Burroughs' short book, "The Cat Inside" is a wondrous and touching elaboration of his relationships with and to cats...
Steve Polta On Aug 16, 2014 1:23 PM, "Andy Ditzler" <[email protected]> wrote: > George Kuchar's cat Blackie plays the crucial role of confessor in the > video diary Rainy Season (1987). George's grief at losing his beloved cat > is the subject of Season of Sorrow (1996). > > William Burroughs was quite fond of cats, and I believe he lived with many > at his final home in Lawrence, Kansas. Perhaps there is a documentary with > footage of this? > > Brakhage's film Pasht is quite striking. > > Andy Ditzler > > > On Sat, Aug 16, 2014 at 4:00 PM, Gene Youngblood <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Cats are featured prominently in 27 of George Kuchar’s diaries, some >> of them pretty surreal. My favorite is “Kitty Porn” (1996). >> >> *From:* Ronald Gregg <[email protected]> >> *Sent:* Saturday, August 16, 2014 11:44 AM >> *To:* Experimental Film Discussion List <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [Frameworks] cat films >> >> And Felix the Cat as well: >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxailD4Ofq4 >> >> >> >> On Sat, Aug 16, 2014 at 1:22 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Nice titles for 'Jonesy', like the ones for Pierrot le Fou. >>> >>> There are also hundreds of episodes of Top Cat to consider! >>> >>> Nicky. >>> >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Francisco Torres <[email protected]> >>> To: Experimental Film Discussion List <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 16:53 >>> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] cat films >>> >>> here kitty... >>> >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0c8FnjW0k >>> >>> >>> 2014-08-16 5:19 GMT-04:00 <[email protected]>: >>> >>>> Bell Book and Candle, >>>> >>>> The Incredible Journey (Disney film abut three pets on a 200 mile >>>> journey. Includes a swimming siamese cat). >>>> >>>> Nicky. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Benjamin Leon <[email protected]> >>>> To: Experimental Film Discussion List <[email protected]> >>>> Sent: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 9:19 >>>> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] cat films >>>> >>>> *Fuses* of course ! And* Plumb Line* (1968-1972) by Carolee >>>> Schneemann too. >>>> >>>> >>>> 2014-08-16 9:49 GMT+02:00 <[email protected]>: >>>> >>>>> Gummo and Withnail and I have cats in them, albeit briefly. >>>>> >>>>> Nicky >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>> From: Peter Mudie <[email protected]> >>>>> To: Experimental Film Discussion List <[email protected]> >>>>> Sent: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 5:48 >>>>> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] cat films >>>>> >>>>> It's an odd question, really - looking for films with/about cats. If you >>>>> get onto YouTube and type in a search for 'cats', 'wacky cats' and/or >>>>> 'awesome cats' you will find something around 2 billion choices to build >>>>> your exhibition around - none of them worthwhile. Do a search (with the >>>>> same criteria) for 'chipmunks' or 'hamsters' and you'll find less, but >>>>> about as discerning as the 'wacky cats' list. Any exhibition that results >>>>> from a deep curatorial insight about cats will probably leave you in the >>>>> same zone as all the YouTube ones. >>>>> >>>>> If someone asked me what my favourite film was that had a cat within it - >>>>> that is, different from 'a hard-boiled cheap detective getting away from >>>>> the grips of a femme fatale' or 'a Joe-Bob Mr America saves the world from >>>>> certain destruction' scope of subjects (which I guess isn't all that >>>>> dissimilar to 'wacky chipmunk' or 'look what a hamster can fit in his >>>>> mouth' videos) - I would have to say Nightcats (by Brakhage). >>>>> >>>>> Peter >>>>> (Perth) >>>>> >>>>> >> What else could we shown in a Cat Film Fest? >>>>> > >>>>> >As Ekrem mentioned, there's Cat Cradle and Fuses. Dunno if the amount of >>>>> >kitteh-kontent is high enough for a feline fest, but the presence of the >>>>> >pussy... er, scratch that [Meow!] I mean the context of the cat, is the >>>>> >unraveling intertextual ball of string tying the two works together, or >>>>> >maybe being batted away from StanCat by CaroleeCat, or maybe the mirrored >>>>> >meowser is Schneeman's way of saying, 'my little furry pet is purring >>>>> >because she just pounced on some wee bit of pickle, and by the way, did >>>>> >you know that cats are independent creatures who do their own thing >>>>> >instead of licking their masters fantasy boots, and cats have really >>>>> >sharp claws they can dig into your untutored eye if you piss them off by >>>>> >mixing up which human is owned by which cat, and somehow indicate you >>>>> >think you own even one cat much less two, so go pine in the pines with >>>>> >your poor putrefying pooch and leave my kitty alone!" >>>>> > >>>>> >.... >>>>> > >>>>> >You could show Marker's 'Case of the Grinning Cat' which also might be a >>>>> >little light on actual kitty-kontent, but again the cat-concept is pretty >>>>> >important, and any excuse to show Marker is always a good excuse. >>>>> > >>>>> >.... >>>>> > >>>>> >Or you could go conceptual rather than representational: >>>>> > >>>>> >I read somewhere that felines large and small are "creatures who spend >>>>> >most of the time sleeping between brief bursts of activity." >>>>> > >>>>> >So I'm thinking you could show all 5 hours and 21 minutes of "Sleep", in >>>>> >a room filled with sofa and actual cats, so after puzzling over what do >>>>> >do with themselves for awhile, instead of getting annoyed and heading to >>>>> >the box office in angry mass protest to The Management, the viewers would >>>>> >figure they can emulate the cats and sooner or later pretty much the >>>>> >whole audience would be sleeping along with John Giorno, curled up on a >>>>> >couch like Giorno, but with cuddling kitties, sometimes coming and going >>>>> >but mostly sleeping as cats mostly do. Taking the cat cues, they might >>>>> >conclude that 'Sleep' is not the title of a 'movie' you 'watch' but might >>>>> >be a gentle imperative, like a Yoko Ono instruction, to stage the most >>>>> >simple and mundane action as a form of Art. Or not. Either way, they're >>>>> >in cat-mode, so it's basically nappy time whenever they feel like it no >>>>> >matter what else is going on in the room, and from time to time they'll >>>>> >wake up, yawn, stretch, look around a little bit ‹ maybe watch the screen >>>>> >for awhile, maybe watch the other people sleeping, maybe think about how >>>>> >many hours John Giorno has spent sleeping since 1963, maybe wonder how >>>>> >many hours of sleep they'll have before they join Warhol in eternal >>>>> >slumber, maybe think about what a room of people sleeping because a >>>>> >silent black and white film of a man dozing on a couch can't keep them >>>>> >awake means in light of Warhol's claimed intent of documenting sleep for >>>>> >historical purposes since no one slept anymore due to the miracles of >>>>> >modern chemistry. But, being cat-people for the evening, they wouldn't >>>>> >think about those things too long or too hard before slipping back into a >>>>> >REM state with a dreamy revelation that the proper nouns 'Walter' "White' >>>>> >and 'Warhol' all begin with a 'W'. Then, maybe 90 minutes later, they >>>>> >wake up since the man-cat on the next couch is shattering the silence >>>>> >with loud irregular apneas and hypopneas because he didn't think to bring >>>>> >his C-PAP to a film screening, only, on awakening, they don't dig out >>>>> >their cell phones to check how much longer the film is going to run, they >>>>> >just realize they're hungry, and the smell of chicken and fish is coming >>>>> >from the lobby. So they amble out of the screening room and over to the >>>>> >concessions area set up especially for the screening, where they get >>>>> >served sashimi and/or poulet kabobs, (or Tuna hot dish if it's at The >>>>> >Walker), and at this spot there are benches set up by big picture windows >>>>> >where they can sit awhile and watch birds fly back and forth from the >>>>> >feeders outside, but the benches aren't that comfy so they head back to >>>>> >the couches in the screening room soon enough, tummies full and fall back >>>>> >into the rhythm of "Sleep"s sleep. When they wake up again after a big >>>>> >orange Maine Coon cat licks some hot-dish off their cheek, they sit up, >>>>> >the cat hops onto their lap and starts to purr, they reach down to pet it >>>>> >without thinking about it. Then it dawns on them that since they're doing >>>>> >the stroking and not getting stroked, their personal cat analogy is >>>>> >breaking down, and they start thinking like a human again, but still >>>>> >retaining a kind of felinious disposition. Some thoughts that might >>>>> >follow: Andy Warhol was like some kind of mutant future-cat, since he >>>>> >maintained a feline indifference and inscrutability while never sleeping >>>>> >and working constantly; "Sleep" is celluloid-projection-as-cat since it >>>>> >has 'bursts of activity' mixed in with the sleeping, and combining the >>>>> >two is pretty much the only way to make it from beginning to end (though >>>>> >'sleeping' might be more figurative than literal); why am i able to look >>>>> >at the screen now for awhile without getting annoyed?; "Sleep" is >>>>> >celluloid-projection-as-cat since it's indifference to you is >>>>> >nevertheless amiable enough; hmm, I notice most of the other people are >>>>> >watching now too, I wonder what they're thinking?; and so on. The film >>>>> >ends. The lights come up, and the audience makes its way out through the >>>>> >lobby, passing posters with cat adoption info from the local shelters and >>>>> >half a dozen monitors of different types and sizes playing the Turn Down >>>>> >For What Cat Video on an endless loop. >>>>> >(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yfGA6pBFVI) Once the last patron has >>>>> >gone, and the program committee is emptying the litter boxes and rounding >>>>> >up the cats and putting them back in their carriers, someone will say, >>>>> >"Folks, I think we've just set the all-time record for the most people >>>>> >who began a screening of 'Sleep' being present at the end." And someone >>>>> >else might reply, "Yeah, but Andy might ask 'What fun is that?'" Then >>>>> >they get distracted by a tuxedo fighting with a tortie screaming bloody >>>>> >murder while a midnight black long-hair rubs against their legs. And when >>>>> >they return to the question later, they hear the question Warhol might >>>>> >have asked in the deadpan tone with which he would have asked it, which >>>>> >wasn't a tone expecting an answer, or maybe suggesting that any answer >>>>> >would do. "Sleep" doesn't tell you how to watch it, because it doesn't >>>>> >care how you watch it, or how you watch it, or what you think about it, >>>>> >or anything else. It just presents you with an experience you probably >>>>> >can't process within the headspace you brought into the screening room. >>>>> >There must be SOME metaphysical significance to what happens after that, >>>>> >but I'm too tired to think about it, and this activity burst has come >>>>> >t... zzzzzzzzz. >>>>> > >>>>> >_______________________________________________ >>>>> >FrameWorks mailing list >>>>> >[email protected] >>>>> >https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> FrameWorks mailing >>>>> [email protected]https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> *Benjamin * >>>> >>>> * Benjamin Léon* >>>> Ph.D Candidate in Film Studies >>>> [email protected] >>>> (Fr) + 33 (0)6 28 07 18 00 >>>> (US) + 1 (646) - 812 - 0692 >>>> Skype : benjil75 >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> FrameWorks mailing >>>> [email protected]https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing >>> [email protected]https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >> >> ------------------------------ >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> > > > -- > > Andy Ditzler > www.filmlove.org > www.johnq.org > Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University > > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > >
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