On display from December 16, 2020 to February 27, 2022
Curated by Tom Waibel and Elisabeth Streit
With his provocative assertion of film as a "subversive art," the curator, critic and indefatigable educator Amos Vogel (1921–2012) violently challenged the common understanding of film, championing a cinematic cosmos rich with disapproved, forgotten, defiant and censored works. In 2021, this figurehead of curatorial rebelliousness would have celebrated his centenary. The Austrian Film Museum paid tribute to the Vienna-born Vogel through a series of activities and projects taking place throughout the year.
Amos Vogel
(1921–2012)
Amos Vogel was born on April 18, 1921 in Vienna as Amos Vogelbaum. He had to flee from Austria in 1938 and reached New York via Havana. He lived in New York City until his death on April 24, 2012. Vogel was the founder and curator of Cinema 16 (1947–1963), one of the most significant film societies in the USA focusing on independent cinema. Together with Richard Roud, he founded and programmed the New York Film Festival (1963–1968) emphasizing contemporary avant-garde cinema. Vogel is the author of the provocative book Film as a Subversive Art (1974) and was professor of Film Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania for more than two decades. Until his old age he remained active as a lecturer, critic and consultant for numerous international film festivals.
”This film is a historical event; praised by intellectuals and artists, condemned by a large part of the press, confiscated by customs, banned by censorship, it may not even be shown in its original version in its country of origin.“
