From: Fred Davidson (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Jun 05 2008 - 05:30:22 PDT
Thanks for confirming what I thought to be true Myron. I do not
have Brakhage's Film at Wit's End: Eight Avant-Garde Filmmakers but I
do have his Film Biographies in paperback published by Turtle Island
for the Netzahualcoyotl Historical Society on my shelf. I am proud to
have it. I bought it at a time when there was no such a thing as the
internet. I bought it at a time when Brakhage's books were not always
that easy to come across.
I grew up in Cleveland. I don't know too much about L.A. I had
never heard of the Coronet Cinema or of La Cienega Blvd. until just
now when you mentioned it. Whether the Coronet Cinema at 366 N. La
Cienega Blvd. in the Beverly Center neighborhood of L.A. is still
open or not I do not know. It's web site seems to be down this
morning.* Most of the avant-garde film I saw growing up in high
school was at CWRU. I used to go to Strosacker Auditorium on the Case
Western Reserve University campus. Do you know, or, for that matter,
does anyone following along here know, if Hollis Frampton used to
frequent Strosacker while he was a student at Western Reserve?
Although he may not have because in those days, before 1967, Case and
Western Reserve were two separate schools. Strosacker is on the Case
side. It is not on the Reserve side sweetie.
Speaking of Hollis Frampton, I watched his Zorns Lemma for the
very first time ever on the web, not on dvd, but on the web, Ubuweb**
to be exact, and I came away thinking that, Wow!, this is very
powerful. I thought the same thing about it that Leo Castelli, Andy
Warhol's art dealer, thought about Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup
Cans, in 1962, when they were first displayed in his gallery in L.A..
Very powerful. Now before anyone flies off the handle in a violent
rage ready to burn down the whole house, be assured that I don't
believe I could watch, say, Peter Kubelka's Unsere Afrikareise on the
web and come away thinking that I had truly seen the film. I couldn't.
What I think you mean is that you took the path of least
resistance. I mean that is the best way to go, isn't it?
It was nice talking to you Myron,
Fred Davidson
* http://www.coronet-theatrela.com/
**http://ubu.com/film/frampton_zorns.html
On Jun 4, 2008, at 10:26 PM, Myron Ort wrote:
> You got it pretty much right Fred. From what I read in Brakhage's
> book he went from tweaked to bizarre to totally dysfunctional. I
> think some drug abuse and mental disorder was involved. btw, I
> highly recommend Stan's book and of course all of his writings.....
>
> I myself have not seen his films yet since they were not presented
> along with the historical avant garde cinema I was initially
> exposed to at SF State U film dept. in the mid 60s, and somehow I
> have missed local showings over the years here. Apparently they are
> not yet readily available in dvd format.
> I am looking forward to seeing them at some point along with all
> (or at least many) of the films I have missed seeing these many
> years. For example, I only recently "saw" (dvd if that counts)
> the Isou film since it was included in those recent avant garde
> compilations of Rohouer's collection that are on the market.
>
> Incidentally, when I was in high school in 50s LA we used to go
> regularly to the neighborhood Coronet cinema on LaCienega Blvd.
> Little did I know then.......
> probably saw early Brakhage films there at some point.....(I
> wouldn't discover filmmaking (as a path) until many years later
> when all other "majors" didn't seem to click.....if you know what I
> mean.....
>
> ps. the Coronet still seems to be there last time I visited (not
> long ago).
>
> MO
>
> On Jun 4, 2008, at 4:35 PM, Fred Davidson wrote:
>
>> Yes, that's right, Christopher Maclaine was his name. Thanks
>> Myron. Christopher Maclaine. No relation to Senator John McCain or
>> Bruce Willis's character Officer John McClane. Are the rest of my
>> facts pretty much right Myron? I don't remember exactly. Have I
>> grossly misstated anything here?
>>
>>
>> On Jun 4, 2008, at 5:49 PM, Myron Ort wrote:
>>
>>> On Jun 4, 2008, at 2:01 PM, Fred Davidson wrote:
>>>
>>>> Where would avant-garde film be without junkies and
>>>> psychos? Well, it would be without the director of "The End".
>>>> What was his name? Marilyn? Fred? Anyone? Who am I trying to
>>>> think of? The speed freak that Stan Brakhage championed. He
>>>> ultimately died young in a mental hospital didn't he? He was a
>>>> junkie and a psycho wasn't he?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Christopher Maclaine. (see Brahage: Film At Wit's End)
>>>
>>> Myron Ort
>>>
>>>
>>> __________________________________________________________________
>>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________
>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.