Film and Video

Esse artigo tem o intuito de refletir sobre algumas particularidades da história de uma tecnologia de captura, exibição e distribuição de obras audiovisuais que, apesar de recente, já é considerada parte do passado: o vídeo analógico. A partir de uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o vídeo, pretendemos entender alguns aspectos a respeito de seu surgimento, dos diferentes núcleos de produção nos quais foi utilizado, e de certas marcas lingüísticas e criativas. Esse tipo de abordagem pode ser muito importante para a compreensão dos novos regimes de produção, consumo e circulação de conteúdos audiovisuais na contemporaneidade, especialmente no âmbito da internet.

This research is a mapping of the moving image art produced in Brazilian Amazon from the 1970s to 2010s. It is based on archive research and an oral history methodology. We aim at writing a history that exposes the relationship of this production with the specificities of living in the Amazon. This specificity is closely related with discussions about the history of the region, the monumental landscape and the so called 'Amazonian Visuality' discussed in the 1980s. We explore this history through five topics: 1) the first experimental films of Vicente Cecim in the late 1970s; 2) the 1980s festivals and public screenings of videos of artists such as Jorane Castro, Val Sampaio and Mariano Klautau Filho; 3) The appearance of video art and video installations in art galleries in the early 1990s, with the works of Val Sampaio, Mariano Klautau Filho and Orlando Maneschy; 4) The 2000s young generation emerging from a university context which re-established a place for moving image art production in galleries from 2005; and 5) The relationship of moving image art with other art manifestations, such as dance, and modes of sharing with the incursion of this production on the internet in the 2010s.

While the Greek film musical enjoyed popularity and commercial success in the 1960s, introducing new discourses on tradition, Greekness and modernity, it virtually disappeared from the Greek film charts in the next decade after the fast decline of the Greek popular cinema. During the 1980s, a period of major political, social and cultural changes, the Greek popular cinema and its genres began to regain popularity. Among the films of the era, some film musicals were released, and within the blossoming direct-to-video network older musical filmmakers re-emerged from oblivion. The purpose of this article is to explore the Greek film and VHS musicals of the 1980s on the basis of the bipolar axis of introversion/extroversion or modernism/postmodernism and to describe its various articulations in terms of form and content in the light of MTV and popular American film musicals.

Objavljeno na Tportalu (www.tportal.hr) U umjetnosti postoje velikani koji stvaraju nova pravila i proširuju stara, a postoje i drugačiji velikani, istraživači nepoznatog koji pravila zaobilaze, uvijek odlazeći barem dva koraka dalje nego što je itko otišao prije njih. Ivan Ladislav Galeta, prerano preminuli, filmaš, videoumjetnik i likovnjak, bio je neumorni istraživač nepoznatih prostranstava. Postoji umjetnost koja smiruje dušu i umjetnost koja dušu uznemiruje, rekao je Ivan Ladislav Galeta (1947 – 2014) pri kraju HTV-ove emisije o svom radu iz 2009. godine. Obje su vrste umjetnosti, Galeta kaže, legitimne, no sasvim je jasno kakva je njegova umjetnost – ona dušu uznemiruje, potiče, izaziva i provocira, a smještena je u privlačnom prostoru između pseudoznanstvenog racionalizma i čiste mistike. Osim što se bavio prevođenjem (približivši nam filozofa Bélu Hamvasa, autora Filozofije vina), Galeta je bio važan i zbog svojih organizacijskih i pedagoških uspjeha – istaknuo bih rad u Multimedijskom centru zagrebačkog Studentskog centra te na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u istom gradu. Prvu je ustanovu neobično uspješno vodio od 1977 do 1990. godine, drugoj je temeljno pridonio uvođenjem novih medija u slijedećem desetljeću. Organizacijski i pedagoški rad se, nažalost, s vremenom zaboravlja, no Galeta će teško biti zaboravljen, jer je jedan od naših najvažnijih predstavnika eksperimentalnog filma i videoumjetnosti. Stasao na prijelazu iz 1960-ih u 1970-e, uvijek inovativan a nikad pomodan (filmskom se vrpcom bavio još godinama nakon što je uspješno prigrlio video), Galeta je ipak imao dvije opsesije kojima se u pokretnim slikama stalno vraćao – vrijeme i ljudsku percepciju. Prvu opsesiju, vrijeme, htio je istražiti sa svih mogućih strana, drugu je pak htio dovesti do krajnjih granica održivosti, uzdrmati joj same temelje. Njegovi će filmski i video radovi ostati zapamćeni kao vrhunci umjetnosti svoje epohe, no ovaj je umjetnik pritom bio i neumorni tumač svojih radova – u formi jedinstvenih spisa i blistavih predavanja, a ta bi tumačenja (i bez ostalih njegovih javnih izvedbi) bila dovoljna da Galetu proglasimo jednim od najvećih umjetnika performansa u nas. Kada sam prvi put slušao jedno predavanje kojim je Galeta objašnjavao svoje filmove, priznajem, ništa mi nije bilo jasno. No, potom sam shvatio da nije riječ o običnom predavanju: sve što Galeta radi treba analizirati, pa tako i njegova " objašnjenja ". Galeta je bio pravi pjesnik tumačenja, koristeći jezik analize i pedagogije za nove umjetničke strukture neraskidive od vizualne građe (a analizirao je i svoje i tuđe radove). Podjednako vješto je svom viđenju svijeta prilagođavao kino-dvorane i izložbene prostore, livade i vrtove te sve druge ambijente kojima se posvetio, pa nije čudno da je bio građanin svijeta, rado i često viđen u najvažnijim centrima umjetnosti. Osobno najviše volim njegov rad na filmskoj vrpci, ponajviše neobični Water Pulu 1869 • 1896 (ovo djelo iz 1988. sam je stavio na internet: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jZZglHLkKDQ). U tom djelu podjednako inspiriranom sportom, glazbom, filozofijom i slikarstvom lopta za vaterpolo postaje sunce oko kojeg vibrira plavetnilo bazena, neba i svijeta, no podjednako su uzbudljivi i njegovi video-televizijski eksperimenti, poput nenadmašnog crno-bijelog TV ping-ponga iz druge polovice 1970-ih

This article examines the first Greek film to give a central role to the concept of the mermaid: Georges Skalenakis’ 1987 direct-to-video feature 'Gorgona' ('Mermaid'). Although actually concerning an all-human female, 'Gorgona' attaches to her many traits of both the internationally common half-fish/half-woman creature (known in Greek as γοργόνα/gorgona) and the mermaid sister (also known as γοργόνα) in the legend of Alexander the Great. The article identifies the video-film’s allusions to these fishtailed figures and argues that the film produced an updated mermaid image that responded to other national and foreign audiovisual conceptions of the mermaid of the 1980s and enriched the star persona of its female lead, Eleni Filini, with a mythic quality and national symbolism.

Version française avant traduction et publication du texte pour le catalogue Defiant Muses, PETRESIN-BACHELEZ, Natasa; ZAPPERI, Giovanna (eds.).  Madrid/Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, 2019.
En anglais et en espagnol
Le texte n'a jamais été publié en français.

La forma que encontré para explorar el video arte y su poder expresivo es a través de la experimentación de la forma visual del cuerpo registrado y las alegorías sobre él. En ese sentido, mi trabajo es un acercamiento a la categorización y deconstrucción de los valores diversos de la sociedad actual; busco seguir la realidad fragmentada en diferentes proyectos sensibles y plásticos que yuxtaponen una idea de desintegración de la información, presentada como realidad, con la intención de sugerir implícitamente una reflexión por la veracidad de esta misma, y cuestionar su papel y el poder que infiere. Me interesa el cuerpo porque finalmente el producto de los videos conserva una carga genética considerable de mí como realizador, establezco un abordaje íntimo del arte, y propongo esta intimidad como asistencia revolucionaria. Todo este universo se sumerge en una propuesta expresionista, en el sentido de que el germen investigativo es subjetivo y autorreferencial. La experiencia está permeada por mi carrera en realización audiovisual, ya que es precisamente en este campo en donde se abordan varias disciplinas dentro de todas las áreas, pero también he tenido interés por la contracultura como movimiento dentro del campo estético. También tomo como influencia el dadá, el surrealismo y sus posteriores manifestaciones ideológicas y plásticas dentro de las vanguardias del siglo XX. En el caso local y a través de mi trabajo, opto por una visión en donde considero que esta manifestación antiestética, por así llamarla, responde a una serie de situaciones sociales en torno a la expectativa por la realización consumista contrapuesta a la realidad que coarta los derechos y las libertades. El carácter onírico de los sueños se fusiona con esta expectativa, y ese es el mensaje que quiero dejar como videoartista; me interesa que el espectador sienta que hace parte de una experiencia surreal, como si estuviera en un tipo de simulación de sueños. Los formatos que trabajo varían según el mensaje de cada video, los cuales siempre son diferentes. Por lo general me interesa trabajar con la baja calidad, registro de cámara web, pero también hago proyectos y registro con cámara réflex en alta calidad. Considero que el resultado es híbrido en cualquiera de los casos. Me interesa relevar mensajes inconclusos, fragmentos
de conversaciones, retórica aplicada en la imagen, la interpolación de significados adversos o similares. Me inclino y experimento con el stop-motion, el clay-motion, la rotoscopia, el gif, collage en movimiento y otras técnicas de animación. Mis principales influencias en términos de inspiración y referencias de calidad poética son los poetas Louis Aragón y Blaise Cendrars y, así mismo la investigación de las vanguardias del siglo XX descritas por el peruano José Mariátegui. También me siento abiertamente influenciado por Luis Buñuel y por Salvador Dalí, dentro de su filmografía y exploración plástica.

Centrado en el período del retorno democrático en Bolivia, a partir de 1982, este trabajo presenta un panorama de las prácticas y reflexiones realizadas por las jóvenes mujeres documentalistas bolivianas. Afines a un feminismo incipiente en algunos círculos universitarios, ellas se propusieron crear desde una perspectiva que reivindicara su lugar en tanto que mujeres, y reflexionar sobre su hacer y los prejuicios subyacentes, tanto en el medio audiovisual —fuertemente masculino y machista–, como en la mirada que tenían sobre sí mismas. Ello redundó en la gestación de espacios de colaboración horizontal, producción de textos críticos y la activación, a nivel regional, de una red de videastas latinoamericanas que, si bien tuvo una vida breve, fue para ellas una experiencia de encuentro y discusión fecunda.

The object of my dissertation is the commercial video production that has developed in Douala, Cameroon, since the liberalization of the audiovisual sector in 2000 and the diffusion of low-cost and easy-to-use digital technology among the intermediate urban social stratum. Videos are conceived as artwork that expresses social experiences,  representing symbolic platforms which trigger and produce change and critically question the world. By investigating the production process, videos are not only analyzed as texts but also as experiences. Against the backdrop of the deep changes that have recently revolutionized the African mediascape, I illustrate the transformations of video production in Douala from the beginning of the 2000s until present. The conclusion focuses on reception practices, highlighting how these reinsert stories into the flux of life, supplying material that can eventually inspire the production of new videos. At the same time, I explore video production as an urban practice that instills sensations and meanings into the urban space. I retrace the social origin of plots and characters, as well as the ways work within the audiovisual sector is organized locally with the aim to grasp the multiple relations between fiction and reality, artists and the rest of society.

Who or what is designated as being in crisis by the notion of the "refugee crisis"? Ubiquitously employed today in European journalistic discourses as well as political rhetoric, the phrase does not refer to the catastrophes experienced by migrants crossing the Mediterranean area in order to reach "Fortress Europe." Rather, in contemporary European contexts, the collocation refers to the European refugee crisis; Europe's crisis, indicating that the Fortress itself is in trouble. It is brought into a difficult and dangerous state by refugees 1 whose physical presence and transgressive mobility delivers crisis to Europe, whenever and wherever it is violated or penetrated by foreign bodies appearing in the Mediterranean Sea or on land (New Keywords Collective 2016, 20). While the refugees on Europe's Mediterranean borders might not be denoted as "being in crisis" by the notion of the refugee crisis, crisis can be said to be inscribed in them by

the renewed cinematic interest in mountains reveals not only the transformative virtue of mountains as mediators of new experiences, ranging from rituals of spiritual purification to consumerist tourist culture, but also the fluid nature of mountains as historical agents. Rather than representing fixed coordinates on geographical, political, and historical maps, mountains can themselves be approached as reflexive objects. Following W. J. T. Mitchell’s conception of landscape as “dynamic medium” (2), cinematic mountainscapes can be seen as stages where sociocultural, geopolitical, ethnic, and gender identities are negotiated along with cinematic forms. Recent film productions such as Philipp Stölzl’s Nordwand [North Face] (2008), Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009), Ruben Östlund’s Turist [Force Majeure] (2014), and Andreas Prochaska’s Das finstere Tal [The Dark Valley] (2014) have revisited mountains as historical sites of cinematic self-reflection to renegotiate notions of gender, genre, tourism, and environmentalism in transnational and global contexts. This article complements this list by examining how mountains and mountain films come into play in addressing the very question of auteurism and its historicity.1 Drawing on Eric Rentschler’s seminal essay “Mountains and Modernity,” we suggest viewing Olivier Assayas’s Sils Maria [Clouds of Sils Maria] (2014) and Paolo Sorrentino’s La giovinezza [Youth] (2015), both European coproductions (of France, Germany, and Switzerland and Great Britain, Italy, France, and Switzerland, respectively), as mountainous meditations on aging that draw on mountains and the classical mountain film in order to relocate auteur cinema in a transnational context. We will place aging, auteurism, and mountains in triangular relations––not unlike the love triangles frequently found in melodramatic mountain movies. With our discussion set against an established cultural frame that associates mountains with old age, we will focus on the relationship between auteurism and mountains, on the one hand, and the relationship between auteurism and aging, on the other. While the former calls for an exploration of the aesthetic traditions and genres that have shaped independent cinema, the latter addresses the shift in auteurism from an artistic to a commercial category in the historical development of auteur theory. Although commercial aspects of auteurism have received much attention in recent scholarship (e.g., Corrigan, Cinema without Walls; Buckland), they are still largely viewed in disjunction from the artistic definition of auteurism as a filmmaker’s personalized vision. Both Assayas’s Clouds of Sils Maria and Sorrentino’s Youth pay tribute to this disjunction through surprising and insightful invocations of the classical Bergfilm, a genre that is generally seen in national German and Austrian contexts christian quendler is an associate professor in the Department of American Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. daniel winkler is an assistant professor in the Department of Romance Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. Aging, Auteurism, and the Bergfilm: Olivier Assayas’s Sils Maria/Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) and Paolo Sorrentino’s La giovinezza/Youth (2015)