2/15

1. 14 Yoko Ono—One
I really do enjoy these Fluxus films, and Yoko Ono's one is one that I really like. Anyone with a slow motion camera could make it; I see the debate on whether the inclusion of the slow motion camera kinda runs contrary to their whole premise. The film One, is just fun to watch. To see the match being struck, then watching it die out is just cool. It is like one of those scientific films. I could watch slow motion all day.

2. Look up “Fluxus” and any of the Fluxus artists in the index of Visionary Film. Why are they not there? Are the Fluxfilmscompatible with Sitney’s central argument about the American avant-garde?
No they aren't. Sitney argues American cinema tries to show the inside the human mind, and the FluxFilms are concerned with democratizing art, and thus can't possibly have a central theme or objective like that to their work.

3. Chapter 4. What are some of the reasons suggested for Smith’s obsession with Maria Montez? What are some of your responses to the clips from the Montez films (especially Cobra Woman)?
Nostalgia for cinema during his childhood, as well as he could relate her essence of being to the drag movement; she was a diva. Her acting is very strange, a bit overacted but at the same time really interesting.
4. Chapter 5. What were some attributes of the New York art community in the 1960s, and what was the relationship between the economics of the time and the materials that Smith incorporated in to his work and films? [How could Smith survive and make art if he was so poor in the city so big they named it twice?]
The NYC art community was a tight knit group of artists. Rent was pretty inexpensive, and there were a lot of resources for a low budget filmmaker to work with.

5. Chapter 6. What problems emerged after the obscenity charges against Flaming Creatures in the relationship between Jack Smith and Jonas Mekas? What metaphor emerged from the conflict between Smith and Mekas? The film became synonymous with a movement that Jack Smith did not support. Mekas was made to seem like a saint, to be in a position where he was defending the film but he was really kicking it to death.

6. Chapter 7. What is John Zorn’s argument about Normal Love? How does his argument relate to some of the changes in the New York art world in the 1960s that we discussed in class? What are some arguments made about the influence of Jack Smith on other filmmakers (including Warhol)? The real show was Jack's filming. It correlates with the idea that the real art is the activity of creating it. That Jack influenced Fellini, and was copied to an extent by Warhol, though he clashed with him.

7. Chapter 9 and 10: In what ways did Jack Smith become “uncommercial film personified”? What is meant by the slogan, “no more masterpieces” and how did Smith resist commodification (or the production of art products)?
He would produce unfinished films so that no one could take them away from him, and use it for their own benefit.

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? A minimalist, unmoving camera, with no editing. Sleep was heavily edited because the film camera Warhol used could only hold 4 minutes worth of film at a time, but Empire could hold 50 minutes.

9. What role did the Screen Tests play in the routines at the Factory and in Warhol’s filmmaking?
They were kind of a film guest book, that personalities who came to the factory would sign in with.

10. How does Angell characterize the first period of sound films in Warhol’s filmmaking career? 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? He emphasized that the actor was him/herself, as well as themselves performing. So he would throw the actors in situations where they were free to improvise. He worked with Ronald Tavel, and Edie Sedwick. These films could also be called documentaries.