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- Although Butoh is often viewed as Japan's equivalent of modern dance, in actuality it has little to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh is a theater of improvisation which places the personal experiences of the dancer on center-stage. The dancer is used as a medium to his or her inner life, but not for the portrayal of day to day existence. A Dionysian dance of nudity, eroticism, and sexuality, Butoh's scale of expression ranges from meditative tenderness to excessive grotesqueness. By reestablishing the ancient Japanese connection of dance, music, and masks, and by recalling the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan, Butoh incorporates much traditional theater. At the same time, it is a movement of resistance against the abandonment of traditional culture to a highly organized consumer-oriented society. An alliance of tradition and rebellion, Butoh is one of the most fascinating underground dance movements. "Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis" is a visually striking film portrait shot on location in Japan with the participation of the major Butoh choreographers and their companies.
- Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, roots himself in cultural visions of space, landscape, and juxtaposition. Inspired deeply by his home and heritage, Ando proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. Believing in the importance of carpentry and craftsmanship, Ando pays tribute to his culture and the way in which architecture is approached through the body. Showcasing his individuality through urban complexes, residences and chapels, Ando presents the work of his formative years, before embarking on projects in Europe and the United States.
- Architect Peter Zumthor lives and works in the remote village of Haldenstein in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden where he can keep the politics of architecture at a comfortable distance as he enjoys status and praise for his unique modernist buildings. In "The Practice of Architecture", critic Kenneth Frampton visits Zumthor at his studio where the two are surrounded by models, designs and plans for current and future projects throughout Europe and the United States. Frampton questions the renowned architecture on the motives and methods behind some of his most famous works, including his Zinc-Mine-Museum in Norway and the highly acclaimed Therme Vals, a stunning hotel and spa built over the thermal springs in Graubünden. While walking us through his career, Zumthor discusses his penchant for minimalism, the importance of landscape, light and material, and the architectural theory behind his stunningly precise style.
- Documentary profile of singer-actress Eartha Kitt.
- Meticulously setting up each cinematic shot, Gregory Crewdson has mastered a style of eerie realism intended the make the regular feel foreign. Similar to David Lynch's specific use of the uncanny in films such as "Blue Velvet", Crewdson's work paints a dark, deep portrait of American suburbia. Much like a film director, Crewdson achieves his startling images by working with a professional crew including a director of photography, a camera operator, a production designer, actors and a casting director. His astonishingly elaborate sets create a unique realm of mise-en-scène, inspired largely by the works of American artists and film directors. Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression observes and questions the photographer during his work on ten new images.
- No understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.
- With the participation of famed architects such as Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move provides an intimate look into the work of the daring and controversial creator. Filmed in the U.S. and Germany, Eisenman takes the viewer through several of his buildings, including the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, while explaining his upcoming projects such as the Rebstockpark community in Frankfurt and the Max Reinhardt monument in Berlin. His predecessors and contemporaries offer praise and commentary on Eisenman's complex body of work including their own thoughts and theories surrounding his unique style.
- In 1968, we had the opportunity to spend time with Thelonious Monk and his musicians, following him in New York, Atlanta, and in various European cities. In New York his quartet plays at the Village Vanguard and at recording sessions for Columbia Records; in Atlanta they appear at a Jazz Festival organized by George Wein. The members of the quartet were Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley. The group was joined on the European tour by Ray Copeland, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Johnny Griffin, traveling as part of George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival road company.
- Philip Guston is a powerful staple of the abstract expressionist movement, though he would prefer it be referred to as the New York School. Along with composers, choreographers and his fellow visual artists, Guston found his place in the avant garde. Often times finding modern art almost too accessible, Guston strives to create pieces that encourage audiences to engage, but not without deep consideration. His paintings rely heavily on motif and repetition, emphasizing the importance of his often political subjects. Perhaps his own worst critic, Guston had a habit of destroying the work he did not find himself connecting with. Guston had no interest in simply presenting an image that he was not fully absorbed in. His passion for his work comes through in heavy brush strokes which turn and travel expressively across the canvas. In reference to his own process and the diversity within his work Guston tell us "Nothing is ever solved in painting. It's a continuous chain that sometimes doesn't go in one line, but goes in a serpentine line or in crooked paths, detours, which have to be investigated." (Philip Guston) In both his paintings and career Guston did not fear exploration but welcomed it, eagerly following the winding path of his ever evolving art.
- Filmed during a visit to the Spoleto Festival in Umbria on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, "Spoleto 1967" documents the vibrant celebration of culture. Featuring such productions as, "Don Giovanni" and "El Principe Constante", as well as poetry readings by Allen Ginsberg and Rafael Alberti, the Spoleto Festival continues to display an inviting variety of performances. From orchestra to ballet, the festival highlights the importance of the arts and its unwavering ability to bring people together.
- By the end of the 1980's a new architectural sensibility challenged the prevailing post-Modern attitude and brought forth new and daring designs. Driven by the philosophy and theory of Jacques Derrida, the architects of Deconstructivism are rooted in a movement that urges us to examine the space we move through. Deconstructivist Architects documents explosive and seemingly chaotic structures from Vienna to L.A., and interviews those who pursue its aesthetic issues. Filmed on location with the architects and at the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Deconstructivist Architecture, which was curated by Philip Johnson.
- The band of American artists known as the New York School toyed with tradition and rebelled against the Renaissance. In the early throes of Abstract Expressionism artists such as Jack Tworkov and Robert Motherwell were intent on working from the unconscious, eager to stray from the structured composition of the European work they had studied throughout school. Feeling as though free association yielded their best results, the painters, poets and performers of the New York School took a surrealist approach that was concerned less with aesthetic and more with expression. Those associated with the School were unified by their desire to create from within. While walking through the studios of Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, and Lee Krasner, writer and narrator Barbara Rose notes, "Many were immigrants to America, but slowly they turned their eyes from Europe, looking into themselves and into their own subjective conflicts and experiences. As a result, they created a monumental, dramatic art that remains a singular expression of the crucial modern quest for individuality and personal freedom." Never knowing exactly how their pieces would turn out, the artists of the New York School embraced their own complex humanity and worked from a place of bold, sporadic realness.
- Flooded with astute analysis and discussion surrounding his motifs, movements, and methods, "Picasso: The Legacy of a Genius" walks us through the artist's timeline and the complex stages of his life's work. Guided by the prolific artists who followed Picasso such as, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and George Segal, we journey through the artist's spectacularly diverse collection of work from his melancholy Blue Period to the introduction of Cubism. When confronting Picasso's natural tendency to explore and excel at vastly different painting styles, Anthony Caro stated, "I don't know anybody that could change their whole artistic persona so variously and so quickly as Picasso." (Anthony Caro). Always deeply inspired by the poverty and hardships he faced in the early years of both his childhood and career, Picasso did not shy away from the ugliness of his experiences. Following the rapid success of Demoiselles d'Avignon Picasso threw himself into Cubism, creating many of the images that would inspire artists involved with the Abstract Expressionist movement in the years to come. His abstract figures and and settings illustrate the complexities of humanity, presenting inner emotion through his subject's contorted and curious forms.
- A light-hearted, toe-tapping portrait of the well-known 8 Oscar winning Hollywood costume designer filmed in her opulent house and garden. Edith Head presents some of her famous designs using glamorous models to impersonate Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy Lamour, Ginger Rogers, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. They move to the music of the films for which she was the designer as Head recalls the times and places that served as inspiration for the famed looks.
- James Stirling takes us from Germany, to London, to Boston, guiding us through three of his widely famed museums. Though the buildings designed and created by the established architect contain some of the world's most notable works of art, Stirling reminds us that architecture serves as its very own long standing piece. Influenced greatly by both the European avant-garde and classic Victorian structures, Stirling is bold and daring in his designs. Both his colleagues and critics reject the classification of Stirling as a Postmodernist, believing the term "rogue architect" to fit him better. In reference to his design process Stirling states, "I do not believe that no matter how complex a building is, it should be consistent in its expression, consistent in its scale, consistent in its materials. I think the building can be inconsistent in its materials, varied in its scale, and different in its expression." (James Stirling) With no desire to abide by the rules of a specific and timely movement, Stirling creates with a free and explorative hand.
- Beginning with their small wrapped objects of 1958, this portrait examines the continuously bold and ambitious artistic ventures of the enigmatic duo, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Though their large scale environmental projects, such as Running Fence and Wrapped Coast, are often met with distress and concern from the surrounding community, perceptions of the project are likely to shift when it comes time to interact with the grand, finished piece. Neither permanent nor purchasable, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works exude the essence of freedom and exists only for the sake of existing.
- Pairing his collection of figurative paintings with an astute conversation surrounding mortality and humanity, "Francis Bacon and the Brutality of Fact" offers personal insight into the mind of an artist. In an interview led by friend and art critic, David Sylvester, Bacon opens up about his work and the, often times, grotesque and macabre tone of his paintings. His representations of the human figure in portraits and triptychs link him, in his view, to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso. With his unique take on life and death, Bacon explains to us the dichotomy of his art through an unexpectedly optimistic thesis which he dubbed the "brutality of fact". As Bacon's striking art conveys, with the acceptance of death comes a passionate vitality for life.
- Ralph Erskine approaches his work with care, delicacy and a love that radiates through his designs. Both passionate and thoughtful, Erskine's architecture shows a dedicated knowledge of the areas where his works are constructed. While born in London, Erskine found himself working mainly out of Sweden, becoming attached to both the country itself and the influence the area had on his career. Erskine demonstrates his deep understanding of the country by factoring elements such as climate and economy into his designs. He explains to us his desire to create in both an aesthetically unique and functionally sound manner, noting the importance of becoming familiar with the space one is working with. Inspired by his own personal experiences with the nature and culture of Sweden, Erskine observed what the country needed both practically and visually. The results of this focused attention present themselves in the form of Erskine's many community housing projects, university buildings and work spaces. Erskine believed that architecture should cater to the needs of a specific area and was driven by this as he experimented with shape and structure to create beautiful and efficient spaces.
- Guided by seasoned New Yorkers, political figures, and cultural connoisseurs, "Empire City" examines Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs in order to paint a portrait of the ever-evolving metropolis. Appearing to be both adaptable and stubbornly stagnant, New York is a city of juxtapositions. As our narrator notes, "The city is too big, too diverse, and too complex for anyone to comprehend. New York is many cities interlaced with one another, each in constant independent motion." In "Empire City" we see proof of this dynamic through both footage and discussion of extreme wealth, economic success and increasingly expensive real estate versus the hardships faced by the city's minorities such as people of color, immigrants, and the lower class. Leaders and residents such as David Rockefeller, Edward Koch, Norman Mailer, Jane Jacobs, and Herman Badillo offer their insight into the best and worst of New York while tenderly noting the pride and loyalty it's inhabitants hold onto.
- Documentary examining the life and career of producer/director Roger Corman. Clips from his films and interviews with actors and crew members who have worked with him are featured.
- A visit in 1971 to the classrooms of the Juilliard School, New York's prominent music academy, introducing some of the talented students and many of the brilliant faculty. Through interviews and observations this film explores the history of the school and showcases the musical curriculum, which the students throw themselves into with rigor and passion. Encouraged by their professors the budding musicians learn to study, analyze and approach a piece with curiosity and determination. "Juilliard" serves as a meaningful documentation of the school that was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art before becoming The Juilliard School of Music in 1962.
- In 1968 German Television agreed to co-produce a film with us in which the distinguished German writer, Uwe Johnson, would introduce and question the various characters with whom he exchanges news and opinions during his wanderings on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Uwe, who lived in the area for several years, spent a majority of his free time getting to know his neighborhood very well, observing the goings on in the streets, cafeterias, and parks. We proposed to him that he participate in the documentary but being essentially introverted, Uwe was not interested in appearing on-camera, but was willing to make a list of places and situations that he felt should be included in the film. Christian Blackwood took charge of the project while Johnson wrote the narration which was added in once the film was edited. "Summer" in the City was broadcast in Germany at the time of its release.
- As Isamu Noguchi walks us through his grand sculptures and gardens, the artist offers a unique insight into the way we, as individuals and as a collective society exist in time. Guided by his fascination with one's own reaction to time, Noguchi works to create pieces that emulate the non-linear narrative of life. Convinced that trapping oneself in a single time can be isolating in both existence and art, Noguchi stated, "If you are caught in time, immediate present time, then your choice is very limited, you can only do certain things correctly belonging to that time. But if you want to escape from that time constraint, than the whole world- I mean not just the most industrialized world - but the whole world is someplace where you belong." (Isamu Noguchi) Noguchi relates this interpretation of time to both his art and his experiences with the nature that tied into his work. While explaining how Michelangelo was told to collect his marble from Monte Altissimo di Nago, Noguchi dwells on the importance of recognizing the relationship between nature, art and technology. Much like his resistance to conform in the constructs of time, Noguchi is also persistent in his artistic freedom, rejecting the notion of a set genre or movement. He relies on intuition and passion to dictate his presence, and therefore his work's presence, in time and space. Reluctant to lock himself or his work into any preconceived notion, Noguchi stated the following, "I consider conceptual things as a base--that's where you start from. But the discovery is in the accidents and also the things that happen which make you change your mind. I'm never absolutely fixed about anything." (Isamu Noguchi) The fluidity of Noguchi's work led to a collection of stunning and diverse pieces that are, as he intended, timeless.
- In an effort to work without the distractions of the city, artist Carroll Dunham moved his studio from Manhattan to a small village in Connecticut, not far from where he grew up. Finding himself to be more at peace in the calm, rural setting, Dunham feels the freedom to create wildly bold and visually stimulating work, painting his way through expression and sexuality. Continuously holding a mirror up to society, Dunham aims to examine the ways in which we interpret images and ideas surrounding the physical human form and our contrived notions of appropriate depictions of it through art and media. Dunham's large canvas works are flooded with vivid color and striking imagery that grabs the attention of its audience and encourages a reconsideration of form and gaze. "The Artist's Studio: Carroll Dunham" documents a visit with critic Roberta Smith as she observes his new captivating work: a series entitled "In the Flowers" and a large canvas "The Beach".
- The Cremaster Cycle: A Conversation with Matthew Barney follows the artist and New York Times art critic, Michael Kimmelman as they discuss his mythic display at the Guggenheim Museum. While guiding the camera through his sculptures and films, Barney tells Kimmelman about his process, vision and intentions when creating the "Cremaster Cycle". The sculptures, constructed from the artist's signature materials, including plastic, metal, and Vaseline, are three-dimensional incarnations of characters and settings seen in Barney's films. They exist independently but embody the same content, now expressed in space rather than time.