[Frameworks] Forwarded from Massart Faculty

[Fred Camper]

Yes. Wow is right. I was the first to express sympathy, and anger that a 
film showing to a class could have been an issue. But perhaps that was a 
false narrative?

I do not need to take sides here, just note that there are often two 
sides, and we should not have jumped to conclusions from one story, even 
if from an artist we respect. We know that sometimes, experimental 
filmmakers can, um, be difficult. I would like to think that art schools 
should accommodate some degree of difficulty from their artists, but 
there are also limits.

There was a time decades ago when I was  unemployed, broke, and 
spiraling downward. A filmmaker who I greatly respect (and I know many 
on this list also do) wanted to me apply for an untenured, full-time 
position as department chair in the university where he taught. As he 
described it, the other members of the film department, all tenured, had 
been fighting to the point where they were no longer speaking to each 
other. The chair job involved talking about diverse issues with all four 
of them and then making decisions. I knew and respected the work of two 
of the other three. But the very fact of this situation, and the search 
for a chair with this particular job description, boggles the mind, and 
I felt a stunning lack of respect for the person they were seeking to 
hire, whose continued employment as untentured faculty would depend upon 
their votes. I suspected that after a few years of this I would have 
been forced to retire to the rubber room -- and might never have emerged.

Most of us have passionate beliefs about aesthetic and related matters. 
It takes temperance and skill to argue them from the full depths of our 
passions while still letting the people we are arguing with feel 
acknowledged and respected. I know that at this I have often failed.

Fred Camper
Chicago

On 4/11/2018 8:54 PM, Jon Behrens wrote:
> wow
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Apr 11, 2018, at 4:28 PM, Ed Halter <hey at edhalter.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hey Frameworks
>>
>> Felt I should share this announcement that was forwarded to me from the Massart faculty.
>>
>> ------------
>>
>>
>> TO THE MASSART COMMUNITY:
>>
>> The faculty and staff of the Film/Video department demand that Professor Saul Levine stop his
>> lies about recent events at Mass Art and his cyber-bullying against his colleagues.
>>
>> It is because of Professor Levine’s very public attacks and misrepresentations that we feel
>> obliged to correct his version of the complaints against him.
>>
>> He has bullied his colleagues and created an abusive working environment over many years.
>>
>> He has derailed and destroyed important discussions about urgent departmental and curricular
>> issues.
>>
>> This is NOT an issue of academic freedom. No one at Mass Art made any effort to censor or
>> punish Professor Levine for screening his film or any other film he has shown over the years.
>> No one forced him to retire.The decision to retire is entirely Professor Levine’s.
>>
>> We recognize Professor Levine as a brilliant artist and programmer and are thankful for his
>> contributions to the department and to Massart.It is extremely painful to see his toxic rant
>> against the department, besmearing the College and insulting us by name while claiming
>> himself as the victim.
>>
>> As artists, teachers and mentors, it is our responsibility to stand up when we are bullied and to
>> treat each other with respect. It is also our duty to foster an open, respectful, and collegial
>> environment for our students.
>>
>> Soon-Mi Yoo, Chair
>> Ericka Beckman, Professor
>> Gretchen Skogerson, Professor
>> Joe Briganti, Studio Manager, Video Area
>> Kim Keown, Studio Manager, Film Area
>> _______________________________________________
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>> FrameWorks at jonasmekasfilms.com
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