Cremaster Week on Network Awesome

Next week (July 25 - 29) will be Cremaster Week on Network Awesome. The site will be streaming the five Cremaster films (one each weekday) plus related documentaries and archival footage. This is a great chance to learn more about the symbolism in the Cremaster films. We at CremasterFanatic.com are very excited!

Here is the week's schedule:

Monday, July 25 - Cremaster 1 with:

Doc - Video: The New Wave (1973)
WGBH documentary about the beginning of Video Art

Collection: The Goodyear Blimp
Interesting video and interviews about the Goodyear Blimp

Talk Show - Matthew Barney at the Hirshhorn
Interview with the director of the museum about his varied work and inspiration

Doc - Busby Berkeley
Amazing Director/Choreographer whose dazzling set-based dance routines broke many barriers in film.

Tuesday, July 26 - Cremaster 2 with:

Doc - Slayer
1988 documentary about the meanest band on the planet

Collection: The Mormon Tabernacle Organ
Video and interviews about one of the world's largest organs. This collection is actually vastly entertaining.

Doc - The Great American Cowboy (1973)
An extremely arty documentary about 2 rival cowboys. Won the Academy award for best Doc that year.

Talk Show - Norman Mailer
He's always provocative, that guy...

Doc - Gary Gilmore
In-depth documentary about the serial killer with a mystic past.


Wednesday, July 27 - Cremaster 3 with:

Talk Show - Richard Serra
Great walk-through interview with Richard Serra on Charlie Rose.

Doc - N.Y.H.C
Get a mosh-eye view from this 90's documentary about the Hardcore scene. Tons of candid interviews and great concert footage.

Talk Show - Aimee Mullins
Brilliant TED lecture on what it means to be a super-hero + a spot from the Today show.

Collection: The Chrysler Building
Short videos and a documentary about the Chrysler Building's history and media legacy (note: includes Godzilla)


Thursday, July 28 - Cremaster 4 with:

Art: Nam June Paik & Ryuichi Sakamoto - All Star Video (1984)
Super psychedelic video art from two of the innovators. Great version for lo-fi quality

An Evening with Fred Astaire
Made-for-prime-time TV special with the kick of the tap dance and a ton of guest stars.

Collection: Nervous Gender
Extremely edgy synthpunk group from San Francisco in the early 80s. Includes a few live concerts and some baffling music videos.

Talk Show- Matthew Barney
Join Matt on elaborate walk-through of his Guggenheim show.

Collection: The International Isle Of Man Tourist Trophy Race
First person view of the world-record breaking fastest lap around the island plus other fun stuff. Again - more enjoyable than you'd expect.


Friday, July 29 - Cremaster 5 with:

Collection: Ursula Andress
See the Swiss sex symbol in a wide variety of silly Italian films + great ultra-mod interview

Budapest 1936-2008
Archival documentary and supplementary video that show the drastic changes Budapest suffered in the war.

Doc - Dead Men's tales: Harry Houdini
in-depth documentary about Houdini's life and carer. Full of jaw dropping footage.

Matthew Wallin's I Die Daily Matthew Barney Documentary at 911 Media Arts Center, Seattle

The 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle will hold an exhibition related to Matthew Wallin's Matthew Barney documentary I Die Daily, the Making of the Cremaster Cycle from July 18 - August 30.

"In 1996, deeply intrigued by the work of Barney, filmmaker Matthew Wallin abandoned a steady job to spend the next decade of his life documenting the making of Barney’s epic 5-part film, The Cremaster Cycle. What followed became a passionate exploration into the symbolism, mystery, and intricate process behind the Cycle. The result of his endeavor, I Die Daily, will become the definitive document on The Cremaster Cycle as well as the most comprehensive study on the rise of Barney as a star in the contemporary art world." (from the 911 Media Center web site)

Wallin will meet the public at the opening reception for the exhibition from 6 – 10 pm on Friday, July 18th. At 5 pm on Saturday, July 19th there will a fundraiser for 911 Media Arts Center where Wallin will screen 30 minutes of footage from the film and discuss his experience making the film with a slideshow of images.

For more information on Wallin's documentary, check out this article in ONSCREEN Magazine. Thanks to Cremaster Fanatic Eric for passing along the link.

Matthew Barney Stills and Downloads

The art torrents blog has posted a bunch of rare stills from Matthew Barney videos and documentaries, plus links to downloads (if you're a Karagara member).

I Die Daily at IFP New York

If you're in New York for IFP Independent Filmweek, you can see Matthew Wallin's Cremaster Cycle documentary I Die Daily on the big screen. The film will be showing at the Angelika Film Center next Tuesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday at 1:30 PM.

UPDATE: This screening will be a 15-minute edit of the film -- more of a "work in progress" than a polished film.

Pictures from I Die Daily

The web site for Matthew Walin's film I Die Daily - a documentary about the making of the Cremaster Cycle has lots of great "behind the scenes" photographs. I've posted a few images for your viewing pleasure, but there are many more (plus a video trailer) on the official site.