Add:
James, David, The Most Typical Avant-Garde: History and Geography of Minor
Cinemas in Los Angeles
Anker, Steve, Kathy Geritz, and Steve Seid, ed., Radical Light: Alternative
Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-2000
Both eminently readable.
On 7/19/11 4:05 PM, "Chuck Kleinhans" <chuckkle_at_northwestern.edu> wrote:
>
> On Jul 19, 2011, at 3:09 PM, Kevin Timmins wrote:
>
>> Hi frameworks
>>
>> I'm looking for some essential reading on experimental film, cinema and video
>> etc... Lets say to start with 5 must have books that will help enlighten me!
>
>
> In part this would depend on what films you have seen or could see again (even
> if only on Ubuweb, etc.) Here's a bunch of suggestions
>
>
> Berger, John. "The Moment of Cubism," in Berger, The Moment of Cubism and
> Other Essays.
> This is a useful key essay on modernism(s)
>
>
> Rees, A. L., A History of Experimental Film and Video (London:British Film
> Institute, 1999) paperback
> excellent brief history of US and UK, and both film and video art
>
> Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary Film, Third edition (NY: Oxford UP, 2002)
> paperback
> classic study on US New American Cinema avant garde, Deren on.
>
> Kirby, Michael. "The Aesthetics of the Avant-Garde," in Kirby, The Art of
> Time. 1969
> another useful reference point essay on modernism across the arts
>
> It is especially useful to do some in-depth close studies (though you also
> need access to the films in some form)
>
> Such as:
>
> Roy Grundmann, Andy Warholıs Blow Job, Temple U Press, 2002.
> Outstanding close study, with terrific context
>
> James Peterson, Dreams of Chaos, Visions of Order: Understanding the Ameican
> Avant-Garde Cinema (Wayne State)
> careful and detailed close analysis of a small number of films
>
> Wees, William C. Light Moving in Time: Studies in the Visual Aesthetics of
> Avant-garde Film (Berkeley: U of CA Press, 1992)
> very careful studies of key films
>
> For large alternatives to the above titles:
>
> James, David E. Allegories Of Cinema: American Film in the Sixties.
> Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1989.
> an important contrast to and corrective of Sitney
>
> Tyler, Parker, Underground Film: A Critical History (DaCapo 1995)
> Tyler is often forgotten nowadays, but excellent for the period he covers
>
> Macdonald, Scott. A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers.
> Berkeley: U of California, 1988.
> This is the first of a series of interview books he has done: Macdonald does
> outstanding preparation forthe interviews which produce very illuminating
> discussions in most cases. Many filmmakers find this kind of work the most
> illuminating thing to read. The whole series is great.
>
> Robin Blaetz, ed. Women's Experimental Cinema Duke: 2007)
> essential corrective to the usual boys club version of the avant garde
>
>
> These aren't "also rans" but equal but different than the previous titles:
>
> LeGrice, Malcolm. Abstract Film and Beyond. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 1977.
>
> Macdonald, Scott. Avant-Garde Film: Motion Studies. Cambridge, Cambridge U.P.
> 1993.
>
> Macdonald, Scott. The Garden in the Machine. U of California, 2003
>
> Marks, Laura. The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the
> Senses. (U of Minn?) 2000
>
> Mekas, Jonas. Movie Journal: The Rise of a New American Cinema, 1959-1971.
> NY: Collier, 1972.
> interesting collection of his weekly reviews, allows you to see historical
> progression week by week.
>
> Russell, Catherine, Experimental Ethnography: The Work of Film in the Age of
> Video. 2000.
>
> Sitney, P. Adams, ed. Film Culture Reader. NY: Praeger, 1970.
> great collection of essays from the key magazine of the US experimental
> movement
>
> Sitney, P. Adams, ed. The Essential Cinema: Essays on the Films in the
> Collection of Anthology Film Archives. Vol. 1. NY: New York U. P., 1975.
>
> Sitney, P. Adams, ed. The Avant-Garde Film: A Reader of Theory and
> Criticism. NY: New York U. P., 1978.
>
> Youngblood, Gene. Expanded Cinema. NY: Dutton, 1970.
>
>
> You should be aware that experimental film and video are often clumsily nation
> bound for several reasons. If you are in the US, it's very enlightening to
> make an extra effort to find out about Canadian, UK, European, Japanese, and
> other national traditions in both film and video
>
> And video is its own complicated case, with an older single channel history
> now being overwhelmed by gallery pieces from people who tend to see themselves
> as "artists" rather than "video makers."
>
>
> I'm sure others on this list would have other suggestions and refer to their
> own work: e.g. Fred Camper's writings on his website (there's a lot there),
> Jackie Hatfield's anthology Experimental film and video, etc.
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Received on Tue Jul 19 2011 - 16:40:39 CDT
