‘Kiss’

by Ruairí McCann The kiss, that flashpoint of intimacy, communication, and the present tense, has been the subject of art since its prehistory. In Andy Warhol’s Kiss (1963-64), this subject’s ancient roots, straightforward prurience, and its potential for stimulating abstraction can be found in this early example of the artist forging a new cinema: one of ground-breaking casualness and a-causality. Originally conceived and screened as … Continue reading ‘Kiss’

‘Outer and Inner Space’

by paul a. As its title vaguely implies, Outer and Inner Space is primarily concerned with personal (inner) and public (outer) spheres of societal life — even as the film itself is sinuously situated between these two opposing ideologies and operates in something of an intermediate territory. It’s a title that also reinforces a stark cultural dichotomy, fueling a never-ending conflict fought since the inception … Continue reading ‘Outer and Inner Space’

Vested Interest – ‘My Hustler’

by Luise Mörke “I could introduce you to people… interesting people,” Ed Hood’s character in My Hustler (1965) promises the object of his desire (Paul America) in exchange for continuing their transactional relationship. The people Ed is referring to likely stem from his upper class circles. We can imagine that he will take Paul to lavish soirées and swanky parties, where one basks in the … Continue reading Vested Interest – ‘My Hustler’

‘Vinyl’

by Will Sloan It’s cliché to observe that Andy Warhol’s filmography resembles the evolution of cinema itself. Warhol begins, as did Edison and Lumière, with silent films that invite us to wonder at a single visual idea (Sleep, Kiss, Eat). Quickly he introduced sound, color, movie stars, and more conventional visual grammar until finally arriving at Andy Warhol’s Bad (1976), which is so close to … Continue reading ‘Vinyl’

Cannes 39/90/?

by Yoana Pavlova If the invention of cinema towards the end of the XIX century is the crowning achievement of man’s attempts to master reality, the XX century opens ground for a distinct fantasy: film festivals. The XIX-century tradition of world expositions – speeding up competition, sharpening the appetite for novelties, and projecting a bright image of the future – is slowly taken over by … Continue reading Cannes 39/90/?