Kathy Rose

1949 Artist

Biography

Kathy Rose (born 1949) received a B.F.A. in Film from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1971, and an M.F.A. in Animation from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974. From l969-71, Rose studied and performed with Group Motion, a Philadelphia based multi-media dance company directed by students of renowned German expressionist dancer Mary Wigman. From l972-l978 inspired by Japanese animator Yoji Kuri, she created ten animated shorts, including "The Mysterians", "Pencil Booklings". In l981, Rose was impressed by the presentation of Abel Gance's "Napoleon" with a live orchestra and became interested in extending the medium of film beyond the frame. Receiving a Media grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, she produced "Primitive Movers". Rose created the 30 minutes of animation, choreography, and was the solo performer in this work. This was followed by "Strange Ditties" and in l987, with funding from the NEA (Media, Dance/Film/Video Choreography) and NYSCA (Film), Rose completed the 50 minute "Syncopations" in which she further explored the use of front projected imagery on the live performer, fusing performance and live action film into a hologramic unit in a work which explored rhythms and synchronocity. In 1987 Rose began studying flamenco and worked extensively on a number of pieces, forging Spanish dance into an avant-garde expression, creating "Kabuki-Menco" , "Cubistimenco", and "Precious Metals", etc. blending the Spanish idiom with a Japanese influence. In his New York Times review of "Kabuki-Menco", Jack Anderson cited it as one of the best examples of such a fusion, (12/93 - "Embarking on a Grand Tour of International Dance" ) Other pieces, using film again, followed: "Az-tech", "Oriental Interplay". In 1999 Rose completed "Kleopat'Ra", a 75 minute performance with film. (Rose studied Butoh with Kazuo and Yoshihito Ohno in Japan in 1996 in preparation for this piece as well as researching Bunraku, and ancient Buddhist statuary.) Kathy Rose has toured extensively in live performance giving performances at the Museum of Modern Art, Kennedy Center, Serious Fun at Lincoln Center, the Walker Art Center,The Kitchen,Fondation Cartier pour l'art Contemporain, Institute of Contemporary Art in London, Danspace-St. Marks Church, Baltimore Art Museum, Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, ,etc. as well as performances in Geneva, Berlin, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Hiroshima, etc. The Philadelphia Weekly picked her performance as one of the Best of the Year noting - "From sci-fi Balinese insect queen to Kleopat'Ra wandering in the night, Kathy Rose offered moments of transcendent strangeness and visual wonder...the New York-based Rose is evolving a highly individual performance voice that, I believe is headed for greatness." In 1999 Rose began working with video installation, interweaving projections with veils. Inspired by the Japanese Noh theater with its supernatural themes and powerful stillness, her current work travels a delicate path between installation and performance. JHer video installations have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, etc. Kathy Rose is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, teaching a course of her own design called Image and Performance, exploring the interaction between visual media and the performing arts. [Source: Artist biography on from the LiveArt Falmouth website] Receiving her education in Film and animation during the 1970's, Kathy Rose moved into dance and live performance with film in the 80's. Awards include seven National Endowment for the Arts, a Gold Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival in 1974, First Prize Ottawa Animation Festival in 1978. The artist received an Independent Filmmaker Production grant from the American Film Institute in 1976 as well as two grants from the New York State Council on the Arts in Film. Fellowships also include two Choreography Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts. In 1990 she was honored by the California Institute for the Arts as a Distinguished Alumni and the Silver Star Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she teaches. She was Visiting Lecturer in Animation at Harvard University for 1978/79 Archives of her work are in the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, she was recently featured in Women Artists (Abbeville Press) by Nancy Heller and PRINT Magazine 1994. Her work with performance and film has been broadcast by Swiss, Austrian, German, Brazilian, and Japanese television, as well as the BBC. Since 1982 she has performed extensively in the U.S. Japan and Europe Selected performances include Cineprobe at the Museum of Modern Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, Baltimore Art Museum, Hirschorn Museum at the Smithsonian Institution. The Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Helsinki Festival, the Posthof in Linz/Austria, Szene Wien/Vienna, "Gestes" Festival/Brussels, Festival Bois de la Batie/Geneva, Eis Fabrik/Hannover, Dance Umbrella in Boston, Harvard University, etc. [Source: Aine Phillips Autobiograph website]

Filmography

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