From: Phil Rowe (email suppressed)
Date: Mon Jun 11 2007 - 19:44:56 PDT
I have no quarrel with Nauman or how a "circular form of reasoning" might
imply "entrapment in circumstances of one's own design" or even with how
such a theory might make for interesting film. But none of this has much if
anything to do with Samuel Beckett. What the Nobel committee said was "for
his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the
destitution of modern man acquires its elevation" and the presentation
speech at the ceremony continued in much the same mode. I think we can
reasonably smile at the committee's desperate need to find "elevation" (one
has to remember that they answer to Nobel's own 19th Century directives),
but it seriously misrepresents this great writer to state as fact the theory
that his work blames the human condition on circumstances of our own design.
The Nobel prize was not awarded "in recognition" of this notion and I don't
recognize it, either, anywhere in his work.
Phil Rowe
-----Original Message-----
From: Experimental Film Discussion List [mailto:email suppressed]
On Behalf Of esperanza collado
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 1:24 PM
To: email suppressed
Subject: Re: Questions about Samuel Beckett and Zanzibar
Hi Jeremy,
This is just to reinforce what Roger said earlier. I found it in the
book "A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s":
"Samuel Beckett, the Irish author and playwright, is identified as an
influence on Nauman in the subtitle of the videotape Slow Angle Walk.
Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969 in
recognition of a circular form of reasoning in his plays that implied
entrapment in circunstances of one's own design. Nauman's series of
videotapes capture the figure in action, performing a series of
rigurous movements recorded through a camera installed in a fixed
location...."
In one way or another, there are a series of films that respond to
that definition ("a circular form of reasoning in his plays that
implied entrapment in circunstances of one's own design").
Inmediately, films by Maya Deren, works by Michael Snow like Cover to
Cover and Dan Graham (Body Press, Roll), and NOTHING by Paul Sharits
come to my mind regarding that statement (and the title of Hollis
Frampton's Circles of Confusion; his films might be of interest here
too). Also I made a video in 2000 called "Internodo" which deals with
the same notion. Have a look, the quality is quite poor but you can
get an idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXkpd-lyg_g
It is really a beautiful subject to investigate, but must be a tough
one to find direct connections between Beckett's line of thought -or
Film- and other film works. I wish you all the best!
Esperanza.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.