Performance Film for Palazzo Grassi
1980, 10 minute film with live performance and film projection,
16mm, silent Red House on Screen
In 1980 David Haxton was invited by Gregory Battcock to participate in a performances festival at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Invitees included artists from Europe, South America and the United States. "Red House on Screen" was a film performance that involved drawing on the projection screen while the film is projected onto the screen. The film was projected onto a free standing screen similar to those used in "Four Screen Films". Viewers were able to walk around while viewing the film performance. The film opens with a white screen. A performer in the film appears as he cuts away a large piece of paper that covers the screen. A black on white grid is seen when the paper has been completely removed. The performer then partially erases the grid. A performer then enters the projection space and draws a house on the screen. The house basically fills in the area where the grid was erased. The performer then appears in the film. He begins to draw a landscape around the house. The film ends with a house in a landscape. The landscape is in the film and the house is drawn on the screen.
