Made from Movement: Michael Snow's That/Cela/Dat, Marie Menken's Arabesque for Kenneth Anger, and Richard Serra's Double Torqued Ellipse
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MADE FROM MOVEMENT: MICHAEL SNOW'S THAT/CELA/DAT, MARIE MENKEN'S ARABESQUE FOR KENNETH ANGER, AND RICHARD SERRA'S DOUBLE TORQUED ELLIPSE by Angela G. Joosse Master of Arts, York and Ryerson Universities, 2006 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ryerson University, 2004 Bachelor of Arts, Calvin College, 1995 A dissertation presented to Ryerson University and York University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Joint Program in Communication and Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012 © Angela Joosse 2012 Author's Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this dissertation. This is a true copy of the dissertation, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my dissertation may be made electronically available to the public. ii Made from Movement: Michael Snow's That/Cela/Dat, Marie Menken's Arabesque For Kenneth Anger, and Richard Serra's Double Torqued Ellipse Angela G. Joosse Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Joint Program in Communication & Culture York University and Ryerson University Abstract Made from Movement works towards a theory of art that is grounded in movement. Thinking through movement allows for consideration of the temporal presence and experience of artworks, and enables an approach to art that crosses aesthetic boundaries. This study is carried out through close hermeneutic studies of three distinct artworks: Michael Snow's video gallery installation That/Cela/Dat (2000), Marie Menken's 16mm film Arabesque for Kenneth Anger (1958 – 1961), and Richard Serra's steel sculpture Double Torqued Ellipse (1997). Movement in these artworks does not appear merely as change over time or change of place, but rather as something that is coherent and consistent with itself but does not conclude itself, something that is in continual flux but does not try to achieve an end point, and something that holds forth and protects potent encounters with otherness. Movement, grasped in this way, is irreducible, generative, and tensile. The particular approach to this study is drawn from Samuel Mallin's iii phenomenological method of Body Hermeneutics. The method continues Heidegger's focus on singular artworks, and accepts that any particularly strong work of art is as worthy of careful study as any noteworthy work of philosophy or theory. Furthermore, drawing on Merleau-Ponty's philosophy, the method works from a conception of human consciousness that includes our affective, moving- body, perceptual, as well as cognitive integrations with the world. All four of these distinct, yet overlapping, regions of consciousness are embodied, and thus require physical situatedness with the phenomena to be described. Hence, the phenomenological descriptions in the dissertation are developed from writing done in the presence of the artworks, and the themes of movement are drawn from the phenomena shown by the artworks themselves. Through its embodied approach, and by working itself out through themes of movement encountered in three distinct works of art, Made from Movement contributes insights into topics of temporality, technology, language, femininity, perception, cinema, and art. In addition to offering critical writing on artworks by Snow, Menken, and Serra, the three hermeneutic studies also contribute philosophical reflection on the work of Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger, Irigaray, and Wittgenstein, among others. iv Acknowledgements This journey has been more rich and expanding than I could have imagined, and it is particularly through the ways that others have challenged and strengthened me along the way that I have experienced such richness and growth. I am particularly grateful to Monique Tschofen, my supervisor, for her unswerving confidence in my abilities, her generosity in sharing ideas, and her marvellous sense of humour which kept me afloat at so many junctures. I have been most fortunate to benefit from her brilliance, patience, clarity, and friendship. I am thankful to Janine Marchessault for continually opening me up to new experiences that fed and expanded my creative and scholarly work, and for always encouraging me as an artist and creative thinker. Many thanks also go to R. Bruce Elder for years of fruitful debates, for opening so many remarkable films for me, and for sharing his passion for the art of cinema. I am also indebted to John Caruana for his critical insights, to Sarah Henstra for her meticulous edits and provocative questions, and to Ellen Miller for her critical engagement and for shedding light on the pathways of embodied thinking. I cannot thank Samuel Mallin enough for the generous gifts of his time and wisdom, for opening me to the phenomenal world, and for gently guiding me as I found my voice; this dissertation reflects the strength and elegance of his unique approach to the art of thinking. v I am indebted to Michael Snow, Marie Menken, and Richard Serra for their astounding artworks. I offer special thanks to Mr. Snow for answering my questions, reading my writing, and for encouraging me in my work. I also thank the staff at Anthology Film Archives, especially Robert Haller and Matthew Cowan, for assisting me with my study of Marie Menken's life and films. I am grateful to Kate Eichhorn for making my work in New York possible, and to Joel Schlemowitz for conversations about Menken. My doctoral project was funded by a fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2006 – 2009). I also gratefully acknowledge the graduate scholarships I received from the Joint Program in Communication & Culture which allowed me to remain focused on my writing. I owe my sanity to Megan Andrews, Natalya Androsova, and Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof for sustaining me with the warmth of friendship and with brilliant discussions. I am grateful to Marcia Connolly for her boundless support and for helping me always to find courage, Kelly Egan for our writing sessions, Martin Watson for sharing his passion for ideas, Jennifer Bulthuis for gifts of laughter, Joelle Craven for her grace, and Jesse Laine for his faith. I am indebted to my parents John and Yetty Joosse, for seeing me through this journey with such care, enthusiasm, and groundedness. To my siblings, nieces and nephews I am grateful for keeping me in touch with the important things vi while simultaneously encouraging me to soar. Finally, I could not have made it to this point without the unwavering support, friendship, and love of Hendrick de Haan; he nourished me in countless ways. I dedicate this work to him. vii Table of Contents Author's Declaration...........................................................................................ii Abstract..............................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................v List of Figures.....................................................................................................x Introduction..............................................................................................................1 1. Movement.......................................................................................................1 2. Irreducibility....................................................................................................2 3. Temporality.....................................................................................................7 4. Method..........................................................................................................10 Introduction to Body Hermeneutics.............................................................11 Current Work in Body Hermeneutics...........................................................14 The Method of Body Hermeneutics.............................................................17 Method as Cultivation, Attunement, and Safeguarding...........................18 The Lived Body.......................................................................................19 Motor-Practical Region.......................................................................21 Affective-Social Body.........................................................................22 Cognitive-Linguistic Body..................................................................24 Perceptual Body..................................................................................25 Perceiving in Accordance........................................................................26 Situations.................................................................................................29 Procedures for Doing Body Hermeneutics...................................................30 Writing Philosophically Bodily...............................................................35 Body Hermeneutics and Cinematic Arts......................................................36 Cinema, the body, time, and movement.......................................................37 5. Technique......................................................................................................47 6. Made from