Decasia

Decasia can be described as an old-fashioned ‘trip’. The powerful and original soundtrack is a symphonic piece lasting 70 minutes, written by Michael Gordon, cofounder of the New York avantgarde music ensemble Bang On A Can, performed by the 55strong Basel Sinfonietta. The pictures are entirely made up of very worn archive material from times long gone: travelogues, anthropological reports, newsreels, natural phenomena. The ‘hard’ juxtaposition of picture and sound results in a hypnotic whirlwind that can be called experimental, but is very accessible.Bill Morrison: ‘Decasia deals with taking the two formal elements of film the image and the material it is printed on and assigning to them our own dualism of mind and body. In general, I chose images where Man seemed pitted against his own mortality. This rather broad category could take many forms: daredevils, religious zealots, athletes, and explorers. It could also show us trying to master the elements, or defy gravity, or reach a higher spiritual plane. These are acts of will, which define us both heroically and tragically. The counterpoint to these images is that they, like our own bodies, are printed on a fragile and ephemeral medium, which can deteriorate in countless ways.’