Film as Film: las películas de Gregory J. Markopoulos

Date: 30 January 2015 | Season: Gregory Markopoulos: Film as Film | Tags:

Gilbert-George

FILM AS FILM: LAS PELÍCULAS DE GREGORY J. MARKOPOULOS
3—20 February 2015
Spanish touring programme

“There is no language. There is no art. There is no knowledge. There is but film as film: the beginning and the eternal moment.” (The Intuition Space, 1973)

Gregory J. Markopoulos (1928-92) was one of the most original filmmakers to emerge in post-war American cinema. His films, which often translated literary or mythological sources to a contemporary context, are celebrated for their extraordinary creativity, the sensuous use of colour and innovations in cinematic form. A contemporary of Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger and Jonas Mekas, Markopoulos was amongst those at the forefront of a generation that liberated cinema by developing new modes of expression. Having made his first 16mm film (Psyche) in 1947, as a student at USC, he went on to produce several key works of the avant-garde such as Twice a Man (1963) and The Illiac Passion (1964-67).

At the end of the 1960s, he moved to Europe to pursue a very individual path, withdrawing his films from distribution and making them almost impossible to see. Firmly believing that a filmmaker should be responsible for all aspects of his work, he conceived the Temenos, a monographic archive for the presentation, preservation and study of his films. Late in life he chose to re-edit his entire oeuvre into a monumental 80-hour long film to be shown only at a remote location near to his ancestral home in Greece. This speculative project is being realised posthumously by an open-air screening event that has taken place every four years since 2004.

Markopoulos’ films encompass mythic themes, portraiture and studies of landscape and architecture. By employing complex editing techniques and spontaneous in-camera superimposition, he sought to unlock the mystery and energy contained within the single frame. This rare opportunity to experience the work of a true pioneer of independent filmmaking celebrates the publication of Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos.

—Mark Webber

Presented in collaboration with Revista Lumière and The Visible Press, with thanks to Robert Beavers and Temenos.

Film as Film 1: Du Sang, de la volupté et de la Mort
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Psyche, 1947, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 24 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Lysis, 1948, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 25 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Charmides, 1948, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 11min
Tuesday 3 February 2015 at Barcelona Filmoteca de Catalunya – Introduced by Mark Webber 
Saturday 7 February 2015 at Madrid La Casa Encendida – Introduced by Mark Webber
Wednesday 18 February 2015 at A Coruña CGAI

Film as Film 2: Gammelion
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Bliss, 1967, Greece, 16mm, colour, sound, 6 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Gammelion, 1968, Italy, 16mm, colour, sound, 54 min
Wednesday 4 February 2015 at Barcelona Filmoteca de Catalunya  – Introduced by Mark Webber
Sunday 8 February 2015 at Madrid La Casa Encendida – Introduced by Mark Webber
Thursday 19 February 2015 at A Coruña CGAI – Introduced by Mark Webber

Film as Film 3: Portraits
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Through a Lens Brightly: Mark Turbyfill, 1967, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 14 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Political Portraits, 1969, Switzerland, 16mm, colour, silent, 12 min (excerpt)
Gregory J. Markopoulos, The Olympian, 1969, Italy, 16mm, colour, silent, 23 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Gilbert and George, 1975, France, 16mm, colour, silent, 12 min
Thursday 5 February 2015 at Barcelona Filmoteca de Catalunya – Introduced by Mark Webber
Monday 9 February 2015 at Madrid Museo Reina Sofia – Introduced by Arnau Vilaró
Friday 20 February 2015 at A Coruña CGAI – Introduced by Mark Webber

Film as Film 4: The Illiac Passion
Gregory J. Markopoulos, The Illiac Passion, 1964-67, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 91 min
Sunday 8 February 2015 at Barcelona CCCB Xcentric – Introduced by Revista Lumière
Tuesday 10 February 2015 at Madrid Museo Reina Sofia
Friday 20 February 2015 at A Coruña CGAI