Now Available: New Animations by Lawrence Jordan
Posted September 29th, 2021 in Announcements, New Acquisitions, New Digital Files, New Films, News / Events
Now available from Canyon Cinema: New films from the legendary West Coast animator Lawrence Jordan!
As Hal Aigner writes, “Jordan is one of the most prolific and accomplished stalwarts of the Bay Area independent film community. He takes full advantage of the tendency of disparate objects to take on new meaning, and form new relationships when they are brought into close proximity or when their usual context is changed. While these film collages link together a myriad of symbolic forms in new combination, the smooth, lyrical progression of the work results in a powerful sense of wholeness and totality.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
Belle du Jour (2021, 9 minutes, color, sound, 16mm or digital file)
In a timeless world of surreal possibilities, the conjunctions and strange meetings of humans, animals and improbable objects coalesce, linger and move on to the truly timeless and ethereal music of John Davis. There are no hidden meanings in these conjunctions, except those that form in the mind of the receptive viewer. To me that is the ultimate lesson of the surreal path. I have tried to infuse a certain spiritual essence into the flow of imagery. That is all.
The Ogre’s Garden (2019, 3 minutes, color, sound, 16mm or digital file)
This short piece is somewhat romantic, despite its title. We do see the ogre, however. He inverts himself into the action throughout the film. As usual, the action is partly symbolic, partly surreal (if those two can ever be separated). Toward the end, Muybridge still sequences are brought to life briefly. Again the backgrounds are chosen for their Color quality.
Oz (2019, 9 minutes, color, sound, 16mm or digital file)
The “gravity” throughout the film seems spell-bound, shifting from heavy to almost non-existent. Most often this gives the characters, objects, and animals an ability to take off, float, and ignite into a sparkle of incandescent intensity. Carried aloft by John Davis’ music, the cosmic and spectacularly earthly combine to portray a heaven and earth continuum, as the surreality of episodes proceed with highly unexpected shifts. Embedded within this non-narrative narrative is a complete portrayal of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, spindle-prick and all. This is the most color-intense of all Jordan’s animations, the music the most compelling, having been composed specifically to fit the film and to propel it resolutely forward.