[EFF18S12] Session 12: Vivienne Dick Programme
Cite as:
Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew
(2023):
[EFF18S12] Session 12: Vivienne Dick Programme.
Birkbeck College, University of London.
Description
27 March 2018, 20:30, ICA Cinema
This programme brought three recent films by Vivienne Dick into a dialogue with a key earlier work in her oeuvre. Fusing elements of performance, documentary and home movies, Dick is a filmmaker whose work continues to evade categorisation.
Born in Donegal in 1950, Vivienne Dick studied at University College, Dublin, before moving to New York in the late 1970s, where she was part of a group of filmmakers whose affiliation to the music and aesthetic of punk became known as “No Wave”. Working mainly on Super 8, Dick’s films from this period feature many musicians from the punk movement such as Lydia Lunch, James Chance, Pat Place, Adele Bertei, and Ikue Mori. She returned to Ireland in 1982 and then moved to London in 1985, where she was a member of The London Filmmakers’ Coop for many years and produced a number of films in 16mm, and on video. Her films have been screened at cinemas, museums and film festivals internationally, including Tate Britain, the Whitney Museum in New York, IMMA in Dublin, and the Edinburgh and Berlin Film Festivals. Her work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives, NYC and the Irish Film Archives. She now lives in Galway, Ireland, where she teaches and continues to make films.
Films: Red Moon Rising, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, HD Video, 2015, digital, 15 minutes, English
A celebration of the carnivalesque, through dance, performance and the spoken word. The film reaches towards a renewal of our embodiment with the Earth as a response to a belief in invincibility, and the desire of Man to dominate the planets. A red moon is both a beacon, and a warning.
The Irreducible Difference of the Other, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, 2013, digital, 26 minutes, English
This work questions what it means to be human in a world orientated towards war, terror, and consumption. Key historical moments are referenced, including opposition to the Iraq war, the Arab Spring and recent anti-austerity protests, proclaiming the desire for a world which is more balanced, and which focuses less on exploitation and destruction.
Augenblick, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, 2017, digital, 13 minutes, English
The film, whose title means “blink of an eye” or “an instant”, reflects on what it means to be human in a post-human world. Moving from The Age of Enlightenment into a digital world, what becomes of our relationship to each other and to the earth?
Visibility: Moderate, Vivienne Dick, USA, 1981, digital, 38 minutes, English
Using Super-8 film as a parody of the “travelogue”, Dick takes an expatriate look at her homeland. The quaint perception of Ireland and the Americanisation of the native culture are contrasted with interviews from sectarian prisoners and footage of political marches.
The screening of these films was followed by a conversation between Vivienne Dick and filmmaker and writer, Bev Zalcock.
This programme brought three recent films by Vivienne Dick into a dialogue with a key earlier work in her oeuvre. Fusing elements of performance, documentary and home movies, Dick is a filmmaker whose work continues to evade categorisation.
Born in Donegal in 1950, Vivienne Dick studied at University College, Dublin, before moving to New York in the late 1970s, where she was part of a group of filmmakers whose affiliation to the music and aesthetic of punk became known as “No Wave”. Working mainly on Super 8, Dick’s films from this period feature many musicians from the punk movement such as Lydia Lunch, James Chance, Pat Place, Adele Bertei, and Ikue Mori. She returned to Ireland in 1982 and then moved to London in 1985, where she was a member of The London Filmmakers’ Coop for many years and produced a number of films in 16mm, and on video. Her films have been screened at cinemas, museums and film festivals internationally, including Tate Britain, the Whitney Museum in New York, IMMA in Dublin, and the Edinburgh and Berlin Film Festivals. Her work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives, NYC and the Irish Film Archives. She now lives in Galway, Ireland, where she teaches and continues to make films.
Films: Red Moon Rising, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, HD Video, 2015, digital, 15 minutes, English
A celebration of the carnivalesque, through dance, performance and the spoken word. The film reaches towards a renewal of our embodiment with the Earth as a response to a belief in invincibility, and the desire of Man to dominate the planets. A red moon is both a beacon, and a warning.
The Irreducible Difference of the Other, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, 2013, digital, 26 minutes, English
This work questions what it means to be human in a world orientated towards war, terror, and consumption. Key historical moments are referenced, including opposition to the Iraq war, the Arab Spring and recent anti-austerity protests, proclaiming the desire for a world which is more balanced, and which focuses less on exploitation and destruction.
Augenblick, Vivienne Dick, Ireland, 2017, digital, 13 minutes, English
The film, whose title means “blink of an eye” or “an instant”, reflects on what it means to be human in a post-human world. Moving from The Age of Enlightenment into a digital world, what becomes of our relationship to each other and to the earth?
Visibility: Moderate, Vivienne Dick, USA, 1981, digital, 38 minutes, English
Using Super-8 film as a parody of the “travelogue”, Dick takes an expatriate look at her homeland. The quaint perception of Ireland and the Americanisation of the native culture are contrasted with interviews from sectarian prisoners and footage of political marches.
The screening of these films was followed by a conversation between Vivienne Dick and filmmaker and writer, Bev Zalcock.
Previews
1 - EFF18S12 Introduction (EFF18S12 Vivienne Dick introduction 27-3-2018.MP3)
2 - EFF18S12 Q&A (EFF18S12 Vivienne Dick Q&A 27-3-2018.MP3)
Collection Method
The Essay Film Festival, active since 2015, presents a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes.
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Metadata
| Dataset Title: | [EFF18S12] Session 12: Vivienne Dick Programme |
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| Creators: | Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew |
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| Dataset Contributors: |
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| Subjects: | |||||||||||||
| Data collection method: | The Essay Film Festival, active since 2015, presents a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes. |
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| Collection period: |
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| Statement on legal, ethical, and access issues: | All film stills were provided by participating artists. |
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| Depositing User: | Emma Yapp | ||||||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2026 10:15 | ||||||||||||
| Last Modified: | 01 Sep 2026 10:15 | ||||||||||||
| Publisher: | Birkbeck College, University of London |
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