transcending the universe, time, etc.
spinning trees from andrei tarkovsky's ivanovo detstvo, 1962(best of 2007)music:-3/4hadbeeneliminated: theology (soleilmoon recordings)-amiina: kurr (ever records)-asher: in camera (homophoni)-asher: untitled composition (for b) (leerraum)-asher: the depths, the colors, the objects & the silence (mystery sea)-william basinski: shortwave music (2062)-william basinski: el camino real (2062)-the
i wish all fields were paper
Miserere my Maker o have mercie on me wretchstrangelye distressedcast downe with sinne oppressedmightelye vext to the souls bitter anguisheeven to death I languishe,yet let it please thee to earemy ceaseless cryingemiserere, I am dyinge.anonymous- thank you Antonia ( http://oneinten.blogspot.com/)
mouchette and some french field recordings
robert bresson: mouchette, 1967mouchette soundtrack briefly availableexamples of french field recordings: the work of yannick dauby,sound artist:select discography:-songs of a few cicadas from taiwan, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-songs of a few crickets from europe, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-songs of a few amphibians from taiwan, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-février, cherry music,
He had a strange affinity with animals of all sorts, an eerie ability to get along amazingly well with them. At the zoo, lions and tigers would take one look at Buster's unsmiling face and come to him immediately.- Tom Dardis, KeatonBeneath his lack of emotion he was also uninsistently sardonic; deep below that...for those who sensed it, there was in his comedy a freezing whisper not of pathos
fire, void and ashes
the presence of fire in the void, monte hellman's two-lane blacktop, 1971 words from pierre restany's book yves klein: fire at the heart of the void
only, the fruit still has to avoid being eaten
some examples from robert motherwell/george wittenborn's documents of modern art (1944-1972), covers and typography by paul rand.titles include:guillaume apollinaire: the cubist painters (1944)piet mondrain: plastic art and pure plastic art (1945)lászló moholy-nagy: the new vision (1946)louis henry sullivan: kindergarten chats (1947)wassily kandinsky: concerning the spiritual in art (1947)jean
days of heaven (thirteen)
terrence malick: days of heaven, 1978cinematography: néstor almendros with additional work by haskell wexler, camera operator: john baileyhieronymus bosch: the temptations of st. anthony
mysterious and invisible
last film of 2007. filmed in 2 parts. part one with magic hour, fireflies and piano. part two with wasser and light. sound discovered and realized by asher and rendered by m swiezynski.early version available briefly here.
spinning camera in berlin alexanderplatz
crowd images from the boxing sequence in rainer werner fassbinder's epilogue from berlin alexanderplatz, 1980.the camera spins around and around from the center of the ring, picking up ghostly images of the cheering crowd. camerawork by xaver schwarzenberger.
…all these adventurers, fairy tale princes, sea pirates, and magnanimous criminals, I don’t complain that they have passed on but I would wish that they might find with every new orbit that life affords us successors on whom the whole sum of love and belief dedicated to them might be carried on.- Ernst Junger
...from aft came the tunes of the band....
(iceberg)...from aft came the tunes of the band..... the ship was gradually turning on her nose - just like a duck that goes down for a dive. i had only one thing on my mind - to get away from the suction. the band was still playing. i guess all of the band went down. they were playing autumn then. i swam with all my might. i suppose i was 150 feet away when the titanic, on her nose, with her
Labels:
drone,
film,
gavin bryars,
music
E is for elephant
The elephant is only a huge beast, but he is the most worthy that lives on the earth and has the most sense. I want to tell you about a characteristic of his honesty: he never changes females and loves tenderly the one he has chosen, with whom he nonetheless copulates only every three years, and that only for five days, so secretly that he is never seen in the act. But he is seen, however, on
ford at fox
ford at fox: 24 films from john ford’s years with twentieth century fox where he made more than 50 films from 1920 through 1952includes:disc 1: what price glorydisc 2: my darling clementinedisc 3: how green was my valleydisc 4: tobacco roaddisc 5: grapes of wrathdisc 6: drums along the mohawkdisc 7: wee willie winkiedisc 8: young mister lincolndisc 9: prisoner on shark islanddisc 10: steamboat
scarce sufficient to afford a dish of hodge-podge
classic books (number 1):don quixote by miguel de cervantespart one first published in 1605, part two in 1615in a village of la mancha the name of which i have no desire to recall, there lived not so long ago one of those gentlemen who always have a lance in the rack, an ancient buckler, a skinny nag, and a greyhound for the chase. a stew with more beef than mutton in it, chopped meat for his
"Who knows," says Euripides, "if life is not death, and death life?" Plato in one of his dialogues puts these words into the mouth of Socrates, the wisest of men, the very man who created the theory of general ideas and first considered the clarity and distinctness of our judgments to be an index of their truth. According to Plato, Socrates almost always when death is discussed says the same, or
When my mother died I was very young,And my father sold me while yet my tongueCould scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."And so he was quiet
This running against the walls of our cage is perfectly, absolutely hopeless.Ethics so far as it springs from the desire to say something about the ultimate meaning of life, the absolute good, the absolute valuable, can be no science.What it says does not add to our knowledge in any sense. But it is a document of a tendency in the human mind which I personally cannot help respecting deeply and I
When I am dead, my dearestWhen I am dead, my dearest,Sing no sad songs for me;Plant thou no roses at my head,Nor shady cypress tree:Be the green grass above meWith showers and dewdrops wet;And if thou wilt, remember,And if thou wilt, forget.I shall not see the shadows,I shall not feel the rain;I shall not hear the nightingaleSing on, as if in pain:And dreaming through the twilightThat doth not
"Could I be a Punch? The Punch of my childhood you know - his spine broken in two, his nose on the floor between his feet, his legs and arms rigidly spread in that attitude of profound despair, so pathetically droll, of toys tossed in a corner ... This evening I seem to be within a corner, spine cracked, nose in the dust. Would you kindly scrape together the poor devil, put him tenderly in your
a mystery drone soundscape journey along the shores of an unfathomable glistening sea....
yui onodera: suiseimoljebka pvlse: driftsondchristopher willits + ryuichi sakamoto: ocean firesigur rós: heima steinbrüchel: basisnew music:-yui onodera: suiseiand/oar, 2007so far, one of my favourite discs of 2007, simply beautiful and delicate, produced and designed by dale lloyd, one of his (and/oar) best yet.(suisei is a work composed from field recordings and pump organ. with suisei, each
magic hour two, images of heaven
images of heaven, 2007magic hour number two by m swiezynski (starring mouse and midnight [les chats],the lightowlers, langston and arthur de eriomém)shot using a nd filter, drone techniques, 6 actors, the setting sun,and shooting methods devised for shooting such actresses as greta garbo and marlene dietrichall titles from francis a yates' the art of memorydedicated to the late friend and actor
Marc Vaughn Moore 1.22.69 - 11.26.04
Each departed friend is a magnet that attracts usto the next world.- Jean Paul
not from this world
Karl Erb was the illegitimate son of an assembly line worker. His childhood and adolescence were sad and poverty-stricken. He was misanthropic, introverted and tended to inordinatethrift and self-sufficiency. He was an autodidact and had analmost fanatical love for his mother. He was the greatestEvangelist (in Bach's "St. Matthews Passion") and the mostspiritual, angelic lied and oratorio
( as defined dreams of moments sometimes )
antonella de messina: the annunciation, 1476determined moments from recent dreamsokreślane momenty od niedawnych snówsince a short time defined moments dreamszaczynając od (od czasu; od tego czasu, jak) krótki czas określał sny momentówfrom beginning ( since; from this time, as defined dreams of moments ) short time (sometimes)od rozpoczęcia ( zaczynając od (od czasu; od tego czasu, jak); od tego
To a Little GirlSleep on, little oneAll is well.Better to die thusThan go to Hell.Life is cold and hardDeath is sweetMany the traps are setFor wandering feet.Would I could die as thouHast done this dayIn childish faith and loveBe ta'en away.Rest, my little oneFlowers on your breastSafe in the cold earth's armsEver at rest.Katherine Mansfield, written at the age of 15- thank you, Antonia
rue de vaugirard, 1909 at yale
m swiezynski: rue de vaugirard, 1909, 1998recent screening at yale university school of art (november 5, 2007) of an older video by the unrecognized polish film-maker.this video was originally shot on 16mm, then transferred to video, then back to film and finally to video again (under the spell of lucier's i am sitting in a room). slowmotion techniques were used for visual accuracy, and a contact
the most beautiful man alive
"His dress and appearance were those suggesting a released convict...He wore, habitually, a rusty black coat with a crumpled black silk stock, his throat destitute of collar, a costume which his muscular frame and immense chest made singularly and incongruously hideous, above it a countenance the most sinister I have ever seen, dark, cruel, treacherous with eyes like a wild beast's. He reminded
Christ's body, in the instance of the eucharist, is the most delicate and precious morsel that ever existed in the world. But some say it was Cleopatra who ate that morsel when she swallowed a pearl worth more than two hundred fifty thousand écus with a sip of vinegar. Others say it was that greedy emperor who ate the phoenix, or who was made to believe that he had eaten it for his dinner.
było ciemno, gdy noc w cieniach (pogrążona), it was dark as night in shadows
joseph cornell: box with bird's nest and oak gallscornell study centerfrom joseph cornell navigating the imaginationdirty skylight window (or rainy day effect dim light)-then very conscious of mechanics of light coming thruor by a table very bright...stained hands with black ink not minding(page 15)-also a sequence of being on a couch and looking outas though over a river at night & up at the
(Thoreau's essay Cape Cod :)"...You should read the first few pages particularly, about starting a walking tour along a beach after a shipwreck, with people pulling out bodies and packing them in coffins.After describing the scene he saysOn the whole it was not so impressive a scene as I might have expected. If I had found one body cast upon the beach in some lonely place, it would have affected
From these random slips, it would seem, that Pierre is quite conscious of much that is so anomalously hard and bitter in his lot, of much that is so black and terrific in his soul. Yet that knowing his fatal condition does not one whit enable him to change or better his condition. Conclusive proof that he has no power over his condition. For in tremendous extremities human souls are like drowning
certain (of) the good humour of the duck
duck hunter falls out of boat; drowns , goop joe's poultry pages by joseph cornell (made for his family) on view at the sfmomahumour and the sublime. the noise was quite rambunctious at the cornell show, so i put on my headphones and i persuaded my ipod to act randomly by blindly pushing the buttons, and she chose to play akira rabelais/harold budd's as long as i can hold my breath, which i was
navigating the berlin alexanderplatz
the first image from rainer werner fassbinder's berlin alexanderplatz, 1980joseph cornell: navigating the imagination by lynda roscoe hartiganthis week (and last), i was able to aquire two of the greatest items imaginable, (and to see the joseph cornell exhibition at the sfmoma).both this film and cornell's work have been guiding lights for me over the last 15 years or so (berlin alexanderplatz
13 images of walking through fog from werckmeister harmonies (some related to the young death trilogy)
béla tarr: werckmeister harmonies, 2000shot length: 3.2 minutesone of the many long walking shots found in werckmeister harmonies, and, not unrelated to movements/moments found within gus van sant's young death trilogy, esp. gerry, 2002:shot relates to tarr's 5 minute shot in werckmeister harmonies (half of which is spent on walking) found 1 hour into the film, with jános and the professor
He came to believe that a normal, honest human being could not be a professor. It is the academy that gave him his reputation of impenetrable abstruseness; never has a man deserved a reputation less. Disciples who came to him expecting to find a man of incredibly deep learning, found a man who saw mankind held together by suffering alone, and he invariably advised them to be as kind as
"What are the dead for us, if not - first and foremost - books? Among all forms of prehistoric religions, the strangest and most difficult to understand in our own day seems the cult of the dead, the constant presence of the dead in every aspect of life. To a prehistoric man, in contrast, our strangest and most mysterious form of worship would be our use of books. Yet these two forms of believe
13 images of cow movement from sátántangó
béla tarr: sátántangó, 1994shot length: 7.7 minutesbéla's (films) seem to be a successful and authentic departure , a wholly other cinema beginning over again. a cinema that needed to come from outside our western culture, a lost rosebud, one of the many directions cinema might have taken before we sold ourselves down the river.béla's creations use static full figure landscapes, as if referencing
13 images of furniture destruction from sátántangó
béla tarr: sátántangó, 1994shot length: 3.1 minutespieter bruegel: the harvesters, 1565pieter bruegel: the peasant dance, c. 1568pieter bruegel: peasant wedding, c. 1568(number 1 in a series of béla tarr image posts)
"...the palest stain of their passing..."
"He hoped obscurely that she could save him,but he did not even know from what."~William Gay"...for the first time in his life he became aware of loneliness."~John WilliamsFrom the very fine found photos collection by Barry O'Connor(http://palest-stain.blogspot.com/)
trains in cinema, or fludd's memory system
new train film by matthew swiezynski: fludd's memory systemavailable for a brief preview here (all titles from frances a. yates' fine book the art of memory)related images from robert fludd's the macrocosm, 1617 & 1618:the great darknessthe appearance of lightthe division of the waterslet there be lightanselm kiefer: fur robert fluddfor more information on robert fludd, see joscelyn godwin's book
new stockings just to please you...
"Oh," she said: "Casey, it's been so long since I've seen you."Here," she said: "just a kiss to make a body smile."See," she said: "I've put on new stockings just to please you."Lord," she said. "Casey, can you only stay a while."(...)"Oh," she said: "I suppose you seldom think about me."Now," she said: "now that you've a family of your own."Still," she said: "It's so blessed good to feel your
In the morning of his days he was handsome - sleek as a raven, sprightly and spirited, and was then much caressed and happy. [...] It was once his hard lot to fall into the hands of Skinflint, a horse-keeper - an authorised wholesale and retail dealer in cruelty - who employed him alternately, but closely, as a hack, both in the chaise and for the saddle; for when the traces and trappings used in
I wish I was a mole in the groundYes I wish I was a mole in the groundIf I's a mole in the ground I'd root that mountain downAnd I wish I was a mole in the groundOh Tippy wants a nine dollar shawlYes Tippy wants a nine dollar shawlI come o'er the hill with a forty dollar billBaby where you been so longI been in the bend so longYes I been in the bend so longI been in the bend with the rough and
revenants
"Man whistles past graveyard on his long walk home.Imagines that his own heart stops and his hands getcold. But like in some Ambrose Bierce story he hearsthe church bells tone and the unbearable sound ofnails driving home the coffin lid - his coffin lid! -and he sees 2 white horses poised in the line. Coffingets lowered with golden chain. He shudders. Getshome, hugs his kids." American Primitive
trains in cinema, part 3
philip d'antoni: the seven-ups, 1973alan arkin: little murders, 1971elliott gould on the nyc subway, covered in bloodhal ashby: bound for glory, 1976bernardo bertolucci: il conformista, 1970stunning train sequences (one quite artificial) photographed by vittorio storarocharles brabin: the valley of the giants, 1927clarence brown: possessed, 1931one of the most spectacular sequences in film
masks
Mit magischer Gewalt zog es ihn auf Friedhoefe. Besucher beobachteten, wie er lange Zeit mit dem Zeigefinger auf einen Punkt von Jean Paul's Grabstein tippte.
"For me one of the greatest moments in Balthazar is almost parenthetical: when the vagabond Arnold, knowing that he is dying, says farewell to the road marker, then the telephone pole. Conversation with inanimate objects is of course habitual with alcoholics, but Arnold’s bonding with his surroundings acknowledges the way we all invest objects we love with a kind of sacred life; they become
eyewater (to separate and to assemble together, or: some sublimates that have been listening)
look neither here nor there to view a miniature of an occult memory system by theartofmemory contributor mr. swiezynski
ships
It was 25 years ago when the wings of death came low And spread out on the ocean far and wide. A great ship sailed away with her passengers so gay To never, never reach the other side.CHORUS:Sailing out to winter pain, the Titanic was her name,When she had sailed 500 miles from shoreMany passengers and her crew went down with that old canoe;They all went down to never rise no more.- Down with the
an occult memory system (a system mysteriously of the memory)
an occult memory system, 2007new video by m swiezynski with music by richard skelton on bowed guitar and stuart green on concertina(all titles from francis amelia yates' the art of memory)shot in the blue ridge mountains, north carolina using high definition technology, nd + red filters and a vehicle.this is film #5 of a planned 8 film project for the year of 2007 (3 more to go)
hospitals
Now for my life, it is a miracle of thirty yeares, which to relate, were not a History, but a peece of Poetry, and would sound to common eares like a fable; for the world, I count it not an Inne, but an Hospitall, and a place, not to live, but to die in. The world that I regard is my selfe, it is the Microcosme of mine owne frame, that I cast mine eye on; for the other, I use it but like my Globe
a love for girls and animals and plants
After his failure to establish himself even marginally in regular employment (Peter Altenberg) drifted ever more to the periphery of polite society. By 1920 he was living in a tiny room at the Hotel London, an establishment which was little different from a brothel, on Wallnerstrasse. There he stayed for more than a decade, building up a fabled collection of picture postcards and nude pinups with
some alchemists, by facilities, came to observe these intentions (metaphysical) like the true alignment of the alchemy
steve roden, surface shifts, 2005 (aka car drawings)(post inspired by recent performances in los angeles at the hammer musuem: steve roden & william basinski)steve roden(alchemy was known as the spagyric art after the greek words meaning to separate and to join together, or: some sublime cds i have been listening to):-amnesia (live in berlin, 2004)-one stone. and arcs and ears.-9-sided room-ear/
allusions
'To Die No More' : That we have not found anything to cope with death after the passing of the Christian concept of it. THIS VOID allows for anything.Blind Pony Lake: An area named after the Blind Pony Community that once lived there - - : Poor freed slaves that settled there after the Civil War and farmed with blind horses, because they could buy them for little money.hp/km
Margaret, are you grievingOver Goldengrove unleaving?Leaves, like the things of man, youWith your fresh thoughts care for, can you?Ah! as the heart grows olderIt will come to such sights colderBy and by, nor spare a sighThough worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;And yet you will weep and know why.Now no matter, child, the name:Sorrow's springs are the same.Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressedWhat
i reduction to sleep (a broken consort)
work by louise skelton & richard skelton(sustain-release)music by richard skelton:( )= moniker name-(a broken consort) box of birch, 2007barbed wire blues, berkmanan and j f glidden.bowed metallic figures suspended from ivied trees.dense thickets of slack, rusted snares and splitting bark.accordion mists gathering in the early morning light.-(riftmusic) riftmusic, 2007iridescent blues. a slow
the secret of shadows (from francis a. yates)
(please click images to make them bigger)new film finished (35 minutes!) and available soon on dvd. look for it in fine establishments dealing in smut and iniquities.soundtrack: the gentle sound of rainimages: inspired by tarkovsky's driving sequence in solaris
hour almost close eye one glass side other looked
to be looked at (from the other side of the glass) with one eye, close to, for almost an hourbuenos aires 1918 (moma)(please forgive my recent inactivity on the l'oscillation de la chèvre aveugle [aka the (bl)ind(o)scillating(g)oat],i have been: out of town/working on some films/uninspired with watching film and overly inspired with breathing [like duchamp's "breather"]/and finally, working too
à l'infinitif
frontbackmarcel duchamp à l'infinitif published by the typosophic society with typotranslation by richard hamilton and ecke bonk of marcel duchamp's white box (1967)(another great texas find)images of the original edition:some duchamp books:-marcel duchamp: the box in a valise, de ou par marcel duchamp ou rrose selavy, rizzoli by ecke bonk-joseph cornell/marcel duchamp...in resonance, hatje cantz
l'eau et gaz
recent trip to austin and houstonlora reynolds gallery, austin:stephen vitiello speaker drawings 2006+ his amazing sound work dolly ascendingsteve roden four words for four hands (apples.mountains.over.frozen.) 16mm filmde menil collection, houston:yves kleinrothko chapelde menil collection, after a rainfalljames turrell: quaker meeting house in the heights, houston:(all thanks to diane granahan,
k.
Not long before his death he said that he had been exiled from Canaan for forty years, and even the community which he sometimes longed for was basically suspect to him; he wanted only to dissolve away by himself, as the water runs into the sea.
last walks
"In his boundless helplessness,Walser never lacked the strengthto keep silent."- Roberto Calasso
JOKE : "A patient in a large hospital room with many beds complains to the doctor about the constant noise and cries other patients are making, which are driving him crazy. After the doctor replies that nothing can be done if the patients are like that, that one cannot forbid them from expressing their despair since they all know they are dying, the patient goes on: 'Why don't you put them in a
abstractions, monochromes and minimalism, part 3 (music & drone related)
erik satiela monte young: the well-tune pianoperformance space for luigi nono's prometeo, architect: renzo pianothe classical library of theartofmemory contributor arthur de eriomém.a more up-to-date list here.john luther adams-in the white silencebéla bartók-mikrokosmos-bartok plays bartok: bartok at the piano 1929-41-44 duos for two violins-complete string quartets (quatuor végh)benjamin
Amid the nervous chatter of the figures, the Medusa-like character of life emerges from the shadows: What is senseless, enigmatic, solitary, the deaf and lifeless misunderstanding between those who love; the dark conscience, as of a fault committed; the presentiment at dawn of escaped infinities; and the many things that fall like frost and rust on overly refined souls.- Hugo von Hofmannsthal
masks
Iron bones, which contain the noblest marrow, can be won only by the common bite of all dogs.- Franz Kafka
joseph-nicéphore niepce (physicien et photographe français 1765-1833)
paysage architectural à saint-loup-de-varennes, vers 1826the first photograph(from a camera obscura, eight hour exposure)the university of texas at austinfound looking through the amazing centre georges pompidou catalogue images et imaginaires d'architecture: dessin, peinture, photographie, arts graphiques, théâtre, cinéma en europe aux XIXe et XXe siècles, 1984
some soft moments from twin peaks, volume II (the white lodge, the black lodge)
(bleary, blurred, dim, distorted, faint, foggy, hazy, ill-defined, indefinite, indistinct, misty, muffled, murky, obscure, shadowy, unclear, unfocused, vague)for more images, see full set
That'll cause tears to fall
It rained, it poured, it rained so hard,It rained so hard all day,That all the boys in our schoolCame out to toss and play.They tossed a ball again so high,Then again, so low;They tossed it into a flower gardenWhere no-one was allowed to go.Up stepped a gypsy lady,All dressed in yellow and green;"Come in, come in, my pretty little boy,And get your ball again.""I can't come in, I shan't come
eastern promises
david cronenberg: eastern promises, 2007cinematography by peter suschitzky (a history of violence, spider, existenz, crash)(my apologies to mr. cronenberg for not having included him in this artofmemory survey, he has always been one of my favourite filmmakers, and this new film is certainly one of his best, a truly beautiful, disturbing and complicated work. a teacher in school once remarked
last houses
Inside Sir Richard Burton's mausoleum.'Burton, disguised as an Afghani, made the pilgrimageto the holy cities of Arabia; his voice begged the Lordto deny his bones and skin...'- Borges
this invisible art of memory
this invisible art of memory, 2007new hd video by m swiezynski (magic hour number 1)all titles from frances amelia yates' fine book (soon to be distributed by joseph l'écureuil limité with offices in le havre france)
dreyer
Every dead person is a vampire, the unloved ones excepted.Friedrich Hebbel, Diary of Jan. 31, 1831
last walks
from ANNA KARENINA:shameful and unforgivable: not keeping up with the pace of the horse, he let himself down into the saddle, and all at once his position shifted and he realized that something terrible had happened...Vronsky was touching the ground with one foot, and his horse was sinking on that foot. He barely managed to free his foot, when she fell on her side, snorting harshly, and, making
last walks
Elizabeth von Wittelsbach, Empress of Austria, suffered from a phobia of being looked at. (She always hid from stares behind fans, parasols, and flight.) Her assassin stuck an ice pick in her heart without looking at her. Had she died amid lace under canopies, the doctor would have made her suffer much more by looking into her face.- Guido Ceronetti
illshapen or black or deranged, fugitive of all order, strangers in everyland
m swiezynski (regency san francisco)with new music, from the collection of arthur de eriomém-david sylvian: when loud weather buffeted naoshima, samadhisound 2007with clive bell, christian fennesz, arve henriksen, akira rabelais, and david sylvian-ov: noctilucent valleys, soft abuse 2007with christine boepple & loren chasse-guiseppe ielasi: august, 12k 2007-m83: digital shades vol. 1, m83 2007-
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,Ob sie mich für gestorben hält,Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel,Und ruh' in einem stillen Gebiet!Ich leb' allein in
seventies cinema, (there is abundent evidence)
the following 10 entries are some basic lists of american films from the seventies.these lists are mostly films i enjoy watching, and films i have wanted to see, with a bit of an attempt to mention more obscure classics. it is not a complete list.i plan on adding to this list as i see more (and i surely have forgotten some).in addition, an attempt (though not thorough) has been made to list many
1970, to ask me to quit drinking, quit gambling and save money?
-mash (d. robert altman)-brewster mccloud (d. robert altman)-the landlord (d. hal ashby)-joe (d. john g. avildsen) with peter boyle*husbands (d. john cassavetes)-the rebel rousers (d. martin b. cohen) with harry dean stanton-crimes of the future (d. david cronenberg) canadian, but good-they call me mr. tibbs! (d. gordon douglas)-zorn's lemma (d. hollis frampton)*serene velocity (d. ernie gehr)*
1971, if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his arse so much, follow me?
-bananas (d. woody allen)*mccabe & mrs. miller (d. robert altman) cinematography by vilmos zsigmond*little murders (d. alan arkin) elliott gould photographs dog shizer, cinematography by the great gordon willis*harold and maude (d. hal ashby) cinematography by john a. alonzo*the last picture show (d. peter bogdanovich) with timothy bottoms, jeff bridges, cybill shepherd, ben johnson, randy quaid
1972, it's a sicilian message, it means luca brasi swims with the fishes
-everything you aways wanted to know about sex * but were afraid to ask (d. woody allen)-images (d. robert altman)-lucifer rising (d. kenneth anger)*tomorrow (d. joseph anthony) with robert duvall*bad company (d. robert benton) with jeff bridges and john savage, cinematography by gordon willis*what's up, doc? (d. peter bogdanovich) with randy quaid and m. emmet walsh, cinematography by lászló
1973, get out of my place i know your face
-sleeper (d. woody allen)*the long goodbye (d. robert altman) with elliot gould and sterling hayden, cinematography by vilmos zsigmond*the last detail (d. hal ashby) with randy quaid and michael chapman as taxi driver, cinematography by michael chapman*save the tiger (d. john g. avildsen) with jack lemmon*paper moon (d. peter bogdanovich) cinematography by lászló kovács-the horse (d. charles
1974, since when did william p. moran of detroit michigan become preeminent in the field?
-thieves like us (d. robert altman)*california split (d. robert altman) with elliot gould and george segal-8 1/2 x 11 (d. james benning)-daisy miller (d. peter bogdanovich)-the text of light (d. stan brakhage)-dark star (d. john carpenter)*a women under the influence (d. john cassavetes)*thunderbolt and lightfoot (d. michael cimino) with clint eastwood, jeff bridges and gary busey*the
1975, well, reckon we got enough cattle in there to fill that damn truck
*love and death (d. woody allen)*nashville (d. robert altman)*the passenger (d. michelangelo antonioni) not really american, but starring jack nicholson*shampoo (d. hal ashby) cinematography by lászló kovács-at long last love (d. peter bogdanovich)*white heart (d. daniel barnett)-capone (d. steve carver) with ben gazzara and john cassavetes*shivers (d. david cronenberg) a.k.a. they came from
1976, how's your driving record?... it's clean, it's real clean, like my conscience
-buffalo bill and the indians, or sitting bull's history lesson (d. robert altman)*bound for glory (d. hal ashby) cinematography by haskell wexler-nickelodeon (d. peter bogdanovich)*assault on precinct 13 (d. john carpenter)*the killing of a chinese bookie (d. john cassavetes) with ben gazzara, timothy carey and seymour cassel*take the 5:10 to dreamland (d. bruce conner)*the outlaw josey wales (d
1977, in heaven, everything is fine. in heaven, everything is fine. you've got your good things. and i've got mine.
*news from home (d. chantal akerman) nyc film, cinematography by babette mangolte*annie hall (d. woddy allen) cinematography by gordon willis-3 women (d. robert altman)-11 x 14 (d. james benning)*the late show (d. robert benton) with art carney and lily tomlin*killer of sheep (d. charles burnett)*opening night (d. john cassavetes)-valse triste (d. bruce conner)*rabid (d. david cronenberg) not
1978, nostrovia!
-interiors (d. woody allen) cnematography by gordon willis-a wedding (d. robert altman)-coming home (d. hal ashby) cinematography by haskell wexler-halloween (d. john carpenter)*the deer hunter (d. michael cimino) with john cazale, christopher walken, john savage, robert de niro and meryl streep, cinematography by vilmos zsigmond-the fury (d. brian de palma) with john cassavetes-renaldo and clara
1979, at present, there's no indication of any violence
-manhattan (d. woody allen) cinematography by gordon willis-being there (d. hal ashby)-oklahoma (d. james benning)-saint jack (d. peter bogdanovich) with ben gazzara, cinematography by robby müller*the china syndrome (d. james bridges) with jack lemmon-an evening at home (d. gail camhi)*apocalypse now (d. francis ford coppola)-fast company (d. david cronenberg) not american, but good*the brood (d
intended to be used for making inscriptions in memory
new film by m swiezynski, 2007(shot at eno river, nc, sound by m swiezynski)ready soon for distribution by joe squirrel production company ltd. with offices in bakersfield, fresno and piedmont california, please contact for more information
elephant, some things just stick in your mind
young man gunned down out of focusgus van sant editing elephantimages from gus van sant's elephant, 2003cinematography by harris savides (with work like this, who needs contemporary popular photography?)editing by gus van santsound design by leslie shatz with beethoven’s "für elise" & additional sound by hildegard westerkampthe most beautiful film so far of the 21st century?beauty and chaos......
at last a new dawn, three rooms, cello recycling/cello drowning & breizhiselad described by paul celan
musical examples of melancholia and the divine:peter wright: at last a new dawn, 2007 * "peter wright plays disconnected avant guitar gloop distilled through a series of electronic filters and single malt, heavily influenced by guitar pop, free jazz/improv, atonal guitar noise, cats and city trash.. he was born at 43.3170s, 172.6330e and currently lives at 51.4450n, 0.1510w.(some) influences:
la pianiste II, twilight of the mind
isabelle huppert on adorno on schumann's fantasie in c majormichael haneke: la pianiste 2001
la pianiste
michael haneke: la pianiste 2001cinematography christian berger starring isabelle huppertspecial effects coordinator: lászló kovácsother haneke/berger films:-caché 2005-71 fragmente einer chronologie des aufalls (71 fragments of a chronology of chance) 1994-benny's video 1992"god can thank bach because bach is the proof of the existence of god" isabelle huppert
quelques chiens, quelques canards et quelques grenouilles
abbas kiarostami: five dedicated to ozu 2003dogs episode: abstraction from gradual overexposure (annihilation), with the subtle sound of waves."this (everything moving towards an absolute brightness) suggests eternity, birth, life, and resurrection" kiarostamiducks episode: 800 ducks pass by the camera (the best kind of direction a director can achieve) with the sound of their feet producing a
winter house
"My dear friend, what is this our life? A boat that swims in the sea, and all one knows for certain about it is that one day it will capsize. Here we are, two good old boats that have been faithful neighbors, and above all your hand has done its best to keep me from "capsizing"! Let us then continue our voyage—each for the other's sake, for a long time yet, a long time! We should miss each other
which he distorted by decorating with images
new video out by m swiezynski(number one in a series of 10/12 items due on dvd in 4-8 weeks)((including:train films, magic hour films, animals & nature films and studiesof weather, not good in any manner))(for more information, please contact mr. arthur o. memory esquire, booking agent and purveyor of iniquities)ps. if watching film on youtube (with very bad image quality), headphones recommended
flug (flight)
photos by sharon harper of train travel in germany(you can see my excitement in finding these)
of mirrors and of the labyrinth
from with borges (by alberto manguel):two nightmares haunted borges throughout his life: of mirrors and of the labyrinth. the labyrinth, first discovered as a child in a copperplate engraving of the seven wonders of the world, made him fear 'a house with no doors' in whose centre a monster awaited him; mirrors terrified him with the suspicion that one day they would reflect back a face that was
love-melancholy
in the precedent section mention was made, amongst other pleasant objects, of this comeliness and beauty which proceeds from women, that causeth heroical, or love-melancholy, is more eminent above the rest, and properly called love. the part affected in men is the liver, and therefore called heroical, because commonly gallants, nobleman, and the most generous spirits are possessed with it. his
melancholia, music, books, film & the sound of duchamp's large glass
(some nice business that has come my way)vikki jackman: of beauty reminiscingasher: the depths, the colors, the objects & the silence****music****-larsen and friends: abeceda (with david tibet, jòhann jòhannsson, baby dee, and the amazing julia kent)2007 important(a great band and performance, especially the lovely cello playing of julia kent)-jgrzinich / mnortham: the absurd evidence1998
some flares, flickers and circles of confusion from the killing of a chinese bookie (long version)
(flicker) (flicker)(flicker)(flicker)(flicker, this whole sequence looks like tony conrad shot it)(looks like cassavetes)(flicker)john cassavetes: the killing of a chinese bookie, 1976 (long version)cinematography: john cassavetes, al ruban, mitch breit, frederick elmesthese are abstractions from the killing of a chinese bookie, purely from the lens/camera.i found from doing this entry; to
hopelessness of not being able to die
before the storm:(fade to red)it is early in the morning and i am in pain (cinematography by sven nykvist)i was asked to look for some frames from ingmar bergman's cries and whispers (1972) that illustrate kierkegaard's hopelessness of not even being able to die* for a ghostly observer of the art of memory (zeyno dagli) who is writing her phd-thesis on death, dying and suffering.here are a few...
camera lucida & lightstreams, jouissance
the meaning of mystery is to be always in ambiguity, with double, triple aspects; in the hints of aspects (images in images), forms which will be, or which become according to the state of mind of the beholder. all things become more suggestive because they appear.odilon redon (from as in a dream: odilon redon)this entry looks at the work of 3 contemporary artists working in filmic abstractions,
the place where they came to grief
"But I always found what Alphonso told us at that time about the life and death of moths especially memorable, and of all creatures I still feel the greatest awe for them. In the warmer month of the year one or other of those nocturnal insects quite often strays indoors from the small garden behind my house. When I get up early in the morning, I find them clinging to the wall, motionless. I
bergman on bergman
ingmar bergman: the silence, 1963from bergman on bergman: interviews with ingmar bergman:it's of no interest, perhaps, but yesterday evening i was reflecting on the origins of the silence. i can no longer lay my hands on the work-books for it, i don't know what i've done with them- but i remember that it was about christmas time, and that the silence, just like winter light, began with a piece of
la région centrale, the great religious work
michael snow, la région centrale 1971 some ideas found in the michael snow project: the collected writings of michael snow, wilfred laurier university press, 1994:the camera is an instrument which has expressive possibilities in itself. i want to make a gigantic landscape film equal in terms to the great landscape paintings of cezanne, poussin, corot, monet, matisse and in canada the group of
keith berry & distant melodies
58º north dvd, images by iain stewart & sound by keith berry(excerpt here)keith berry and the beauty of distant melodiessome ideas on "distant melodies":1. being in a museum at night, with no light, standing in front of a leonardo da vinci, only barely able to make anything out, just some dark colors and shapes.2. being on a ship at night, in the middle of the ocean, knowing you are surrounded by
he couldn't resist the opportunity to get back in the big time
billy wilder's ace in the hole, 1951(aka the big carnival)with kirk douglas, cinematography by charles langother great kirk douglas films i have watched lately:-lonely are the brave, 1962 (d. david miller)(a sad good bye to the west)-paths of glory, 1957 (d. stanley kubrick)-man without a star, 1955 (d. king vidor)-out of the past, 1947 (d. jacques tourneur)title (above) from kirk douglas in his
no country for old men
no country for old men (d. coen brothers)some movies i am looking forward to seeing:-paranoid park (d. gus van sant)-izgnanie (d. andrei zvyagintsev)-climates (d. nuri bilge ceylan)-4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (d. cristian mungiu)-the man from london (d. béla tarr)-no country for old men (d. coen brothers)-one hundred nails (d. ermanno olmi)-aleksandra (d. aleksandr sokurov)-secret sunshine (d.
serra, photographer of the sun
images from the richard serra exhibition at the moma, nyc.enjoyment from looking very close at these sublime abstractions, inspired by the tales of dostoevsky getting close to paintings by standing on a chair.do people look or talk about these work's rich surfaces?a great study of serra's work would be to make an imaginary grid on the surface of one sculpture, and photograph each square foot (for
other abstractions of the sun, at the moma
dorothea rockburne: scalar 1971 (details) moma(through a glass darkly)guillermo kuitca: untitled 1992 (details) momamarcel duchamp: network of stoppages, 1914 (detail) momajoan miro: the birth of the world, 1925 (details) momajean dubuffet: soul of the underground from the series materiologies, december 1959 (details) momafranz kline: chief, 1950 (detail) momadonald judd: relief, 1961 (detail)
lovely sadistic appearances
strother martin in john huston's the asphalt jungle, 1950, in his second film appearance (uncredited)i didn't realize this was strother martin, the classic sadist, until i did an image search on him the other day.one of my favourite actors, making lovely sadistic appearances in:john ford's the man who shot liberty valance 1962stuart rosenberg's cool hand luke 1967, and pocket money 1972"what we
music, melancholia
more encounters with musical melancholia:(just a list of some things i have heard lately)lou reed: hudson river wind meditations, 2007for melancholic yogalou reed: berlin, the bed, sad song, and the kids from berlin, 1973jason lescalleet: the pilgrimhomage to lescalleet's father that passed away from cancerdavid lang: the passing measures, 2001bass communion: ghosts on magnetic tape, 2004"
tour de l'apocalypse
robert garcet's tower of the apocalypseimage from: fantastic architecture: personal and eccentric visions, 1980 harry abramstext from the book:born in 1912, robert garcet is a stonecutter by profession. around 1930, he settled in fort ebenemael, belgium, building a house there, then a workshop. in the early fifties, he began the tour de l'apocalypse. garcet sees the church as the cause of today's
dead souls, light, sound, rain, and dogs
......which it was difficult to make out in the darkness. only half of it was lit by the light coming from the windows; also visible was a puddle in front of the house, which was stuck directly by the same light. rain beat noisily on the wooden roof and poured in burbling streams into the rain barrel. meanwhile the dogs went off into all possible voices: one, his head thrown back, howled so
new music, here and there
some new music i picked up, and many discs i heard while traveling through the wilds of north carolina, from my two knowledgeable tour guides.new arrivals (chartier, jgrzinich, roden and basinski):richard chartier + asmus tietchens: fabrications such delicate handling and transforming of asmus tietchens' sound work by richard chartier. much like the cover's image by chartier, the listener moves
abstraction of trees, mondrian
landzicht farm under bluish-grey sky, 1905geinrust farm in watery landscape, 1905-1906the grey tree, 1911composition 10 in black and white, 1915the classic book: piet mondrian: catalogue raisonné by joop joosten and robert welsh, abrams 1996(this is research for a video featuring north carolina trees, some big, some small, all put through the alembic of my camera. i asked old mondrian to help out
yasujiro ozu - hitokomakura & one stone. and arcs and ears.
2 recent releases of sound artists dealing with "transcendental" filmmakers (ozu & bresson).yasujiro ozu:and/oar's 2 cd set: yasujiro ozu - hitokomakuraand/oar has invited sound artists to choose one or more "pillow shots" from ozu's films and create sound works.and/oar goes on to explain: "pillow shots" are short poetic pauses that appear between the acting segments of his films. the term "
edward hopper
east river 1920-23the sheridan theatre 1937new york movie 1939r3017 r3170i have been drooling over the edward hopper catalogue raisonné now for a while (it is $250.00). since i can't afford it, i look at it from time to time at work. here are some images from volume IV, the cd-rom of his works, including his journals.a great book on hopper's journals/notebooks is: edward hopper: a journal of
fritz arno wagner, cinematographer & 13 stills from mabuse
fritz arno wagner (1894-1958)key cinematographer of the german expressionist movement, wagner worked most notable with directors f.w. murnau, g.w. pabst and fritz lang. wagner received his training from the academy of fine arts in paris, then went on to work at pathe film company as a clerk.his most noteworthy contributions can be seen in murnau's nosferatu, pabst's die liebe der jeanne ney and
dreaming out of windows
joseph cornell's dreamsdecember 18, 1965:dreaming out of windowsmarch 8, 1968:surprise span of the night - going on 5 amvs. earlier awakenings in halluc. experience...eggs + nest converted into childrennovember 15, 1969:field mousedream of mouselive coals walking right into them unscathednew book of catherine corman's anthology of dream entries from cornell's diaries, published by exact change of
antonio lópez garcía, from la mancha
maria, 1972, pencil on paperhome of antonio lópez torres (uncle), 1972-75, pencil on paper2 drawings by antonio lópez garcía, painter from la manchasome fine sites to cogitate on:tim lowly siteantonio lópez garcía: timeless realism in a spanish key(which has this quote from lópez garcía: "the best art of [antiquity] achieves an emotional intensity that transcends individual achievement, its
bright lights of moscow stations flashing into view and vanishing again behind me
i was on a train, travelling by day, but it was winter-time - late december, the very depths - and to add to it the train was heading north - to leningrad - so it was quickly darkening on the other side of the windows - bright lights of moscow stations flashing into view and vanishing again behind me like the scattering of some invisible hand - each snow-veiled suburban platform with its fleeting
extract - portraits of soundartists
new release from nonvisualobjectsformat: book (hardcover, 96 pages) + 2 cdslimited edition: 500graphic design my raphael mosercd 101 keith berry | finger pointing at the moon02 richard chartier | a field for recordings 203 taylor deupree | live in osaka04 heribert friedl | nbvto05 richard garet | précis06 andy graydon | microclimates for paliku07 bernhard günter | listen to what you see (audio---
having replied with his "good evening", he became surpised at himself
many fine books on melancholia,that i look forward to browsing when visiting the home of mr. arthur de eriomémtitle from f. dostoevsky: the eternal husband 1870 (page 154 pevear/volokhonsky)
prehistoric architecture in the eastern united states
page 75, perkins: scott, mississippiprehistoric architecture in the eastern united states by william n. morgan, 1980 mit pressgreat book on pre-land art structures in the united states, specifically native american architecture from about 2200 bc to ad 1500.
the essential cinema, condensed
top 30 from the essential cinema list1. robert bresson: pickpocket 19592. andrei tarkovsky: andrei rublev 19693. akira kurosawa: seven samurai 19544. michael snow: la région centrale 19715. ernie gehr: signal-germany on the air 1982-856. jean-pierre melville: le samouraï 19677. john ford: my darling clementine 19468. william wellman: the ox-bow incident 19439. bela tarr: satantango 199410. howard
the tin star
an exciting opening sequence found in anthony mann's the tin star, 1957.masterfully photographed by loyal griggs.the sequence is 10 shots over 2 minutes and thirty seconds. henry fonda as a bounty hunter rides into town with a dead man.reminiscent of tarkovsky, or the ending of the passenger, but with less attention to its form.also, take a look at this months film comment for an interesting
prouvé in queens
jean prouvé house beside the queensboro bridge, awaiting its sale at christie's.more images here
the dark side of nature
some nice books to read during the summer or just finished:-fyodor dostoevsky, the idiot 1898 (everyman's library)-konstantin mochulsky, dostoevsky: his life and work 1967 (princeton)-leonid tsypkin, summer in baden-baden 1981 (new directions)-robert walser, selected stories 1907-1929 (nyrb)-francis ponge, selected poems 1935-1974 (faber and faber)-george macdonald, the complete fairy tales mid
parker 51 & chopin
some beautiful things (shot in soft focus like garbo)parker 51sparker 51 ink montblanc meisterstück hommage à frédéric chopin
owen roizman, cinematographer
owen roizman (1936-)one of the most respected new york cinematographers (born in brooklyn) and son of a newsreel cameraman. known for his street realism, and low-light photography on such films as the french connection, the taking of pelham one two three, the exorcist, three days of the condor and straight time. certainly one of the finest contributors to seventies cinema.the french connection
killer of sheep
photographic additions to my essential cinema list.charles burnett's killer of sheep, 1977.my teachers in film school were obsessed with this film and showed it at least once a semester. it is certainly a classic in american cinema, surely in the same league as the work of john cassavetes. now hopefully this and shirley clarke's the connection and the cool world will make it to dvd.
remember the red river valley, or dogs in the ox-bow incident
the opening and closing shot of william wellman's the oxbow-incident, 1942, each with trotting dog and the song red river valley.riders are henry fonda and harry morgan.a nice structural touch to have the 2 riders going into town (at the beginning of the film), and leaving town (at the end of the film), with the same melody from red river valley, but the dog added a strange element. reminiscent
en état d'ivresse
a new (bl)ind (o)scillating (g)oat named dipsomania. the french call him dipsomane.this goat plans to dedicate his/her life to the study of alcohol and its effects on cinema, literature, art and design. other posts will include studies of fine spirits, words related to, and interesting products.
paul klee, une dévotion aux petites choses
highways and byways, 1929twittering machine. 1922view of ancient city, 1927books:-paul klee et la nature de l'art: une dévotion aux petites choses, hazan/les musées de strasbourg (exhibition catalogue)-klee by nello ponente, skira-klee drawings, dover publications-paul klee: painting music by hajo duchting, prestel-paul klee and the bauhaus by christian geelhaar, new york graphic society ltd.-
munch in louisiana
edvard munch jealousy 1896recently acquired exhibition poster from an edvard munch exhibition at the louisiana museum in denmark.purchased from richard press in sacramento, my favourite bookseller in northern california.
richard serra
richard serra sculpture: forty yearsnew richard serra catalogue available, and moma exhibition soon......richard serra sculpture: forty yearsjune 3–september 10, 2007, moma new york
killing in tarkovsky & kurosawa
similarities between andrei tarkovsky'sandrei rublev, 1966& akira kurosawa's seven samurai 1954andrei tarkovsky andrei rublev, 1966rublev's assistant is shot in the back by an arrow and struggles toward the camera, then dies in the water. all in slow motion. notice water hitting the lense.akira kurosawa seven samurai 1954two classic death scenes in seven samurai. first, a thief is killed by
that my memory is broken, i do not wonder
i have examined maps of the city with the greatest care, yet have never again found rue d'auseil. these maps have not been modern maps alone, for i know that names change. i have, on the contrary, delved deeply into all the antiquities of the place; and have personally explored every region, of whatever name, which could possibly answer to the street i knew as the rue d'auseil. but despite all i
magic hour series, or liminality
(location shots for the magic hour series, pre-abstraction images)work has finally begun on the magic hour series,a planned 6-9 month series of hd videos photographed mainly in pastoral locations (with some urban) around northern california and north carolina.these works will all be photographed 20-30 minutes prior to sunset and diminish into the darkness of the night.(sound will be recorded
visions of the divine
m swiezynski st francis 2005(a small list of artists interested in the divine)f=film, m=music , b=books1 (f). the work of robert bresson.esp. diary of a country priest 1951, au hazard balthazar 1966, mouchette 1967.see: robert bresson: a spiritual style by joseph cunneen, transcendental style in film by paul shrader, the hidden god: film and faith by the moma2 (m). current 93: black ships ate
emma kunz
images from emma kunzbooks:-3x abstraction: new methods of drawing-hilma af klint, emma kunz, and agnes martin, yale & the drawing center new york.-emma kunz - artist, researcher, natural healer, emma kunz zentrum.
films as if they were vegetable gardens
images of water in nostalghia 1983, andrei tarkovsky.one doesn't need to explain in film, but rather to directly affect the feelings of the audience. it is this awakened emotion that then drives the thoughts forward. i am seeking a principle of montage that will allow me to expose the subjective logic-the thought, the dream, the memory-instead of the logic of the subject. page 11he (dovzhenko)
h3o, or how to slice a loaf of bread
works by the hafler trio (one andrew mckenzie).including lovely drones, provocative texts and graphic design.-the sea org 1986, touch (re-release 2006 korm plastics)-intoutof 1988, kk (re-release 1998 soleilmoon recordings)-kill the king 1992, touch (re-release 2005 korm plastics)-mastery of money 1992, touch (re-release 2005 korm plastics)-all that rises must converge 1992, touch-resurrection (
after long silence
speech after long silence; it is right,all other lovers being estranged or dead,unfriendly lamplight hid under its shade,the curtains drawn upon unfriendly night,that we descant and yet again descantupon the supreme theme of art and song:bodily decrepitude is wisdom; youngwe loved each other and were ignorant.w.b. yeats from words for music perhaps, 1932.to hear jorge luis borges read this, take
recent descents into melancholia
(music-wise)maurizio bianchi & jozef van wissem: das platinzeitalterwilliam basinski: shortwave musicearth: hibernaculumarve henriksen (with helge sten & stale storlokken): strjoniron & wine: worksjóhann jóhannsson: ibm 1401, a user´s manual (esp. the track: the suns gone dim and the sky's turned black)roy orbison: best of earth: hibernaculum maurizio bianchi & jozef van wissem: das
some flickers from saul levine & ken jacobs
saul levine: light lick series, 2000-2003, super 8 films.get it while you canget it while you canget it while you canget it while you cani saw the light, praise the darki saw the light, praise the dark (with beautiful references to the bauhaus)i saw the light, praise the darki saw the light, praise the darki saw the light, praise the darkamazing gracedetourdetourdetourdetourdetourborn under a bad
the duck of death*
rain in the films martin and unforgiven.martin, 1977 directed by george a. romero, cinematography by michael gornick.great rain montage between the bizarre murders committed by the (possible) vampire.this section and others really stood out and gave the film the feeling of an european art-house film, which i found to go nice with the senseless murdering. the ending of michelangelo antonioni's
wonderous and divine (of or pertaining to a god, esp. the supreme being)
"he would pull these songs out of nowhere," robbie robertson said. "we didn't know if he wrote them or if he remembered them. when he sang them, you couldn't tell." that, in the basement tapes laboratory, is the alchemy, and in that alchemy is an undiscovered country, like the purloined letter hiding in plain site.from greil marcus', the old, weird america: the world of bob dylan's basement tapes
lenz, darkness had fallen
m. swiezynski..........grey clouds marched across the sky, but everything so close, and then the mist came swirling up and drifted dank and heavy through the bushes, so leaden, so sluggish....................and the mist devoured the shape of things then half revealed their giant limbs; the surge swept through him, he sought for something, as though for lost dreams, but he found nothing..........
following the ring
milos forman: loves of a blonde, 1965joseph cornell rose hobart, 1936milos forman: loves of a blonde, 1965sequence where married man looking to meet young girl, takes off his ring, puts it in his pocket, but then it falls out as he is talking with her and he follows it under a table.i watched this sequence over and over this weekend, much of the appeal for me was the music forman used. it added
cosmos, κόσμος
hubble image, carina nebulathe ancient and medieval cosmos as depicted in peter apian's cosmographia (antwerp, 1539).or, nebula & hubble
cossacks are
'a moving aria for a vanishing style of mind''a noble debut trackling vertiginous demands''has absence ever sounded so eloquent so sad i doubt it?with an arm across the torsoface on the nailswith an arm across the torsoface on the pale monkey nails'touching in the shattered lives it unearths''a nocturne filled with glorious ideas''a chilling exploration of erotic consumption'with an arm across
you cracked like the ice general nobile
krasnaya palatka (the red tent) 1969, directed by mikheil kalatozishvili, cinematography by leonid kalashnikov, music by ennio morricone & aleksandr zatsepin.a flawed film, but worth watching. the highlights being: peter finch's performance, the stunning cinematography by leonid kalashnikov, and the music, which at times is quite frightening, and of course the beautiful land(snow)scape
being an eye for nothing
bunkers & fog in marin, images from last year"to be a cinematographer of nothing, to express its own impossibility? to imagine one being an eye for nothing, an eye for the impossibility demand such vulnerability at times. maybe cursed and blessed at the same time" z, kafka's ghost
la mélancolie et le christ mort
hans holbein the body of the dead christ in the tomb 1521andrea mantegna the lamentation over the dead christ c. 1490dostoyevsky said after viewing hans holbein's the body of the dead christ in the tomb, one might lose their faith and proceeded to write the idiot. that holbein's painting was so visceral then (and still is), is quite wonderful.paintings of - beauty, melancholia, love and
nothingness
i know nothing about nothingness 4/17/2007the deeper you go, the more you get lost (both quotes from mekas)
it is a grimy establishment with some dusty trade goods....
photographs of conté and ink drawings done by the late mister futterman, or m. swiezynski.(photos of conté drawings):(night time photographs of an oed definition written with a mont blanc on a small paper and submerged in water):more info here and here.
and the bells were ringing
virgil caine is the name,and i served on the danville train,'til stoneman's cavalrycame and tore up the tracks again.in the winter of '65,we were hungry, just barely alive.by may the tenth, richmond had fell,it's a time I remember, oh so well,the night they drove old dixie down,and the bells were ringing,the night they drove old dixie down,and the people were singin'.they wentla, la, la, la, la,
generated most commonly through either thermal convection or frontal lifting
cloud imagesi gave up my lucrative career as a cloud photographer to be an antiquarian, which i regret now. but here are some of my previous studies that were published in numerous scientific magazines and periodicals, mainly in the fine french journal ivrogne (soûlard, alcoolique).
beauty, chaos and destruction from dassin
more images from brute force, 1947 directed by jules dassin cinematography by william h. daniels.chaosbeauty; passing lightda vinci, durer, bosch and bruegel destructiontrue chaosother great prison films:-the big house 1930 (d. george hill)-un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou le vent souffle où il veut 1956 (d. robert bresson)-le trou 1960 (d. jacques becker)-cool hand luke 1967 (d. stuart
rain & snow.......daniels & zsigmond
2 cinematographers and their use of water (or weather).-rain in brute force, 1947 directed by jules dassin, cinematography by william h. daniels.the beginning of this classic prison break film by jules dassin has various shots of the building in extreme rain, and sets the tone for the rest of the film (turbulent and unpredictable).-snow in mccabe & mrs. miller, 1971 directed by robert altman,
monochromes and architecture
monochromes and interior design by david ireland.folded paper landscape, 1973landscape, 1974dirt work with flakes, 1974a portion of: from the year of doing the same work each day,1975waxed cement with hole, 1975capp street, 1986headlands center for the arts, 1986-1987
trains in cinema, woyzeck
woyzeck directed by jános szász, 1994hungarian version of georg büchner's 1837 play woyzeck.instead of a soldier we find woyzeck as a flag man in a train yard in hungary.like bela tarr making a train film, although less minimal.with examples of; smoke, darkness, rain, snow, mud and fog (obscuring the trains and characters that pass by).close up of the tracks as a train passes by in slow motion
catscratchers
preston sturges' unfaithfully yours, 1948one of my favourite parts of unfaithfully yours; the great comic actor lionel stander praises the skills of conductor rex harrison, after his gut-wrenching performance:"flatter you?, compared to the truth i am insulting you, what did you have in your head, what visions of eternity, armageddon, the final battle of the planets in the end of creation, to
....choreograph her teacup to synchronize with her dialogue....
beautiful new things: music:arvo part (paul hillier): da pacem, harmonia mundi.these compositions are just so beautiful.michael cashmore (with antony, john contreros & others): the snow abides (great title), dutro/jnanarecords.another fine cd, especially for those interested in current 93 and antony. it is a shame it is so short.books:interviews with tarkovsky.ozu, by donald richie, univ. of
writing with light
nostalghia 1983 (d. andrei tarkovsky) dp: giuseppe lancia small list of considerations for the cinematographer series.with select filmographies.néstor almendros: domicile conjugal 1970 (d. françois truffaut), le deux anglaises et le continent 1971 (d. françois truffaut), days of heaven 1978 (d. terrence malick), sophie's choice 1982 (d. alan j. pakula).john alonzo: harold and maude 1971 (d. hal
michael chapman, cinematographer & abstractions from raging bull
michael chapman (1935-)new york cinematographer known for starting out as gordon willis' camera operator for the films klute, the godfather and bad company. chapman went on to be the director of photography for many of the classic martin scorsese films: taxi driver, american boy: a profile of steven prince, the last waltz, and raging bull. reading masters of light and listening to chapman's
addendum to the essential cinema
more titles for the essential cinemaamerican mutoscope & biograph co.: the ghost train 1903lloyd bacon (busby berkeley): footlight parade 1933bruce baillee: mr. hayashi 1961, castro street 1964, all my life 1966sarunas bartas: *works (*in memory of a day gone by 1990, *three days 1991, *the corridor 1994, *few of us 1996, *the house 1997, *freedom 2001)frank borzage: moonrise 1948paul burnford:
hymns to the night
endless and full of mysterysweet trembling courses through us-to me it seems an echo soundsout of the deep distance of our grief.our loved ones too may be longing for us,and sent to us this yearning breath.down now to the sweet bride, onto jesus, to the beloved-take heart, evening's darkling greysto the loving, to the grieving.a dream will break our fetters off,and sink us forever in our father's
vladimir g. suchov
images of the work of russian engineer vladimir g. suchov (1853-1939), found in this fine german book published by dva.works:kaufhaus gum in moskau 1889-1893banhofs in moskau 1912-17wasserturm in polibino 1896sabolovko-radioturm in moskau 1919funfstockiger-nigres 1927
jonathan coleclough and andrew liles, torch songs
"»torch songs« is a collaboration between jonathan coleclough and andrew liles. they met in october 2004 when they both performed at intergration 3 in preston, uk. liles subsequently reworked the recording of coleclough's solo performance from that evening. he went on to add, subtract, multiply and divide further live recordings supplied by coleclough, and the eventual result was this double lp.
plants & earth
hugo simberg in the garden of death 1896 max klinger terrace 1879 johann wolfgang von goethe budding, flowering, and branching systems 1786/87 robert rauschenberg dirt painting (for john cage) 1953 & untitled (gold painting) 1953 jean dubuffet la physique du sol (texturologie xxiii) 1958 jean dubuffet vie exemplaire du sol (texturologie lxiii) 1958books:-the painter's garden: design, inspiration,
paris, sf, nyc
pandit pran nath: raga cycle, palace theatre, paris 1972with la monte young & marian zazeela: tambouras, terry riley: tabla.and also,pandit pran nath: midnight, raga malkauns 4 viii 71 sf, 21 viii 76 nycwith terry riley: tabla, ann riley & simone forti: tamboura + k. paramjyoti: tabla, la monte young & marian zazeela: tamboura.two recordings with a quiet intensity, like a cecil taylor played by
manhattan
highlights from recent trip to manhattan.moma:otto piene.untitled (smoke drawing). 1959arnulf rainer.bird scratches. 1968william anastasi.60 minutes. (1987)william anastasi.untitled (11.13.01 wynn kramarsky 14:50). 2001jean dubuffet.soul of the underground. vence, december. 1959andy warhol. empire. 1964 day andy warhol.empire. 1964 eveningrobert rauschenberg.untitled (asheville citizen). c.
rain, landscape and light in ozu's a story of floating weeds, 1934
beautiful images by yasujiro ozu and cinematographer hideo shigehara.
tram serie 1500, 1928
carminati & toselli, breda e altri giovanni cuccoliinteriorin action in milan (piazza cordusio)working in san francisco, having been in milano, and loving trains and italian design, i felt obliged to put these three photos up i found in the book design anonimo in italia, by alberto bassi published by electa.besides the beauty of the trains, they sure do make amazing sounds as well. when i heard
robert maillart......béton armé
(my last post before i go to nyc for a week to see all the vermeers, check out the new moma, and box up 1400 books)nice images from a book i was looking at on the swiss bridge builder/architect robert maillart.the image is "landquartbrucke in klosters, 1930" from the eth catalogue robert maillart: beton virtuose.
trains in cinema, part 1
g.w. "billy" bitzer,c. 1896chantal akerman: les rendez-vous d'anna 1978"anna's world is a fragmented universe of silent train stations and hotel rooms" ica londonamerican mutoscope & biograph co.: ghost train 1903a train roars towards the camera, seen in the negative.ghost train 1903ken annakin: across the bridge 1957nimród antal: *kontroll 2003frederick armitage & a.e. weed: down the hudson
ivanovo detstvo & die große stille
andrei tarkovsky: ivan's childhood 1963tarkovsky said of ivan's childhood:"generally people's memories are coloured by poetry. the most beautiful memories are those of childhood. of course memory has to be worked upon before it can become the basis of an artistic reconstruction of the past; and here it is important not to lose the particular emotional atmosphere without which a memory evoked in
dogs and stairs by terragni
2 images relating to giuseppe terragni, fascist architect.photo by terragninovocomun, como, main staircase, terragni
the naked city & the most dangerous game
realism & artificiality in 2 great american films.watching 2 movies this evening, i found that my favourite part of each film contrasted realism & artificiality.1. realism: the end of the docunoir film the naked city (jules dassin, 1948) where willie garzah runs to his death on the williamsburg bridge, hunted by barry fitzgerald. this film throughout has the grittiness of a neo-realist film, but
robby müller, cinematographer
robby müller (1940-)bio from wim wenders site:"robby mueller was born on april 4th 1940 in villemstad, curacao, on the dutch antilles. he studied at the filmacademy in holland from 1962 to 1964 and started to work as a director of photography soon afterwards".certainly one of the most interesting living cinematographers, he has worked with wim wenders, lars von trier and jim jarmusch among
panopticism
the panopticon is a prison building designed by english philosopher jeremy bentham in the late eighteenth century. the design allows the observer to view all prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not."hence the major effect of the panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of
henwar rodakiewicz, water, light and the mechanized eye
henwar rodakiewicz (1903-1976): portrait of a young man (1925-31), 54 minutes.from the dvd set unseen cinema, the mechanized eye, experiments in technique and form.54 minutes of drifting clouds and smoke, pulsing mechanic devices, abstracted water, and trees and leaves being blown about by the wind.from the wonderful bruce posner's box set unseen cinema.can't seem to find out much about henwar
brice marden
went to the brice marden exhibition at the sfmoma today (3.18.2007)and decided to decorate the pages of the art of memory (b)leating (l)ethargic (o)rnery (g)oat with some of his fine images.
abstractions from la cartomancienne
water sequences from jerome hill's film la cartomancienne / fortune teller, 1932.this film contains 2 sublime abstract water sequences.r. bruce eder explains that the film uses ideas about the transformation of the self that c.g. jung found in alchemical texts. although i find the rest of the film not exactly to my taste, the 2 abstract sequences certainly seem to be fine examples of the
comments on 2 recent videos by m swiezynski
screening at the san francisco cinematheque of 2 videos by matthew swiezynski on february 25, 2007 at the yerba buena center for the arts, san francisco,-rue de vaugirard, 1909, 1998-l'amourphysique, 2005l'amourphysique, 2005here are the comments made by curator charles boone:matthew swiezynski's work is an ongoing, metaphoric look at some of the micro aspects of our world: of viewing, of time,
kon ichikawa's the burmese harp & fires on the plain
images from 2 films by kon ichikawa. the burmese harp 1956 & fires on the plain 1959.the landscape photography and music in these 2 films is stunning. photography and music work together in both films to such a degree that the dialogue becomes almost unnecessary (especially in fires on the plain).there obviously is much more going on in these 2 works than the visuals, but for me they are the
winton c. hoch, cinematographer
winton c. hoch (1905-1979).(pronounced "hoke" or "huke")the great cinematographer winton c. hoch was born in iowa and was noted for his work in color cinematography, mainly for john ford.joseph mcbride said of him in his book searching for john ford "trained as a research physicist at the california institute of technology, known as an expert in color cinematography.... did laboratory work on
joe macdonald, cinematographer
joseph macdonald (1906-1968).the great cinematographer joseph macdonald was born in mexico city to american parents. he started working in the film industry in the early 1920s and became a director of photography in the 1940s. macdonald was long with 20th century-fox and worked with such great directors as john ford, henry hathaway, william wellman, elia kazan, samuel fuller and nicholas
antonioni's l'eclisse & architettura e fascismo
michelangelo antonioni's film l'eclisse, 1962 and italian fascist architecture.l'eclisse was antonioni's last film from the trilogy on modern malaise (or the 3rd part of a tetralogy that includes the red desert, 1964), and stars alain delon and monica vitti.this post looks at how antonioni photographed rome so beautifully in l'eclisse (and also the fascist town in l'avventura) and its relation to
la lune des lapins, paris 1950 & eaux d'artifice, villa d'este tivoli 1953
2 great films featured on the films of kenneth anger, vol. 1included is commentary for each film by kenneth anger.1. kenneth anger's 3rd film rabbit's moon (la lune des lapins), 1950, or "a lunar dream utilizing the classic pantomime figure of pierrot in an encounter with a prankish, enchanted magic lantern" (anger quoted in p. adams sitneys' visionary film)this film was shot in the films du
chris welsby, victor erice and other new items
1. the films/videos of chris welsby.included in the amazing new bfi release of 8 films by chris welsby.a great new dvd of the work of the british film-maker chris welsby. welsby in many ways comes out of the tradition of "structuralist" (p. adams sitney) film-makers and his work is related to artists like leighton pierce, jj murphy, marc lapore, andrew noren, peter hutton, rose lowder, michael
abstractions, monochromes and minimalism, part 2
a small list of considerations for a chronicle of abstraction, with examples from music, photography, painting, film, video, and literature, part 2. (see part 1)including minimalism and the monochrome.mainly documenting books in my collection.1. john virtueblack and white paintings of a barely perceivable london skyline.books:-john virtue: london paintings, national gallery2. hans danuserswiss
the essential cinema
personal film canon.a list of movies that have had an influence on me,and have been watched repetitively.- chantal akerman: je, tu, il, elle 1974, jeanne dielman, 23 quai du commerce 1080 bruxelles 1976, news from home 1977, les rendez-vous d'anna 1978, j'ai faim, j'ai froid 1984- woody allen: stardust memories 1980, broadway danny rose 1984, hannah and her sisters 1986, crimes and misdemeanors
best of 2006, or the sublime
train photo by m swiezynskiin no order,dvds of note:satantango, bela tarr, artificial eyethe double life of veronique, krzysztof kieslowski, criterionla bete humaine, jean renoir, criterionyoung mr. lincoln, john ford, criterionpickpocket, robert bresson, criterionpandora’s box, g.w. pabst, criterionthe spirit of the beehive, víctor erice, criterionseven samurai, akira kurosawa,
abstractions, monochromes and minimalism, part 1
a small list of considerations for a chronicle of visual abstraction, with examples from music, photography, painting, film, video, and literature.including minimalism and the monochrome.this is not an all-inclusive list, but only concerned with examples of beauty or the sublime.this list is mostly centered around books and music from the library of herr schinkel / m. swiezynski, and related
"Nobody ever comes back from a "missing" ship to tell how hard was the death of the craft, and how sudden and overwhelming the last anguish of her men. Nobody can say with what thoughts, with what regrets, with what words on their lips they died. But there is something fine in the sudden passing away of these hearts from the extremity of struggle and stress and tremendous uproar - from the vast,
the secret life of plants - melancholia - satantango
new items found and in the process of clarification.or, relationships between abstract art, literature, cinema and drone music.1. anselm kiefer monograph "the secret life of plants" by heiner bastian/schirmer/mosel verlag munchen 2003.2. bruges-la-morte by georges rodenbach dedalus books.written in 1892, concerns the fate of a widower who has turned to the melancholy, decaying city of bruges as
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