Experimental filmmaker to visit

Acclaimed experimental filmmaker Peter Hutton will speak at the opening reception for the film installation of his “New York Portraits: Chapter I, Chapter II and Chapter III” at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15, in the Storrs Gallery.

On Saturday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m., at UNC Charlotte Center City, Hutton will be present for the screening of four of his short silent films “Boston Fire” (1979), “Lodz Symphony” (1993), “Study of a River” (1997) and “Three Landscapes” (2013). Exhibited primarily in New York and Los Angeles, experimental film is an undiscovered medium to most of Charlotte. These silent films rely on an astute compositional formalism rarely found in mass media. The camera’s omniscient perspective offers a potent and poetic visual story of the global issue of industrialization.

“New York Portraits” is a 180-degree installation that will provide a stunning presentation of Hutton’s silent aerial perspectives of America’s most famous city. The exhibition will be through April 20 (closed Feb. 5-March 1).

Hutton has produced more than 20 films, most of which are portraits of cities and landscapes around the world. He studied painting, sculpture and film at the San Francisco Art Institute. He has worked as a professional cinematographer, most notably for his former student Ken Burns, and in 1987 was awarded Best Cinematography for his work on Phil Hartman’s feature film “No Picnic” at the Sundance Film Festival. In May 2008, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a full retrospective of Hutton’s films, and his work has been shown in major museums and festivals in the United States and Europe, including the Whitney Biennial (1985, 1991, 1995, and 2004).

The UNC Charlotte School of Architecture is presenting these events in collaboration with programmatic partners AIA Charlotte, the Charlotte Film Society and CharlotteViewpoint, with funding from the Arts & Science Council.