Reading Response 4

1. Briefly respond to one of the following Fluxfilms, which are on-line here:
http://www.ubu.com/film/fluxfilm.html

18 Joe Jones—Smoking

It start is a little interesting with the “count up”. It starts at 6 and runs to 10 instead of the stereotypical countdown. In addition, it says feet as if maybe that piece took 10’ to run that piece. That does not seem right though. Then the whole film is a series of counters starting at one and counting to 100 each time it gets to 100 it does the next 100. So 200, then three hundred, etc I do not understand this exactly. I started to think that this might be some counting and marking system but it does not make sense. The film is almost a minute, shooting in 16mm. If he shot either 18fps (silent speed) since it is silent, or 24 (sound speed) it still does not make sense. It cannot be measuring frames, or seconds. Maybe he made this to play with the logical minded that try to make sense of these numbers, those that have to figure out the purpose and meaning behind them. Who knows he might even have played with the numbers themselves, altering them to where when they play by fast it blurs together and your mind fills in the gaps and incorrections, or just doesn’t see them.


2. Look up “Fluxus” and any of the Fluxus artists in the index of Visionary Film. Why are they not there? Are the Fluxfilms compatible with Sitney’s central argument about the American avant-garde?

The purpose of Flux was to “Purge the world of bourgeois sickness.” He mentions Warhol on page 349 in the book. He says that “Warhol turned his genius for parody and reduction against the American avant-garde.” Warhol had this in common with Fluxus filmmakers. You notice though, how he doesn’t write that Warhol turned… against his fellow American avant-garde artists. He excluded Warhol to a small extent and most likely for the same reasons Fluxus films completely.

Callie Angell, “Andy Warhol, Filmmaker”

[I have emailed part one of this article to the class, it is not on reserve.]

8. How does Angell characterize the first major period of Warhol’s filmmaking career? What are some of the films from this period, and what formal qualities did they share? What are some significant differences between Sleep and Empire?

Received as both unwatchable and receiving of instant fame. Sleep, Empire, Kiss, Eat, Blow Job and Haircut. They were filled with either long uneventful shots or films of repetitive action, but all MOS. The differences between Empire which had relatively little movement (a bird flying by and so on) and was shot with extremly long continuous shots (50 minutes in length) compared to Sleep which Warhol had not overcome the short length of film his Bolex could hold, cut up shots of handheld movement of him watching a man (friend and poet John Giorno) sleep.

9. What role did the Screen Tests play in the routines at the Factory and in Warhol’s filmmaking?

First they allowed him to grow first as a cinematographer. Then he used the films to attract people to him and his work. Later he used them as supplements in parts of other films and works.

10. How does Angell characterize the first period of sound films in Warhol’s filmmaking career?

After he got his first 16mm sound camera and was able to shoot half an hour shots. This led to him making films of full length unedited reels. The actor’s actions, mess-ups and additions were all included instead of edited around.

Who was Warhol’s key collaborator for the early sound films? What are some of the films from this period and what formal properties did they share?

Ronald Travel collaborated with him on several projects including Vinyl, Space, Poor Little Rich Girl, Kitchen, Horse, Lupe, Hedy and so on. I can see that they were portraitures but many of his works outside of the sound films were portraitures as well. I don’t fully understand what made these different from his other films.


For questions 3-7 I am confused about which reading these are coming from and could not find one that seemed to fit.