- 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-AFA20-OG
Among the topics discussed are the canon of world cinema
history: The Great Avant-garde - the Dadaist film
(Mechanical Ballet by Fernand Léger, 1924, Antrakt René
Claira, 1924), the surrealist film (Andalusian Dog by Luis
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, Moment Musical, 2006, Jalu Kurek
- RC- Rhythmic Calculations by Ignacy Szczepański, Marcin
Giżycki, 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 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, Tony
Conrad, Andy Worhol). 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).
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.
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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
Date: 15.10.2020
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Marcin Giżycki
“Mechanical Ballet” by Fernand Léger, 1924, 19’
„Antrakt” by René Clair, 1924, 25’
“Andalusian Dog” by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, 1929,
21’,
“Golden Age” by Luis Buñuel, 1930, 63’
2. Cinema of the Great Avant-garde – lyric document
Date: 22.10.2020
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Marcin Giżycki
“Berlin, Symphony of the Great City” by Walter Ruttmann,
1927, 79’
“Man with a camera” by Dziga Vertov, 1929, 80’
3. Women of the Great Avant-garde and their work in the
contemporary documentary film
Date: 29.10.2020
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz
“Invitation to a Journey” Germaine Dulac, 1927, 36’
“Love Other: The Story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore”
by Barbara Hammer, 2006, 55’
4. Cinema of the American and Canadian avant-garde of the
1920s, 30s and 40s.
Date: 5.11.2020
Lecturer: Daniel Muzyczuk
“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’;
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5. Polish film avant-garde from the 1920s to the 1960s –
pioneer projects of the Polish avant-garde film
Date: 12.11.2020
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Marcin Giżycki
“The Adventure of a Good Citizen” by Franciszka Themerson
and Stefan Themerson, 1937, 10’
„Pharmacy” by Bruce Checefsky, 2001, 10’,
„Moment Musical” by Bruce Checefsky, 2006, 6’,
„Jalu Kurek - RC- Rhythmic Calculations” by Ignacy
Szczepański, Marcin Giżycki 1985, 4’
„Once Upon a Time” by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica,
1957, 9’
„House” by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, 1957, 11’
„Sztandar Młodych” by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica,
1957, 2’
6. Cinema of Maya Deren as a precursor of the American
avant-garde film
Date: 19.11.2020
Lecturer: prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Radkiewicz
“In the Mirror of Maya Deren” by Martina Kudláček, 104’
“Meshes of the Afternoon” by Maya Deren i Alexander
Hammid, 1943, 14'.
“Ritual in Transfigured Time” by Maya Deren, 1946, 14',
7. A city in a contemporary documentary film essay in context
of avant-garde cinema
Date: 24.11.2020
Discussion: Piotr Stasik and Jakub Majmurek
“21 x New York” by Piotr Stasik, 2016, 71’
8. Film diary, everyday life, autobiography, documentality of
subjectivity in the American avant-garde of the 1960s. Works
of Jonas Mekas
Date: 26.11.2020
Lecturer: dr Marcin Borchardt
“The Brig” by Jonas Mekas, 1960, 64’
9. Queer expression of the American film avant-garde
Date:3.12.2020
Lecturer: Karol Radziszewski
“Fireworks” by Kenneth Anger, 1947, 20 min.
“Flaming Creatures” by Jack Smith, 162-163, 45 min.
“Kiss, Empire, Blow job, Chelsea Girls” by Andy Worhol
[fragments]
“Dyketactics” by Barbara Hammer 1973, 4 min.
“Beautiful People” by David Wojnarowicz, 1987, 30 min.
10. Own cinema, home movies / cinema amateur
Date:8.12.2020
Lecturer: Paulina Haratyk
„Rzeźbiarz z kamerą” by Marcin Giżycki, 2018, 29'
Przed zmierzchem by Leszek Boguszewski, 1976, 7’
„Klucz do...” by Marcin Ziębiński, 1986, 16’
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“Mojave” by Wilhelm Sasnal¸ 2006, 6'
“Chleb” by Wilhelm Sasnal 2017, 7’
11. The work of Joseph Beuys and his contemporary image in
a documentary film
Date: 10.12.2020
Lecturer: Sebastian Cichocki
“Beuys” by Andres Veiel, Niemcy 2017, 107 min.
12. Avant-garde concepts and realizations of Fluxus film
experiments
Date: 17.12.2020
Lecturer: Antoni Michnik
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
13. The work of Tony Conrad and his character in
contemporary documentary film
Date: 14.01.2020
Lecturer: Daniel Muzyczuk
“Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present” by Tyler Hubby,
USA, 96 min.
14. Found footage as a technique of avant-garde realizations
in contemporary documentary cinema
Date: 21.01.2020
Lecturer: dr Gabriela Sitek
“Dawson City: Frozen Time” by Bill Morrison, USA, 2017,
120 min.
“Evidentiary Bodies” by Barbara Hammer, USA, 2018, 15
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
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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
(30/100)
2. Final written essay test 50/100
The condition for passing the classes out of presence will be
writing the essay regarding the presented films and topics
covered during the lectures. The topic of the essay should be
consulted with the coordinator of the classes. The topic should
be sent before the last classes at address:
gabriela.sitek@gmail.com.
3. Control of the presence of 20/100
Ongoing watching films 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.
Written essay for 5-6 pages. The topic of essays should be
consulted previously with the coordinator of the classes. The
topic should be sent to the last classes of the semester.
All classes are held online. On the day when classes are
scheduled, enrolled students will receive codes for accessing
included in the program. The films will be available on the
Mdag.pl and Vimeo platforms. Access to films planned as
part of classes will be possible for 7 days. From the moment
the video is played for the first time, people enrolled in the
classes will have 4 hours to watch it. Lectures will be held on
the Zoom platform. The lectures will start at 5 p.m.
Recordings of lectures will be sent to students after the end of
the lecture.
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
P. A. Sitney, Visionary Film: The American Avant-
Garde, 1943-2000, New York 2002
Recommended reading:
J. Kurek, Objaśniam OR, „Linia” 1933, no 5
Germaine Dulac, Istota kina –wizualizacja myśłi, tran.
I. Dembowski, in: Europejskie manifesty kina.
Antologia, ed. A. Gwóźdź, Państwowe Wydawnictwo
Wiedza Powszechna, Warszawa 2002, pp. 170-178
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: