Orbit by Arturo Cubacub

A classic videopoem by Arturo Cubacub, this took First Prize in the 1987 Poetry Film Festival in San Francisco. Here’s the complete description from Vimeo:

Completed in 1986, “Orbit” is the seventh video of my “Unity Gain Series.”

Choreographed by Jan Heyn-Cubacub.
Danced by Jan Heyn-Cubacub, Denise McIntosh and Arturo Cubacub.
Direction, Poetry, Editing, Special Effects, Computer Animation and Music by Arturo Cubacub.

Description: Poetry, dance, computer animation and digital video effects are used to juxtapose constructive possibilities within our destructive tendencies. “The most important challenge of our time is to create on the same scale as we can destroy.” – Gene Youngblood, 2007.

“Orbit” has received the following awards:
First Prize, Festival International de Video Do Algarve/ 1988, Algarve, Portugal, November, 1988.
First Prize, The 12th Poetry Film Festival, San Francisco, December, 1987.
Honorable Mention, Performance/Stage Category, Dance on Camera Festival ‘87, New York, December, 1987.
Certificate of Merit, Suffolk County Film & Video Competition 1987, Suffolk County Motion Picture & TV Commission, New York, 1987.
Best Video Award, PSA-VMPD American International Video and Film Festival, August, 1987.
Best Experimental Film Award, PSA-VMPD American International Video and Film Festival, August, 1987.
VMPD Bronze Medal, PSA-VMPD American International Video and Film Festival, August, 1987.
Best of Fest Award, Art Category, 1987 Columbus Video Festival, Ohio, July, 1987.
Certificate of Merit, Festival of Illinois Film and Video Artists, May, 1987.
Second Place, Athens International Video Festival, March, 1987.
Certificate of Merit, The Chicago International Film Festival, October, 1986.
Regional Fellowship Award, The National Endowment for the Arts, March, 1984 (project funding).
Artists Grant Award, The Illinois Arts Council, Illinois, March, 1984 (project funding).

2 Comments

  1. Reply

    Nice work! However:

    The quote (not paraphrased by Youngblood) is: “The Challenge: WE MUST CREATE AT THE SAME SCALE AS WE CAN DESTROY.” by Sherrie Rabinowitz, 1984. SEE: http://www.ecafe.com/museum/about_festo/84manifesto.html

    If you Google: “Gene Youngblood – create at the same scale,” you will see that he credits Sherrie at times, and there are plenty of time he… forgets. Often “The Challenge,” or slight variations of the original is projected large above his head, although almost always it is absent the courtesy and normal standards and practice of attributing the quote to the author’s name below the text. Acquiescence without examination can always be relied upon as the default – if due diligence is no respected.

    • Reply
      Dave Bonta 1 June, 2017

      Thanks for correcting the record. I hope you’ll attempt to get a hold of Mr. Cubacub also. (You could send him a message via Vimeo.)

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