Synopsis

Made almost two years before this newest virus hit the US, Virulent Capital creates an overwhelming fever dream of fluttering drone tones and color flares and the textures of digital light. The intensity of the film begins to feel like 20 different low-grade anxiety attacks happening simultaneously, which escalate to an unsustainable level that then disperses into a state of Zen agitation. A solitary, wearied comic book figure appears throughout the film, seemingly the recipient of all these sonic and color-based aggressions. The effect of the assault of the world upon a person is portrayed as he is stripped of his skin, revealing the nervous system and tensed muscles underneath. The credit for David Rosenboom’s music might come as a shock. This analog electro-acoustic music from the late ‘60s seems so ahead of its time.’

(Chris Stults, Curator Film/Video The Wexner Center for the Arts)