curated by Liz Keim
a co-presentation with the Exploratorium’s Cinema Arts Program in association with Eames Office
Free with Museum admission. Order advance tickets here.

Friends of Exploratorium founder Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, Charles and Ray Eames maintained a close relationship with the museum during their lifetimes and are present as kindred spirits in the twenty-first century. Through their films as well as furniture design, books and exhibitions the Eames’ applied a special blend of playful and intellectual curiosity to a diverse range of subjects, from planetary motion to bread making. The strength of their film work lies in their ability to translate complex principles into elegant mediations on who we are and how we see the world.

Charles and Ray Eames: Eames Lounge Chair (1956) 2 min. / Mathematical Peep Show (1961) 10 min. / Two Baroque Churches (1955) 11 min. / Bread (1953) 6 min. / Lick Observatory (1968) 8 min. / Tops (From Stars of Jazz) 3 min. / Tocotta for Toy Trains (1957) 14 min.

CALL FOR ENTRIES:
As a way to examine scale in a homemade, playful way, the Exploratorium invites you to submit your own short film about scale to be presented as part of the museum festivities on October 10. The sky’s the limit when it comes to topics concerning scale and what you might submit, but your film should be scaled to between 10 and 100 seconds long. Think of it as a visual treasure hunt, a visceral and speedy way to express your relationship to the scale of things, from the infinitesimal to the cosmic. On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s most important to you? What’s beyond the sky? What’s inside your shoe? We’ll have a community screening of short works to compliment our big-screen showing of Powers of Ten on October 10th as part of weekend celebrations at the museum. Deadline: October 9 . More information here.