Wednesday 4 March 2009

THE NO-FILM FILM COLUMN IS BACK


Bernadette Corporation, Pedestrian Cinema (2005-current).



You might remember More Milk Yvette's introduction, in January, of The No-Film Film Column - re-live it here. This, if More Milk Yvette can remember that far back at all accurately, was the result of half an hour at the Sacred Cafe in Ganton Street, in London's Soho. It was what it said it was: a column about film that didn't discuss film at all, and yet...

A utopian gesture, it seemed, unconnected with the market, or the object, or the careers of artists, but also a column sure that artists' film had a presence in the incidents of everyday life a few feet from the bustle of Carnaby Street. The No Film Film Column was Above All That Yet Down Below, a lived not livid thing, yet also a focussed intellectual project taking shape in the latte foam swirl of its own ambition.

In the excitement of its birthing - and an associative thrill ride amongst the large inflatable snowmen then hoisted above Ganton Street - I saw The No-Film Film Column as a weekly - hell, why not daily, why not hourly,  Twitter lovers -  manifestation. And then there was silence... this is its first appearance since. Even this, like much of the best contemporary artistic production, is slightly unsure if it is The No-Film Film Column itself or a column about The No- Film Film Column.


Not that I care, really. The No-Film Film Column was precisely about turning away from such navel gazing, to the broader world, always assuming that I could find it. My initial thoughts, for example, were that, given the current state of the world, I would write more about the economy. I had no idea what exactly I would say about the economy,  but I was inspired by Warhol's 1976 video Letter to Man Ray in the Hayward Galleries recent Other Voices, Other Rooms show.  


It is Christmas at The Factory. Warhol holds  a microphone and says it is a Man Ray film because he is saying Man Ray's name a lot. Then Warhol says: 



Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray



Then, in another inspiring moment, Warhol recalls meeting Man Ray: 



and I took a picture of him and he took a picture of me and I took a picture of him and he took a picture of me and I took another picture of him and he took another picture of me and I took another picture of him and he took another picture of me and then I...




Bernadette Corporation, Get Rid of Yourself (2003).




INTERRUPTION: How can this be the No Film Film Column if you're going on and on about Warhol? Because Warhol points us to where film manifests as a broader cultural presence also known as No-Film. His films and no-one elses can be part of the No Film You Know What. Sure, as Warhol would say. Maybe I'm just pilfering his methodology for my own contemporary ends: 



This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war. This is some writing about war.



and, again:



I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then I took a picture of your economy. And you took a picture of my economy. I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took another picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy. Then I took a picture of your economy and you took a picture of my economy then



Thankyou, Andy. Many subject areas of important contemporary concern now feel available to my writing talents. 



Bernadette Corporation, Hell Frozen Over (2000).




So this essay has been about getting The No-Film Film Column back on track, less sure of itself than it was when it first appeared - Ganton Street's inflatable snowmen, too, have vanished. But I now realize: even when it wasn't here the No Film Film Column was there, although look for it there and it seems, sooner or later, to reappear here. As Gertrude Stein liked to say after reading the first No-Film Film Column: there's no there there there there there there there. How true, Gertrude.


In conclusion, I am proud to announce that The No-Film Film Column column will, henceforth, be as weekly as it is daily, if, that is, it is not hourly or bi-annual. Think of it, at its best, as a process of, at the same time, emptying and filling a box with tiny styrofoam bits, whilst attempting to cross-breed two paperback copies of Jacques Rancières The Future of the Image


Or, if there are simpler ways for responding to and writing about artists' film outside of an academic framework, do let me know.