Beats and Pieces

At the end of the ‘80s, the Filmmuseum initiated a practice of archival film re-use by creating compilation reels of film fragments that could not be identified. This practice is still carried out today by Eye’s curators. The collected film fragments, that otherwise might have been disregarded, form the Bits & Pieces collection: today containing 58 reels and 647 “orphan” film fragments. Over the years, the collection came to be the source of many new compilations and artworks.

In this live VJ performance, Rossella Catanese (University of Tuscia) remixes and manipulates fragments from Eye’s Bits & Pieces collection. The practice of VJing is deeply intertwined with remix culture and rooted in music sampling practices. It is akin to DJing, but instead of sound, the VJ mixes and manipulates videoclips. The practice merges historical efforts in integrating visual and sound elements, such as light shows and experimental films, with modern digital tools.

Rossella will be joined by musician Piero Fragola (Tiptop Audio) on modular synthesisers, who will accompany the VJ set with a range of sonic atmospheres.