1959 to 1971, a collection
HD video,16mm loops Hanging 35mm clear leader film stock (2016)
From 1959 to 1971, Dick Monahan filmed 142 rolls of regular 8mm and super 8mm movie film. His incessant documentation was not uncommon, as many people (mostly fathers) began to film their day-to-day life using Kodak’s new, accessible film format. His images ranged from family outings to parties amongst friends to sailing trips with his daughter. The films were never projected however, and for 40 years they piled up one by one in a box, collecting dust in his basement. After his death in the early 1990’s, his box of dusty films was passed around by various family members until his grandson, aged 19, found them in the winter of 2009.
Presented here is an 8 second sequence from this collection. Dick is sailing in his small two-man boat, looking out towards the sky ahead of him, ignoring whoever took his precious camera and turned it towards him. This short sequence is the only moment where the filmmaker is seen in the entire collection.
The sequence is re-presented here as three separate investigations. There is a father, a filmmaker, an archivist and his grandson, who has no memory of him.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
California Institute of the Arts C-113 2016