He skillfully reedited that footage, set the visuals to a recording. A movie is a 1958 experimental collage film in which bruce conner put together snippets of found footage. Conners first and possibly most famous film was entitled a movie 1958. Bruce conner was born in mcpherson, kansas, in 1933 and studied art at wichita university, the university of nebraska, the brooklyn art school, and the university of colorado. For their structural innovation and daring subject matter, films like a movie 1958 and crossroads 1976 have become landmarks of american experimental. The best compact commentary on crossroads i have seen is scott macdonalds in the garden in the machine. Its part of the dreamlands exhibition, on view until feb 5, 2017. In 1960, the artist staged his own death in his first solo show, titled the work of the late bruce conner. Interpreting bruce conners 1958 short a movie is an antifilm and its aim is to generate an emotional mood and an intellectual response among its audience members the title itself is upside down in one frame, as if it is telling the audience how different the experience is going to be. Kohn gallery bruce conners bestknown film, crossroads 1976, pulls a pivotal moment of history into the art world, using declassified footage of the first underwater atomic bomb tests at bikini atoll in the pacific ocean in 1946.
Crossroads is a 1976 short film directed by bruce conner. From july 3 to october 2, 2016, the museum of modern art presents bruce conner. Just for fun, ive modified a bit the original devo conner video youtu. The lyrics plainly have the narrator attempting to hitch a ride from an intersection as darkness falls. The 1945 atomicbomb explosion at bikini atoll becomes a thing of terrible beauty and haunting visual poetry when shown in extreme slow motion, shown from 27 different angles, and accompanied by avantgarde western classical music composed for electric organ by terry riley. God designed you for risk, joy, purpose, and adventurenot the numbedout, grounddown daily grind we often settle for. Theres a better life waiting for you, and we want to help you find it. Eric claptons bullsht story re the death of his son. The restoration and reconstruction in 1996, the pacific film archive in collaboration with the academy film archive embarked on a thenauthoritative preservation of the film in consultation with conner, under the directorship of michael friend. Crossroads at the bruce is a truck drivers training school in walkerton, ontario. Mike gives him a quick rundown on how things should go and then leaves conner to his own devices for a bit. Crossroads revisited selections from the crossroads guitar. Bruce conner 19332008 first came to prominence in the late 1950s as a leader of the assemblage movement in california.
Conner also began making short movies in the late 1950s. In a career that spanned five decades, most of them spent in san francisco, bruce conner 19332008 produced a unique body of work that refused to be contained by medium or style. It consists of archive footage of the second of two bomb tests conducted in july 1946 by the us government at its nuclear test site on bikini atoll in the pacific ocean. Conner had close ties with poets of the san francisco renaissance particularly michael mcclure as well as with artists such as wallace berman, george herms, jess and jay defeo. Extracts from the lp record four days that shook the world completed over a threeyear period, bruce conners report is one of the key works of 1960s avantgarde cinema, a refinement and extension of the filmmakerartists film work to that date.
The piece is now showing in the exhibition called dreamlands. This is a still from bruce conners great 1976 art film called crossroads, which is a collage of clips from the governments own footage of the 1946 bikini atoll nuclear test. One of my favorite art experiences this year was seeing bruce conners short film crossroads at the whitney. Welcome to your daily short, a new feature on that will highlight and stream a short film at high noon. Setting himself and his work in critical opposition to mainstream american society, versatile and restlessly inventive artist bruce conner was a key part of the san francisco beat scene in the late 1950s. He first became known for his assemblages made between 19571964 crafted from an assortment of castoff materials. Bruce conners crossroads restoration and digital remastering. The film pairs slowmotion clips of the 1946 nuclear tests at bikini atoll with music from composers patrick gleeson and terry riley. A collection of live performances from eric claptons crossroads guitar festivals. This is the first in an ongoing series that makes film and video works from momas collection available online. Conner says hes been hit on by guys many times and he really digs the attention. As we watch again and again, we collude in a chilling event. In this collage of rare archival footage, bruce conner discusses how, as an.
Powerhouse consisted of steve winwood on vocals, clapton on guitar, jack bruce on bass guitar, paul jones on harmonica, ben palmer on piano, and pete york on drums. But in close association with the mythic legend of johnsons short life and death, it has come to represent the tale of a blues man going to a metaphorical crossroads to meet the devil to sell his soul in exchange for becoming a famous blues player. A sidebyside version of bruce conners original 1958 film a movie and jennifer proctors 2010 remake, a movie by jen proctor. The kunsthalle wien shows paintings and films by one of the pioneers of todays visual film language we all know from mtv. The event was captured for research purposes by five hundred cameras stationed on unmanned planes, highaltitude aircraft, boats near the blast, and from more.
Ive substituted the demohardcore version of the track mongoloid with the albumeno version. Experimental film an attempt to cut and create an alternative narrative using excerpts from a giant box of old american public information. Conners film crossroads was preserved by the academy film archive, in conjunction. The apartment block janitor was in the apartment cleaning, the glass was about 4ft by 6ft tall the janitor swung it open to let in some fresh air, conor ran straight. Its all true, the first monographic museum exhibition in new york of. Eric claptons four year old son conor allegedly fell 53 floors to his death through the open window of a new york skyscraper, at 11. A field guide to independent films about place berkeley. And though it may sound perverse to say so, the film is alsonot. Bruce conner american, 19332008 guide to pictures of works by bruce conner in art museum sites and image archives worldwide. Few artists have contributed seminal works to as many genres as bruce conner 19332008.
It features 37 minutes of extreme slowmotion replays of the july 25, 1946 operation crossroads baker underwater nuclear test at bikini atoll in the pacific. He strips down pretty fast to reveal a nice, smooth body and some really rocking abs. Departing from the stock footage that characterizes bruce conners earlier films, looking for mushrooms 1959671996 is his first color film and consists of footage he shot while living in mexico in 196162, as well as. Bruce conner november 18, 1933 july 7, 2008 was an american artist who worked with. He explicitly titled his movies in all capital letters. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on youtube. Or, in the words of a less exacting critic, when you get to crossroads and preachin blues, oh my god, forget it. It consists of archive footage of the second of two bomb tests. Watch an excerpt of crossroads, bruce conners restored. Bombhead was originally conceived as a newspaper and photocopy collage by bruce conner in 1989. Well, id sure give him all the attention he wanted. It features 37 minutes of extreme slowmotion replays of the july 25, 1946 operation crossroads. This program offers training for new drivers who have never had a their az license or for seasoned drivers who need to brush up their skills andor retake the test. And then it happens again, and goes on happening, time after time in bruce conners 1976 film crossroads, recently restored in high definition and now the sole exhibit at thomas dane gallery.
Bruce conner was many things, among them a filmmaker, a mixedmedia artist, a beat, a punk, and a notorious prankster. Born 1933 in mcpherson, ks died 2008 in san francisco, ca education 1956 b. Cross road blues also known as crossroads is a blues song written and recorded by american blues artist robert johnson in 1936. An assemblage artist famed for his use of nylon stockings, he also pioneered the use of found footage and the highspeed film editing now familiar to us from mtv, and was one of the earliest filmmakers to use pop and soul music on his soundtracks. We dont only give you oneonone training on how to drive but we teach you how to do the job on the job. This edition of bombhead was scanned using the original negatives of a portrait of bruce conner by edmund shea and an atomic bomb photo from the national archives, library of congress. The kunsthalle wien shows paintings and films by one of the pioneers of todays visual film. A new perspective on the enormously influential but insufficiently understood work of san franciscobased artist bruce conner 19332008. In february 1966, prior to joining cream, eric clapton recorded the song as crossroads with a shortlived studio project, dubbed eric clapton and the powerhouse. It was digitally edited by bruce conner and donald farnsworth at. Immersive cinema and art, 19052016 at the whitney museum in new york, after also starring in the recent conner. And then it happens again, and goes on happening, time after time in bruce conner s 1976 film crossroads, recently restored in high definition and now the sole exhibit at thomas dane gallery. Artwork info artwork title breakaway artist name bruce conner date created 1966 classification video installation medium 16mm film transferred to video, with sound, 5 min. When bruce conner died in 2008, it wasnt the first time.
Bruce conner 19332008 was one of the foremost american artists of the. Bruce conners terry riley soundtracked crossroads screening in. Moving to san francisco in 1957, conner became involved with the. The subject of this thesis is bruce conners 1976 film crossroads, a 37 minute filmic portrait of the worlds first underwater nuclear detonation at the bikini atoll on july 25, 1946. A movie was a poverty film in that instead of shooting his own footage conner used compilations of old newsreels and other old films.
Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the delta blues style. In some respects, it is a return to the montage, association and found. A terrible cloud disturbs the peace of bikini atoll in conners 1976 film crossroads. Bruce conner, crossroads excerpts 1976, 35mm, black and white, sound, 37. Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times. Crossroads was made in 1976 by the underground us film maker and visual artist bruce conner.
In other words, the sound is simple, but the technique is incredibly difficult to learn. Mongoloid new version of bruce conners short youtube. Despite the comicrelief that conner provides, the images that come from reallife footage can have a great. Crossroads consists of 23 segments of declassified united states national archive footage and two original soundtracks composed by patrick gleeson and terry. Film 1965 crossroads 1976 easter morning 2008 bruce conner film.