Ronald Chase

Ronald Chase (born December 29, 1934) is an American artist, photographer, educator, independent film maker and opera designer. His work with projection and film has been called "one of the most exciting developments in the history of opera stage presentation."

Chase was born in Seminole, Oklahoma. He studied dance, design and directing at Bard College, where he joined the Jean Erdman Dance Group. He toured with the José Limón Dance Company on their first European tour in the fall of 1956. After the tour he remained in Europe (Italy and Spain) to study painting. He then established a studio in the Gaspe Peninsula (Perce) in Canada. His first exhibits were at the Galerie Libre in Montreal (1962) and the Byron Gallery in New York City (1963). His work then entered the collections of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In the spring of 1964 he moved to San Francisco and continued his painting.

In the early 1980s Chase began experimenting with photography. He manipulated photographs using large format Xerox copiers. His work with figures and abstract imagery was given a show at the George Eastman House in 1984. His photographic work then entered the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the George Eastman House, and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York among others.

In 1963, Chase began making short experimental films with Fragments, written by Mary Lee Settle and filmed in the Hudson Valley. In 1964, he began experimenting with using film projections in theater and dance performances. These experiments produced The Covenant, a dance film made with Elizabeth Harris and the composer Pauline Oliveros, followed by dramatic shorts including Chameleon and Clown, which was featured at the 1969 Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Parade, a short documentary of the first Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade in San Francisco.

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