[Frameworks] Conner/Marker and women of color suggestions

Thu Aug 30 18:29:26 UTC 2018

Arthur Jafa said recently “If you point a camera at a Black person, on a psychoanalytical level it functions as a White gaze. It therefore triggers a whole set of survival modalities that Black Americans have. It doesn’t matter if a Black person is behind the camera or not, because the camera itself functions as an instrument of the White gaze. In other words, it’s recording evidence of people speaking; hence there are certain things you can say, certain things you can’t say.” There are profound implications for black filmmakers’ use of found footage and collage in A.J.’s observation. Here are some suggestions. 1,3,5, 6 and 9 are in the Whitney’s collection; the others are in the process of being acquired.

Gunvor Nelson and Dorothy Wiley’s film, though two white women, is also important to mention, and is an important counterpoint to the sexist imagery of ‘A Movie’ and other similar collage films of the time.

1.       Ja’Tovia Gary’s ‘An Ecstatic Experience’ (on show at the Whitney for the past nine months in ‘An Incomplete History of Protest’)

2.       Crystal Z. Campbell, ‘Go-Rilla Means War’ (2017) (collaged from a discarded 35mm film found in a former black civil rights movie theater in Brooklyn)

3.       Akusoa Adoma Owusu, ‘Split Ends (I Feel Wonderful)’ (2012) made from 1970s found footage of black women’s hair salons in New York, collaged images and soundtrack

4.       Yulan Grant, ‘Dis/Place’

5.       Diamond Stingily, ‘How Did he Die?’ (2016)

6.       Phillip Mallory Jones, ‘No Crystal Stair’ (1976) – viewable on Vimeo

7.       Tony Cokes, ‘Black Celebration’, 1988

8.       Theaster Gates, Do you hear me calling? (Mama Mamama or What Is Black Power?) 2018 – an installation using historical collaged footage

9.       Raphael Ortiz, ‘ “Cowboy” and “Indian” Film’ 1957-1958 – very early example of an indigenous voice critiquing the racist Hollywood portrayal of native Americans using collaged film clips.

10.   Gunvor Nelson and Dorothy Wiley’s ‘Schmeergunz’, 1966

11.   John Akomfrah (several of his films are currently being shown in his New Museum surveyin New York)

From: FrameWorks <frameworks-bounces at jonasmekasfilms.com> On Behalf Of Warren Cockerham
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 1:50 PM
To: Experimental Film Discussion List <frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com>
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Conner/Marker and women of color suggestions

Also Cauleen Smith (along with lots of other chicago-based folks) was commissioned a few years back to make a short piece from their collection.. this is it:

Songs for Earh and Folk<https://vimeo.com/71024774>

she has at least one other found footage short... I don't think it's readily available .. called T Minus Two

also Buki Bodunrin's

even when live is sad people still have a good time<http://www.adebukolabodunrin.com/even-when-life-is-sad/>    uh... made in Roger Beebe's 16mm class circa 2005...

On Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 1:30 PM, Beebe, Roger W. <beebe.77 at osu.edu<mailto:beebe.77 at osu.edu>> wrote:
I just saw An Ecstatic Experience by Ja’Tovia Gary for the second time last weekend at the Columbus Black International Film Festival & think it’s really doing interesting work with found footage:

http://www.jatovia.com/an-ecstatic-experience-new/

Not a black woman, but equally worthy of attention is Christopher Harris’s “Reckless Eyeballing”:

https://www.viennale.at/en/films/reckless-eyeballing  [Chris, where’s your website???  Couldn’t find it with a quick google search…]

As for composition & sequence, again not a black woman (just a woman), but I showed Katherin McInnis’s “Hat Trick” in my intro film production class to set up a flip book assignment this week, and I think the way she uses contact sheets of found images could be really interesting for both conversations:

https://vimeo.com/98387497

And Jen Proctor’s remake of Bruce Conner’s “A Movie” is already becoming a classic of the genre (for the YouTube era):

https://vimeo.com/11531028

Lots of non-white-dude options out there…
Roger

On Aug 30, 2018, at 11:30 AM, David Sherman <davidgatessherman at gmail.com<mailto:davidgatessherman at gmail.com>> wrote:

In a university production course have shown both Conner's  "A Movie" as a prompt for student found footage editing assignment and Marker's "La Jete" for photographic composition and sequencing.  I would be grateful for suggestions of short works by specifically women of  color that could be used as I mentioned above.
Many thanks,
David

--
David Sherman
 520-366-1573
www.explodedviewgallery.org<http://www.explodedviewgallery.org/>
www.davidshermanfilms.com<http://www.davidshermanfilms.com/>
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