“Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible”Grands soirs & petits matins [May Days] (William Klein, 1978)
May
24
1968
Sorbonne students discussing the political situation with an elderly Parisian man. DPs: William Klein & Bernard Lutic.
– May 68 slogan
“Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible”Grands soirs & petits matins [May Days] (William Klein, 1978)
May
24
1968
Sorbonne students discussing the political situation with an elderly Parisian man. DPs: William Klein & Bernard Lutic.
– May 68 slogan
“Ich bin meine eigene Frau” (“I am my own woman/wife”)Ich bin meine eigene Frau [I Am My Own Woman] (Rosa von Praunheim, 1992)
May
16
Honor Our LGBT Elders Day
Ichgola Androgyn, Jens Taschner, and Charlotte von Mahlsdorf as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. DP: Lorenz Haarmann.
An LGBTQ actor, director, or character over 55 for Honor Our LGBT Elders Day (USA)
– Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, in response to her mother's request to settle and get married
The extraordinary life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Berliner, gender bender, Nazi killer (her own father, with a wooden rolling pin, mind you), prisoner, custodian, museum founder, barmaid, Stasi informer (arguably), den mother to the GDR's LGBT+ youngsters, but most of all, her own woman.
“Everything comes from the Great Book of Nature. Human attainments are an already printed book.”アントニー・ガウディー [Antonio Gaudí] (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1984)
May
12
National Anthony Day
A woman in shorts and T-shirt lounges on the serpentine mosaic bench in Parc Güell, which blues compliment her outfit. Planned as a housing development project, the park is a welcome break from the busy city for all Catalans, regardless of class. DPs: Junichi Segawa, Ryu Segawa & Yoshikazu Yanagida.
An actor, director or character named Anthony for National Anthony Day (USA).
– Antoni Gaudí
Goya 3 de mayo [Goya, May 3rd] (Carlos Saura, 2021)
May
3
1808
Saura's reconstruction of Goya's anti-war painting El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid (1814). DP: Sergio De Uña.
“To those who think that all this sounds like science fiction, we point out that yesterday's science fiction is today's fact. The Industrial Revolution has radically altered man's environment and way of life, and it is only to be expected that as technology is increasingly applied to the human body and mind, man himself will be altered as radically as his environment and way of life have been.” Das Netz – Unabomber / LSD / Internet [The Net] (Lutz Dammbeck, 2003)
Apr
27
personal computer mouse – 1981
A mouse in action. Note the stress ball. DPs: James Carman, István Imre & Thomas Plenert.
A computer mouse: the first personal computer mouse debuted on this day in 1981.
– Theodore J. Kaczynski
A Gedankenspiel.
Similar to the way moveable print has accelerated the spread of ideas, the personal computer mouse accelerated the speed of which individualist's ideas can spread. However, like the printing press and unlike the spoken word, the mouse can only point and enhance pre-existing notions, thus neutering any prospect of revolutionary change on an individual level.
In a grotesque snub to nature, the pointing finger has transcended the mouse, detaching our minds from our bodies in one infinite scroll.
Bom Povo Português [The Good People of Portugal] (Rui Simões, 1980)
Apr
25
1974
A young soldier triumphantly holds up his riffle. DPs: Manuel Barros, Mário Cabrita Gil, José Luís Carvalhosa, Gérard Collet, Acácio de Almeida, Russell Parker & José Reynès.
Takes places between April 25th, 1974 and November 25th, 1975, during the Revolução dos Cravos.
“Parfois ils disent que nos images sont esthétiques, mais nous disons que les images esthétiques sont des images hautement étiques. Pour nous éthique et esthétique marchent ensemble. Re-filmer signifie re-signifier.”Prigionieri della guerra [Prisoners of War] (Yervant Gianikian + Angela Ricci Lucchi, 1995)
Apr
24
Armenian genocide
Horse-pulled carts arrive at a cross (via). DPs: Yervant Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi.
A World War I film: a day in recognition of the forced deportations and genocide in Armenia, 1915 — 1923.
– Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi in conversation with Daniele Dottorini, 2007 (via)
Re-purposed propaganda reels show citizens – displaced, dehumanised – turned into prisoners of war, and finally into corpses.
“I love to see myself in Technicolor.”Hotel of the Stars (Jon Bang Carlsen, 1981)
Apr
21
Heartbreak Hotel
The setting for a dramatic reenactment, watched over by the King. DP: Alexander Gruszynski.
A film set in a hotel, or involving Elvis Presley, on the date Heartbreak Hotel topped the charts in 1956.
Once home to the stars, Hollywood's crumbling Montecito Hotel is now populated by drug dealers, prostitutes and the Tinseltown hopeful — extras hoping for that big break. They play the bit parts of their own re-enacted lives and dreams – some imagined, some real – whatever that may mean in Hollywood.
L'eclisse del 17 aprile [An Eclipse of the Sun] (1912)
Apr
17
1912
Scientists in impeccable suits observing the 1912 solar eclipse. The colour used for tinting this scene, a turquoise, indicates moonlight/dusk. Image source: Cineteca di Bologna (via).
“I had appealed to the people to fast on April 6, and the whole nation followed my call. Who was I? But it was the voice of God… India was awakened that day.”Vagabunden Karawane [Vagabond’s Band] (Werner Penzel, 1980)
Apr
16
હડતાળ
A member of Embryo plays a harmonium with a bemused साधु [sadhu] sitting behind him (still via). DPs: Pitt Koch & Helge Weindler.
A film set in India in remembrance of Gandhi's હડતાળ [hartal], a peaceful protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, in the form of a nationwide fast and prayer on April 16, 1919.
– Mahatma Gandhi, via
In 1979, krautrock group Embryo toured Iran, Afghanistan and India by bus, while performing with local musicians and documenting their trip.