I spent one year (1970-71) of undergraduate studies at Sara Lawrence College. Howard was then the “film tech/equipment guy” supporting the film production program. The teacher was theatre director Wilford Leach (who directed the 1983 film version of Pirate of Penzance), a basically good man who had little interest in avant garde film. Jon Avnet was Leach’s favorite student. Howard was confidant and an oasis in an otherwise onerous scene. Howard brought good people around, Paul Sharits, Gregg Sharits, Jud Yalkut, David Rimmer, Werner Nekes and Dore O.
Around this same time, with the opening of Anthology in Kubelka’s “Invisible Cinema theatre”, screening primarily the “essential cinema” repertory, the Millennium, under Howard Guttenplan, was, in NY, THE venue for the “artist present screening new work” model for exhibiting radical film. Among the most memorable screenings, upstairs on Great Jones St, I recall Hollis Frampton’s premiers of the Hapax Legomena films and numerous Magellan works; Brakhage’s premier of “Act of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes (and many other films); and Jack Smith performing with projector and turntable. Years later, when I directed the Video program at Anthology, Jonas elected to suspended film screenings while leaving 80 Wooster St. and moving to the courthouse. Thanks to Howard’s generous willingness to allow us to use the Millennium theater space, we kept the Video program active, moving our decks and monitors to 4th Street and featuring artists in person screenings on a weekly basis. bob h. On Mar 5, 2015, at 10:26 AM, conrad <con...@buffalo.edu> wrote: > I am shocked and saddened to read this; Howard seemed ready to "be there" > forever, unchanging, like a post holding up one of the great tents of > filmmaking. He had the perspicacity and daring to let me show my "Yellow > Movies" in 1973, when they were all but illegible (other than by Jonas). And > of course he brokered show after show of works and makers who could never at > the time otherwise have had any resonant springboard of visibility. His > understanding of the cultural moment and inertia this represented is engraved > in his founding of MFJ, of his unbending embrace with Millennium, and even in > the certain remove one found in him: and it worked, Howard. > > -------t0ny > > > On 03/04/2015 3:58 pm, Jay Hudson wrote: >> Just this afternoon, I received the shocking and sad news that Howard >> Guttenplan, the long term director of the Millennium Film Workshop >> passed away February 23, 2015. He was laid to rest at Calverton >> National Cemetery in Long Island. >> Howard was a complicated person. Keeping an organization like >> Millennium going for so long was a solitary and difficult task. The >> funeral home director told me that he felt that Howard wanted to go >> out alone, only accompanied by a close childhood friend. That is so >> much the way that Howard was. >> When I was running the Millennium and working on the gargantuan task >> of sorting old materials, the complete history of Howard's tenure came >> before my eyes. Virtually every experimental filmmaker of note came >> through the doors. It is no accident that Stan Brakhage's New York >> premieres were at Millennium, or that Jack Smith spent countless hours >> watching film and editing with scotch tape. Countless filmmakers were >> loyal to Howard. >> Despite the struggles that I had with him reforming the Millennium, he >> gave me a full set of the Journal as a token of appreciation. He gave >> me my first solo show. Even when he at his most pissed off at me, he >> always complimented my work. >> There was something very unique and special because of what Howard did >> and who he was. Millennium is still thriving. And from me >> personally, Howard's New York Diary changed me as a filmmaker. I hope >> that his film and photographic work will be preserved and archived. >> Requiescat in pace. >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
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