Maria Lassnig trained at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and then spent several years in Paris in the 1950s and 60s, where she was exposed to Art Informel and Surrealism. From 1968 to 1980, she lived in New York, where she did pioneering work in film, producing a series of remarkably inventive animations all presented by INDEX for the first time on DVD.

Drawing on some of the same themes and subjects as her paintings, her filmic narratives are profound and astute observations of the complexities of male-female relationships and of the experience of being both a woman and an artist. Her most celebrated film—MARIA LASSNIG KANTATE—was produced later, in 1992, when Lassnig was 73. It presents her life story in a 14-verse song performed by the artist in a variety of costumes and accompanied by animations that are filled with humor and wit.

Maria Lassnig’s art has represented Austria at the Venice Biennale, in 1980; been the source of a retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou; twice exhibited at the prestigious documenta in Kassel, Germany; and her recent work has shown at the Serpentine Gallery, London, and the Contemporary Arts Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her works are held in various collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

“Best known now for her rigorously precise but never humorless examination of herself, her own form and its failings, Lassnig should prove to be a feminist visionary PALMISTRY (1973) for the generation of artists to come.”

– Astrid Wege, Artforum January 2009

  Contents

Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code); DVD/DSL Bundle

     ----------------------------------------------------------

MARIA LASSNIG: ANIMATION FILMS
(Austria, 1970-1992)

Director: Maria Lassnig

    _________________________________________

BAROQUE STATUES
(Austria, 1970-74)

• 15 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

IRIS
(Austria, 1971)

• 10 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

CHAIRS
(Austria, 1971)

• 2:00 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

SELFPORTRAIT
(Austria, 1971)

• 4:30 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

SHAPES
(Austria, 1972)

• 9 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

COUPLES
(1972)

• 9 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

PALMISTRY
(1973)

• 10 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

ART EDUCATION
(1976)

• 8 minutes
• 16mm
• Color
• Sound

◊

(THE BALLAD OF MARIA LASSNIG) MARIA LASSNIG KANTATE
(1992)

• 8 minutes
• 35mm
• Color
• Sound
• English subtitles

    _________________________________________
    _________________________________________

Total Running Time: 01:16:30

Language: English

Published By: Index Edition

Booklet Text: Maya McKechneay (Bilingual German & English)

Institutional Price: $250 (DVD only); $500 DVD/DSL bundle (plus shipping)

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.