Invisible Glass, 2005
GEISER'S 1994 EXPERIMENTAL FILM THE RED BOOK WAS RECENTLY SELECTED FOR THE 2009 NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY.
FILMS INCLUDED IN THE REGISTRY ARE INCLUDED IN THEIR COLLECITON IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS , TO BE PRESERVED AS CULTURAL, ARTISTIC, AND/OR HISTORICAL TREASURES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
Janie Geiser is an internationally recognized experimental filmmaker and object performance/installation artist, whose work is known for its evocation of emotional states, its sense of mystery, and its strength of design. “Geiser shares with filmmakers such as Jan Svankmajer the rare ability to make children’s toys and seemingly innocent objects … resonate with the most unsettling, arcane, and adult fears. Better still, Geiser gives voice to the reaches of the unconscious, pointing to the abandoned splendor that exists prior to the rules of society and language.” (Holly Willis, Res, 2004)
One of the pioneers of the renaissance of American avant-garde puppet theater, Geiser creates innovative, hypnotic works that integrate puppets and performing objects with live performers and film. Geiser’s performance works have toured nationally and internationally, and her films have been screened at museums and festivals around the globe. Geiser has been recognized with an an Obie, Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as funding from the NEA, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Henson Foundation, Creative Capital, Jerome Foundation, the Center for Cultural Innovation, and others. Geiser’s films have been screened at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, Pacific Film Archives, the San Francisco Cinematheque, and at numerous festivals, including 5 New York Film Festivals, the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. She also designed puppets for Jessica Yu's documentary film Protagonist, which premiered in 2007. Her recent diorama-performance The Reptile Under the Flowers, presented by The Museum of Jurassic Technology and Automata, was performed to sold out crowds. Geiser was recognized in the LA Weekly’s 2006 State of the Arts as one of 100 significant Los Angeles Artists.
Geiser is also Co-Director of Automata, a Los Angeles nonprofit dedicated to the creation, presentation, and preservation of puppet and object theater, experimental film, pre-cinematic attractions, and other lost and neglected forms.
