Kubelka’s most interesting statement in this article is that
“cinema is not movies,” which conflicts a bit with the previous Eisenstein
article. While Eisenstein made movies delving
into experimental techniques, Kubelka is harkening back to the ideas previously
communicated by true avant-garde arbiters like Brakhage and Smith. Kubelka seems interested in bucking trends
and defying expectations yet adhering to some formulaic means of doing so.
The story surrounding Schwechater is the best example of
this. The struggle between creative
expression and corporate interests is a long fought bout. Every new company wants to be “edgy,” but
when a corporation seeks out the assistance of an avant-garde artist to
communicate their vision, the result very rarely results in an eye-to-eye
meeting between the two. While Kubelka
was not concerned with creating a “coherent” publicity piece for the titular
company, he still used a system of rhythm and loops to create a complete piece
that also used aspects of the product at the heart of the film (i.e. – the
color red, film shot on site at a restaurant of models drinking the beer, etc).
While there is a focus on the “metrical” aspects of his
films in the breakdown of his frame-by-frame systems or frame-to-whole ratios,
Kubelka’s rebellious attitude is what fascinated me most in this reading; his
rebellious attitude and the last bit that explores ideas of the ecstatic in
filmmaking (and art in general).
It’s interesting that Kubelka equates the ecstatic with
death, to break free of the routine dirge of life. It is even more odd then that Kubelka seems
to believe he achieves some level of ecstasy from a pragmatic, repeatable
structure to making his films.
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