Fred Worden

Originally from Southern California (as a young surfer dude he was nearly the drummer for his friends' band The Leaves), Worden obtained his BA from Colorado College and his MFA from CalArts, making his home in various spots in Colorado, New York, and ultimately Maryland, where he taught for a number of years at the University of Maryland - Baltimore County.

Since the early 1970s, Fred Worden has developed a prolific body of film and digital work which through various means has pioneered a deep investigation of optical phenomena and visual perception. Often using an optical printer in his 16mm films and an analogous frame-by-frame process in his digital work, Worden's practice has been meticulous and focused, yet these are hardly airtight formal investigations. At the heart of Worden's work is an appreciation for and privileging of the very human "gee whiz" moments of discovery and surprise; the rigor of his process is in service of - and never loses sight of - the pure pleasure and wonder of the visual experience. As a result, far from merely being dry, theoretically driven experiments, his cinema is a deeply humane one, exploring the outer limits of our vision with intelligence, fascination, enthusiasm, and humor. (Mark Toscano)

Films