Art and the Avant-Garde
Karl Krogstad has long been a fixture on the Seattle film scene, as famous for his self-promotion as he is for his wacky, surrealistic films. If he's been quiet lately, it's only because he's been working on a new TV show for the Seattle Channel (cable 21, Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.) called The American Avant Garde. The definition of "avant-garde" in relation to film and video has shifted over the years, sometimes referring to early innovations in form and content, sometimes referring to a specific genre of personal or experimental film, and now it is often used interchangeably with the term "experimental." In Krogstad's show, avant-garde refers to those DIY film- and videomakers who are working independently of any corporate system, creative types who may eventually influence how larger media systems view the world.
Personally, I don't get the Seattle Channel, so I had Karl send me an episode on video to review. Instead of only programming super-short movies or letting one piece take up the entire show, which would cut down his own onscreen time, Karl edits together bits and snippets of people's work. This is a watchable but problematic decision, mostly because he doesn't tell the audience that's what he's doing so it's almost like he is making a weekly found-footage program using the work of contemporary film- and videomakers. He does credit the film- and videomakers for their contributions, however, so you might be able to track them down yourself. He also asked me to mention the fact that he's looking for sponsors, and you can get more information from the show's website: www.theamericanavantgarde.com.
Men and women who want to see a strong collection of films and videos in their entirety need to check out Ladyfest Seattle 2004 (www.ladyfestseattle.org), which has film events taking place at the Capitol Hill Arts Center and the Rendezvous, and other events happening all around town. Film programs run over the weekend, Thursday through Sunday, and include documentaries and narrative films at CHAC. Because of the focus of this week's column, however, I need to encourage you to check out the Experimental Girls show on Friday at the Rendezvous, which looks like it has at least a couple amazing movies in it.
One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, experimental or otherwise, is a Frenchman named Chris Marker. He's the guy who made La Jetée, which was later turned into Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, but he's also had a long, celebrated history in pioneering the form of "essay films." This weekend, Friday through Sunday, Consolidated Works is hosting the Seattle premiere of his latest piece, Remembrance of Things to Come. It's amazing, to say the least. There's also a lecture about Marker happening Saturday at 6:00 p.m., which means you'll probably want to pack the Friday night show. Plus, you may want to see it more than once--it's that good.
