Bruce Conner - MONGOLOID - Art + Music - MOCAtv

It may have been an unusual sight-an elder statesmen from the Beat Generation hanging out at Mabuhay Gardens at the height of punk, taking pictures of bands like Negative Trend and slam dancing with teenagers. But Bruce Conner was restless and the energy of punk invigorated him. For MONGOLOID (1978), the short film Conner began preparing after seeing Devo on their first tour, Conner spliced together newsreel, educational, and b-movie footage which resonated with their satirical lyrics about an underdeveloped man-child determined to fit into and positively contribute to mainstream American society. Gerald Casale discusses meeting Conner in Los Angeles and finding political and aesthetic common ground with Dada and Constructivism.
Director: Chris Green.
Producer: Matthew Shattuck.
Executive Producer: Chris Green, Noah Khoshbin, Emma Reeves, John Toba.
Editor: Curtis Tamm.
Director of Photography: Curtis Tamm, Peter Kirby, Kaitlin Dixon, Kevin Southworth.
Assistant Camera: Eugenia Barbuc, Morgan Kessler.
Music Clearances: Colby Trane.
Interviews: Toni Basil, Gerald Casale, David James, Bruce Jenkins.
Film: MONGOLOID by Bruce Conner (1978, 16mm, b&w/sound, 3.5 minutes) Courtesy and (c) Conner Family Trust.
Louder, Faster, Shorter (1979, 16mm, b&w/sound, 20 minutes) Director: Mindaugis Bagdon. Courtesy and (c) Mindaugis Bagdon.
Photography: (c) 2013 Conner Family Trust/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy and (c) Robert Matheu
Music: "Mongoloid" Written by Gerald V. Casale, Performed by Devo, Published by EMI Virgin Songs, Inc., obo EMI Virgin Music Ltd and Devo Music (BMI) (c) Recombinant Music 1977.
Special Thanks: Conner Family Trust, MOCAtv, Emma Reeves, John Toba, Jean Conner, Michelle Silva, Toni Basil, Gerald Casale, David James, Bruce Jenkins, Michael Kohn, Todd Wiener, Terry Riley, Dean Stockwell, Robert Matheu, Hugh Brown, Mills Moran, Karl Puchlik, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, UCLA Film & Television Archive, USC School of Cinematic Arts, The Dennis Hopper Art Trust, The Getty Research Institute, Michael Kohn Gallery, Artists Rights Society, OHWOW Gallery.
Dedicated to Bruce Conner, November 18, 1933 - July 7, 2008.
Produced by Dissident Industries Inc.
www.dissidentusa.com
ArtIsForYou20

[@magicknight13]

I never knew about his work until these videos. Awesome stuff truly!! Thank you!

[@gavinburns11]

I'm gonna go listen to Devo Now!

[@stannousflouride8372]

A little known bit of music history is the Bruce Conner was one of 3 people who auditioned at the Deaf Club to be the singer for Flipper*. It was Vince who would eventually sing with Animal Things, Conner, and Bruce Loose who got the job. Bruce Loose (Calderwood) grew up right next to Conner in SF's Noe Valley and bought me a ticket to see the Sex Pistols. *For those of you not familiar with Flipper, Kurt Cobain cites them as the inspiration for Grunge.

[@j.p.kempkes5103]

I saw Flipper open for the DKs in '81 then again at the Oakland Museum (outdoors) way later. They were great. I saw Connor one morning at a small SF gallery. Next time I went back there, I was told he had died of "natural causes" (whatever that is). Big fan of Bruce. I'm also FB Friend of Ruby Ray who appears in a Mabuhay photo by Bruce taken in the Mabuhay women's room. I also saw DEVO perform a free concert at UC Berkeley - the crowd went bonzo!!!

[@TheRoafer]

The history of Flipper should also include Negative.Trend. Jonathan Henrickson, Will Shatter, Steve DePace, and Ricky Williams all joined Flipper. Rozz would have been great with Flipper, but went to Portland to create his Theater Of Sheep and hook up with Courtney. I always enjoyed Rozz.

[@tootsiePOP745]

wowie

[@SuperMillions1000]

What a heartwarming anthem of inclusivity

[@frederickvonfinkelstein8729]

They don't even show the entire film at the end! This pisses me off

[@TheRoafer]

The full length video is here on KZbin

[@larrywprice2]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXWlmZigaNKYlbM @@TheRoafer​

[@cometrider2000]

Rumor has it ; they be tripping

[@bill-fk7tl]

Great song Good interviews Mediocre video

[@jacquesaumont2552]

Why don't they just show Conner's great film instead of lecturing on it…

[@stannousflouride8372]

Maybe because its a video by an art museum about Bruce's art?

[@elylew]

@@stannousflouride8372 Yeah srsly. This is an awesome document of artistic collaboration. I'd love to see the whole video appended at the end instead of an edit. It's possible that they could attract unwanted copyright violation attention if they put in the whole thing. (esp. in 2015, now five years ago)

[@TheRoafer]

@@elylew the entire video is indeed here on KZbin.

[@Product1CE]

Song didn't progress so well..