The Cinematheque

In equestrian culture, ​“groundwork” consists of exercises that mature a horse’s response to their rider’s cues and the environment. This program of landscape films from the 1960s through 1980s similarly demonstrates structural and formal methods used by artists to finely tune their perception of natural phenomenon. In The Sky on Location, French cinematographer Babette Mangolte focuses her camera on seasonal light and its variegation of the American West’s colour palette. American avant-garde filmmaker Marie Menken uses stop-motion capture to slow down the wonder of night sky gazing in Moonplay. Using optical-printing techniques, feminist artist Barbara Hammer explores the proximity and distance between the human body and the natural world in Puget Sound, Yosemite, and the Yucatan. This selection of 16mm works reflects the visual and linguistic iconography of conceptual art, feminist art, and land art that Feminist Land Art Retreat draws on in their new 3‑channel video work No Man’s Land, on display May 31-August 4 at SFU’s Audain Gallery.

The Sky on Location • Babette Mangolte • USA 1982 • 78 min. Element • Amy Greenfield • USA 1973 • 12 min. Moonplay • Marie Menken • USA 1964 • 5 min. Place Mattes • Barbara Hammer • USA 1987 • 8 min. Western Gothic • Sandra Meigs • Canada 1985 • 11 min.