- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Academy of Avant-garde Film 1 3002-AFA19-OG
Buñuel and Salvador Dali, 1929, Golden Age by Luis Buñuel ,
1930), lyric document (including Berlin, symphony of the
great city Walter Ruttmann, 1927, Man with a camera Dziga
Wiertowa, 1929), a cinema of narrative experiments (An
invitation to travel Germaine Dulac , 1927), as well as the
pioneer productions of the Polish avant-garde film of the
1920s and 1930s. The adventure of a good man by Franciszka
Themerson and Stefan Themerson, 1937; films reconstructed
today based on traces of the surviving concepts of Pharmacy
by Bruce Checefsky 2001 , Melodious Trigger of that, 2006,
Jalu Kurek - OR - Rhythmic calculations by Ignacy
Szczepański, 1985). Paying attention to the tradition of the
twentieth century film avant-garde is important both due to
the development of its first film poetics and its constitutive
influence on the shape of avant-garde art (see R. W.
Kluszczyński, Film - Sztuka Awangardy, Warsaw-Łódź
1990). The program also foresees a place to look at the
experimental trends in the Polish documentary film of the
1940s and 1950s. Attention will be paid to the creativity of,
among others, Andrzej Panufnik, Tadeusz Makarczyński.
The participants will learn the tradition of the American
avant-garde cinema of the 1920s, 30s and 40s (including
Manhatta by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler 1921, films by
Maya Deren, Fireworks by Kenetha Angera, 1947). The cycle
program covers the history of the American film avant-garde
of 1960-1980 (including works by Jonas Mekas, Stan
Brakhage Mothlight, Michael Snow, Tony Conrad, Andy
Worhola, Ken). The participants will learn the most important
concepts and realizations of Fluxus film experiments
(including the works of Joseph Beuys, Yoko Ono Nam June
Paik).
We will also pay attention to the British avant-garde creators
of this period (authors associated with The London Film-
Maker's Co-operative, including Malcolm Le Grice,
considered the creator of the so-called extended cinema,
Geoffrey Jones).
An integral part of the classes will be screenings of
contemporary documentary films drawing on the Avant-
Garde tradition and classic avant-garde films of the 1950s,
60s, 70s and 80s. The echoes of these traditions can be found
in contemporary documentary cinema as films whose authors
are nowadays one from the group of filmmakers most open to
the experiment. Documentary films often remain in the
festival circuit, outside the mainstream of cinema distribution.
Contemporary documentary cinema is currently one of the
most interesting and fastest growing film genres.
Documentary films, which were included in the ranking,
characterize the form's innovation, bringing them closer to the
border between the document and the experimental cinema.
During the course, the issue of creation in the documentary
film and the perspective from which the narrative is carried
out will be addressed, with the use of which means of
expression persuasive transmission of documents is built. An
important issue of the proposed activities will be the issue of
editing as a process of organizing film expression.
Classes are aimed at increasing the awareness of the impact of
film avant-garde traditions on the forms of expression present
in the contemporary film, in particular in the documentary
film, building the competence to perceive contemporary art.
The series of the lectures and screenings is the first part of the
avant-garde film program, consisting of two semester cycles
that covers issues of the history of avant-garde film - from the
1920s to the newest times.
1. Cinema of the Great Avant-garde - a Dadaist and
surrealist film
Mechanical Ballet Fernanda Légera, 1924, 19’
Antrakt René Claira, 1924, 25’
Andalusian Dog Luisa Buñuela i Salvadora Dali’ego, 1929,
21’,
Golden Age Luisa Buñuela, 1930, 63’
2. Cinema of the Great Avant-garde – lyric document
Berlin, Symphony of the Great City Waltera Ruttmanna, 1927,
79’
Man with a camera Dzigi Wiertowa, 1929, 80’
3. A city in a contemporary documentary film essay - 21
x New York by Piotr Stasik
21 x New York by Piotr Stasik, 2016, 71’
4. Directors of the Great Avant-garde and their work in
the contemporary documentary film
Invitation to a Journey Germaine Dulac, 1927, 36’
Love Other: The Story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore
by Barbara Hammer, 2006, 55’
5. Polish film avant-garde from the 1920s to the 1960s -
pioneer projects of the Polish avant-garde film
The Adventure of a Good Citizen by Franciszka Themerson
and Stefan Themerson, 1937, 10’
Apteka Bruce’a Checefsky’ego, 2001, 10’,
Drobiazg melodyjny tegoż, 2006, 6’,
Jalu Kurek - RC - Rhythmical Calculations by Ignacy
Szczepański, 1985, 4’
Był sobie raz… by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, 1957, 9’
Dom by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, 1957, 11’
Own cinema, home movies / cinema amateur
Klucz do..., reż. Marcin Ziembiński, 1986, 16’
Przed zmierzchem, reż. Leszek Boguszewski, 1976, 7’
Mojave, reż. Wilhelm Sasnal¸ 2006, 6'
Rzeźbiarz z kamerą, reż. Marcin Giżycki, 2018, 29'
7. Cinema of the American avant-garde of the 1920s, 30s
and 40s - the works of Mai Deren
In the mirror of Maya Deren by Martina Kundlacek, 104’
Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren i Alexander
Hammid, 1943, 14'.
Ritual in Transfigured Time by Maya Deren, 1946, 14',
8. Cinema of the American and Canadian avant-garde of
the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
Manhattan by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler, 1921, 9’,
Light Rhythms by Francis Bruguiere and Oswell Blakeston
1930, 6’
Early abstractions by Harry Smith, 1939–56, 23’,
Neighbours by Norman McLaren, 1952, 9’;
9. Avant-garde in contemporary documentary films:
Beuys, dir. Andres Veiel
Beuys by Andres Veiel, Niemcy 2017, 107 min.
10. American film avant-garde - aesthetics of moral shock
Flaming Creatures by Jack Smith, 162-163, 45 min.
Fireworks by Kenneth Anger, 1947, 20 min.
Dyketactics by Barbara Hammer 1973, 4 min.
Beautiful People by David Wojnarowicz, 1987, 30 min.
Kiss, Empire, Blow job, Chelsea Girls by Andy Worhol
[fragments]
11. American film avant-garde of 1960-1980 - works of
Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, Jacek Smith
The Brig, 1960, 64’ by Jonas Mekas;
Walden (Diaries, Notes, and Sketches), 1969, 177’ by Jonas
Mekas; [fragments]
Mothlight by Stan Brakhage, 1963, 4’
Early abstractions by Harry Smith, 1939–56, 23’,
Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son by Ken Jacobs [fragments]
The Flicker by Tony Conrad, 1966 [fragments]
12. Avant-garde in contemporary documentary films:
Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present, dir. Tyler
Hubby
Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present by Tyler Hubby,
USA, 96 min.
13. Avant-garde concepts and realizations of Fluxus film
experiments
Fluxfilm Anthology
The creators of the presented films: 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
14. Found footage as a technique of avant-garde
realizations in contemporary documentary cinema
Dawson City: Frozen Time by Bill Morrison, USA, 2017, 120
min.
Evidentiary Bodies by Barbara Hammer, USA, 2018, 15 min.
15. Avant-garde work of Chris Marker
La jeteé by Chris Marker, 1962, 62 min.
Junkopia by Chris Marker, 1981, 62 min.
Type of course
general courses
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
- The student knows the most important artists and the most
outstanding works of contemporary avant-garde cinema and
its connection with a documentary film
The student knows the most important trends, phenomena
and creators in the history of avant-garde cinema and its
relationship with the art of documentary film
The student knows what social and historical issues
correspond to avant-garde films and using means developed
on the basis of avant-garde documentary films
The student knows the historical and socio-cultural context
of contemporary documentary cinema and the most frequently
discussed issues in specific films
The student knows, by means of which theoretical and
analytical tools, to examine avant-garde film - both its global
realizations and films made in Poland and referring to the
native context
The student understands the functioning and meaning of
video and avant-garde films in various cultural contexts and is
able to use the analytical tools assimilated in the classes in
independent broadening of knowledge in the field of
contemporary art exhibited in Warsaw galleries
Skills:
The student is able to analyze avant-garde films in terms of
the formal and aesthetic solutions used in them
The student is able to independently analyze avant-garde
films and video art in a broader historical and social context
The student can use avant-garde films in scientific work, eg
as a source for historical and sociological research
The student can indicate the differences and similarities
between the language of avant-garde and feature cinema
Assessment criteria
Methods of assessing the student's work (participation in the
overall assessment of the student's work)
1. Continuous assessment: ongoing preparation for classes
and activity (30/100)
2. Final written test 50/100
The condition for passing the classes out of presence will be
passing the test regarding the presented films and topics
covered during the lectures.
3. Control of the presence of 20/100
A presence on more than half of the classes is required. Two
absences are allowed. In the case of each subsequent absence
the in class participant is required to write a review of the
selected film, on which projection was the participant of the
class (other than selected for final assignments). The review
may be a shorter form of response to the question asked
during the course.
Volume: up to 3000 characters. Deadline for sending: the last
classes in the semester.
Bibliography
Basic reading:
M. Giżycki, Awangarda wobec kina. Film w kręgu
polskiej awangardy artystycznej dwudziestolecia
międzywojennego, Warszawa 1996; Stefan i
Franciszka Themerson. Poszukiwania wizualne,
catalogue of exhipiton, Łódź 1981.
A. Helman, Awangarda we francuskim i niemieckim
kinie niemym, Kino nieme. Historia kina, volume 1,
ed. T. Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Cracow 2009,
pp. 737-777.
R. W. Kluszczyński, Film – sztuka Wielkiej
Awangardy, Warsaw-Lodz 1990.
A. Pitrus, Film awangardowy w latach 1930–1959,
Kino klasyczne. Historia kina, volume 2, ed. T.
Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Cracow 2011, pp.
549-66
A. Pitrus, Film awangardowy w latach 1960-1980,
Kino epoki nowofalowej. Historia kina, vol. 3, ed. T.
Lubelski, I. Sowińska, R. Syska, Cracow 2015
M. Przylipiak, Poetyka kina dokumentalnego, Gdansk
2000
Themersonowie i awangarda, ed. Paweł Polit, Lodz
2013
7
P. A. Sitney, Visionary Film: The American Avant-
Garde, 1943-2000, New York 2002
Lektury zalecane:
J. Kurek, Objaśniam OR, „Linia” 1933, no 5
Sztuka w kinie dokumentalnym, ed. Paulina
Kwiatkowska, Matylda Szewczyk, Warsaw 2016
Grupa ETC, Narracje, estetyki, geografie: Fluxus w
trzech aktach, 2014
A. Pitrus, Fundament pamięci – o „fotograficznej
powieści” Chrisa Markera, „Kwartalnik Filmowy”
2006, no 54-55, pp. 231-236
M. Radkiewicz, „Władczynie spojrzenia”. Teoria
filmu a praktyka reżyserek i artystek, Cracow 2010
M. Stępnik, Lustra, maski, sobowtóry... Maya Deren i
jej siostry w maskaradzie, Outsiderzy, mistyfikatorzy,
eskapiści w sztuce XX wieku. Studium postaw
twórczych, Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2016, pp.
103-134
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: