Filmmaker, sculptor, painter, and collagist Bruce Conner was on the forefront of American art in the postwar era. Emerging from the California art scene, Conner developed a diverse practice that reflected an anti-authoritarian stance towards postwar American culture, politics, and consumerism. Widely regarded as a key innovator of film assemblage and experimental cinema, he used found footage from a variety of sources to create scenes of chaos and absurdity while reflecting upon American history. One of these films, A MOVIE, 1958, is composed of segments from B-movies, newsreels, propaganda, erotica, and more, with a score featuring Ottorino Respighi’s 1924 symphonic poem Pines of Rome. A barrage of imagery and sound, the film challenges established structures of commercial cinema and the routine ways in which viewers consume such media.

–Daniel Mauro, from the Glenstone Field Guide