[Frameworks] Forwarded from Massart Faculty
Fred Camper
f at fredcamper.com
Sat Apr 14 20:43:51 UTC 2018
So it sounds like you are unquestionably accepting that Levine was
forced out due to the nature of his filmmaking?
Are the five signatories of that statement lying?
Of course it is true that it is in the nature of some kinds of art
making that the artist will believe that she or he has found /the
/truth, /the /path, the only correct way of making films or other art.
Jessica comments on a facet of this, though I think in some other kinds
of artists authoritarianism is not to be found, or will be successfully
hidden. But for some of the most original artists, this belief is
central to their practice. One only has to read the writings of Dziga
Vertov and Robert Bresson, both filmmakers who felt so strongly that
their mode of filmmaking was the only true way that they used use words
or phrases to refer /only /to their own films to the exclusion of all
others to emphasize the correctness of their choices, for examples. One
can only speculate as to the nature, if language differences could be
bridged, of a "faculty meeting" to discuss the correct forms of cinema
education with a faculty consisting of Eisenstein, Vertov, Epstein,
Bresson, Kubelka, Brakhage, Rainer, and, oh, say, Roberto Rossellini,
Nicholas Ray and John Ford.
But at the same time, Stan Brakhage, Peter Kubelka, Robert Breer, Hollis
Frampton, George Landow/Owen Land, Ernie Gehr, Larry Jordan, Ken Jacobs,
Larry Gottheim, and of course others, all taught filmmaking for many
decades. I name these in particular as filmmaker whose work I like, in
most cases hugely. All showed their own films as part of their teaching
practice. Does anyone know of cases in which these filmmakers got into
trouble with their schools over the nature of their completed films, or
for their expression of their ideas about their art? Some have troubles,
but more due to the nature of their personalities, is that not right?
With so many nations sliding into dictatorship, we who are privileged to
live in relatively free nations should appreciate, and try to preserve,
what we have, taking care to make accusation about the abridgement of
academic freedom only when it has really occurred.
What you are advocating implies an inner split that is probably
impossible for most of us to put in practice in the long term, but is
also fundamentally dishonest. Hired to teach one's beliefs, and not
directed to conceal them, the filmmaker is then to spend a career lying
about them? Is that even fair to the students, or to the school? Would
such a course not make the world a fundamentally worse, rather than
better, place? Haven't we seen enough lying, especially when it is not
absolutely necessary?
Avoiding academia entirely might be a good idea, if one can manage it.
I think Markopoulos's films only got greater, after he left teaching
and the U.S. I certainly felt freer in many ways when I could survive as
a freelance writer, working mostly for a for-profit newspaper, than when
I turned to teaching at allegedly high-minded not for profit
institutions. At the same time, I have been relatively free to work my
own beliefs about cinema and about art even in predesigned courses in
which I have to teach certain elements I did not decide on (though also
do not oppose). And I feel sure that for many, alternative-to-teaching
jobs might be far worse than teaching.
Fred Camper
Chicago
On 4/14/2018 12:40 PM, Francisco Torres wrote:
> I suggest one course of action to avoid such problems- Total boycott
> of academia. Find other sources of employment if possible. If academia
> is the only alternative in terms of earning an income then withhold
> your true work from the academic audience. Create safe, vanilla works
> for the administration and the student body and another body of work
> for yourself and your true audience (outside academia). Also withhold
> your true wisdom from your academic work, keep it secret. Moreover,
> feed an official artistic line to your students and co-workers. Play
> it safe. After all, it worked for the alchemists for hundred of years.
>
> 2018-04-14 1:34 GMT-04:00 lady snowblood <snowbloods.parasol at gmail.com
> <mailto:snowbloods.parasol at gmail.com>>:
>
> I’ve been observing this situation and reflecting on the need for
> competing skills inside one person:
> - adherence to personal vision in the studio
> - the flexibility of ego to collaborate well with colleagues and
> students in the educational environment.
>
> I’ve seen behavior like this in art teachers the past, although
> not to this degree. And I assigned it as lots of skill in one area
> (authorship) fewer skills in another ...
>
> It’s hard. I’m reminded that “you can’t say authoritarian without
> author”. I also re-invest in the notion that I have to keep a good
> buffer between my formal creative practice (viciously adhering to
> the vision) and the social skills for creating resilient learning
> environment (relax, communicate, provoke, nourish, discover
> together etc).
>
> Jessica
>
> * * * * *
>
> Jessica Fenlon
>
> artist : poet : experimental : http://sixth-station.com
>
> flickr <https://www.flickr.com/photos/drawclose> : vimeo
> <http://vimeo.com/jessicafenlon> : instagram
> <https://www.instagram.com/port.manteaux>
>
> On Apr 13, 2018, at 8:13 AM, John Muse <jmuse at sonic.net
> <mailto:jmuse at sonic.net>> wrote:
>
>> Another turn of the screw:
>>
>> https://www.artforum.com/news/massart-embroiled-in-controversy-over-resignation-of-filmmaker-saul-levine-74966
>> <https://www.artforum.com/news/massart-embroiled-in-controversy-over-resignation-of-filmmaker-saul-levine-74966>
>>
>> j
>>
>>> On Apr 12, 2018, at 9:19 AM, Jon Behrens <bolexman at msn.com
>>> <mailto:bolexman at msn.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Thank you Ed
>>> For sharing this
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Apr 11, 2018, at 8:22 PM, Deana LeBlanc
>>> <leblanc.deana at gmail.com <mailto:leblanc.deana at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Emotion vs. reason? His live video got us PUMPED and struck a
>>>> cord- we who were watching were cheering, (crying a bit
>>>> admittedly). Even had musicians riding along to its It speaks
>>>> to something bigger and is effectively cathartic- the
>>>> performance, the storytelling, while also being a testimony of
>>>> information. Two things going on at once, important to
>>>> distinguish. But this also makes sense- the statement from Mass
>>>> Art Faculty- glad to hear from them.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wednesday, April 11, 2018, Ed Halter <hey at edhalter.com
>>>> <mailto: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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>>>> <mailto:FrameWorks at jonasmekasfilms.com>
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>>>> <https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks>
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>>
>> j/PrM
>>
>> *************************************************
>>
>> john muse
>> visual media scholar
>> haverford college
>> he/him/his
>> http://www.finleymuse.com
>> http://www.haverford.edu/faculty/jmuse
>> <http://www.haverford.edu/faculty/jmuse>
>> http://haverford.academia.edu/JohnMuse
>> <http://haverford.academia.edu/JohnMuse>
>>
>> *************************************************
>>
>>
>>
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