Leslie Thornton - Lectures / Seminars / Workshops

AVANT-GARDE CINEMA: Investigations between content and form. (3 Credits)

Leslie Thornton

Description: In this course students will learn about the creative and practical processes involved in film-making. Students will go through the body of Leslie Thornton's work and will engage in class projects and discussions that will inform students of the vision behind the work.

Objectives: This course aims to inform philosophers and filmmakers in the works of Leslie Thornton and the aesthetics of avant-garde cinema. Through a thorough investigation of contemporary avant-garde cinema and its historical paths students will gain the necessary knowledge to write and teach on the subject.

Required Readings:

Zummer, Thomas. "Leslie Thornton." in: Senses of Cinema. Vol. 23, 2002. (English).

Zummer, Thomas. "Variables: Notations on Stability, Permeability and Plurality in Media Artifacts." in: Tanya Leighton and Pavel Buchler (Editors). Saving the Image: New Essays in Film and Video. Center for Contemporary Art/Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University Press, 2002. (English).

Zummer, Thomas. "The 10,000 Hills of Language: Leslie Thornton." in: CinemaTexas/Sixth International Short Film Festival exhibition catalog. Austin: CinemaTexas 6, 2001. (English).

Wees, William. "Carrying On: Leslie Thornton, Su Friedrich, Abigail Child and American Avant-Garde Film in the Eighties." in: Canadian Journal of Film Studies. Vol. 10, No. 1, 2002. (English).

Doane, Mary Anne. "A Brief Overview of the Work of Leslie Thornton." in: Senses of Cinema. Vol. 22, 2002. (English).

Required Films:

Thornton, Leslie. Minus 10. 2005. multi-media, surround sound installation.

Thornton, Leslie. Let Me Count the Ways: Minus 10, 9, 8, 7... 20. 2004. minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Peggy and Fred in Hell; End in New World, a definitive linear version of this 20 year long project. 2003. 90 minutes, b&w/color, film & video.

Thornton, Leslie. Paradise Crushed. 2003. 12 minutes, b&w, color, film & video.

Thornton, Leslie. Origin. 2003. 4 minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Temporary Modern. 2003. 4 minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. The 10,000 Hills of Language. 2002. V.2-mulimedia installation.

Thornton, Leslie. The Great Invisible. 2002. 90 minutes, color, 16mm film. an experimental docu-drama about the 19th century traveller, Isabelle Eberhardt (currently showing as a one hour work-in-progress).

Thornton, Leslie. Peggy and Fred on Television. 2002. single channel variant,105 minutes, b/w, sepia, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Paradise Crushed. 2002. 7 minutes, video, b/w.

Thornton, Leslie. Bedtime v.2. 2002. 7 minutes, video, b/w.

Thornton, Leslie. Document of an Installation. 2002. 6 minutes, color & b/w, video.

Thornton, Leslie. The Splendor. 2001. 2 minutes, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Have a Nice Day Alone. 2001. 7 minutes, video and film versions.

Thornton, Leslie. Quickly, Yet Too Slowly. 2000. multimedia installation, A Peggy and Fred in Hell environment (in Presumés Innocent, capcMusée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France; June 8 – October 1, 2000).

Thornton, Leslie. Bedtime. 2000. 4 minutes, b/w, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Chimp For Normal Short. 1999. 7 minutes, sepia, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Another Worldy. 1999. 24 minutes, b/w, color 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. The Haunted Swing. 1998. 16 minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. …or lost. 1997. 7 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Old Worldy. 1996. 30 minutes, b/w, video.

Thornton, Leslie. The Problem So Far. 1996. 7 minutes, b/w, 16mm film and video.

Thornton, Leslie. Whirling. 1996. 2 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. The Last Time I Saw Ron. 1994. 12 minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Strange Space. 1993. 4 minutes, color, video, co-produced with Ron Vawter.

Thornton, Leslie. Introduction To The So-Called Duck Factory. 1993. 7 minutes, b/w, video.

Thornton, Leslie. [Dung Smoke Enters The Palace]. 1989. 16 minutes, b/w, 16mm film & video.

Thornton, Leslie. Peggy and Fred and Pete. 1988. 23 minutes, sepia, video.

Thornton, Leslie. There Was An Unseen Cloud Moving. 1988. 60 minutes, color, video.

Thornton, Leslie. Peggy and Fred in Kansas. 1987. 11 minutes, b/w, video.

Thornton, Leslie. She Had He So He Do He To Her. 1987. 5 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. 1,001 Eyes. 1987. multimedia installation.

Thornton, Leslie. Peggy and Fred in Hell: The Prologue. 1985. 21 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Oh, China, Oh. 1983. 3 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Adynata. 1983. 30 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Jennifer, Where Are You? 1981. 10 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. noexitkiddo. 1981. 30 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Minutiae. 1979. 55 minutes, color, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Fiddlers in May. 1977. 28 minutes, color, 16mm film. documentary produced for Connecticut Public Television/CPTV.

Thornton, Leslie. Howard. 1977. 30 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. All Right You Guys. 1976. 16 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. X-TRACTS. 1975. 9 minutes, b/w, 16mm film.

Thornton, Leslie. Face. 1974. 10 minutes, color/silent, S-8mm film.