Rudy Burckhardt's "Money" and "The Climate of New York" and Portfolio Opportunity #6

Rudy Burckhardt, Coca-Cola Goddess. 1947 gelatin-silver print, 8¼ x 9½ inches.Copyright: Estate of Rudy Burckhardt, courtesy Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York

To those attending tomorrow's showing of Rudy Burckhardt's Money and The Climate of New York at The Anthology Film Archives, you'll find all the details for the event, below, along with some supplemental reading.

Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue, b/w 1st & 2nd st.
In descending order, the closest stations are Second Ave - LES (F), Broadway-Lafayette (B,D,M), and Prince st. (N,R).

Show starts at 7:30. Meet me outside, between 7:00 & 7:15

1st Article: An interesting conversation from 1976 between Edwin Denby (NY School-affiliated poet), Burckhardt, and Joe Giordano about Burckhardt's film practices.
http://jacketmagazine.com/21/denb-giord.html

2nd Article: Written in 2003 for a tandem of exhibits, this essay, written by Deborah Garwood details Burckhart's idiosyncratic camera work (she focuses mostly on photography, but it's apt to see what she says as being analogous for his film practice). Pay particular attention on how she uses the term "vision."
http://artcritical.com/2003/03/01/rudy-burckhardt/ 

Portfolio Opportunity #6:

This is an opportunity only available to whomever went to see the Burckhardt films on Saturday (Keisha, Emma, Robert, Lauren, Liz, and Alex).

For those who are not participating in the short film -- one of the possibilities that we discussed after the film -- here are a few additional options to pursue if you want credit toward a portfolio opportunity.

A)
Take this quote from Garwood's article into account:

Burckhardt has a way of suggesting that movement through the city can be a simple end in itself or, with a bit of reflection on cues within the chaos, it can mix with both deep and fanciful interpretations of life. Under the sidewalks of New York, his subway compositions are portentous without being grim. Dante-esque figures set in the inky black depths of subway cars clutch at white vertical poles, sit lost in thought under All-Bran signs, or engross themselves in newspapers as they speed through oblivion.

Using what you gathered from "The Climate of New York" and the two articles posted above, detail a few vignettes or scenes (2-3 pages) as if Burckhardt were to make a documentary on today's New York. Think of how he excites a collaboration between vision and thought, what is he interested in putting to film. After your vignettes, write a few paragraphs (1 page or so) on your perception of Burckhard's film, what constitutes Image for him, and how you think you've translated his style, citing examples from the film and the articles.


B) 
Consider this exchange between Rudy and Joe, from the interview posted above.

Joe Giordano: Do your consider you movies ‘underground movies’?

Rudy Burckhardt: I always liked the word ‘underground’, yes. I like it better than ‘experimental’ movies, or ‘creative’ movies, or ‘chamber’ movies, or ‘personalized’ movies, or whatever it is — ‘independent’ movies.

Joe Giordano: I read where you said you like the word ‘movie’ better than ‘film’.

Rudy Burckhardt: It means entertainment, you know. I like my movies to be entertaining. ‘Film’ seems more serious. I like my movies to be entertaining, even when they’re not exactly funny!

Joe Giordano: Does this also relate to the idea of ‘home’ movie. What do you think of ‘home movie’?

Rudy Burckhardt: No, I don’t like the word ‘home movie’, no. That means the heads are cut off because the camera wasn’t aimed right! That’s what I think of ‘home movies’! I don’t find that interesting really. You have to have a family. How can you make a home movie if you haven’t got a family?

For credit, write a short essay (3-5 pages) that details the differences between Jonas Mekas' documentary style -- "home movies" -- and Burckhardt's style that we saw in "The Climate of New York." This must include a comparison of each filmmaker's concept of Image as well as appropriate outside research.

Do not settle for a simple "this one is better because" sort of paper. They each have their own merit and cannot be compared on this basis. Focus on how each style performs a statement, albeit different statements. What is the climate of Mekas' New York? Burckhardt's?

C)
Send me an idea for an open response. I'm happy to entertain other ideas -- poems, prose, or otherwise -- if neither of these options is appealing.

Due: Friday, 4/8