Shirley Clarke

Synopsis:
Ornette: Made In America captures Ornette Coleman’s evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983 as a famed performer and composer, documentary footage, dramatic scenes and some of the first music video-style segments ever made, chronicle his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon. Among those who contribute to the film include William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez and John Rockwell.Read More »

Synopsis
A pair of performers wearing bodysuits dance and balance together in this short film by director Shirley Clarke, part of her FOUR JOURNEYS INTO MYSTIC TIME project.Read More »

Synopsis
Part of the larger filmic cycle FOUR JOURNEYS INTO MYSTIC TIME, this work makes use of a dancer’s body as a canvas on which to paint projected images.Read More »

Synopsis
Part of Shirley Clarke’s cycle FOUR JOURNEYS INTO MYSTIC TIME, this short film observes a dance that represents a spiritual or religious initiation.Read More »

Synopsis
This abstract work featuring three dancers interacting with large screens as well as each other. Costuming and color play an integral role in this piece, part of Shirley Clarke’s FOUR JOURNEYS INTO MYSTIC TIME.Read More »

Synopsis:
THE CONNECTION is one of the most vital, fascinating films of the American independent world. Created by a woman director, Shirley Clarke, at a time when they were in very short supply, the film shattered stereotypes in just about every conceivable way. And yet, the film remained unseen for many years.Read More »

Synopsis
The recurring theme of dance once again works its way into a Shirley Clarke project, as this short film features a performance that takes place across a multitude of environments. As a primary couple intimately interacts, Clarke tests herself as a filmmaker by enhancing the performance with camera movements and visual additions. Altering the setting and the atmosphere with the use of back-projection, this intriguing piece illustrates Clarke’s willingness to experiment on many levels.Read More »

Quote:
A hybrid of talking heads, an extended speech and pastoral home life, Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel with the World studies legendary American poet Robert Frost with the intimate signature of director Shirley Clarke. The film begins with a voiceover from President John F. Kennedy: “The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the lost champion of the individual mind and sensibility, against an intrusive society and officious state.” This begins President Kennedy’s encomium to Frost, honoring his life and career at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on March 26, 1962.Read More »

Quote:
“The Cool World”, a 1963 independent film directed by Shirley Clarke is probably the most shocking, interesting, and realistic film I have ever seen. The films follows the character of Duke played by Rony Clanton. This film shows how it really was to be an African American teen growing up in urban America (Harlem, N.Y.) in the 1960’s. The gun serves as a character in the film itself, for it demonstrates manhood for the character of Duke.Read More »