Saturday, February 9, 2019 7pm

Saturday, February 9th, we celebrate the life and work of Jonas Mekas. The films Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Reel 3 of Walden will be screened from 16mm prints. Screening starts at 7pm. Program running time: 70 minutes. $10 cover at the door. Notes on the films below.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn - A pocket-sized city symphony, WILLIAMSBURG collects some of the first images Jonas Mekas shot with a film camera in 1950 (along with footage from 1972 when he was returning to his old neighborhood as a visitor). Bygone Brooklyn is richly evoked in the everyday life of the street: the elevated train, Lithuanian storefronts and especially in the faces of children surprised to encounter this man with a movie camera. - Max Goldberg

Walden, Reel 3 - Filmed in 1964-68. Edited in 1968-69. In Walden, he asserts that the images shown are “for myself and for a few others,” suggesting an intimate circle of friends. This was in fact true, as Walden’s first screening was an informal “first draft” version at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo. By showing details of his family life, and of outings and time spent with friends, Mekas extends an invitation to his viewer to partake in their beauty. ”[These images] are not much different from what you have seen or experienced,” he says in As I Was Moving Ahead. “There is no big difference, no essential difference between you and me.” Reel 3: Barbara Rubin shoots a movie; Christmas Eve; A visit to Brakhages (Colorado); A Visit to Hans Richter; In Central Park; Peter’s Wedding.

The Brother In Elysium Books (2018–19)