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"in which the thinking man finds himself in a gigantic orphanage (where people are continually proving to him that he has no parents)"
DV, 24:20 minutes | Directed by Aaron Levy
Slought Foundation inaugurates a new series of film productions:
"in which the thinking man finds himself in a gigantic orphanage..." [2004] is a Slought Foundation production in video format that explores an archive in disarray from the perspective of a man lamenting his orphan status, material accumulation, and senility (shot on location in historic Founder's Hall at Girard College).
The video documents a romantically degraded library and the monumental staircases that surround it, and explores the idea of a collection in demise at a vulnerable and destructive moment in its history. Monumental staircases in a magnificent Greek Revival structure of the 19th century (Founder's Hall) lead to a room that houses unconventional archival material such as nineteenth century laundry and food receipts for the construction of the building, heating repairs, utility invoices, bank ledgers, and visitation logs. This material culture exists in a state of haphazard accumulation and romantic degradation that is startling in juxtaposition with the building’s architectural splendor. The video invites its audience to imaginatively recreate and reconfigure the history of this archival site and its everyday documents through contemporary practice.
The voiceover by artist and critic Gary Indiana has been adapted from Thomas Bernhard’s Gargoyles (English trans. 1970). The monologue has been made available online for download (PDF)
This video is included in the following publication as a companion DVD:
"The Revolt of the Bees, Wherein the Future of the Paper-Hive is Declared"
Edited by Aaron Levy & Thaddeus Squire | Published by Slought Books and The University of Pennsylvania Library
Paperback (ISBN: 0-9714848-6-4), 112pp, 25+ illustrations, with complimentary companion DVD, $30.00
This video has received screenings at the following events:
The Politics of Mourning
Philadelphia Premier, preceded by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Eduardo Cadava, & Jean-Michel Rabaté in Conversation
Monday, December 27, 2004 at Slought Foundation
The Revolt of the Bees, Wherein the Future of the Paper-Hive is Declared
Philadelphia Installation (screened in miniature, with distortion)
January 7-March 7, 2005 at Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania
In which the thinking man finds himself in a gigantic orphanage...
Philadelphia Public Screening, with presentation by Aaron Levy and Q&A to follow
February 21, 2005 at Class of '55 Room, Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania
FILM CREDITS
"in which the thinking man finds himself in a gigantic orphanage (where people are continually proving to him that he has no parents)"
DV, 24:20 min
A Slought Foundation Production
Shot on location at Girard College, Philadelphia
Produced and Directed by: Aaron Levy
Executive Producer: Mari Shaw
Associate Producer: Michael Zansky
Voiceover: Gary Indiana
Monologue adapted from Thomas Bernhard’s Gargoyles (U. of Chicago Press, 1970)
Directors of Photography: Matt Schechtman, Philip Armand
Literary Advisor: Jean-Michel Rabaté
Production Designer: Michael Zansky
Grip, Lighting: Robert Albrecht
Editing by: Aaron Levy, with Victoria Cohen, Michael Zansky
Script editors: Elizabeth Rywelski,
Linda Petock
Assistant to the Director: Victoria Cohen
This project made possible through a generous grant from the Bernice Gersh Foundation
Special thanks to these institutions and individuals: Philadelphia Film Office, University of Chicago Press, Joyce Sim, Kate Packard, Laura Rozan, Michael Chaiken, Thaddeus Squire
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