Peter Voulkos Working

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:57:00 GMT

Peter Voulkos Working
Buy Now: $320.00

Peter Voulkos is the undisputed creative force behind the American Clay Revolution that began in the 1950s and continues today. His energy and charisma are legendary. Peter Voulkos Working offers a window into three distinct chapters of his prodigious career. It features newly re-mastered films available digitally for the first time.

VOULKOS AND COMPANY (33 min, 1972, directed by Susan Fanshel)

A portrait of the artist at work on the final stages of a monumental cast bronze sculpture commissioned for the San Francisco Hall of Justice. In whatever medium he worked, Voulkos always pushed boundaries. His bronze work is less familiar than his clay work, but for almost two decades his creative energies were channeled through metal. This impressionistic film brings to life the special atmosphere of his warehouse studio during the "bronze years." The film follows the substantial demands placed on Voulkos and his crew as they complete the 30-foot high sculpture and its complex installation.

WORKING IN CLAY (26 min, 1992, filmed by Ann Voulkos)

Working in Clay intimately observes the artist in his Oakland studio as he creates plates, tea bowls and a large stack. What's captured is an intuitive process. The surface of a plate comes alive with a range of gestures from delicate lines to violent slashes. The quiet handling of a Japanese tea bowl is suddenly interrupted, revealing beauty in the accidental. While creating a large stack (Kings Chamber) Voulkos composes as he works, improvising like a jazz musician who has deep trust in both his instincts and his technical control. In these filmed moments, we see him alive in his work, powerfully present.

VOULKOS AT ARCHIE BRAY (9 min, 1955, by Maxine Blackmer)

In the summer of 1955, while working at the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana, Voulkos had just begun to experiment with stacked forms. In this rare footage, we watch him on the wheel, already a master of his medium.

Bonus Feature: A photo gallery of selected work in clay, bronze and paper from 1949-2001.

“In his vigorous forms, whether in clay or bronze, we see a free spirit with the discipline of a Zen master.”
— Dennis Power, former Executive Director, The Oakland Museum

“I am struck by how many people write about Voulkos without having watched him work. They should all have to watch this and see the building up, the tearing down — just watching how he dances with the material.”
— Frank Lloyd, Art Dealer

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A Weave of Time

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:25:00 GMT

A Weave of Time
Buy Now: $320.00

A Weave of Time powerfully documents 50 years and four generations of change in one Navajo family. In 1938, noted anthropologist John Adair travelled to the Navajo reservation in Pine Springs, Arizona with a 16mm hand wind motion picture camera. There Adair met and filmed the Burnside family, creating a visual record of Navajo life in the 1930's. In an unprecedented composite, Adair's previously unseen historical footage is juxtaposed with contemporary scenes and in-depth interviews with family members 50 years later. As their story unfolds, the conflicts between past and present emerge.

The eldest family member, John Burnside, 84, fears that Navajo customs will disappear in a world of fast food and super highways. John is a traditional medicine man who spent most of his life learning the Blessingway — the foundation of the Navajo religion. He speaks only Navajo — his grandchildren speak only English. “I wonder if it will all be forgotten, those things I have learned. Today everyone speaks English. I do not speak English. I live in silence.”

In A Weave Of Time, the daily struggles for family stability, education and economic survival in contemporary America challenge the existence of traditional identity including the Navajo religion, language and arts. This rich and telling film of the Burnside history becomes a complex microcosm of Navajo culture in transition and raises questions about the survival of ethnicity in 20th century America.

“No film on Native Americans has undertaken such an ambitious approach to the subject of culture change. A Weave Of Time is one of the finest documentaries I've seen in this field.”

— Elizabeth Weatherford, Curator Film & Video, Museum of the American Indian

“Of particular interest to social scientists, students of Navajo life, and students of change — it will also serve as a remarkable aesthetic statement.”

— Edward T. Hall, Ph.D., Anthropologist, Author of The Dance of Life, The Hidden Dimension

“A unique portrayal of Navajo life and culture as it has evolved over four generations. The film is both an archival documentary and a heartfelt exploration of one Navajo family's struggles and joys.”

— Earthwatch Film Awards

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Earthwatch Award, 1987

Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival, 1987

Cine Golden Eagle, 1987

Pacific Film Archives, UC Berkeley, 1988

Berlin Film Festival (Forum), Berlin, 1987

Anthropos Film Festival, Los Angeles, 1987

Festival de Popoli, Florence, Italy, 1987

Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu, 1987

Native American Film and Video Festival, New York City, 1987

American Anthropology Association Conference, Chicago, 1987

Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York City, 1986

Museum of Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM (Southwest Premiere), 1986

Flaherty Film Seminar, Aurora, New York, 1986

Disclaimer on Naming:

Please be aware that this documentary may include outdated or potentially offensive language. Such terms are not endorsed by DER but are presented in their original context to promote awareness, education, and discussion. Learn more about DER’s efforts to use reparative language and honor the preferred names of Indigenous communities by clicking here.

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Documentary Educational Resources - Filmmaker / Fanshel, Susan / All Films

Peter Voulkos Working

A Weave of Time