his career, and it is our honor to host these rare cycles this November.
Donebauer was commissioned to make The Water Cycle under the aegis of Thorn-EMI, who intended to distribute the video as the first concept album on the then new JVC laser disc format. He teamed up with musicians Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins (formerly of Soft Machine) on the soundtrack, and the result is a spellbinding, seven-part video-meditation on the eponymous natural cycle. Unfortunately, the videodisc system didn’t sell in Japan and never even made it to the British market, leaving The Water Cycle in limbo. Nevertheless, the spirit of the project lived on in future “pop promos” (music videos) and the video can now be seen in full in our theater for one-night only.
Another 10 years went by before Donebauer made The Mandala Cycle, another seven-part video that toyed with order and chaos to create a spiritual experience in moving image form. The video, as its title suggests, revolved around mandalas — circular images that are used in meditation and symbolize the unity of creation in traditional eastern philosophies. In video-form, Donebauer moves across several mandalas, designing a riveting, metamorphosing experience meant to stimulate a “centering” of consciousness. Unlike his previous cycles, Donebauer opted to first record all of the imagery in the film and then digitally manipulate it, creating variations through feedback that maintain the seamless magic of his previous experiments.
THE WATER CYCLE
dir. Peter Donebauer, 1981
United Kingdom. 47 min.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13 – 7:30 PM
Peter Donebauer’s The Water Cycle was commissioned by Thorn-EMI as a concept album for their brand new JVC laser disc player. With music from Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins (of Soft Machine fame), the video moves through the several states of the eponymous cycle — Sea, Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Seepage, Run-Off, Sea. As in much of Donebauer’s videos, shifting streams of color and amoeba-like figures coalesce into a meditative, spiritual experience.
THE MANDALA CYCLE
dir. Peter Donebauer, 1991
United Kingdom. 40 min.
Peter Donebauer’s most recent cycle to date revolves around the symbol of the mandala, and is designed to stimulate a “centering” of consciousness. Working with predetermined imagery, Donebauer subjected each part of his cycle to a myriad of technological interventions, resulting in a video that fluidly transforms before the viewer’s eyes. The video proved so relaxing that it became popular among ravers in London, who’d often watch it during the come-down of a long night out.
Special thanks to Peter Donebauer.