The 50th anniversary of the group known as DEVO has occasioned a deep restoration and remastering project in the band’s film, video, and audio archives. Presenting this truly cutting-edge work at MoMA on January 27 are DEVO founders Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh and restoration head Peter Conheim. Conheim writes, “Formed at Kent State University in the grim wake of the 1970 National Guard student massacre, DEVO emerged from its spud cocoon as a hydra-headed music, art, and film collective whose rare early musical provocations would give way to perhaps the most subversive, whip (it)-smart pop group of the 20th century (with gold records to its credit). Filmmaking and music were intertwined from the beginning, resulting in the canonical short films In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution (1976), Satisfaction (1978), The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize (1979) and the infamous Whip Tease (aka Whip It) (1980), among others, in collaboration with co-director Chuck Statler. This program features new restorations and reconstructions of these titles, along with restored versions of the video-based works that followed, including Girl U Want (1980), Beautiful World (1981) and Peek-A-Boo (1982). Also shown is a brand-new 4K digital restoration of Bruce Conner’s Mongoloid (1977), never-before-seen 16mm film footage from their breakthrough appearance at NYC's Max’s Kansas City in 1977, the saga of long-suffering record label boss Rod Rooter, and some exciting restoration work in progress.
Film and video restoration by Peter Conheim and Cinema Preservation Alliance, from the archives of DEVO, Inc. Mongoloid restoration courtesy the Bruce Conner Trust. Additional archival footage provided by Daphne Shaw.
Program approximately 80 min.