Cinematic Cartographies

Workshop: Cinematic Cartographies, with Roger Beebe and Wes Kline May 16th through June 17th, Monday to Friday 10:30 to 13:00.

This is a film production course, but its approach is primarily theoretical rather than technical.

How do we locate ourselves within the new global economic system? What connections can we make between our local environment and the bigger stage of multinational capitalism? These are the big questions that this course hopes to begin to answer by the end of the semester, but it will start more modestly with a series of mappings of more local areas and structures (specific buildings, streets, neighborhoods, etc.) before building to representations of the city itself and then finally tackling the more abstract issues of nation and the world system of global capital. We will be looking at various historical attempts at representing the world on these different scales (mostly in experimental film and video), but we will also look at some of the more ambitious literary and theoretical attempts at such mapping, including Fredric Jameson’s work on “cognitive mapping,” the Situationists’ radical urbanism, contemporary architectural theory, etc.

Practically, the course will focus on aesthetic approaches to this project of cognitive mapping. Students will produce a series of short exercises designed to tackle these progressively larger scales of representation while simultaneously exploring the basics of moving-image work. The course should provide a good way of engaging with Berlin, its geography, its history, and its people while concurrently developing a set of technical and aesthetic strategies. While the primary focus will be on super 8mm filmmaking, students may elect instead to do photo-essays, write fictions, or experiment in non-traditional essay forms instead. In cooperation with the University of Florida, Gainesville.

4 Films by Robert Beavers

Robert Beavers und P. Adams Sitney im Arsenal, 15.5.2011 // 19:00 // “My Hand Outstretched to the Winged Distance and Sightless Measure”: “In diesem Zyklustitel verbirgt sich durchaus Praktisches: Die ausgestreckte Hand. Der geflügelte Abstand (oder auch: Ferne, Wegstrecke, Zwischenraum, Zeitraum). Sowie das blinde Maß – ein Begriff, der unter anderem besagt, dass Robert Beavers bei der Montage kaum je das Bildfenster des Schneidetischs im Auge hat, sondern den Filmstreifen selbst, und dass er dabei stark auf die Erinnerung an den Moment des Filmens vertraut.” (Filmmuseum Wien) Niemand hat die poetische Kraft der Filme von Beavers anschaulicher hervorgehoben als P. Adams Sitney in seinen Schriften. Wir freuen uns, beide als unsere Gäste begrüßen zu dürfen.

Robert Beavers and P. Adams Sitney at Arsenal, 15.5.2011 // 19:00 //
“My Hand Outstretched to the Winged Distance and Sightless Measure”: “The title of this cycle hides something very practical: The outstretched hand. The winged distance [or also: distance, space, time]. Just like the sightless measure – a term that also points out that Robert Beavers does not have his eye on the image aperture during the montage but on the filmstrip itself, and that he deeply trusts the moment of filming.” (Filmmuseum Wien] “No-one has done more to elucidate Beaver’s poetic strength than cultural historian P. Adams Sitney.” (M.Guillen) We are pleased to welcome both as guests.