The Beauty of My Island. The World of Klaus Lutz

The enigmatic work of Klaus Lutz lies somewhere between the meditations of a recluse and the fantasies of a utopia visionary. With reminiscences of Georges Méliès, Chaplin, the Russian avant-gardes and the Bauhaus, with a touch of futurism, his films are mysterious mental landscapes that tell almost mythological stories about a man who lives in a strange, solitary world. The protagonist—Lutz—flies over imaginary cities and through interstellar space, interacting with anthropomorphic signs and drawings, all filmed and edited in camera in the small Manhattan apartment where he lived.

HALL: Arabia 1+2, Klaus Lutz, 1991, 28 min; Titan, Klaus Lutz, 2008, 13 min. [16 mm screening, silent.]

AUDITORIUM: “Klaus Lutz: In the midst of his own unfolding”,illustrated talk (in English) by Hannes Schüpbach, 25 min; screening of The Beauty of My Island – Shooting Klaus Lutz, Frank Matter, 1999, video, 33 min.

Copies courtesy of Rotwand, Zürich / The Estate of Klaus Lutz. Thanks to Frank Matter, Sabina Kohler and Kinemathek Le Bon Film, Basel.