Raw Stock PART TWO: No Wave Films from Downtown NYC, 1976-1984

[size=40]Raw Stock PART TWO: No Wave Films from Downtown NYC, 1976-1984[/size]

Curated by: Vanessa Roworth, Sabine Rogers & Celine Danhier, director of the documentary “Blank City”

7-11 PM
Screening starts promptly at 8
Q and A with: James Nares, Michael Holman, and Robin Crutchfield at intermission and following films


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The second in two nights of selected screenings from New York’s own explosive yet fleeting era of filmmaking known as “No Wave” Cinema associated with filmmakers such as Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, James Nares, Becky Johnston, Vivienne Dick, Beth B & Scott B, and more. Rising from the ashes of a bankrupt and destitute 1970’s Manhattan, and reacting to the modernist aesthetic of 1960’s avant-garde film, No Wave filmmakers threw out the rules and embraced their own brand of vanguard moviemaking. Inspired by the films of Warhol, Jack Smith, John Waters and The French New Wave many of the films combined elements of documentary and loose narrative structure with stark, at times confrontational imagery. Much like the No Wave music of the period from which the movement garnered its label, these filmmakers freed themselves of the constraints of formal training and pillaged the nascent East Village arts scene for co-conspirators in the likes of Lydia Lunch, James Chance, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, Vincent Gallo, Steve Buscemi, Nan Goldin, Cookie Mueller and many others. With wildly varying styles, they shared the common mindset of fast and cheap, and were catalyzed by collaboration. Equipment could be begged, borrowed or stolen, your friends could be your actors and the city, abandoned and free to roam, could be your set.

Short films by James Nares 26 mins

Selected shorts from artist, painter, filmmaker and one time Contortions guitarist James Nares. Nares has been a fixture on the NY art scene since his move here in the mid 70s and his signature brushstroke paintings can be found in esteemed collections around the world and at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York. Films will include “Pendulum”, “Steel Rod”, “Block”, and “Waiting for the Wind.” For more information on James Nares please visit
www.jamesnares.com.


Short films by Michael Holman 23 mins

Selected shorts from filmmaker and musician Michael Holman. Holman’s musical career includes such bands as The Tubes and Gray which he formed in 1979 with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat Also an early Hip Hop journalist and impresario, Holman hosted the first televised Hip Hop music program Graffiti Rock in 1984. Films will include “Stilwend”, “Pesceador” a tribute to Jean- Michel Basquiat, “Catch a Beat”, “Dream Crush” and more. All with original scores composed by Holman and his band Gray.


Short films by Robin Crutchfield (1980) 17 mins

Selected shorts from musician, filmmaker, and writer Robin Crutchfield. Crutchfield was an original member of DNA, playing keyboards in the band, before he departed to concentrate on his own project, Dark Day. Films will include, “Dead Dog Floating”, “Fire In The Ashes” a bookburning torched by Tuxedomoon’s Steve Brown in searing color, “Young Laundry” featuring Eric Mitchell, Diego Cortez, Lydia Lunch, Bradley Field and Gordon Stevenson of Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, “Dark Day in Amsterdam”, and “General Accident” featuring Dark Day with Kathy Acker and Adele Bertei. For more information on Robin Crutchfield please visit robincrutchfield.com.


“Guérillère Talks” directed by Vivienne Dick (1978) 24 mins

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Comprising seven rolls of unedited Super-8 film, the film is a series of portraits of women, all of whom are associated with the No Wave music and art scene. The film features a punk playing pinball, Beate Nilsen, Ikue Mori, Lydia Lunch, Pat Place, Adele Bertei, and Anya Philips. The filmmaker’s presence is felt through the expressive camera movements which contribute an energy and intensity to this exploration into notions of identity, as performers perform themselves. More of Vivienne Dick’s work can be seen at upcoming screenings at Artists Space
in late October curated by Light Industry.

Plus guest DJs playing New York Punk and No Wave…

LOUIS V E.S.P.
140 Jackson St. #4D
Brooklyn, NY 11211
732.552.7199

For more information on this and other exhibitions, please visit www.louisvesp.com
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