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HERE ARE SOME PICTURES, WHAT IS HAPPENING? CHRISTOPHER MACLAINE & THE SAN FRANCISCO UNDERGROUND
\n30 September\u20147 October 2003
\nLondon The Other Cinema<\/b><\/p>\n
The \u2018beat generation\u2019 were born in the depression, raised during World War II and matured in the ominous shadow of the Atomic bomb. Their spontaneous, creative reaction against the mainstream was a primitive howl for freedom. Beaten and downtrodden, beatific and elevated, rhythmic and vital like the beat of the drum.<\/p>\n
Christopher Maclaine was active in the early hipster scene of San Francisco\u2019s North Beach in the 1940s-1950s, one of the authentic characters at the very emergence of the beat movement. He contributed poetry and prose to small periodicals with his contemporaries Michael McClure, Robert Duncan, Kenneth Patchen and Philip Lamantia, and read at late night rap sessions in coffee bars and jazz clubs. His introduction to avant-garde world came through exposure to the important \u201cArt in Cinema\u201d series at San Francisco Museum of Art, and personal connections with pioneer filmmakers Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, Larry Jordan and Harry Smith.<\/p>\n
He was often completely broke, unable to keep jobs, and constantly relying on the generosity of others, whose patience he tested. Maclaine was a heavy user of amphetamines, which ultimately rendered him debilitated, resulting in his internment in hospital and early death. From the late 50s he was addicted to methadrine, and in 1963 he attempted suicide, resulting in a three-month stay in the psychiatric ward of SF General Hospital. He died in 1975, having spent his last six years in a completely incapacitated state in a convalescent home.<\/p>\n
And now, for the first time in Europe, LUX proudly present these newly restored prints of the complete films of Christopher MacLaine, including his 1953 masterpiece The End<\/em>. These two screenings at The OTHER Cinema are a unique opportunity to discover a long forgotten visionary filmmaker, together with other documents and masterpieces from the San Francisco beatnik underground, including films by Kenneth Anger and Stan Brakhage.<\/p>\nCHRISTOPHER MACLAINE<\/a> HERE ARE SOME PICTURES, WHAT IS HAPPENING? CHRISTOPHER MACLAINE & THE SAN FRANCISCO UNDERGROUND CHRISTOPHER MACLAINE<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n Poet \/ Writer \/ Filmmaker. Born 1923, Wapunucha, Oklahoma. Died 1975, San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n Christopher Maclaine was active in the early beatnik scene of North Beach in the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the authentic characters at the very emergence of the beat movement. He contributed to small periodicals along with his contemporaries Michael McClure, Robert Duncan, Kenneth Patchen and Philip Lamantia, and read poetry at late night rap sessions in coffee bars and jazz clubs. His introduction to the avant-garde film world came through exposure to the important \u201cArt in Cinema\u201d series at San Francisco Museum of Art, and personal connections with pioneer filmmakers Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, Larry Jordan and Harry Smith.<\/p>\n He was often completely broke, unable to keep jobs, and constantly relying on the generosity of others, whose patience he tested. Maclaine was a heavy user of amphetamines, which ultimately rendered him debilitated, resulting in his internment in hospital and early death. From the late 1950s he was addicted to methadrine, and in 1963 he attempted suicide, resulting in a three-month stay in the psychiatric ward of San Francisco General Hospital. He died in 1975, having spent his last six years in a completely incapacitated state in a convalescent home.<\/p>\n Maclaine edited four issues of the small magazine Contour<\/em> (1947-49) and contributed to journals such as Neurotica, Tiger’s Eye, Beautitude, Goad<\/em> and Golden Goose<\/em>. He published three books of his own writing: The Automatic Wound<\/em> (1948), The Crazy Bird<\/em> (1951) and The Time Capsule<\/em> (1960).<\/p>\n Maclaine made only four films, which until now have been rarely shown and are little known beyond a small circle of admirers. The films were brought into circulation in the mid-1960s by Stan Brakhage, who had encountered Maclaine in San Francisco in the 1950s. LUX has recently purchased brand new prints of the complete films of this obscure and mysterious Californian beat poet and hopes that they will now gain a new and appreciative audience.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>30 September\u20147 October 2003
\nLondon The Other Cinema<\/p>\n