Free Fall (1964) d’ARTHUR LIPSETT

CONFESSION : Un post un peu hors-sujet, une histoire un peu trop longue à raconter. En gros c’est ma faute si il n’y a plus de films de Lipsett disponibles sur Ubuweb (‘Removed by request of the copyright holder’) … Tout ce qu’il en reste c’est ce vidéo qu’on avait ‘posté’ sur un autre blog – ‘reposté’ ici (par miracle toujours fonctionnel).  Je demande pardon.

 

Free Fall
Arthur Lipsett, Canada, 1964, 9 min 15 s

 

An experimental film from Arthur Lipsett, Free Fall is an assortment of film trimmings assembled to make a wry comment on humankind in today’s world. It evokes a surrealist dream of our fall from grace into banality.

 

***

 

Arthur Lipsett (May 13, 1936 – May 1, 1986) was a Canadian avant-garde director of short experimental films.

In the 1960s he was employed as an animator by the National Film Board of Canada. Lipsett’s particular passion was sound. He would collect pieces of sound and fit them together to create an interesting auditory sensation. After playing one of these creations to friends, they suggested that Lipsett put images to it. He did what his friends suggested, and the result became the 7 minute long film Very Nice, Very Nice which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects in 1962. Despite not winning the Oscar, this film brought Lipsett considerable praise from critics and directors. Stanley Kubrick was one of Lipsett’s fans, and asked him to create a trailer for his upcoming movie Dr. Strangelove. Lipsett declined Kubrick’s offer. Kubrick went on to direct the trailer himself; however, Lipsett’s influence on Kubrick is clearly visible when watching the trailer.

Lipsett’s film 21-87 was a profound influence on director George Lucas who included elements from 21-87 in THX 1138, his Star Wars films and also American Graffiti. The film 21-87 has been credited by Lucas as the source of the « The Force » in Star Wars. Lucas never met the filmmaker but tributes to 21-87 appear throughout Star Wars. For example, the holding cell of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope on the Death Star is cell No. 2187.

Lipsett’s success allowed him some freedom, but as his films became more bizarre, this freedom quickly disappeared. He suffered from psychological problems. Later in his life he is said to have done strange things like taking a taxi from Toronto to Montreal (costing several hundred dollars). Lipsett committed suicide in 1986, two weeks before his 50th birthday.

 

Plus de détails sur Lipsett ici.

 

Aussi de Lipsett :

Very Nice, Very Nice (1961) ici.

21-87 (1964) ici.

A Trip Down Memory Lane (1965) ici.

Lecture suggérée

La Bible en images (Taschen)


Visions du Paradis et de l’Enfer


Les brûlantes illustrations de Lucas Cranach pour la Bible de 1534 de Luther : le livre qui a à jamais bouleversé la chrétienté


Publiée en 1534, la Bible de Martin Luther était la première Bible allemande complète. Sa diffusion a marqué un tournant majeur dans l’histoire de la chrétienté. La traduction révolutionnaire dans le langage vernaculaire, aussi moderne que son interprétation, rendit la Bible accessible aux non-initiés et a contribué de façon décisive à l’apparition de la Réforme en Europe du Nord et à la naissance d’une nouvelle religion, le protestantisme.


Les exemplaires les plus convoités incluaient des illustrations politiquement chargées au graphisme choquant, comme celles qui présentent la Putain de Babylone coiffée de la couronne papale et chevauchant un monstre à sept têtes, ou les Quatre Cavaliers de l’Apocalypse conduits par un soldat turc.


TASCHEN publie aujourd’hui ces 117 gravures sur bois autrefois coloriées à la main dans l’atelier de Lucas Cranach. Chacune d’elles a fait l’objet d’une reproduction méticuleuse à partir d’un exemplaire original rare et somptueux conservé à la Bibliothèque Herzogin Anna Amalia de Weimar. La préface de Stephan Füssel propose un aperçu de la vie de Luther, du contexte historique et de l’importance culturelle de la Bible de Luther, ainsi que des descriptions détaillées des illustrations et de leur iconographie.


TASCHEN


La Bible en images

La Bible en images

La Bible en images

‘New Religion’ par Damien Hirst

'New Religion' Book by Damien-Hirst'New Religion' Book by Damien-Hirst'New Religion' Book by Damien-Hirst'New Religion' Book by Damien-Hirst




Published in 2006 following Damien Hirst’s first major print exhibition at the Paul Stolper Gallery in London in 2005, New Religion explores Hirst’s central themes: ‘‘I was thinking that there are four important things in life: religion, love, art and science…Of them all, science seems to be the right one now. Like religion, it provides the glimmer of hope that maybe it will be all right in the end.’’


With full colour reproductions of this entire series of Hirst silkscreen prints produced for the New Religion exhibition, such as The Apostles, The Wound of Christ, The Last Supper and The Stations of the Cross, as well as editioned sculptures and multiples such as The Fate of Man and the ‘box/cabinet’ called New Religion, this hardback publication is a modern day biblical picture-book exploring combinations between science and religion. And the ideas about Hirst’s science/religion dichotomy are further explored through an intriguing interview with Sean O’Hagan that moves effortlessly from the macro to the micro, and back again, ‘‘I just can’t help thinking that science is the new religion for many people. It’s as simple and as complicated as that really.’’


Plus de détails ici.





Trouvé suite au post de l’Homme Mort sur la ‘New Religion Blanket‘ …


'New Religion' Blanket by Damien-Hirst

‘The Last Sacrifice of Rite’ by AISLINN LEGGETT

Aislinn Leggett : The Last Sacrifice of Rite

Aislinn Leggett : The Last Sacrifice of Rite

Aislinn Leggett : The Last Sacrifice of Rite

Aislinn Leggett : The Last Sacrifice of Rite

Aislinn Leggett : The Last Sacrifice of Rite

AISLINN LEGGETT :


The Last Sacrifice of Rite is a work in progress, a study on the Catholic religion celebrated in rural communities. Villages in Quebec, those tucked away in valleys and winding roads throughout rural regions, are the areas that attract me the most.


Quebec was once a province where the Catholic Church was a very dominant institution in people’s daily lives. In smaller towns, priests were often as powerful as the local mayor. Archbishops of large cities were influential with the government and political decisions were mostly made in accordance with the Church’s beliefs. After the Quiet Revolution of the 1960’s, the institution that suffered the most was the Roman Catholic Church. Quebec’s social and moral values, which had all been anchored by the Church from the past, were questioned. Quebec became very secular.


When entering the church, the faces that look up from the pews are mostly older eyes framed by wrinkles and white glistening hair with the exception of some younger families that come every once and a while. There are no longer big families of 10 – 15 children lining the pews and important gatherings after mass are a thing of the past. The church and Sunday mass in small communities played a very important role, it was not only for the deeply devoted but was also a place for gathering and reunion. For women and men to gossip, to talk about the weather, about work and to simply take time and enjoy one another’s company. But today that sense of unity and gathering seems to be fading.


I have never experienced these days, I have only heard stories, nor have I ever seriously attended Catholic mass as a worshiper. My faith is somewhat of a constructed one following none but respectful of all. Being neither influenced nor offended, attending mass to observe and photograph is quite interesting. Watching mass, the process, the dance of the priest from bible to preaching and parishioners submissiveness of kneeling, standing and sitting unfolds almost like a rehearsed play. The people sit sporadically through the church, a building that can hold up to 1200 people, sits now maybe 50.


Priests try to keep their sermons contemporary, comparing Bible passages to recent news events, trying hard to keep up-to-date with lingo and the fast moving pace of today’s society to try to appeal to younger generations. But maybe they are a bit late with the attendance dwindling, at least for the younger people of the province, which see religion colliding with social morals and present ideals.


The Last Sacrifice of Rite is a study of what used to be a way of life, now transformed and how old values are trying to survive. It’s looking at people that are holding on to a deeply rooted tradition and priests that are determined to try and keep that ritual alive.


SOURCE