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lost because of what was necessary to film the legs. I don't know how you can do what I originally had in mind.
Jonas and Adolfas Mekas are thanked at the end of
.
Because they did the editing. That was one of the few films I didn't edit myself.
Somebody mentioned to me the other day, and I assume it's not true, that
was originally a film about John's penis. Was there a film like that?
Yes, there was. But it wasn't called
. I think it was called
and it wasn't an erection, it was just a long shot of his penis. That was his idea. The funny thing was that
was never questioned by customs because of its title, and
which was about the erection of a building, was questioned.
Is there a relation between the 1971 version of
and the recent
?
There's no relationship. We wanted to make a surrealistic film in the tradition of Luis Bufiuel and Jean Cocteau. It was John's idea to say just one or two words at the beginning, and make the rest of the film silent, like a silent movie. I liked that idea and we did it. I think that now it's more or less known as a forefather of MTV. Each scene came from some idea John or I had. it was really a collaboration between John and me.
Are you involved in film now? Are you planning to make films? You made several videos in the early eighties, but it's been a while since you've made a film.
I don't know; it might get to that. I'm one of those people who can't do something unless I'm totally motivated. That's one of the reasons I jump from one medium to another. I did the Whitney Museum show, and suddenly all the inspiration is sculptural; and then last night or the night before, I went to the studio to do some music. But I'm not getting that feeling like I gotta make a filmexcept for
[the film script 'Film No. 7 (Tea Party)']: for years I've been wanting to make that one, but because of the technical difficulties I don't seem to be able to get it together. I think one of the reasons I'm not making more films is that I've done so many film scripts. I'd like to see one of them made by somebody else. Maybe one day out of the blue I'll feel it so strongly that I'll make a film myself again.
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Anthony McCall
During the years Anthony McCall has been living and working in the United States (he moved from Great Britain in January 1973), he has made relatively few films, but those he has made are dense with idea, particularly about the construction of the film audience and about the situation of independent filmmaking within the larger commercial culture. McCall's filmwork can be divided roughly into two periods.
During 197375, he completed a series of 'solid-light' films, which seemed a natural development of his earlier interest in environmental sculpture. The first of these was
(1973), which was followed by three other 'Cone' films
(1974),
(1974),
(1974)and then by
(1974),
(1975), and
(1975). The solid-light films were attempts to provide a new form of thought-provoking film pleasure. They are presented in an open gallery space, not a movie theater, and viewer attention is directed not to imagery on a screen (no screen is used), but to the light beam between the projector and the wall. During the thirty minutes of
a single strand of light slowly grows into'describes'a hollow cone. Perhaps the most obvious dimension of
and of the other 'Cone'' films is their simple, beautiful elegance as light sculptures. But for McCall this beauty was as much a means as an end. By presenting the 'Cone' films in an open gallery space, McCall means to instigate a new kind of interaction between members of the film audience. As
develops, audience members don't merely look at it, they interact with the
