From: DOMINIC ANGERAME (email suppressed)
Date: Sat Jul 12 2008 - 11:26:44 PDT
What can one say about the film work of Bruce Conner.
Bruces’ films are pivotal and represent a
revolutionary change in style amongst the films of
avant garde and experimental filmmakers around the
world. The art of found footage filmmaking was
capulted into a new world with films such A MOVIE made
in 1952 by Bruce Conner. Bruce was not the first
filmmaker to incorporate found footage into his films.
Many had done this before him such at Joseph Cornell
in his mater work ROSE HOBART, and even the
surrealists of the 1920’s utilized found footage as
seen in Rene Claire’s ENTRACTE. However Bruce in the
first experimental filmmaker to fully explore and
investigate the depths of found footage filmmaking.
As seen in COSMIC RAY Conner uses found footage to
touch on themes, of war, sexuality, political parody,
social injustice attempts to discover the soul of
human kind. The used of his impacting imagery makes us
aware of the value of each and every frame as if time
has an urgency. Bruce’s films are not intended to loll
us to sleep although there are moments of peace, like
in A MOVIE or CROSSROADS. However these moments
quickly vanish when we discover in CROSSROADS that the
beautifully shaped clouds we are looking at are
actually radioactive from the atomic weapon which was
just detonated.
Virtually every experimental/avant garde filmmaker has
been influenced by the films of Bruce Conner. Whether
it be Craig Baldwin, Jay Rosenblatt, Martin Arnold,
Abigail Child, Stan Brakhage, Peter Hutton, or myself.
We are all dazzled and amazed and affected by not only
the strong striking imagery, however, the rhythms of
the music, editing that is timed one step of our
ability to see, the use of lighting, the film’s
rawness and the recurring themes.
Bruce Conner’s work in cinema rightly deserves the
recognition received and the truly historic place that
they have garnished in the history of
experimental/avant garde cinema.
An attempt to describe the impact of Bruce Conners’
films on the millions of people who have experienced
and viewed them during the past 56 year would almost
be impossible. A complete listing of partial and one
man showings by Bruce Conner would be at least 200
pages long, not to mention the thousands of screenings
of his films at Museums, Galleries, small film
showcases, and classrooms throughout the world.
This is hardly a filmmaker in the world, including
those that produce commercial narrative films, that is
not familiar with name and work of Bruce Conner.
Bruce Conner’s work in cinema rightly deserves the
recognition received and the truly historic place that
they have garnished in the history of
experimental/avant garde filmmaking. These films will
live on in their spirit and will continue to influence
the world that is and that which is let to come.
We who him will greatly miss him
Dominc Angerame 2008
--- Jeff Kreines <email suppressed> wrote:
> We need to find some old "I AM BRUCE CONNER" buttons
> to wear.
>
> I projected Brakhage's class at SAIC when he taught
> Conner, and
> walked by a couple of Conner's sculptures every day
> (as well as a
> great painting of Screamin' Jay Hawkins and a George
> Segal sculpture
> that were hidden near the secret staircase I used to
> get back to the
> school. He told the story of Conner, Castelli, and
> the buttons...
>
> Is that DVD still available from the gallery in LA?
> Anyone?
>
> Jeff "a sad fan" Kreines
>
>
>
__________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.