[table of contents | journal index]
New York
Anthology Film Arcvhives
From December 7 to 11, 1995, Anthology Film Archives and the Harvard Film
Archive presented a 130 title retrospective of abstract films made between
1920 and 1995, supported by a catalog and lectures by six scholars, archivists,
and filmmakers. Formally titled Articulated Light: The Emergence
of Abstract Film in America, the series presented films variously described
as « absolute, » Non-Objective, graphic, and hand-made. With more
than half of the films drawn from private or archival collections (especially
Anthology, Harvard, Eastman House, MoMA, and Yale), the programs (which
were not limited to America) presented to the public scores of films that
have not been shown for decades, and demonstrated that early « abstract
» cinema was much more sophisticated, and more of it had survived than
most of us knew.
All of the speakers at the conference - Stan Brakhage, Robert Haller, William
Moritz, Bruce Posner, Rani Singh, Cecile Starr, and Vlada Petric (Posner
and Petric of Harvard were the organizers and curators of the event) - marveled
at films they had never seen or heard of before. Among these were La
Mer (1936) by Ovady Julber, Escape (1937) by Mary Ellen Bute,
Mobicolor Projections (1961) by Charles Dockum, Impressions from
the Upper Atmosphere (1989) by Jose Antonio Sistiaga, Night Music
(1986) by Stan Brakhage, Pastoral (1950) by Bute, Variations
on a Circle (1941-42) High Voltage (1957), Wu Ming (1977),
and Kang Jing Ziang (1982) by James Whitney, Death and Transfiguration
(1961) and Fathomless (1964) by James Davis, two different version
of Ballet Mécanique (1924) by Fernand Léger / Dudley
Murphy / Man Ray (from Anthology and from Moritz), Dream Displacement
(1976) by Paul Sharits, La Couleur de la forme (1961) by Hy Hirsh,
and what was apparently the earliest abstract film ever made, Opus No.1
(1921) by Walter Ruttmann - which was shown with a sound track prepared
from the score for the live music originally presented with the film. Surprise
appearances at the screenings included Elfried Frischinger and Roger Horrocks.
The conference was presented at Harvard in the Carpenter Center for the
Visual Arts in the Archive theater (with 16mm, 35mm, multiple projector,
and video projection) to an audience that asked as many questions as the
speakers, who wrestled with such topics as « The California School
of Color Music, » « Hilla Rebay and the Guggenheim Nexus, »
and « Can Language Describe Abstract Film? » While none felt they
could adequately describe abstract films (Cecile Starr declared she had
been trying, inadequately, for forty years! - and this writer protested
that existing film terminology was too closely linked to human scale and
actions). Nevertheless the speakers contributed essays on all of the film-makers
in the program (they also included Len Lye, James Sibley Watson and Melville
Webber, Hans Richter, Dwinell Grant, Francis Lee, Oskar Fishinger, Harry
Smith and Douglas Crockwell). That catalog is available from both Harvard
and Anthology (for $5 plus $4 for shipping). Anthology is planning to restate
the series in New York with many of the participants, but with still more
films, in the fall or winter of 1996/97.
Robert A. Haller
Sous le titre Lumière articulée: l'émergeance
du cinéma abstrait en Amérique, Anthology Film Archives
et Harvard Film Archive présentèrent, du 7 au 11 décembre
1995, une rétrospective de films abstraits réalisés
entre 1920 et 1995.
Les conférenciers, Bruce Pooner, Vlada Petric, Stan Brakhage, Robert
Haller, William Moritz, Rani Singh et Cecile Starr, découvrirent,
émerveillés, des films qu'ils n'avaient jamais vus auparavant.
Par ailleurs, les conférences portèrent, notamment, sur Len
Lye, James Sibley Watson et Melville Webber, Hans Richter, Dwinell Grant,
Francis Lee, Oskar Fischinger, Harry Smith et Douglas Crockwell. Le catalogue
est disponible à l'Anthology Film Archive.
Bajo el título Luz articulada: emergencia del cine abstracto
en América, Anthology Film Arcvhies y Harvard Film Archive presentaron
del 7 al 11 de diciembre de 1995, una retrospectiva de films abstractos
creados entre 1920 y 1995.
Los conferenciantes Bruce Pooner, Vlada Petric, Stan Brakhage, Robert Haller,
William Moritz, Rani Singh y Cecile Starr descubrieron asombrados películas
que no habían visto anteriormente. Por otra parte, las conferencias
fueron, en particular, sobre Len Lye, James Sibley Watson y Melville Webber,
Hans Richter, Dwinell Grant, Francis Lee, Oskar Fishinger, Harry Smith y
Douglas Crockwell. El catálogo se puede obtener en Anthology Film
Archive.