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Art in Cinema : Documents Toward a History of the Film Society

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Art in Cinema : Documents Toward a History of the Film Society Art in Cinema In the series Wide Angle Books edited by Erik Barnouw, Ruth Bradley, Scott MacDonald, and Patricia Zimmermann Scott MacDonald, Cinema 16: Documents Toward a History of the Film Society David E. James, ed., The Sons and Daughters of Los: Culture and Community in L.A. David E. James, ed., Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker Kate Horsfield and Lucas Hilderbrand, Feedback: The Video Data Bank Catalog of Video Art and Artist Interviews Art in Cinema Documents Toward a History of the Film Society Final Selection, Editing, and Introduction by Scott MacDonald Original Idea and Selection of Materials by Robert A. Haller TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS Philadelphia Temple University Press 1601 North Broad Street Philadelphia PA 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright © 2006 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2006 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992 Title page photo: Frank Stauffacher in his studio on Montgomery Street, during the editing of Notes on the Port of St. Francis (1952). Photographer unknown; courtesy Jack Stauffacher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Art in Cinema : documents toward a history of the film society / [edited by] Scott MacDonald. p. cm. — (Wide angle books) Includes numerous letters to and from Frank Stauffacher, director of the film series, Art in cinema. Includes a facsimile of Art in cinema, published 1947 by the Art in Cinema Society. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-59213-425-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Art in Cinema Society—History—Sources. 2. Art in Cinema Society— History. 3. Stauffacher, Frank, 1916—Correspondence. I. MacDonald, Scott, 1942– . II. Stauffacher, Frank, 1916– . Correspondence. Selections. III. Art in Cinema Society. Art in cinema. IV. Series. PN1993.A735 2006 791.43'06'07946—dc22 2005048581 Temple University Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Temple University School of Communications and Theater in underwriting the publication of this book. 246897531 Contents List of Illustrations x Acknowledgments xii Introduction 1 The Documents Conversation with Jack Stauffacher, 8/14/99 13 Letter to Arthur Rosenheimer Jr. from Richard Foster, 7/31/46 16 Letter to Lewis Jacobs from Frank Stauffacher, 8/1/46 20 Letter to Maya Deren from Frank Stauffacher, 8/2/46 21 Letter to Richard Foster from Maya Deren, 8/2/46 22 Letter to James and John Whitney from Frank Stauffacher, 8/3/46 24 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Maya Deren, 8/10/46 25 Letter to Arthur Rosenheimer Jr. from Frank Stauffacher, 8/20/46 27 Letter to Maya Deren from Frank Stauffacher, 8/20/46 28 Letter to Luis Buñuel from Frank Stauffacher, 8/22/46 29 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Douglass Crockwell, 8/24/46 30 Letter to Jay Leyda from Frank Stauffacher, 8/25/46 31 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Douglass Crockwell, 8/31/46 32 Letter to Peggy Guggenheim from Grace L. McCann Morley, 8/31/46 32 Letter to Man Ray from Frank Stauffacher, 9/5/46 33 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Hans Richter, 9/6/46 34 Letter to Hans Richter from Frank Stauffacher, 9/9/46 35 Program Announcement for Art in Cinema’s First Series, 9/46 37 Letter to James and John Whitney from Frank Stauffacher, 9/22/46 39 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James Broughton, 9/24/46 40 Letter to Mrs. Noble Hamilton from Edward J. Soph, 9/26/46 40 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James Broughton, 9/26/46 41 Letter to Edward J. Soph from Mrs. Noble Hamilton, 9/28/46 42 Alfred Frankenstein, “Art and Music,” from the San Francisco Chronicle, 10/6/46 42 Letter to Richard Foster from Sara Kathryn Arledge, 10/9/46 45 Program Notes for the 10/11/46 Presentation 45 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Grace L. McCann Morley, 10/22/46 47 Letter to Richard Foster from Margaret Wright and Una Atkinson, 10/24/46 48 Program Notes for the 10/25/46 Presentation 49 Letter to Mrs. Noble Hamilton from Paul Ballard, 10/30/46 50 Program Notes for the 11/1/46 Presentation 51 Letter to Herman G. Weinberg from Frank Stauffacher, 11/8/46 54 vi Contents Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Hans Richter, 11/9/46 55 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Lewis Jacobs, 11/12/46 56 Letter to Paul Ballard from Frank Stauffacher, 11/46 57 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Robert Florey, 2/47 [?] 58 Letter to James W. Moore from Frank Stauffacher, 2/6/47 59 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James W. Moore, 2/7/47 60 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James W. Moore, 2/28/47 61 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Eli Willis, 3/7/47 62 Program Announcement for Art in Cinema’s Second Series, 3/47 64 Program Announcement for the First University of California at Berkeley Series 65 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Emlen Etting, 3/26/47 67 Letter to James W. Moore from Frank Stauffacher, 3/27/47 67 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James W. Moore, 3/31/47 68 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Curtis Harrington, 4/3/47 69 Program Notes for the 4/4/47 Presentation 70 Letter to Curtis Harrington from Frank Stauffacher, 4/28/47 72 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Kenneth Anger, 4/29/47 73 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Curtis Harrington, 5/6/47 75 Facsimile of Art in Cinema Catalogue (published late 5/47) 75 Grace L. McCann Morley, “Foreword” 77 Richard Foster and Frank Stauffacher, “Introductory Notes” 78 Henry Miller, “Introduction” 80 Hans Richter, “A History of the Avantgarde” 82 Elie Faure, “The Art of Cineplastics (Excerpts)” 96 Man Ray 99 Luis Buñuel, “Notes on the Making of Un Chien Andalou” 101 John and James Whitney, “Audio Visual Music” 103 Erich Pommer, “The Origin of Dr. Caligari” 107 Oskar Fischinger, “My Statements Are in My Work” 110 Maya Deren, “The Camera As a Creative Medium” 11 3 George Leite, “The Creative Arts and The Collective Film” 11 5 “Film Series One Program Notes” 11 7 “First Program—Some Precursors” 11 7 “Second Program—The French Avantgarde” 120 “Third Program—Continental Avantgarde” 122 “Fourth Program—Non-objective Form Synchronized with Music” 123 “Fifth Program—The Animated Film as an Art Form” 124 “Sixth Program—Contemporary Experimental Films in America” 126 “Seventh Program—Fantasy into Documentary” 132 “Eighth Program—Experiments in the Fantastic and the Macabre” 133 “Ninth Program—Poetry in Cinema” 134 “Tenth Program—The Surrealists” 147 Paul Velguth, “Notes on the Musical Accompaniment to the Silent Films” 150 Bibliography 155 Contents vii Letter to Oskar Fischinger from Richard Foster, 6/8/47 159 Letter to Herman G. Weinberg from Frank Stauffacher, 6/21/47 159 Letter to Oskar Fischinger from Harry Smith, 7/25/47 163 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Kenneth Anger, 7/25/47 163 Letter to Kenneth Anger from Harry Smith, 7/28/47 165 Letter to Harry Smith from William Howe, 7/31/47 166 Letter to Harry Smith from Kenneth Anger, 7/31/47 166 Letter to Miss Bullitt from Hans Richter, 8/14/47 167 Letter to Art in Cinema from Amos Vogel, 9/7/47 168 Letter to Amos Vogel from Frank Stauffacher, 9/13/47 169 Letter to Harry Smith from Jim Davis, 9/14/47 169 Program Announcement for Art in Cinema’s Third Series, 9/47 170 Letter to Curtis Harrington from Frank Stauffacher, 9/15/47 172 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Curtis Harrington, 9/24/47 172 Conversation with Jordan Belson, 7/22/00 173 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Elwood Decker, 5/48 175 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Elwood Decker, 6/48 176 Program Announcement for Art in Cinema’s Fourth Series, 8/48 178 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Sidney Peterson, 8/4/48 179 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Maya Deren, 8/8/48 180 James Broughton, “Frank Stauffacher: The Making of Mother’s Day,” from SPIRAL, No. 1 (1984) 181 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Elwood Decker, 10/3/48 183 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Hans Richter, 10/13/48 183 Letter to Maya Deren from Frank Stauffacher, 1/10/49 184 Letter to Hans Richter from Frank Stauffacher, 1/49 185 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Hans Richter, 1/21/49 186 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Maya Deren, 2/8/49 187 Program Announcement for “Contemporary Experimental Films of Importance,” 2/49 190 Letter to Hans Richter from Frank Stauffacher, 2/49 191 Letter to Theodore Huff from Frank Stauffacher, 2/49 192 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James Broughton, 3/49 194 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James Broughton, 3/8/49 195 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from James Broughton, 3/16/49 195 Letter to Ralph K. Potter from Frank Stauffacher, 3/23/49 195 Letter to Arthur Knight from Frank Stauffacher, 4/2/49 196 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Arthur Knight, 4/16/49 198 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Arthur Knight, 5/30/49 199 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Amos Vogel, 6/7/49 200 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Theodore Huff, 6/20/49 201 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Theodore Huff, 7/16/49 202 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Arthur Knight, 7/17/49 202 Program Announcement for Art in Cinema’s Fifth Series, Fall 1949 203 viii Contents Letter to Hans Richter from Frank Stauffacher, 10/28/49 206 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Curtis Harrington, 12/1/49 208 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Jim Davis, 2/25/50 208 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Symon Gould, 3/1/50 209 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Jim Davis, 3/21/50 210 Letter to Frank Stauffacher from Arthur Knight, 3/30/50 211 Letter to Grace L.
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