Here is the link to Scott Stark's "Letter to Jane"
wherein he discusses his video.
Also, FYI: Here is Frederic Moffet's reading list for Jean Genet in Chicago
and Here is Jean Genet from Wikipedia...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
From The East
From Carl:
Next Monday we are to watch a feature length experimental documentary, the presentation of which will take the entire class.
Chantal Akerman's "D'Est" (From the East) (16mm, color/sound, 1993) was motivated by the fall of the Soviet Union, Akerman feeling the need to travel through Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Bloc, to capture on film a landscape, a people, about to be transformed, perhaps, by change.
The film will take the entire class time. (Screening starts at 11am sharp!) To get you to start thinking about the film, you will need to do 3 short readings.
1) "On D'Est" by Chantal Akerman.
The directors thoughts on her motivation for making the film; her thoughts and connections to the subject matter.
You can find this reading on the content page of the D2L site.
2) "'D'Est': Akerman Variations" by Catherine David
An essay on Akerman's film. It also touches on the 3 room installation version of the film that Akerman made.
You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue
3) "Akerman Chronology," detailing her remarkable career and influences up to her making of "D'Est." She cites, for instance, Michael Snow and Jonas Mekas as central influences. You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue
The screening of "D'Est" is presented as a companion to a program of films by Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa that is being offered as part of the free Experimental Tuesdays screening series at the UWM Student Union on February 20. Loznitsa has been documenting the transformation of his country since the fall of the Soviet Union. His haunting documentaries are notable for their observation, their suggestion, the beauty of his photography. Not required, attendance at this Tuesday evening screening is strongly encouraged, especially for those interested in shooting film, in documentary/nonfiction, in pictorial composition. (I will be sending -- at least one -- email to you all about this.)
Comparing his and Akerman's approaches to their subject matter - their sense of time, the activity of their cameras, their editing styles - could make for a most interesting blog entry.
I'll be emailing you some questions regarding "D'Est" -- offered as prompts for your thinking, or perhaps reference points - prior to Mondays class.
Next Monday we are to watch a feature length experimental documentary, the presentation of which will take the entire class.
Chantal Akerman's "D'Est" (From the East) (16mm, color/sound, 1993) was motivated by the fall of the Soviet Union, Akerman feeling the need to travel through Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Bloc, to capture on film a landscape, a people, about to be transformed, perhaps, by change.
The film will take the entire class time. (Screening starts at 11am sharp!) To get you to start thinking about the film, you will need to do 3 short readings.
1) "On D'Est" by Chantal Akerman.
The directors thoughts on her motivation for making the film; her thoughts and connections to the subject matter.
You can find this reading on the content page of the D2L site.
2) "'D'Est': Akerman Variations" by Catherine David
An essay on Akerman's film. It also touches on the 3 room installation version of the film that Akerman made.
You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue
3) "Akerman Chronology," detailing her remarkable career and influences up to her making of "D'Est." She cites, for instance, Michael Snow and Jonas Mekas as central influences. You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue
The screening of "D'Est" is presented as a companion to a program of films by Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa that is being offered as part of the free Experimental Tuesdays screening series at the UWM Student Union on February 20. Loznitsa has been documenting the transformation of his country since the fall of the Soviet Union. His haunting documentaries are notable for their observation, their suggestion, the beauty of his photography. Not required, attendance at this Tuesday evening screening is strongly encouraged, especially for those interested in shooting film, in documentary/nonfiction, in pictorial composition. (I will be sending -- at least one -- email to you all about this.)
Comparing his and Akerman's approaches to their subject matter - their sense of time, the activity of their cameras, their editing styles - could make for a most interesting blog entry.
I'll be emailing you some questions regarding "D'Est" -- offered as prompts for your thinking, or perhaps reference points - prior to Mondays class.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
5 Day Challenge
5 Day Challenge: Daily Performance
In the spirit of daily performance, you must post on your blog for five
consecutive days between now (Tuesday, February 13) and next week
(Wednesday, February 21).
Your posts should include responses to this week's lecture but all posts
needn't be directed specifically to the films and videos seen in class on
Monday, February 12.
Consider, for example, posting in a mode other than writing: share a video
or sound or image file - discovered or generated -- that relates to the
class.
Or, share a report of work seen outside of class (See: This Week in the
Film Department on the links page for recommended events.)
Or: discuss projects pursued in your production classes.
Think about: Does the five day dictate impact how you post, what you post,
when you post? Does it influence the form and content of the posts? Does it
encourage any routine, or different kind of thinking? Maybe your sixth
consecutive blog should reflect on this experience. Relate if possible to
some of the experiences of daily perfomance seen in Monday (2/12)'s class.
Good luck! Here's to engaged pursuits! Get back to me with questions.
Carl Bogner (cbogner@uwm.edu)
In the spirit of daily performance, you must post on your blog for five
consecutive days between now (Tuesday, February 13) and next week
(Wednesday, February 21).
Your posts should include responses to this week's lecture but all posts
needn't be directed specifically to the films and videos seen in class on
Monday, February 12.
Consider, for example, posting in a mode other than writing: share a video
or sound or image file - discovered or generated -- that relates to the
class.
Or, share a report of work seen outside of class (See: This Week in the
Film Department on the links page for recommended events.)
Or: discuss projects pursued in your production classes.
Think about: Does the five day dictate impact how you post, what you post,
when you post? Does it influence the form and content of the posts? Does it
encourage any routine, or different kind of thinking? Maybe your sixth
consecutive blog should reflect on this experience. Relate if possible to
some of the experiences of daily perfomance seen in Monday (2/12)'s class.
Good luck! Here's to engaged pursuits! Get back to me with questions.
Carl Bogner (cbogner@uwm.edu)
Monday, February 5, 2007
Shout Out
Big shout out to William Shay for writing a couple of killer journal entries. Not to embarrass you, William, but thats some really thorough, thought provoking writing. Check it out: William Shay
On a wildly different note, one that is dealing with similar issues but isn't directly related (achem) to class check out Biesel's Art School Confidential rant. Its interesting. Its more of an expression of dislike than an invitation for discourse, but I think there is room for discussion there if anyone wants to take a punch, right? Dave Biesel
I left a comment there to grease the wheels. And
P.S.
I DO want people to respond to the films we are seeing in class OR at least answer the questions that Carl and I pose for your journals.
William pits the idea of experimental against the idea of narrative and asks if thinking about a work that is experimental in a narrative way might lead you down the wrong path. He writes
Mr.Shay adds:
Hmm. Is that a definition of experimental film? I think it is. He goes on:
I think there is a question that belongs inbetween those two questions, and I would like to hear your (everybody's) answer:
Food for thought.
Munch, munch.
On a wildly different note, one that is dealing with similar issues but isn't directly related (achem) to class check out Biesel's Art School Confidential rant. Its interesting. Its more of an expression of dislike than an invitation for discourse, but I think there is room for discussion there if anyone wants to take a punch, right? Dave Biesel
I left a comment there to grease the wheels. And
P.S.
I DO want people to respond to the films we are seeing in class OR at least answer the questions that Carl and I pose for your journals.
William pits the idea of experimental against the idea of narrative and asks if thinking about a work that is experimental in a narrative way might lead you down the wrong path. He writes
"Forcing the viewer to build something extra in their mind to go along with the film may only lead them to miss aspects in the film that they might otherwise catch if the the film was taken and interpreted at face value."I think thats a great point. But what is face value? How does one view something at face value? Is it to turn off our critical minds altogether? Is that possible?
Mr.Shay adds:
"Is experimental only experimental when the entire product throws away traditional conventions?"
Hmm. Is that a definition of experimental film? I think it is. He goes on:
"Does narrative film have the ability to stray to the point of experimentalism without the alienation of the viewer?"
I think there is a question that belongs inbetween those two questions, and I would like to hear your (everybody's) answer:
"Does abandoning traditional conventions mean that you have to alienate the viewer?"
Food for thought.
Munch, munch.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
OH AND THIS
Also from Carl:
You might also want to check out this recent Village Voice article on video
distributor Video Data Bank:
http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0704,halter,75625,20.html
You might also want to check out this recent Village Voice article on video
distributor Video Data Bank:
http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0704,halter,75625,20.html
words that we use
nar•ra•tive
Pronunciation: (nar'u-tiv), [key]
—n.
1. a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.
2. a book, literary work, etc., containing such a story.
3. the art, technique, or process of narrating: Somerset Maugham was a master of narrative.
—adj.
1. consisting of or being a narrative: a narrative poem.
2. of or pertaining to narration: narrative skill.
3. Fine Arts.representing stories or events pictorially or sculpturally: narrative painting. Cf. anecdotal (def. 2).
ex•per•i•ment
Pronunciation: (
—n.ik-sper'u-munt;
—v.ek-sper'u-ment"), [key]
—n.
1. a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.
2. the conducting of such operations; experimentation: a product that is the result of long experiment.
3. Obs.experience.
—v.i.
to try or test, esp. in order to discover or prove something: to experiment with a new procedure.
Pronunciation: (ik-sper"u-men'tl), [key]
—adj.
1. pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
2. of the nature of an experiment; tentative: The new program is still in an experimental stage.
3. functioning as an experiment or used for experimentation: an experimental airplane.
4. based on or derived from experience; empirical: experimental knowledge.
—n.
something that is experimental.
About Journals and Readings
From Carl:
In response to some questions on where the Vito Acconci
writings are:
1) From the Libraries page, go to Reserve and E-Reserve
2) Under instructors, select Bogner and click on Search
3) Click on the first listing is FILM201 Electronic Reserve readings.
4) Click on "Link to electronic reserve readings"
5) The Acconci writings are listed first. Enjoy!
From Me:
Don't stress about making your blogs brilliant, okay? If you want
to stressabout something,stress about being honest and forthright.
The fodder for thought this week had to do with what I wrote about
in my journal, and whatwe talked about in class: Are there narrative
aspects to what we have been watching? And if not, then what brings
us in, what keeps our attention? I talked about how, for me,
I have to think of the imagery as a kind of narrative, I have to look
for repeated colors and shapes to hold on to in order to involve
myself with the film. How about you? Which films that we have
watched in class did you most respond to? Which did you find yourself
wrapped up in? Which made you restless or bored?
And brainstorm on WHY.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Temptation to Sleep
Alright, I admit it, once or twice during the screening this morning my mind started to wander and then the light I saw changed shapes and I started hearing voices that were not there and my breathing became slow (and audible maybe) and the weight of my head was too much for my neck and over it went, chin to chest, shocking me back awake. I'd look around, grab another menthol pastille (otherwise known as a mint) from my bag (very quietly) and attempt to reenter the viewing experience. (Can I just say that I am writing this at Espresso Chrisoph and there are these two young ladies talking about what they want done with their bodies after they die like its what they are gonna wear to the prom. They are like: "I used to want to be cremated. Not any more. My parents want to be cremated, I want to make them into diamonds." and the other "I want to be preserved and strung up like a marionette." Which is stranger, life or experimental film?)
2 things: 1. I was pretty zonked Monday morning, pretty sleepy to start with. 2. I don't say attempt in a derogatory way. No sir. I think its to filmmakers like Kitchen and Dorsky's credit that they have designed into their film a need for the viewer to participate actively. I am only saying that its not easy. Not for me at least. It requires some energy. A good night of sleep, and the fortitude to keep coming back to the image before me with an open, fresh mind. THIS is the film. THIS is the story. THIS is what I am watching. I think its super brave of our 201 filmmakers, our Nishikawas and Dorskys and Kitchens and Snows. Because what if people don't come up to bat? What if no one cares? Remember that these are smart people that have seen a lot of stuff and have worked really hard at making the thing in front of your eyes. Why would they make it? Why would they sweat over it? What makes it matter? These are questions I am asking all of us. Me included.
What if commercial media looked more like the films we watched today?
What commercial media DOES? In bits and pieces.
So many narrative filmmakers borrow pieces of these visual "experiments" and tie them in to
3 act structures with box office potential. Like the plastic bag in American Beauty. Is that a direct reference to Dorsky's Variations? Music videos and commercials do it too. I can pretty much guarantee that if you pick out some cool "look" or visual pattern in mass media that you think is fresh and new and cutting edge, somebody else did it first in an experimental film or piece of video art. Examples? Oh man, they are all over. Chris Smith, the guy that went to THIS VERY film school gets hired to make commercials that look like "edgy, artsy documentaries". Why? What about that is appealing? What about that sells?
I went to Sundance this weekend, and I went to this shmancy party at this famous producer's rented house, and I talked to one of his henchmen, and I was like: "So, when you are looking at
a filmmakers work, what is the bottom line? Are you looking at the filmmakers passion for the content, or the possibility of making a buck with the movie?" "Money. That's the bottom line. You know, you can support a 'passion project' from time to time, but...," So these guys, these producers pluck out a few potential talents, and put money behind them, because they have a sense of whats going to be successful-- but whats their criteria? What makes something desirable and consumable? What makes one good filmmaker (in this case non fiction) better than the next? Films that push boundaries? Films that introduce new, controversial ideas? Films that have inventive, striking visuals? Films that require, or at least suggest another way of thinking? "Yeah, sure.." Hollywood Henchman might say, "but it can't be totally out there. It has to be accessible." Did American Beauty make the plastic bag thing more ACCESSIBLE? Was it a rip off? Whats accessible? Whats easy to watch? Why?
The stuff that's easy changes, tho. And I think in our reality TV glutted media (I'm a fan of reality TV by the way) that people are getting a taste for more and more gritty, improvisational feeling pictures in motion. And the result is stuff that's arguably more difficult, more complex than the fairy tale narratives that daytime TV has used as filling for the last 40 years. It sounds like I am on my way to comparing Temptation Island and Variations, but I'm not. At least not yet. Rather, I am trying to say that I think the people that have dedicated themselves to working on these idea based films, these films so much outside of our every day media, end up having an impact on the commercial film and video industry and, eventually, our culture. Peoples tastes change slowly, they get bored with the old and they seek out the new, and so then commercial media makers want to provide the new, so that they can make a buck, and where do they look? TO the IDEA people. The people that are too busy engaging with their medium to worry about whether or not Oprah will like it. But now I am on a rant. Back to the point.
This is not an essay, this is not an essay, this is not an essay. Feeling obligated to sound really smart and bookish all of a sudden. But we don't have to do that on these here blogs. They are more a place to think out loud and continue (start) conversation.
My point is, basically, that these films aren't easy for me to watch, but that doesn't mean they aren't valuable. For me, its kind of like jogging. You get in to it, and it improves your quality of life, and then you love it. But when you aren't doing it, you see those poor suckers jogging out there in the cold and you think "Henh. Glad I'm not them." and then you get morbidly obese and die of heart failure. Okay, not a great simile but you smell what I'm steppin' in, right?
(Now the death girls are talking about dreams. One of them has circular nightmares. Another woke up to a shadowy thing above her bed that she hit at with a pillow.) (There is also a man making loud grotesque gurgley throat clearing noises. Does he realize that we can all hear him? There he goes again. UGH. DUDE. STOP IT. SHOULD I say something? I am about to say something.) (Alright, now the CD is skipping. Remind me to blog somewhere else, okay?)
Before I sign off here, a piece of advice: Start where you are. If you feel distant and tired, start there. Ask "Why am I distant and tired?" Its the first step in figuring out what this stuff is about.
See you Wednesday.
2 things: 1. I was pretty zonked Monday morning, pretty sleepy to start with. 2. I don't say attempt in a derogatory way. No sir. I think its to filmmakers like Kitchen and Dorsky's credit that they have designed into their film a need for the viewer to participate actively. I am only saying that its not easy. Not for me at least. It requires some energy. A good night of sleep, and the fortitude to keep coming back to the image before me with an open, fresh mind. THIS is the film. THIS is the story. THIS is what I am watching. I think its super brave of our 201 filmmakers, our Nishikawas and Dorskys and Kitchens and Snows. Because what if people don't come up to bat? What if no one cares? Remember that these are smart people that have seen a lot of stuff and have worked really hard at making the thing in front of your eyes. Why would they make it? Why would they sweat over it? What makes it matter? These are questions I am asking all of us. Me included.
What if commercial media looked more like the films we watched today?
What commercial media DOES? In bits and pieces.
So many narrative filmmakers borrow pieces of these visual "experiments" and tie them in to
3 act structures with box office potential. Like the plastic bag in American Beauty. Is that a direct reference to Dorsky's Variations? Music videos and commercials do it too. I can pretty much guarantee that if you pick out some cool "look" or visual pattern in mass media that you think is fresh and new and cutting edge, somebody else did it first in an experimental film or piece of video art. Examples? Oh man, they are all over. Chris Smith, the guy that went to THIS VERY film school gets hired to make commercials that look like "edgy, artsy documentaries". Why? What about that is appealing? What about that sells?
I went to Sundance this weekend, and I went to this shmancy party at this famous producer's rented house, and I talked to one of his henchmen, and I was like: "So, when you are looking at
a filmmakers work, what is the bottom line? Are you looking at the filmmakers passion for the content, or the possibility of making a buck with the movie?" "Money. That's the bottom line. You know, you can support a 'passion project' from time to time, but...," So these guys, these producers pluck out a few potential talents, and put money behind them, because they have a sense of whats going to be successful-- but whats their criteria? What makes something desirable and consumable? What makes one good filmmaker (in this case non fiction) better than the next? Films that push boundaries? Films that introduce new, controversial ideas? Films that have inventive, striking visuals? Films that require, or at least suggest another way of thinking? "Yeah, sure.." Hollywood Henchman might say, "but it can't be totally out there. It has to be accessible." Did American Beauty make the plastic bag thing more ACCESSIBLE? Was it a rip off? Whats accessible? Whats easy to watch? Why?
The stuff that's easy changes, tho. And I think in our reality TV glutted media (I'm a fan of reality TV by the way) that people are getting a taste for more and more gritty, improvisational feeling pictures in motion. And the result is stuff that's arguably more difficult, more complex than the fairy tale narratives that daytime TV has used as filling for the last 40 years. It sounds like I am on my way to comparing Temptation Island and Variations, but I'm not. At least not yet. Rather, I am trying to say that I think the people that have dedicated themselves to working on these idea based films, these films so much outside of our every day media, end up having an impact on the commercial film and video industry and, eventually, our culture. Peoples tastes change slowly, they get bored with the old and they seek out the new, and so then commercial media makers want to provide the new, so that they can make a buck, and where do they look? TO the IDEA people. The people that are too busy engaging with their medium to worry about whether or not Oprah will like it. But now I am on a rant. Back to the point.
This is not an essay, this is not an essay, this is not an essay. Feeling obligated to sound really smart and bookish all of a sudden. But we don't have to do that on these here blogs. They are more a place to think out loud and continue (start) conversation.
My point is, basically, that these films aren't easy for me to watch, but that doesn't mean they aren't valuable. For me, its kind of like jogging. You get in to it, and it improves your quality of life, and then you love it. But when you aren't doing it, you see those poor suckers jogging out there in the cold and you think "Henh. Glad I'm not them." and then you get morbidly obese and die of heart failure. Okay, not a great simile but you smell what I'm steppin' in, right?
(Now the death girls are talking about dreams. One of them has circular nightmares. Another woke up to a shadowy thing above her bed that she hit at with a pillow.) (There is also a man making loud grotesque gurgley throat clearing noises. Does he realize that we can all hear him? There he goes again. UGH. DUDE. STOP IT. SHOULD I say something? I am about to say something.) (Alright, now the CD is skipping. Remind me to blog somewhere else, okay?)
Before I sign off here, a piece of advice: Start where you are. If you feel distant and tired, start there. Ask "Why am I distant and tired?" Its the first step in figuring out what this stuff is about.
See you Wednesday.
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