Film as Film: Gregory J. Markopoulos

Gregory J. Markopoulos, Ming Green, 1966, 7 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Through a Lens Brightly: Mark Turbyfill, 1967, 14 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Twice a Man, 1963, 48 min
Introduced by Mark Webber

The meticulously crafted films made by Gregory Markopoulos encompass mythic themes, portraiture and studies of landscape and architecture. Employing spontaneous in-camera superimposition and complex editing techniques, he sought to unlock the mystery and energy contained within the single frame. This rare opportunity to encounter a true cinematic visionary celebrates the publication of his collected writings and will be introduced by the book’s editor Mark Webber.

MING GREEN
Gregory J. Markopoulos, USA, 1966, 16mm, colour, sound, 7 min
An extraordinary self-portrait conveyed through multiple layered observations of the film-maker’s sparsely furnished room in Greenwich Village.

THROUGH A LENS BRIGHTLY: MARK TURBYFILL
Gregory J. Markopoulos, USA, 1967, 16mm, colour, sound, 14 min
The life of painter, dancer and poet Mark Turbyfill, seen in his 70th year, is evoked through a unique form of cinematic portraiture that encompasses the person, their environment and personal objects.

TWICE A MAN
Gregory J. Markopoulos, USA, 1963, 16mm, colour, sound, 49 min
Twice A Man is a fragmented re-imagining of the Greek myth of Hippolytus, who was killed after rejecting the advances of his stepmother. Markopoulos’ vision transposes the legend to 1960s New York and has its main character abandon his mother for an elder man. Employing sensuous use of colour, the film radicalised narrative construction with its mosaic of ‘thought images’ that shift tenses and compress time. One of the touchstones of independent filmmaking, Twice A Man was made in the same remarkable milieu as Scorpio Rising and Flaming Creatures by a film-maker named ‘the American avant-garde cinema’s supreme erotic poet’ by its key critic P. Adams Sitney.

Texts by Mark Webber. Presented by Cinecity 12th Brighton Film Festival, and supported by the University of Sussex Centre for American Studies in collaboration with the University of Brighton.

Gregory Markopoulos: Film as Film

Gregory J. Markopoulos, Xmas-USA-1949, 1950, 13 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Swain, 1950, 20 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Ming Green, 1967, 7 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Twice a Man, 1963, 46 min

Introduced by Mark Webber

Gregory J. Markopoulos is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of independent filmmaking. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1928, he became a key figure in the New York avant-garde film scene of the 1950s and 1960s before leaving for Europe and withdrawing his work from public screenings until after his death in 1992. Tied to the remarkable book Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos, this program of short films ranges from the precious early psychodramas that he made in Cleveland to his acclaimed 1964 film Twice a Man, starring Olympia Dukakis in a radical, modernist reworking of the Greek myth of Hippolytus.

 

Film as Film: las películas de Gregory J. Markopoulos
2: Gammelion

Gregory J. Markopoulos, Bliss, 1967, 6 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Gammelion, 1968, 54 min
Introduced by Mark Webber

Markopoulos’ elegant film of the castle of Roccasinibalda in Rieti, Italy, (then owned by patron, publisher and activist Caresse Crosby) employs an intricate system of fades to extend six minutes of footage to an hour of viewing time. This inventive new film form, in which brief images appear amongst measures of black and clear frames, was a crucial step towards Markopoulos’ final work Eniaios (1947-91). Though seemingly an abstract architectural study, Gammelion is based on Julien Gracq’s surrealist novel Chateau d’Argol, and incorporates elements found at the site to represent the characters and events of the book’s narrative. Bliss was the first film Markopoulos made after relocating to Europe. This exquisite portrait of the interior of a Byzantine church on the island of Hydra was composed in-camera in the moment of filming.

 

The Films of Gregory J. Markopoulos

Gregory J. Markopoulos, Bliss, 1967, 6 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Gammelion, 1967, 54 min
Introduced by Mark Webber

A great figure of American independent cinema, Gregory J. Markopoulos (1928–1992) made some of the key films of the postwar avant-garde. Poetic, romantic and formally rigorous, his work was deeply rooted in mythological associations and the ritual dimensions of cinema. Despite Markopoulos’ huge influence as a filmmaker and polemicist in the new American Cinema of the 1960s, his films have been largely unavailable until now. The program this evening includes Bliss (1967, 7 min.) and Gammelion (1968, 54 min.), which are among the first films made by Markopoulos after he left the U.S. for Europe and represent a major step toward the epic form of his 80-hour magnum opus, Eniaios. (Steve Anker)

Bliss
Gregory J. Markopoulos, 1967, Greece, 16mm, color, sound, 6 min
Bliss was the first film Markopoulos made after relocating to Europe. This exquisite portrait of the interior of a Byzantine church on the island of Hydra was composed in-camera in the moment of filming. (Mark Webber)

Gammelion
Gregory J. Markopoulos, 1968, Italy, 16mm, color, sound, 54 min
Markopoulos’ elegant film of the castle of Roccasinibalda in Rieti, Italy, (then owned by patron, publisher and activist Caresse Crosby) employs an intricate system of fades to extend six minutes of footage to an hour of viewing time. This inventive new film form, in which brief images appear amongst measures of black and clear frames, was a crucial step towards Markopoulos’ final work Eniaios (1947-91). Though seemingly an abstract architectural study, Gammelion is based on Julien Gracq’s surrealist novel Chateau d’Argol, and incorporates elements found at the site to represent the characters and events of the book’s narrative. (Mark Webber)

Presented as part of the Jack H. Skirball Series. Co-presented with the Getty Center and L.A. Filmforum.

“Fortunate is the filmmaker who possesses a daemon, and who passes naturally from season to season, always with renewed energies, to that crucial point where he is able to recognize what constitutes the sunken attitudes of his art; what constitutes the portent, eagle-shaped attitudes. Attitudes which in a season of plenty soar beyond the frailties and grievances of the creative personality. Forgotten and released are the self-acknowledged limitations, the often comical, continuous demands upon friends and acquaintances in the name of one’s art. Finally, the total illusion that has been inherent from the beginning in one’s striving shimmers, quivers, and sets one aflame.” (Gregory J. Markopoulos, Correspondences of Smell and Visuals, 1967)

Film as Film: Theory and Practice in the Work of Gregory J. Markopoulos
Seconds in Eternity

Gregory J. Markopoulos, Sorrows, 1969, 6 min
Gregory J. Markopoulos, Gammelion, 1968, 54 min
Artist’s Talk: Luke Fowler: Markopoulos Measures

Following screenings of Sorrows and Gammelion, Luke Fowler (Glasgow) will give an artist’s talk titled “Markopoulos Measures: a personal take on Markopoulos in light of our current digital/film economy”.

SORROWS
Gregory J. Markopoulos, USA, 1969, 16mm, colour, sound, 6 min
The Swiss chateau built for Wagner by King Ludwig II is documented in Sorrows, an in-camera film composed through intricate layers of superimposition.

GAMMELION
Gregory J. Markopoulos, USA, 1968, 16mm, colour, sound, 54 min
Markopoulos’ elegant film of the castle of Roccasinibalda in Rieti, Italy, (then owned by patron, publisher and activist Caresse Crosby) employs an intricate system of fades to extend six minutes of footage to an hour of viewing time. This inventive new film form, in which brief images appear amongst measures of black and clear frames, was a crucial step towards Markopoulos’ final work Eniaios (1947-91). Though seemingly an abstract architectural study, Gammelion is based on Julien Gracq’s surrealist novel Chateau d’Argol, and incorporates elements found at the site to represent the characters and events of the book’s narrative.