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