peter liechti “signer’s suitcase • on the road with roman signer” digital versatile disc

• signer’s suitcase • on the road with roman signer (1:19:41)

drag city press release...

signer’s suitcase on the road with roman signer a film by peter liechti dc389 dvd || release date: may 5, 2009 “roman signer: the buster keaton of art” roman signer has had many trades. he’s worked in a pressure cooker factory, as a draftsman, a security guard, forklift driver, a water measurement assistant, and my favorite, in a polyester factory. it wasn’t until 1972 that he saved up enough money to get a studio and start making art. from this biographical account, it’s hard not to see how signer’s instruments have developed directly from his life experiences. since 1973 roman signer has been in over 50 one-man exhibits and around 100 joint exhibitions. for the past few years his artistic successes have enabled him to do without part-time jobs. signer’s suitcase (aka signers koffer) is a kind of road movie across europe — from the swiss alps to eastern poland, from stromboli to iceland. immersing yourself, letting yourself be infected, then traveling on. with his deadpanned gags, signer gives a humorous twist to the concept of cause and effect and to the traditional scientific method of experimentation and discovery, taking on the self-evidence of scientific logic as an artistic challenge. filmmaker peter liechti’s improvisational response frames signer’s visual humor with equally dry relish. a wonderfully diverting road trip, with roman signer leading the way.

peter liechti / voice crack “kick that habit” digital versatile disc

• kick that habit (45:00)

drag city press release...

kick that habit directed by peter liechti dc381 dvd dvd technical information: includes 16-page booklet chapter selection unrated color stereo audio ntsc running time: 45 min. kick that habit is a 1989 film by peter liechti, an audio-visual portrait of his native country, eastern switzerland. the film collects samples from the land-and-soundscape, underscoring in the process the oft-ignored industrial underpinning of our latter-day culture. also native to eastern switzerland is voice crack, the everyday household electronics duo of norbert möslang and andy guhl, whose musical workings are explored as part of liechti’s vision. whether clicking quietly and rhythmically or humming and shrieking at ear-splitting volume, their recycled electronics produce innovative sounds and provide an appropriate accompaniment in this cinematic search for the detritus of our culture, the lost and destroyed remains of the last century of progress. kick that habit is a short, tense film comprised of flashing images: footage of voice crack rehearsals and concerts is juxtaposed with visual shards of the fall and winter landscape of the area between alpstein and the bodensee. utilizing color and black-and-white footage as well as combining the visual and the acoustic in an expression that subtly synthesizes the two, liechti delineates a world of existence through sound and geography. like the world the rest of us live in, it’s a world of beauty, quiet tragedy and the endless march forward. points of interest peter liechti is a swiss film maker with over a dozen films to his credit, including the documentaries lucky jack, namibia crossing, signer’s koffer (to be issued in 2009 on drag city as signer’s suitcase) and the crime drama martha’s garten, which received nominations at the rotterdam international film festival, the max ophuls festival and the locarano international film festival. kick that habit takes its title from a voice crack album of the same name released in 1986. this film operates as a portrait of voice crack’s unique methodology in their prime. norbert möslang and andy guhl are voice crack. their work refers to pioneering radio and electronic techniques on the one hand, and on the other to the achievements of specific art movements of the 20th century such as futurism, the russian avant-garde and dada. their album earflash is available on the dexter’s cigar label. the package for kick that habit dvd contains a fourteen page booklet with stills from the film and other photos as well as a short essay on the making of the film and a biography of voice crack.

peter liechti “signers koffer” digital versatile disc

• signers koffer - unterwegs mit roman signer (80:00)