Experimental Film: Sites and Spaces
Eugene Lang College Lib Arts: Culture & Media
CRN: 17260
Credits: 4
The history and scope of experimental or avant-garde cinema has been closely tied to, but also significantly separate from, the practices of the art world, on one hand, and commercial Hollywood filmmaking, on the other. Situated between these two poles, it has developed into many distinct and overlapping cultures characterized by artisanal modes of filmmaking, independent theatrical and distribution channels, auxiliary print and screening practices, and often highly charged debates concerning medium specificity, aesthetics, and politics. This course maps the multiple spaces in which experimental film has flourished, from the underground bohemia of downtown New York City and the rural isolation of Stan Brakhage’s Colorado outpost, to the “minor” and “minority” cinemas that sprung up on the outskirts of Hollywood and the found footage experiments of contemporary artists in Vienna. Additionally the course examines notions of space as articulated in experimental film and media, including city symphonies, landscape film, expanded cinema, and modes of ethnographic encounter. In each of the course’s many sites of articulation, we will pay close attention to the avant-garde’s impulse to locate, in film, video, and digital media, spaces of political resistance, personal expression, and aesthetic possibility. [Tracks M, S]
College: Eugene Lang College Lib Arts (LC)
Department: Culture & Media (CAM)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 18
Add/Drop Deadline: September 9, 2024 (Monday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: November 17, 2024 (Sunday)
Seats Available: No
Status: Closed*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 9:22pm EST 12/11/2024