[Forum on the Young Lords Party]
A meeting between leftists and members of the revolution Young Lords Party discussing their tactics and philosophy. Note: the image quality is low but the audio is fully legible.
A meeting between leftists and members of the revolution Young Lords Party discussing their tactics and philosophy. Note: the image quality is low but the audio is fully legible.
Described by the filmmaker as “an abstract poetry film,” the camera moves over a nude female body covered in shadow and transformed through optical printing while voices recite poetic texts in English and Spanish.
Footage of an auction of artworks by some of the most renowned and influential artists of the early 1970s. Featuring a performance by Allen Ginsberg and readings by Kenward Elmslie and Jerry Rubin.
Taped at the first-ever women’s street fair held in Pilsen, a predominantly Latinx, working-class neighborhood in Chicago. The event was organized by Mujeres Latinas in Accion to showcase Latinx women’s culture and to provide information about social services, health services and recreational opportunities available for women. The video captures the activity and color of the fair and features readings by poets Salima Rivera and Marta Callazo. Comments by organizers, participants and local residents give insight into the role of Latinx women in society at that time. Produced, videotaped, and edited by Eleanor Boyer and Karen Peugh with a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
Raw footage for “Chicago Slices,” a series documenting life in and around Chicago, that aired on WPWR-50 in the early 1990s. This video covers the semi-final of a poetry slam at the Green Mill, and consists mostly of short clips of various poets, as well as Marc Smith’s entire poem.
Raw footage for the documentary Veeck: A Man For Any Season. This tape continues an interview with Bill Veeck at home. The tape begins in the middle of him discussing what it is like to be disfigured. He describes various public health perceptions about leprosy and cancer. Later, he talks about his “ongoing love affair” with the English language and quotes Rudyard Kipling’s “The Wolf.” The end of the tape is footage of glass mobiles hanging inside and in Veeck’s backyard.
Children of the rainforest /
intrinsically woven into the fabric of life /
with one spirit, one voice, one people /
that the song of the river is your own–
Barbara L. Sykes.
“Based upon my poem of Borneo’s indigenous cultures, ‘Song of the River’ is as much a visual poem and mystic story as it is an experimental ethnographic documentary. Shot while traveling up Sarawak’s Rajang River to various longhouses of different indigenous tribes, this tape is an intimate and personal portrayal of the harmonious relationship Borneo’s indigenous people have with one another, and with the river, animals, birds and rainforest. It is a devotional piece honoring the spirituality, wisdom, integrity and essential qualities of respect and appreciation for life that these people have.
‘Song of the River’ is the second tape produced for ‘In Celebration of Life…. In Celebration of Death…’ a series of tapes shot during my fourteen month sabbatical and Chicago Artists Abroad Artists Residency in intensive research and videotape production in primarily Asia, and later, the Mid-East and Africa. The series reveals the religious, cultural and philosophical beliefs of various indigenous cultures by exploring their rituals, dance, music and daily activities.
From birth to death, special rites and ceremonies mark the important events of one’s existence, assuring a symbiosis of body and soul with the divine. This deep relationship between the people and their gods are reaffirmed through daily activity. At times, the person symbolically becomes god, strengthening their own sense of sacredness and self-respect.–Barbara Sykes