Reading Response #2

1. What conditions in Europe made the avant-garde film movement possible after World War I?

Post-war Europe was prime ground for the evolution of the 1920s avant-garde film movement, due in part to the predominance of political and economical unrest. What with revolutions occurring all over Europe, new, more radical thought was tolerated/encouraged, and with this new freedom the art world flourished. Economically, many areas saw a short rise in prosperity due to inflation, and this could be channeled into filmmaking. The avant-garde film movement also marked a backlash against the old mode of "canned theatre" predominant in the 1900s-1910s, and the avant-garde artists/filmmakers turned to creating films which pursued the form on its own terms. Also, cine-clubs/film societies were established in many countries to support the burgeoning movement at arthouse theatres. The film movement directly reflected what was going on in the world of high art/painting as well, with the popularity of Dadism, Cubism, and other abstract art movements informing the film world, and with many artists [Like Richter himself] who became filmmakers during this period.

2. If the goal of Impressionist art is "Nature Interpreted by Temperament", what are the goals of abstract art?

In abstract art, the artist/filmmaker must seek the "plastic value" of this work, exploring the very form and mode of creation utilised. Abstract art wanted to express universal feeling [as opposed to the artist's own emotional expression of Impressionism] through the use and control of abstract forms understood on an instinctual level.

3. On what grounds does Fischinger argue that "there is nothing of an absolute creative sense" in conventional cinematography? (At least 2 important reasons.)

Fischinger claims that conventional filmmaking is the act of "photographed realism"--by focusing on only the outer, natural realism seen, the popular film denies the idea of relating on a deeper, more personal level to the creative possibilities of filmmaking. Fischinger also denounces popular film as an assembly-line product, with the original vision of the artist getting lost or removed by the many staff of helpers which are required to churn out the consumable finished film; Fischinger states that "the creative artist...always works at his best alone."

4. While Brakhage's Reflections on Black is a trance film, why does Sitney argue that it anticipates the lyrical film?

Reflections on Black is a trance film which anticipates Brakhage's development of the lyrical film in its beginnings of equating the filmmaking process as a personal experience and the filmmaker's search for consciousness within the art and himself, utilising the medium itself, by scratching directly on the film stock, over the blind man's eyes. Connecting the internal landscape of the blind man with the aesthetics created and filmed, Brakhage tries to push the boundaries of the trance film.

5. What are the key characteristics of the lyrical film (the first example of which was Anticipation of the Night.)

The lyrical film is defined as the expression of the filmmaker him/herself as the protagonist of the film, with the artist showing the viewer what he sees; the lyrical film is a very artist-driven mode of filmmaking, in which the filmmaker's personal vision and presence are always at the forefront of the film experience. In the lyrical film, there is no "hero", but simply movement onscreen, which reflects the act of vision which the filmmaker is sharing with the viewer. The use of space in the lyrical film is akin the that of abstract Expressionism, with the depth of field being flattened, and using this to advantage to reflect the properties of the silver screen projecting the film.

6. Which filmmaker was highly influential on Brakhage's move to lyrical film in terms of film style, and why?

Marie Menken informed Brakhage's blossoming lyrical style, especially in her inclusion of herself within fragments of her films, for example her hand creating the act filmed in Raindrops, or reflections of herself behind the camera, incorporating this personal touch in the rhythm of her films. Brakhage pushed this use of the artist's observation of the film being created in his exploration of the lyrical film mode.

(I might answer the rest of the questions after class, once I've revisited some of Brakhage's films, for my own benefit if not for credit!)