Brooklyn Rail<\/A>that since he limited himself to one reel and did all the editing in the camera, his entire production cost was three dollars. <\/FONT><\/P>
\nThe first time around, Conner showed his footage five frames per second rather than the standard 24, thus stretching the two-and-a-half minute filmed running time to 15 minutes of projection time. Two years ago — at the request of composer Patrick Gleeson, who wanted to add music — the 16mm version was transferred to DVD at three frames per minute, yielding the current 22-minute length.<\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Conner was born in 1933, and Luke<\/EM> in its present form is one of those career-confirming mature works of art. And although we may yearn to see some of the artist’s moldering assemblage sculptures — using nylon stockings among other things — Luke<\/EM> in the meantime will send you running to your local video store’s avant-garde section to catch up on this West Coast artist’s masterful found-footage films.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nI rented one compilation (Bruce Conner Films II<\/EM>, Facets Video) that has, in this order:<\/FONT><\/P>
\nTen Second Film<\/EM> (1965). Spliced leader adding up to 10 breakneck seconds of film leader. START, the one-armed clock. Numbers. This is not only the best 10-second film ever made, it is also one of the best found-footage films. It’s abstract without being nonrepresentational.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nPermian Strata<\/EM> (1969). A collage of found scenes from a silent Biblical epic to the tune of Bob Dylan’s Everybody Must Get Stoned<\/EM>, featuring the hero being stoned and thenSaul (soon to be St. Paul) being struck down by God.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nMongoloid <\/EM>(1977). With a charming soundtrack of the offensive ditty “Mongoloid was a mongoloid and it determined what he could be.” Footage of science demonstrations, animated diagrams, and (!) a man pulling a bus with his teeth, but also a similar “square” being transported in a giant suitcase. <\/FONT><\/P>
\nAmerica is Waiting<\/EM> (1981). People entering bomb shelters, advertising for a toy gun, an Arid Roll-on clip, Mount Rushmore, and at least two superimposed full-screen titles: “What Can Be Done About Larry’s Personal Problems” and “No Will Whatsoever.” And, oh yes, appliances rolling past the silhouette of a jazz band; all to tick-tock music by David Byrne and Brian Eno.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nA Movie<\/EM> (1958). Although it started as a sculpture component, this is the Conner movie masterpiece. At the beginning is THE END; the title A MOVIE is interposed throughout. Conner THE END sandwiches atom-bomb explosions, A MOVIE bridge collapse, Teddy Roosevelt BY and, during footage BRUCE CONNER of cowboys chasing Indians, suddenly there is an elephant.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nSuddenly There Is an Elephant. That says it all. <\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Conner, in his classics, juggles context and time. A Movie<\/EM> is a symphony depicting the dreamlife of TV addicts, movie junkies, a movie for us and of us. Even the “hopeful” ending of sun on water is probably a metaphysical, anti-Hollywood joke.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nIn comparison Luke is cool. There is no elephant. For 22 minutes the camera seems to hold its breath. You too hold your breath. <\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Many projected digital films are like watching paint dry. Here, this is not the case. Nor is Luke<\/EM> a Sundance wannabe, waiting eagerly for Cineplex exposure.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nTime reads as space. <\/FONT><\/P>
\n
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\n
Conner, Luke <\/EM>(Dennis Hooper as himself\/as Babalugats)<\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Saint Luke<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/P>
\nOf course, I immediately had to track down Cool Hand Luke<\/EM> to find the exact scene depicted in Conner’s film. It’s the road-gang shoveling race. Fresh tar needs to be covered with sand and smiley Luke inspires an insane speed-up. <\/FONT><\/P>
\nI don’t know if you’ve seen Cool Hand Luke<\/EM> lately. Hopper has a small part, but somehow, as a young man, looks better, more real, than the blindingly but conventionally handsome Newman. Current taste prefers a far less smirky Newman replete with macho wrinkles. And George Kennedy, as Luke’s friend and eventual Judas, is…George Kennedy.<\/FONT><\/P>
\nThe movie is now unbearably arch.<\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Newman plays a decorated vet incarcerated for “cutting off the heads of parking meters,” becomes a hero to the chain-gang boys, who spend a lot of time bare-chested, lounging around in their bunk beds. He’s a hero because, against all odds, he keeps escaping from the chain-gang. He gets caught and escapes over and over again.<\/FONT><\/P>
\n
After the shoveling race, in what has to the nadir of the buddy-movie gone wrong, Kennedy says to Newman: “Oh, Luke, you wild, beautiful thing.” It still makes me giggle. In my set, that was the preferred tag-line, rather than the widely appropriated “What we got here is a failure to communicate.”<\/FONT><\/P>
\n
If you look at Cool Hand Luke<\/EM>, do as I did. Fast-forward it so it becomes a digitally created silent-movie in color and Panavision. You won’t miss the dialogue, the acting, the sappy music. You can still follow the plot, such as it is. Is it a parable or shaggy-dog story? You tell me. And, if you must, you can freeze-frame all those banal bunk-bed tableaux. <\/FONT><\/P>
\nMoral: How a movie is made is more interesting than how most movies end up. <\/FONT><\/P>
\n
Conner’s Luke<\/EM> shows this. It takes a lot of workers, and a lot of reflectors, behind the scenes to make a chain gang composed of actors in the sun look real or what passes for real — i.e. Hollywood Real. Conner’s analytical take on a shoot is itself a movie and therefore moves, albeit very, very slowly. One thing missing is the waiting around each take takes. Movie-making is boring; Conner makes that boredom interesting by slowing everything down as if he is searching for clues. Clues to what? Reality? Time? <\/FONT><\/P>
\nWhat you will notice when you see Luke <\/EM>will vary; its density is brilliant. Will it be a reflection in a puddle? The fleeting, over-the shoulder actor-smiles? Or, alas, only the beer-can opener on a chain around Lucas Jackson’s neck? That is Paul Newman, isn’t it?. And is that really Dennis Hopper? Or maybe you’ll fasten on that particular blue of someone’s screen-filling polo shirt; the Warner Bros. logo on the sound truck; or something really subtle like the aura of work as opposed to the aura of style.<\/FONT><\/P>
\n<\/FONT><\/P>
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Note<\/STRONG>: In terms of last week’s column, several informants have offered the good news that there is a DVD tour of the Barnes collection listed on the foundation’s website. One correspondentremarks that at $35 it cost less than two adult visits to MoMA. Assuming this disc really does capture the ensembles, now all the foundation needs to do is make this record totally pan-and-zoom interactive and have it available for free online.<\/FONT>
<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bruce Conner: Luke Not Lukewarm You get beautiful blurred images, motion streaks, bare-chested male “zombies” shoveling dirt, moody music, behind-the-scenes views of a movie scene; nearly Muybridge-ian, almost dancelike motion-analysis of lumbering extras, key grips, gaffers, best boys, and script girls in jagged slow-motion; punctuating shots of empty canvas chairs and big reflectors; all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-70","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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