Mounting Tension (1950) by Rudy Burckhardt
Sunday, February 5, 1989, 8:00 pm
THE FILMS OF RUDY BURCKHARDT
Filmmaker Rudy Burckhardt in person
Since the 1930s, Rudy Burckhardt has been a noted photographer, painter, and filmmaker. Last winter MOMA in New York honored Mr. Burckhardt with a full retrospective of nearly 70 films made during the last 53 years, ranging from lyrical street portrait, whimsical comedies, to collaborations made with numerous artists. Tonight we will present an overview touching on the richness of this work, including Mounting Tension (1950) with Larry Rivers and John Ashbery, Haiti (1938), Eastside Summer (1959), The Aviary and Nymphlight (c. 1957) with Joseph Cornell. “Burckhardt’s power is formal and sympathetic rather than sociological, and never editorialized – though the films are edited as much as shot. ‘If you look fast enough all over the screen, you find a visual grandeur he keeps as light as it is in fact.’ (Edwin Denby) Sensations of the obvious or commonplace are lifted sky-high.” – Bill Berkson, 1983