The Garden in the Machine () von Scott MacDonald

The Garden in the Machine explores the evocations of place, and particularly American place, that have become so central to the representational and narrative strategies of alternative and mainstream film and video. Scott MacDonald contextualizes his discussion with a wide-ranging and deeply informed analysis of the depiction of place in nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, painting, and photography. Accessible and engaging, this book examines the manner in which these films represent nature and landscape in particular, and location in general. It offers us both new readings of the films under consideration and an expanded sense of modern film history.

Among the many antecedents to the films and videos discussed here are Thomas Cole's landscape painting, Thoreau's Walden, Olmsted and Vaux's Central Park, and Eadweard Muybridge's panoramic photographs of San Francisco. MacDonald analyzes the work of many accomplished avant-garde filmmakers: Kenneth Anger, Bruce Baillie, James Benning, Stan Brakhage, Nathaniel Dorsky, Hollis Frampton, Ernie Gehr, Larry Gottheim, Robert Huot, Peter Hutton, Marjorie Keller, Rose Lowder, Marie Menken, J.J. Murphy, Andrew Noren, Pat O'Neill, Leighton Pierce, Carolee Schneemann, and Chick Strand. He also examines a variety of recent commercial feature films, as well as independent experiments in documentary and such contributions to independent video history as George Kuchar's Weather Diaries and Ellen Spiro'sRoam Sweet Home.

MacDonald reveals the spiritual underpinnings of these works and shows how issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and class are conveyed as filmmakers attempt to discover forms of Edenic serenity within the Machine of modern society. Both personal and scholarlyThe Garden in the Machine will be an invaluable resource for those interested in investigating and experiencing a broader spectrum of cinema in their teaching, in their research, and in their lives.

Introduction
1. The Garden in the Machine
Larry Gottheim'sFog Line, Thomas Cole'sThe Oxbow, J.{ths}J. Murphy's Sky Blue Water Light Sign, Panoramas

2. Voyages of Life
Thomas Cole'sThe Voyage of Life, Larry Gottheim'sHorizons

3. Avant-Gardens
Kenneth Anger'sEaux d'artifice, Marie Menken'sGlimpse of the Garden, Carolee Schneemann'sFuses, Stan Brakhage'sThe Garden of Earthly Delights, Marjorie Keller'sThe Answering Furrow, Anne Charlotte Robertson'sMelon Patches, Or Reasons to Go on Living, Rose Lowder's Ecological Cinema

4. Re-envisioning the American West
Babette Mangolte'sThe Sky on Location, James Benning'sNorth on Evers, Oliver Stone'sNatural Born Killers, Ellen Spiro'sRoam Sweet Home

5. From the Sublime to the Vernacular
Jan DeBont'sTwister and George Kuchar's Weather Diaries

6. The City as Motion Picture
The New York City Symphony: Rudy Burckhardt's New York Films, Weegee'sWeegee's New York, Francis Thompson'sN.Y., N.Y., Marie Menken'sGo! Go! Go! Hilary Harris's Organism, Spike Lee'sDo the Right Thing
Panorama, the San Francisco City Film: Frank Stauffacher'sSausalito andNotes on the Port of St. Francis, Bruce Baillie'sCastro Street, Michael Rudnick'sPanorama, Ernie Gehr'sEureka andSide/Walk/Shuttle
Coda--Deconstruction/Reconstruction: Pat O'Neill'sWater and Power and Eugene Martin'sInvisible Cities

7. The Country in the City
Central Park, Jonas Mekas'sWalden, William Greaves'sSymbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One

8. Rural (and Urban) Hours
Hollis Frampton'sZorns Lemma, Robert Huot'sOne Year andRolls 1971, Nathaniel Dorsky'sHours for Jerome, Peter Hutton'sLandscape (for Manon) andNew York Portrait, Part I

9. Expulsion from the Garden
Thomas Cole'sThe Garden of Eden andExpulsion from the Garden, Julie Dash'sDaughters of the Dust, Carl Franklin'sOne False Move, J.{ths}J. Murphy'sPrint Generation andHoricon

10. Satan's National Park
Bruce Conner'sCrossroads, Werner Herzog'sLessons of Darkness, Claude Lanzmann'sShoah, James Benning'sDeseret andFour Corners

11. Benedictions/New Frontiers
Chick Strand'sKristallnacht, Stan Brakhage'sCommingled Containers, Andrew Noren'sImaginary Light, Leighton Pierce's50 Feet of String, David Gatten'sWhat the Water Said, nos. 1-3

Appendix: Distribution Sources for Films and Videos
Notes
Index