Academy of Avant-garde Film 3 3002-AFA21
Lecture classes combined with film screenings. Students will learn about the phenomena of the avant-garde film from the 1940s, to which contemporary artists refer in their works. Participants of the classes will take part in study visits to contemporary art galleries in Warsaw, getting acquainted with the works of artists, who refer to avant-garde. The classes introduce the tradition of the avant-garde and point out contemporary documentary films, which use the film language developed on the basis of the avant-garde, emphasizing social issues, circulation and its production.
The purchase of a film pass is obligatory for the participants. Pass price: PLN 100.
First lesson: October 7, 2021
Lecturers: Sebastian Cichocki, Paulina Haratyk, prof. dr hab. Ryszard W. Kluszczyński, dr Marika Kuźmicz, dr Krystyna Mazur, Antoni Michnik, dr Magdalena Podsiadło, prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz, Karol Radziszewski, dr Gabriela Sitek
Coordinator: dr. Gabriela Sitek (gabriela.sitek@gmail.com)
I. 7th of October 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Cinema of Maya Deren as a precursor of the American avant-garde film
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz
Presented films:
“At Land” by Maya Deren, 1944, 14’
“Meditation on Violence” by Maya Deren, 1948, 10’
“In the Mirror of Maya Deren” by Martina Kudláček, 2002, 104’
II. 14th of October 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Film diary, everyday life, autobiography, documentality of subjectivity in the American avant-garde of the 1960s. Works of Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, Marie Menken
Lecturer: dr Magdalena Podsiadło
Presented films:
“Glimpse of the Garden” by Marie Menken, 1957, 4’
“Notebook” by Marie Menken, 1962-1963, 10’
“Go! Go! Go!” by Marie Menken, 1962-1964, 11’30
„Out-Takes from the Life of Happy Man” by Jonas Mekas, 2012, 68’
III. 21st of October 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Own cinema, home movies, video-diary. Amateur film in context of avant-garde
Lecturer: Paulina Haratyk
Presented films:
„Ja kinuję” by Karolina Puchała-Rojek, 2012, 25'
"Narodziny człowieka" by Ryszard Wawrynowicz, Julian Jaskólski, 1963, 11'
„Klucz do...” by Marcin Ziębiński, 1986, 16’
„Mojave” by Wilhelm Sasnal¸ 2006, 6'
„Chleb” by Wilhelm Sasnal, 2017, 7’
IV. 28th of October 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Queer expression of the American film avant-garde
Lecturer: Karol Radziszewski
Presented films:
“Fireworks” by Kenneth Anger, 1947, 20’
“Kiss”, “Empire”, “Blow job”, “Chelsea Girls”, "Sleep" Andy’ego Warhola [fragments]
“Beautiful People” by David Wojnarowicz, 1987, 30’
„Kisieland” by Karol Radziszewski, 2012, 30'
V. 4th of November 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
The touch of the cinema: the experiments of Barbara Hammer
Lecturer: dr Krystyna Mazur
Presented films:
“Dyketactics” by Barbara Hammer, 1973, 4 min.
“Jane Brakhage” by Barbara Hammer, 1974, 10 min.
„Sanctus” by Barbara Hammer, 1990, 20 min.
“Lover Other: The Story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore” by Barbara Hammer, 2006, 55’
“Evidentiary Bodies” by Barbara Hammer, USA, 2018, 15 min.
VI. 18th of November 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Films from the Fluxus circle towards new media
“Fluxfilm Anthology”
Authors of presented works: Nam June Paik, Dick Higgins, George Maciunas, Chieko Shiomi, John Cavanaugh, James Riddle, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, Robert Watts, Pieter Vanderbiek, Joe Jones, Eric Anderson, Jeff Perkins, Wolf Vostell, Albert Fine, George Landow, Paul Sharits, John Cale, Peter Kennedy, Mike Parr, Ben Vautier
VII. 25th of November 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Visual and Other Pleasures. Anti-narrative polemic of Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz
Presented film:
“Riddles of the Sphinx”, Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen, 1977, 92’
VIII. 2nd of December 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Women forerunners of world video art
Lecturer: dr Marika Kuźmicz
Presented works:
“Birthday Suit With Scars and Defects”, Lisa Steele, 1974, 13’
„Vanitas”, Tamara Krikorian, 1977, 9’
„Soundsize”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1974, 4’40’’
„Preparação I”, Letícia Parente, 1975
„Marca Registrada”, Letícia Parente, 1975
„What a Woman Made”, Mako Idemitsu, 1973, 10’50’’
“Female Sensibility”, Lynda Benglis, 1973 14 ‘’
„Instrukcije”, Sanja Iveković, 1976, 5’59’’
„Mudīte”, Mudīte Gaiševska, 1972
IX. 9th of December 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Works of Steina and Woody Vasulka
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Ryszard W. Kluszczyński
Presented works:
“Calligrams”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1970, 3’30’’
“Golden Voyage”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1973, 14’12’’
“C-Trend”, Steina i Woody Vasulka,
“Violin Power”, Steina i Woody Vasulka,
“Vocabulary”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1978, 28’47’’
“In Search of the Castle…”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1981, 9’29’’
“Art of memory”, Steina i Woody Vasulka,
“In the Land of the Elevator Girls”, Steina i Woody Vasulka, 1989, 4’
„Warp”, Steina i Woody Vasulka,
X. 16th of December 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Film avant-garde in a post-colonial perspective
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz
Presented films:
“Illusions”, reż. Julie Dash, 1983, 34’
“I Am not Your Negro”, reż. Raoul Peck, 2016, 105’
XI. 13th of January 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
The work of Joseph Beuys and his contemporary image in a documentary film
Lecturer: Sebastian Cichocki
Presented film:
“Beuys”, Andres Veiel, 2017, 107 min.
XII. 20th of January 2021 (Thursday), 17.00-20.00
Found footage as a technique of avant-garde realizations in contemporary documentary cinema
Lecturer: dr Gabriela Sitek
Presented film:
“Dawson City: Frozen Time”, Bill Morrison, 2017, 120’
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
- Student knows the most important artists and the most outstanding works of contemporary avant-garde cinema and its connection with documentary film,
- Student knows the most important trends, phenomena and authors of the history of avant-garde cinema and their relationship with the art of documentary film,
- Student knows how social and historical issues correspond to avant-garde films,
- Student knows the historical and socio-cultural context of contemporary documentary cinema and the most frequently discussed issues of specific films,
- Student understands the functioning and meaning of video and avant-garde films in various cultural contexts and is able to use the analytical tools in independent broadening of knowledge in the field of contemporary art exhibited in Warsaw galleries
Skills:
- Student is able to analyze avant-garde films in terms of the formal and aesthetic conditions,
- Student is able to independently analyze avant-garde films and video art in a broader historical and sociological context,
- Student can use avant-garde films in scientific work, eg as a source for historical and sociological research,
- Student can indicate the differences and similarities between the language of avant-garde and feature films
Assessment criteria
Methods of assessing work of student:
1. Continuous assessment: ongoing preparation for classes and activity (10/100)
2. Written work (review / report / essay) about study visit in one of Warsaw galleries (10/100)
3. Final written essay (60/100)
Student has to write final essay on topic of avant-garde film (4-5 pages). Student has to consult the topic with the coordinator of classes. Student should send the topic of the essay by the last classes to coordinator (gabriela.sitek@gmail.com).
4. Control of the presence (20/100)
A presence on more than half of the classes is required. Two absences are allowed. In the case of each subsequent absence student is required to write a review or essay (on a previously agreed topic with the coordinator) about the selected film, on which projection was the participant of the class.
Volume: up to 3000 characters. Deadline for sending: the last classes in the semester.
Bibliography
Basic reading:
1. „Historie filmu awangardowego”, ed. Ł. Ronduda, G. Sitek, Fundacja Okonakino, Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie, korporacja ha!art, Warszawa-Kraków 2020
2. A. Pitrus, „Film awangardowy w latach 1930–1959”, in: „Kino klasyczne. Historia kina”, Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, vol. 2, ed. T. Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Kraków 2011, pp. 549-66
3. A. Pitrus, „Film awangardowy w latach 1960-1980”, in: „Kino epoki nowofalowej. Historia kina”, vol. 3, ed. T. Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2015, pp. 659-685
4. A. Pitrus, „Film awangardowy i sztuka wideo końca wieku”, in: „Kino końca wieku. Historia kina”, vol. 4., ed. T. Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2019, pp. 867-899
5. P. A. Sitney, „Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde 1943-2000”, Oxford University Press, New York 2002
Recommended reading:
6. M. Przylipiak, „Poetyka kina dokumentalnego”, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Wydawnictwo Pomorskiej Akademii Pedagogicznej w Słupsku, Gdańsk-Słupsk 2004
7. M. Radkiewicz, „»Władczynie spojrzenia«. Teoria filmu a praktyka reżyserek i artystek”, korporacja ha!art, Kraków 2010
8. „Wideo w sztukach wizualnych”, ed. R. W. Kluszczyńskiego, T. Załuskiego, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Galeria Labirynt, Łódź-Lublin 2018
9. „Reżyserki kina. Tradycja i współczesność”, ed. M. Radkiewicz, Rabid, Kraków 2005
10. M. Podsiadło, „Autobiografizm filmowy jako ślad podmiotowej egzystencji”, Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2013
11. L. Mulvey, "Do utraty wzroku. Wybór tekstów", ed. Kamila Kuc, Lara Thompson, korporacja ha!art, Era Nowe Horyzonty, Kraków-Warszawa 2010
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: