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Vérités et Mensonges [F for Fake] (Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar + François Reichenbach, 1973)
March
29
Smoke And Mirrors Day
Vérités et Mensonges is what it's actually called, but you may know it as F for Fake. Orson Welles and three uncredited fellow conspirators – Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, and François Reichenbach – delve into the world of #art forger Elmyr de Hory by way of his biographer Clifford Irving.
“Back to the old tricks.”
– Orson Welles
Welles et al free-associate with concepts of art, lies, #deception, and #authenticity. #Houdin, Welles, #Picasso and Hughes, hoaxers, hucksters and artists in their own right. And then it's over: this work of art, this sleight of hand, this demonstration of factuality, an exposé.
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Полустанок [Polustanok / The Halt] (Sergey Loznitsa, 2000)
Mar
17
World Sleep Day
People leaning back on the train station's benches, fast asleep. DP: Pavel Kostomarov.
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High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968)
Mar
11
National Promposal Day
Girls PE class accompanied by last year's hit single, 1910 Fruitgum Company's “Simon Says”. DP: Richard Leiterman.
“I didn't mean to be individualistic.”
– student
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Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990)
Mar
6
National Dress Day
Paris Is Burning is probably best known for its fabulous #ballroom and #vogueㅤing scenes but in its heart, it tells the story of #family, of people who found their new ménage where they can live and love without fear and prejudice.
“In the ballroom circuit, it is so obvious that if you have captured the great white way of living, or looking, or dressing, or speaking – you is a marvel.”
– Pepper LaBeija
While you may expect a fierce documentary about #TransRights, or maybe merely a glamorous parade, you will be confronted with the flagrant #racism that made the #BallroomScene so essential for the Black and #Latinx LGBT+ community who founded it. And the tragedy of its demise in the name of pop culture even more heartbreaking.
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Het Leesplankje [The Reading Lesson] (Johan van der Keuken, 1973)
Mar
2
National Read Across America Day
Reading board tiles laid out on a newspaper. Half a headline – 7.000 ARRESTANTEN (“7000 DETAINEES”) – can be read. A photograph of a shellshocked, very young soldier in front of a fleeing crowd illustrates the article. DP: Johan van der Keuken.
Amsterdam schoolchildren recite the words from a reading board while the traditional teaching method's pictures are interspersed with news photos of then-current events and children's drawings.
“Aaaaap”
“Nooot”
“Miiieees”
This short, and life, is haunting and violent; schools should be safe for all. Even if only to escape in a book.
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Transition de phase dans les cristaux liquides [Liquid Crystals] (Jean Painlevé, 1978)
Feb
28
National Science Day – India
A scene that foreshadows computer-generated imagery. DP: Jean Painlevé.
Filmmaker, photographer and honorary surrealist Jean Painlevé made science films that verge on experimental art cinema. With custom-built camera setups, he explored the world above and below the water surface, and with that exposed human traits.
It's almost impossible to select one film from a filmography as vast as #Painlevé's. In honour of C.V. #Raman, lets go with his Transition de phase dans les cristaux liquides.
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Fast Break (Mike McLeod + Don Zavin, 1978)
Feb
19
NBA All Star Game
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Primate (Frederick Wiseman, 1974)
Feb
12
Georgia Day
Man and ape sharing a white concrete cell. The man playfully dangles from a chain attached to the wall while the ape looks on. DP: William Brayne.
“Now, we'll just let nature take its course.”
– researcher
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De werkelijkheid van Karel Appel [The Reality of Karel Appel] (Jan Vrijman, 1962)
Feb
3
American Painters Day
Appel at work. He said about painting “Ik begin vanuit mijn materie, dat is verf.” (“I start from my matter, which is paint.”). DP: Eduard van der Enden.
CoBrA (1948—51) was a Copenhagen / Brussels / Amsterdam art collective whose manifest revolved around the liberation from the rigidity of art and life in drab, post-war Europe. Their spontaneous primal iconography and graffiti allowed them to not only regain the pleasure of painting, but also forge a new connection to colour and material. Especially the Dutch artists involved – Corneille, Appel, Lucebert, Constant – looked at the way children respond to the act of creation resulting in easy to comprehend semi-abstract paintings, sculptures and poems. The moronic “my child can paint that” that people still associate with modernist art can be traced back to (deliberately) misinterpreting these artists' objectives.
“Ik schilder als een barbaar van deze barbaarse tijd.”
– Karel Appel