Transmutation, 1947, 16mm, b/w (lost)

Improvisation #1, 1948, 16mm, b/w (lost). Still from 1952 AFA publication Films on Art

Mambo, 1951, 16mm, color, sound

Caravan, 1952, 16mm, color, sound

Bop Scotch, 1952, 16mm, color, sound. Head credit: Made with Patricia Marx. Available on CVM's Vimeo VOD channel.

Mandala, 1953, 16mm, color, sound. Restored by CVM. Available on CVM's Visual Music 1947-86 DVD , trailer on CVM's vimeo channel.

Raga, 1958, 16mm

Seance, 1959, 16mm, color, sound. Sound: Pierre Schaeffer. Digital files at CVM, excerpt on CVM's vimeo channel.

Allures, 1961, 16mm, color, sound. Sound: Jordan Belson and Henry Jacobs. Restored by CVM. On CVM's Jordan Belson: Five Essential Films DVD.

Re-entry, 1964, 16mm, color, sound. (Ford Foundation Fellowship). Soundtrack: Jordan Belson. Preservation project at CVM.

Phenomena, 1965, 16mm, color, sound. Preservation project at CVM.

Samadhi, 1967, 16mm, color, sound. (Guggenheim Fellowship). Digital file distributed by CVM. On CVM's Jordan Belson: FIve Essential Films DVD.

Momentum, 1968, 16mm, color, sound (AFI Grant). Restored film at CVM . 

Cosmos, 1968, 16mm, color, sound. Pulled from distribution by Belson; he did not want it shown. 

World, 1970, 16mm, color, sound, 6 mins. Sound by Andre Vandenbroeck. Restored film at CVM, excerpt on our vimeo channel.

Meditation, 1971, 16mm, color, sound. Restored by CVM. Available on CVM's Visual Music 1947-86 DVD , excerpt on CVM's vimeo channel.

Chakra, 1972, 16mm, color, sound. Sound: Jordan Belson. Restored by CVM. Available on CVM's Visual Music DVD ; VOD on CVM's vimeo channel.

Light, 1973, 16mm, color, sound. Soundtrack: Jordan Belson. Restored film at CVM. On CVM's Jordan Belson: Five Essential Films DVD.

Cycles, 1974, 16mm, color, sound, 10 min. (collaboration with Stephen Beck, AFI Grant). Sound: Stephen Beck.        Pyramid Film Notes (pdf)

Music of the Spheres, 1977 and 2002 versions, 16mm, color, sound (abridged version, 2002), Sound: Iasos. Pyramid Film notes (vintage). Restored by CVM. Excerpt on CVM's vimeo channel

Infinity, 1979

Fountain of Dreams, 1984 and 2007, 16mm, color, sound. Music: Franz Liszt. On CVM's Jordan Belson: FIve Essential Films DVD. Excerpt on CVM's Vimeo channel.

Northern Lights, 1985, color, sound. Sound: John Luther Adams.

Thoughtforms, 1987

Mysterious Journey, 1997, color, sound, 30 mins (completed on video). Music: Arya Bruce BeeVar, Dawn of Awakening; Somei Satoh, The Heavenly Spheres are Illuminated by Light; Mychael Danna, Sky 9; and Raphael, Resurrection. 

Bardo, 2001, color, sound (completed on video). Music: Maggi Payne.

Epilogue (completed on video), 2005, color, sound. NASA Art Program Grant, Commissioned by The Hirshhorn Museum for the 2005 Visual Music exhibition, and produced by Center for Visual Music. Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff. On CVM's Jordan Belson: FIve Essential Films DVD.

Special Effects

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969) - work purchased for the film, not commissioned
Demon Seed (1977) - work purchased for the film, not commissioned
The Right Stuff (1983) - commissioned work

Cinematography

The End, Dir: Christopher Maclaine (1953)
Obmaru, Dir: Patricia Marx (1953)

Other Work

Commercial for San Francisco Chronicle, 1950s. Digital file at CVM.

Demo commercials made with Henry Jacobs for M&Ms and other products (unreleased), digital files at CVM.

Vortex 5 presentation reels,1959. Black and white fragments, silent. Restored by CVM.

Haut Voltage (High Voltage), made with fragments of film from James Whitney, premiered at the Vortex Presents screening in October, 1959. Restored material at CVM.

Unfinished and/or unreleased films

LSD (c. 1962), 16mm, color, sound. Sound by Jordan Belson. Restored by CVM.
Quartet, c. 1982, color, silent. Unreleased. Digital file at CVM.
Allah
Blues/Seapeace
Eleusis/Crotos
Apollo

 

(c) 2023 Center for Visual Music. Compiled by C. Keefer/CVM (with Jordan Belson until 2011). Last updated, 2023.

PLEASE Credit Center for Visual Music if you link to or quote directly from the page, thank you.

You may quote or use short excerpts, with proper credit, but no permission is granted for publication or distribution of this entire Bibliography. Contact CVMaccess (at) gmail.com

Top image from Samadhi. All stills from films are copyright CVM, please seek permission before reproducing.

 

 

Cover image from Hirshhorn Museum Calendar, Summer 2005. Allures images (c) Center for Visual Music