Jenny, my background resembles yours but is perhaps less illustrious - including animation (which screened at Ottawa, Ann Arbor, . . ) as well as investigation of
early 20th century psychoanalysis (I wrote my MFA thesis on the extended video diaries of Anne Charlotte Robertson, Joe Gibbons, and Lynn Hershman, applying Freud's views
of melancholia and loss, as well as his work on transference, to "self-help" uses of the
camera). For me there is no going back to the reclusive life of animation, toward which I,
like a former smoker confronted with second-hand smoke, am somewhat hostile. My effort toward more collaborative filmmaking resulted in a project designed for several monitors but ultimately ended up as another narrative film simply because that is a form
amenable to distribution. Having discovered the capabilities of video, particularly in the
context of conflict resolution and psychotherapy (manifest in production, not only in
reception), the film apparatus now seems burdened with . . . sculptural, hierarchical
qualities. In my opinion we need new approaches to collaborative production that are
not modeled on industrial practices. The results would function to facilitate exchange
between individuals, reproducing the relations of production rather than restricting
audiences to reception. Mail art, call-in shows, discussion lists, . . video like that!
Bernie
jenny perlin <J-*at*nilrep.net>; wrote:
Hello,
My name is Jenny Perlin;
Im a filmmaker and film/video installation artist currently living and
working in New York. My practice involves historical and archival research,
as well as collaborative practices with the people who participate and are
present in my films. In addition, I am currently guest faculty in filmmaking
at Sarah Lawrence College, where I teach a combined course in history,
theory, and practicum in non-traditional filmmaking. My interests in
particular are in non-fiction production practices, in which documentary and
fictional forms are complicated and questioned. My most recent film,
Perseverance & How to Develop It, investigated the relationship between
early 20th century self-help and industrialization, in an attempt to relate
Freud's ideas on melancholia, Ford's assembly lines, and contemporary issues
relating to mental illness and psychopharmaceutical drug consumption in the
US. A lot to pack in to a 14 minute film! However, the film has been showing
around, at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Images (Toronto), and other places.
My installation practice involves hand-drawn black and white silent
animation, in addition to the live-action practice I outlined above. The
installations have been shown in numerous venues in the US and abroad.
I'm currently starting new works which explore the case of Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg, and its relation to contemporary issues in the United States.
I'm interested in exchanging ideas, concepts, practices, and possibilities
with other cultural workers; my combined practices of collaborative
filmmaking with a very solitary drawing and writing practice is now coming
to a place where I relish the idea of exchange and collaboration. I'm
looking forward to all the discussions on the list, and a productive move
towards finding new approaches to distribution, exhibition, and exchange (of
ideas, artworks, readings, writings, and all the rest).
Thanks for the invitation.
Jenny Perlin