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)
Labels:
art,
bela tarr,
film,
pieter bruegel
"...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
la mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même
aka [the green box], 1934 links:1, 2, 3
Labels:
art,
marcel duchamp
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
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