Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, passes away
Hi Adam, I am greatly saddened to hear of Terry's passing. He was a wonderful community spirit and made a lasting contribution to the world of experimental film in starting Filmforum. A terrific host, I made my first trip to Los Angeles to present a program of film at Flmforum in the mid 80's and he, Mary and Buddy Kilchesty gave me a whirlwind tour of LA that I'll never forget. My deepest sympathies to Mary, you and everyone at LA filmforum. And I am so grateful that the organization lives on. Warmest wishes, Steve On Sun, Aug 2, 2020 at 12:04 AM Adam Hyman wrote: > Today we lost our friend and visionary founder Terry Cannon. Terry was a > writer, an editor, a curator, a librarian, an archivist, and incredible > advocate for his students, colleagues, and generations of filmmakers. He > believed in paying artists for their work, the importance of community > collaboration, and that arts spaces should be welcoming and risk-taking. > > He founded Filmforum (née Pasadena Filmforum) in 1975 when he was 22 years > old and served as Executive Director for eight years. As Filmforum’s > Executive Director, Cannon curated programs including “Show for the Eyes,” > the first mail art film exhibition, “Films Found in a Box,” and “El Ojo > Apasionado: The Passionate Eye,” along with creating our mission of > promoting a greater understanding of media art, and the role of the artists > and curators who create and present it, by providing a forum for > independently produced, noncommercial work which has little opportunity of > reaching the general public. > > Cannon subsequently founded the arts publication Gosh! In 1978, and Spiral > in 1984, which featured writing and artwork by experimental film luminaries > including James Broughton, Willie Varela, Marjorie Keller, Pat O’Neill, > Janis Lipzin, Kurt Kren, and Bruce Conner. He also edited the automotive > publication Skinned Knuckles for over 25 years until 2005. > > In his time at Filmforum, he befriended the artist and filmmaker Sara > Kathryn Arledge, and eventually, after Arledge’s death, he and his wife > Mary saved many of her paintings and painted slides when they were on the > verge of destruction. They formed the Sara Kathryn Arledge Memorial Trust, > and were instrumental in the exhibition of Arledge’s work at the Armory > Center for the Arts in Pasadena in 2019, which brought Arledge's work to a > new generation. > > In 1996 Cannon founded the Baseball Reliquary, a nonprofit organization > “dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through > the context of baseball history” Beginning in 1999 the Reliquary began > honoring important figures from baseball’s history by adding them to its > Shrine of the Eternals, designed to elect “individuals on merits other than > statistics and playing ability...for a deeper understanding and > appreciation of baseball than has heretofore been provided by “Halls of > Fame” in the more traditional and conservative institutions. Honorees have > included Jim Abbott, Dick Allen, Jim Bouton, Dizzy Dean, Curt Flood, Josh > Gibson, Roger Maris, Manny Mota, Don Newcombe, Satchel Paige, Luis Tiant, > Bob Uecker, Fernando Valenzuela, and Maury Wills. The lauded tribute to the > intersection of art and baseball functions as a traveling museum, bringing > curiosities and wonders to sites throughout Southern California. The > Reliquary’s collections now serve as the foundation for the Institute for > Baseball Studies at Whittier College. > > In 2010, Alhambra High School, where Cannon served as librarian for many > years, named him as Employee of the Year. That same year he helped the > student group Artists Anonymous organize the exhibition “Kaleidoscope Eyes” > about the 1960s. Cannon subsequently worked at the Allendale Branch of the > Pasadena Public Library, where he hosted discussions with a wide variety of > guests during his tenure, including musicians, filmmakers, writers, and > curators, while being a charming and helpful librarian for the community. > > As a lifelong creator of non-profit organizations, unusual magazines, and > as a librarian, Cannon was committed to the unheralded and idiosyncratic, > and to the regenerative and delightful possibilities of community and art > that continues to inspire the organizations he founded and the people he > touched. Cannon is survived by wife Mary Cannon and siblings Phil, Barbara, > and Nancy. > > > An oral history with Terry Cannon: > > https://www.alternativeprojections.com/oral-histories/terry-cannon/ > > > An article by him about the early years of Filmforum: > > > https://www.alternativeprojections.com/articles/filmforum-the-pasadena-years-1975-1983/ > > > http://www.baseballreliquary.org/ > > > https://www.armoryarts.org/exhibitions/2019/arledge/ > > > https://www.whittier.edu/news/baseballinstitute > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/sports/baseball/01reliquary.html > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list
Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, passes away
Hi Adam, I am sorry to hear this news. Terry gave me a one person showing back in 1983. It was one of my first. I believe the Pasadena Film Forum was held in an old Bank Building in downtown. Quite an experience for sure. He gave the Forum a great name and a great showcase there in Pasadena. I remember his Spiral Magazine that he started and I believe he was the last editor of the Canyon Cinema News. A large issue, I think it was a double issue that I still own and had one of my contributions included, one of Dziga Vertov’s Manisfestos that he had written for the Kinoks. He was a great host to Susan and I and filmmaker Dean Snider. I remember us have a great time and was surprised about his other interests besides Experimental Filmmaking. Like many of us, I lost track of him. I am sorry to hear of his death. Please give his family my sympathy. Dominic Angerame > On Aug 2, 2020, at 10:31 AM, Adam Hyman wrote: > > Thank you, and to Scott for his remembrance as well. I forgot to include in > the text that it was written by Alison Kozberg, Filmforum Board president, > and myself. My apologies for leaving off the writing credits when I posted. > Additional comments and links are being added to the Filmforum Facebook page. > Terry’s willingness to provide opportunities to unheralded people was really > remarkable. We already knew how Barbara Hammer always credited Terry with > her first show outside the lesbian Bay Area community, and the first show for > which she was paid. It’s in her autobiobraphy Hammer!, along with a photo of > her holding her check from the Filmforum show. Grahame Weinbren has pointed > out that Terry gave him and Roberta Friedman their first solo show. Jeff > said that Terry arranged the first review of “Demon Lover Diary” when it > screened at Pasadena Filmforum. > And although his journal Spiral from the 1980s is more well-remembered, his > earlier journal GOSH was also pretty amazing. > https://www.artjobs.com/resources/bd/fashion-magazine/gosh# > <https://www.artjobs.com/resources/bd/fashion-magazine/gosh#> > > We have images of the Pasadena Filmforum posters which were pretty great. I > don’t believe I can send any to the list, but I’ll work on getting some > uploaded to one of our web pages. > > Best regards, > > Adam > > From: FrameWorks <mailto:frameworks-boun...@jonasmekasfilms.com>> on behalf of Jeff Kreines > mailto:j...@kinetta.com>> > Reply-To: "Experimental Film Discussion List <mailto:frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com>>" <mailto:frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com>> > Date: Sunday, August 2, 2020 at 6:53 AM > To: "Experimental Film Discussion List <mailto:frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com>>" <mailto:frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com>> > Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, > passes away > > Beautifully put, Adam. Amazing how much Terry accomplished with no > institutional support. > > Condolences to Mary and of course the birds. He’ll be missed. > > Jeff Kreines > Kinetta > j...@kinetta.com <mailto:j...@kinetta.com> > kinetta.com > > Sent from iPhone. > >> On Aug 2, 2020, at 8:09 AM, Scott MacDonald > <mailto:smacd...@hamilton.edu>> wrote: >> >> >> Thanks, Adam, for alerting us to the passing of Terry Cannon. >> >> On the wall of the room where I keep my VHS/DVD/BluRays and watch films >> hangs a beautiful poster from Pasadena Filmforum, a souvenir of a visit to >> Pasadena to present a program of single-shot films in 1981. Patricia and I >> were on a cross-country trip, my first visit to the American West, to >> interview filmmakers (Morgan Fisher, George Kuchar, Robert Nelson, Bruce >> Conner) for what would become the first Critical Cinema collection of >> interviews (California Press, 1988). We stayed with Terry and Mary, sleeping >> on their floor, for several days--and talking well into the nights. As I >> remember, a hamster rolled round the little apartment in a plastic ball. >> >> It would be impossible to overstate how lovely a man Terry was. His >> commitment to avant-garde cinema and his light-hearted labors in service of >> it were obvious and innovative. Pasadena Filmforum was a fun venue--though I >> think I bored the audience that night (Morgan Fisher came up after the show >> to tell me, "In LA, we don't talk so much before screenings")--though the >> audience had been attentive to the films: as I remember, Larry Gottheim's >> Fog Line, J. J. Murphy's Sky Blue Water Light Sign, Bob Huot's Snow, Hollis >> Frampton's Lemon, and one of Morgan's films--probably Production Sti
Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, passes away
Thank you, and to Scott for his remembrance as well. I forgot to include in the text that it was written by Alison Kozberg, Filmforum Board president, and myself. My apologies for leaving off the writing credits when I posted. Additional comments and links are being added to the Filmforum Facebook page. Terry’s willingness to provide opportunities to unheralded people was really remarkable. We already knew how Barbara Hammer always credited Terry with her first show outside the lesbian Bay Area community, and the first show for which she was paid. It’s in her autobiobraphy Hammer!, along with a photo of her holding her check from the Filmforum show. Grahame Weinbren has pointed out that Terry gave him and Roberta Friedman their first solo show. Jeff said that Terry arranged the first review of “Demon Lover Diary” when it screened at Pasadena Filmforum. And although his journal Spiral from the 1980s is more well-remembered, his earlier journal GOSH was also pretty amazing. https://www.artjobs.com/resources/bd/fashion-magazine/gosh# <https://www.artjobs.com/resources/bd/fashion-magazine/gosh#> We have images of the Pasadena Filmforum posters which were pretty great. I don’t believe I can send any to the list, but I’ll work on getting some uploaded to one of our web pages. Best regards, Adam From: FrameWorks on behalf of Jeff Kreines Reply-To: "Experimental Film Discussion List " Date: Sunday, August 2, 2020 at 6:53 AM To: "Experimental Film Discussion List " Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, passes away Beautifully put, Adam. Amazing how much Terry accomplished with no institutional support. Condolences to Mary and of course the birds. He’ll be missed. Jeff Kreines Kinetta j...@kinetta.com kinetta.com Sent from iPhone. > On Aug 2, 2020, at 8:09 AM, Scott MacDonald wrote: > > > Thanks, Adam, for alerting us to the passing of Terry Cannon. > > On the wall of the room where I keep my VHS/DVD/BluRays and watch films hangs > a beautiful poster from Pasadena Filmforum, a souvenir of a visit to Pasadena > to present a program of single-shot films in 1981. Patricia and I were on a > cross-country trip, my first visit to the American West, to interview > filmmakers (Morgan Fisher, George Kuchar, Robert Nelson, Bruce Conner) for > what would become the first Critical Cinema collection of interviews > (California Press, 1988). We stayed with Terry and Mary, sleeping on their > floor, for several days--and talking well into the nights. As I remember, a > hamster rolled round the little apartment in a plastic ball. > > It would be impossible to overstate how lovely a man Terry was. His commitment > to avant-garde cinema and his light-hearted labors in service of it were > obvious and innovative. Pasadena Filmforum was a fun venue--though I think I > bored the audience that night (Morgan Fisher came up after the show to tell > me, "In LA, we don't talk so much before screenings")--though the audience had > been attentive to the films: as I remember, Larry Gottheim's Fog Line, J. J. > Murphy's Sky Blue Water Light Sign, Bob Huot's Snow, Hollis Frampton's Lemon, > and one of Morgan's films--probably Production Stills. > > Terry's SPIRAL was an unusual film journal--thoroughly non-academic, but > valuable, high-spirited, and a pleasure to read. He and Willie Varela would > edit an issue of The Cinemanews (née the Canyon Cinemanews), No. 81: 2-6, > focusing on Super-8mm filmmaking, an early recognition/exploration of the > achievements of small-gauge filmmaking--just one of Terry's collaborative > projects. His curating and his editing and publishing were, for years, > important for filmmakers, cineastes, and fledgling film scholars. > > As Adam has said, Terry moved on to other pursuits; and after a time, I lost > touch with him--but my interaction with Terry always was and always will be a > deeply pleasurable memory. He was a beautiful soul. RIP. > > Scott > > On Sun, Aug 2, 2020 at 3:04 AM Adam Hyman wrote: >> Today we lost our friend and visionary founder Terry Cannon. Terry was a >> writer, an editor, a curator, a librarian, an archivist, and incredible >> advocate for his students, colleagues, and generations of filmmakers. He >> believed in paying artists for their work, the importance of community >> collaboration, and that arts spaces should be welcoming and risk-taking. >> He founded Filmforum (née Pasadena Filmforum) in 1975 when he was 22 years >> old and served as Executive Director for eight years. As Filmforum’s >> Executive Director, Cannon curated programs including “Show for the Eyes,” >> the first mail art film exhibition, “Films Found in a Box,” and “El Ojo >> Apasionado: The Passionate Eye,” along with creating our
Re: [Frameworks] Sad news - Terry Cannon, founder of Filmforum, passes away
Beautifully put, Adam. Amazing how much Terry accomplished with no institutional support. Condolences to Mary and of course the birds. He’ll be missed. Jeff Kreines Kinetta j...@kinetta.com kinetta.com Sent from iPhone. > On Aug 2, 2020, at 8:09 AM, Scott MacDonald wrote: > > > Thanks, Adam, for alerting us to the passing of Terry Cannon. > > On the wall of the room where I keep my VHS/DVD/BluRays and watch films hangs > a beautiful poster from Pasadena Filmforum, a souvenir of a visit to Pasadena > to present a program of single-shot films in 1981. Patricia and I were on a > cross-country trip, my first visit to the American West, to interview > filmmakers (Morgan Fisher, George Kuchar, Robert Nelson, Bruce Conner) for > what would become the first Critical Cinema collection of interviews > (California Press, 1988). We stayed with Terry and Mary, sleeping on their > floor, for several days--and talking well into the nights. As I remember, a > hamster rolled round the little apartment in a plastic ball. > > It would be impossible to overstate how lovely a man Terry was. His > commitment to avant-garde cinema and his light-hearted labors in service of > it were obvious and innovative. Pasadena Filmforum was a fun venue--though I > think I bored the audience that night (Morgan Fisher came up after the show > to tell me, "In LA, we don't talk so much before screenings")--though the > audience had been attentive to the films: as I remember, Larry Gottheim's Fog > Line, J. J. Murphy's Sky Blue Water Light Sign, Bob Huot's Snow, Hollis > Frampton's Lemon, and one of Morgan's films--probably Production Stills. > > Terry's SPIRAL was an unusual film journal--thoroughly non-academic, but > valuable, high-spirited, and a pleasure to read. He and Willie Varela would > edit an issue of The Cinemanews (née the Canyon Cinemanews), No. 81: 2-6, > focusing on Super-8mm filmmaking, an early recognition/exploration of the > achievements of small-gauge filmmaking--just one of Terry's collaborative > projects. His curating and his editing and publishing were, for years, > important for filmmakers, cineastes, and fledgling film scholars. > > As Adam has said, Terry moved on to other pursuits; and after a time, I lost > touch with him--but my interaction with Terry always was and always will be a > deeply pleasurable memory. He was a beautiful soul. RIP. > > Scott > > On Sun, Aug 2, 2020 at 3:04 AM Adam Hyman wrote: >> Today we lost our friend and visionary founder Terry Cannon. Terry was a >> writer, an editor, a curator, a librarian, an archivist, and incredible >> advocate for his students, colleagues, and generations of filmmakers. He >> believed in paying artists for their work, the importance of community >> collaboration, and that arts spaces should be welcoming and risk-taking. >> He founded Filmforum (née Pasadena Filmforum) in 1975 when he was 22 years >> old and served as Executive Director for eight years. As Filmforum’s >> Executive Director, Cannon curated programs including “Show for the Eyes,” >> the first mail art film exhibition, “Films Found in a Box,” and “El Ojo >> Apasionado: The Passionate Eye,” along with creating our mission of >> promoting a greater understanding of media art, and the role of the artists >> and curators who create and present it, by providing a forum for >> independently produced, noncommercial work which has little opportunity of >> reaching the general public. >> Cannon subsequently founded the arts publication Gosh! In 1978, and Spiral >> in 1984, which featured writing and artwork by experimental film luminaries >> including James Broughton, Willie Varela, Marjorie Keller, Pat O’Neill, >> Janis Lipzin, Kurt Kren, and Bruce Conner. He also edited the automotive >> publication Skinned Knuckles for over 25 years until 2005. >> In his time at Filmforum, he befriended the artist and filmmaker Sara >> Kathryn Arledge, and eventually, after Arledge’s death, he and his wife Mary >> saved many of her paintings and painted slides when they were on the verge >> of destruction. They formed the Sara Kathryn Arledge Memorial Trust, and >> were instrumental in the exhibition of Arledge’s work at the Armory Center >> for the Arts in Pasadena in 2019, which brought Arledge's work to a new >> generation. >> In 1996 Cannon founded the Baseball Reliquary, a nonprofit organization >> “dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through >> the context of baseball history” Beginning in 1999 the Reliquary began >> honoring important figures from baseball’s history by adding them to its >> Shrine of the Eternals, designed to elect “individuals on merits other than >> statistics and playing ability...for a deeper understanding and appreciation >> of baseball than has heretofore been provided by “Halls of Fame” in the more >> traditional and conservative institutions. Honorees have included Jim >> Abbott, Dick
