Film program compiled by Peter Friedl in context of his 'Blow Job' project.

19.00

Introduction by Peter Friedl

— 'La coquille et le clergyman' (1928, 38') by Germaine Dulac

— 'Paul Swan' (1965, 66') by Andy Warhol

Intermission

21.00

— 'Strong Medicine' (1981, 84') by Richard Foreman

— 'Andy Warhol’s Last Love' (1978, 20') a film sequence by Squat Theater

The film compilation plays with some of the motifs of Peter Friedl’s 'Blow Job' project from a historical and sentimental perspective.

'La coquille et le clergyman'

"I actually had the desire to become a dramatist", said Germaine Dulac in an interview in 1923. Often considered as the first Surrealist film (released in 1928, a year before 'Un chien andalou'), 'La coquille et le clergyman' has become notorious for its ‘Artaud vs. Dulac’ controversy. With her concept of authorship Dulac anticipates some of the positions that were developed in the 1950s: the filmmaker as auteur.

'Paul Swan'

Paul Swan (1965) is one of Warhol’s classical 2-reel films: a portrait of the famous American dancer (but also painter, poet, silent

film actor) and contemporary of Isadora Duncan, who continued throughout his lifetime to reenact his performances virtually unchanged. In the 1960s, Swan’s dedication to his increasingly anachronistic art form could be experienced as the living embodiment of camp, in parallel to the equally uncomprimising performances of Jack Smith.

'Strong Medicine'

In his essay 'Café Amérique' (1981), Friedl describes Richard Foreman’s 'Ontological-Hysteric Theatre' as ‘theater of consciousness’ reminiscent of the New American Cinema. In 1981, Foreman’s own feature film experiment 'Strong Medicine' had its premiere. Among the actors were Kate Manheim, David Warrilow, Joan Jonas and Jonas Mekas. The director of photography was Babette Mangolte.

'Andy Warhol’s Last Love'

One of the most innovative theater companies of the 1970s and early 1980s was Squat Theater, originally founded in Budapest and later based in their storefront space on Manhattan's West 23rd Street. Squat made numerous film sketches, some of which were integral parts of their shows such as 'Andy Warhol’s Last Love'. The film part was shot in New York’s financial district in April 1978.

Language English