One of my favorite art experiences this year was seeing bruce conners short film crossroads at the whitney. 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. 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. Crossroads was made in 1976 by the underground us film maker and visual artist bruce conner.
Mike gives him a quick rundown on how things should go and then leaves conner to his own devices for a bit. God designed you for risk, joy, purpose, and adventurenot the numbedout, grounddown daily grind we often settle for. Experimental film an attempt to cut and create an alternative narrative using excerpts from a giant box of old american public information. 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. A collection of live performances from eric claptons crossroads guitar festivals. Immersive cinema and art, 19052016 at the whitney museum in new york, after also starring in the recent conner. Conners film crossroads was preserved by the academy film archive, in conjunction. A new perspective on the enormously influential but insufficiently understood work of san franciscobased artist bruce conner 19332008. 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. He explicitly titled his movies in all capital letters.
Just for fun, ive modified a bit the original devo conner video youtu. Bruce conner november 18, 1933 july 7, 2008 was an american artist who worked with. 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. When bruce conner died in 2008, it wasnt the first time. 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. The event was captured for research purposes by five hundred cameras stationed on unmanned planes, highaltitude aircraft, boats near the blast, and from more. Conner says hes been hit on by guys many times and he really digs the attention. He first became known for his assemblages made between 19571964 crafted from an assortment of castoff materials. 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. Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times. Ive substituted the demohardcore version of the track mongoloid with the albumeno version. 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. After watching bruce conner s a movie for the first time i was emotionally shaken up. A field guide to independent films about place berkeley.
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. The kunsthalle wien shows paintings and films by one of the pioneers of todays visual film language we all know from mtv. The lyrics plainly have the narrator attempting to hitch a ride from an intersection as darkness falls. Bruce conner 19332008 was one of the foremost american artists of the. 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. 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. Conners first and possibly most famous film was entitled a movie 1958. Mongoloid new version of bruce conners short youtube. Bruce conners crossroads restoration and digital remastering. It features 37 minutes of extreme slowmotion replays of the july 25, 1946 operation crossroads. 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. We dont only give you oneonone training on how to drive but we teach you how to do the job on the job. In other words, the sound is simple, but the technique is incredibly difficult to learn.
Well, id sure give him all the attention he wanted. The best compact commentary on crossroads i have seen is scott macdonalds in the garden in the machine. And though it may sound perverse to say so, the film is alsonot. Bruce conner was many things, among them a filmmaker, a mixedmedia artist, a beat, a punk, and a notorious prankster.
In 1960, the artist staged his own death in his first solo show, titled the work of the late bruce conner. 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. Film 1965 crossroads 1976 easter morning 2008 bruce conner film. Crossroads is a 1976 short film directed by bruce conner. It consists of archive footage of the second of two bomb tests. Bruce conner 19332008 first came to prominence in the late 1950s as a leader of the assemblage movement in california. 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.
Theres a better life waiting for you, and we want to help you find it. For their structural innovation and daring subject matter, films like a movie 1958 and crossroads 1976 have become landmarks of american experimental. Bombhead was originally conceived as a newspaper and photocopy collage by bruce conner in 1989. 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. The kunsthalle wien shows paintings and films by one of the pioneers of todays visual film. Crossroads revisited selections from the crossroads guitar. Welcome to your daily short, a new feature on that will highlight and stream a short film at high noon. As we watch again and again, we collude in a chilling event. Bruce conners terry riley soundtracked crossroads screening in. Born 1933 in mcpherson, ks died 2008 in san francisco, ca education 1956 b. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on youtube. Its part of the dreamlands exhibition, on view until feb 5, 2017. He strips down pretty fast to reveal a nice, smooth body and some really rocking abs. Conner also began making short movies in the late 1950s.
Watch an excerpt of crossroads, bruce conners restored. Its all true, the first monographic museum exhibition in new york of. 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. In some respects, it is a return to the montage, association and found. Or, in the words of a less exacting critic, when you get to crossroads and preachin blues, oh my god, forget it.
Bruce conner american, 19332008 guide to pictures of works by bruce conner in art museum sites and image archives worldwide. A movie was a poverty film in that instead of shooting his own footage conner used compilations of old newsreels and other old films. Crossroads at the bruce is a truck drivers training school in walkerton, ontario. Crossroads consists of 23 segments of declassified united states national archive footage and two original soundtracks composed by patrick gleeson and terry.
Eric claptons bullsht story re the death of his son. A terrible cloud disturbs the peace of bikini atoll in conners 1976 film crossroads. This is the first in an ongoing series that makes film and video works from momas collection available online. 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.
A movie is a 1958 experimental collage film in which bruce conner put together snippets of found footage. 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. Despite the comicrelief that conner provides, the images that come from reallife footage can have a great. 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. He skillfully reedited that footage, set the visuals to a recording. In this collage of rare archival footage, bruce conner discusses how, as an. The film pairs slowmotion clips of the 1946 nuclear tests at bikini atoll with music from composers patrick gleeson and terry riley. 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. The piece is now showing in the exhibition called dreamlands.
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. A sidebyside version of bruce conners original 1958 film a movie and jennifer proctors 2010 remake, a movie by jen proctor. Few artists have contributed seminal works to as many genres as bruce conner 19332008. Bruce conner, crossroads excerpts 1976, 35mm, black and white, sound, 37. 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. 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. From july 3 to october 2, 2016, the museum of modern art presents bruce conner. 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. 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. Although were accustomed to nuclear powers presence in our daily lives, we have had to awaken to the realization that yesterdays dream of atoms for peace is todays nightmare.