Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Ave
212.505.5181
This event has passed.
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John Zorn and Friends
- When
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Thursday Apr 1, 2010 (8pm)
- Where
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- Price
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$20
- Links
“Composer for film is just one of John Zorn's résumé headers and tonight he's on his alto sax belting out an original, sure-to-be incredible score for a few 16mm wonders by Wallace Berman and Harry Smith, both polymathic talents from the mid-century. Berman's only assemblage, Aleph zips along ravishingly and it's supplemented with Artifactual's fascinating mash of casual and cast-aside footage. Smith's equally beautiful short teems with superimpositions and features brief appearances by the likes of Patti Smith and Robert Magglethorpe.”
Jason Jude Chan, Flavorpill
Anthology Film Archives says:
Anthology is elated to welcome back Composer-in-Residence John Zorn to the Courthouse Theater for another scintillating evening of ecstatic films and electrifying music. Over the years Zorn has created pitch-perfect scores for numerous films in our collection, but he has always shared a particularly deep affinity with the work of underground icons Wallace Berman (1926-1976) and Harry Smith (1923-1991). Both artists were active across multiple mediums and they each created resonating images of esoteric beauty and beatific wonderment. Once experienced, their works are never forgotten. And luckily for us, Zorn has created compelling, dynamic compositions to accompany all the films that we will screen tonight.
ALEPH is a home movie like you’ve never seen. Berman’s rapid-fire fragmented imagery flows straight out of everyday life – his wife Shirley and son Tosh; friends and neighbors; TV images and book covers; various artworks and the filmmaker himself. To this footage he added paint and dry-transfer letters. Anthology preserved this film a few years back and in the process uncovered the footage that led to ARTIFACTUAL: FILMS FROM THE WALLACE BERMAN COLLECTION. This collection includes footage originally intended for ALEPH, as well as other images of Berman and his pals. Between these two films we will see Harry Smith’s recently rediscovered and restored FILM #23. This late film features incredible footage (portraits, string figures, and sand animation) related to Smith’s 4-screen opus MAHAGONNY, but is much closer in nature to his earlier film, LATE SUPERIMPOSITIONS (1964).
